TargetTalk

Pistol will not cock. Lever comes up enough to drop the block and push out the empty but will not go the rest of the way.

I recently lent this to a shooter who tried it out but could not get it to shoot. He was not pulling the lever back all the way. He told me that closing the breech was hard and he forced it down a number of times. This might be related I don't know.

Since returning to me I have taken it to the range and put 100 rounds through it. Worked fine.

Advice? I would love to dig into it but not finding a lot of resources to guide me.

The problem is most certainly confined to the breech block. It could be a broken firing pin, or just dirt in the wrong spot that is preventing the sear from engaging. The manual has instructions on how to take the breech block apart, but it's a bit fussy. If you aren't comfortable working with little (and not so little) springs & pins, you should find someone who is.

The breech block is normally removed cocked, but if the firing pin is broken, that may not be possible.

PM me your email and i will send you the manual,
playing with the trigger adjustments could also prevent pistol from cocking.
cheers .S

I went ahead and ignored the caution not to remove the breech block unless it was cocked.

Yes the firing pin is broken. Pistol is several years old and I am second owner but the first owner only test fired it. I have 500 rounds through it. So disappointing that the tab on the pin broke off with so little use.

Now in search of one. Anyone have a spare they don't need any more?

You can buy them from Larry's Guns in Maine. I think they are about $90.

The MIT collegiate team has six 160's, which have the same firing mechanics, but only a few are in use at any given time. I've replaced 2 broken firing pins in the last three years, so this is not an uncommon failure.

The manual can be found here on our host's site:

http://www.pilkguns.com/manuals/Haemmerli160_162.pdf

I have heard that the firing pin can be broken if the pistol is dryfired with the breech block in the wrong position, but I'm not sure A) if this is true, or B) what the exact circumstances required might be.

Does anyone know what the story is with this rumor? There is a "finger" that comes up & pushes the ear on the side of the firing pin back to cock it. If the finger was still up & in front of the ear when the firing pin releases, it would smack the ear into the finger. I can see how that could easily break off the ear. I haven't had time to study the mechanism closely enough to see exactly when that could occur. It may be that just dry firing with the breech block down would do it. It may be that it has to be in some intermediate condition to damage things. The manual tells you what to do, but not what not to do, or what might happen if you don't follow normal procedures.

I understand that the firing pin for the current FP60 will work in the older 160 and 162. That gives a lot more purchase and supply options, especially since the FP60 is in current production.

Best Regards,
Jim

I wonder if not cycling the lever completely and then forcing it to close was a primary cause for the pin failure. The gentleman trying my pistol out did this a number of times as he was trying to get it to go bang.

I don't think that would do it. If you don't fully cock it, the firing pin ear will just ride the cocking "finger" forward. It wouldn't apply any more force to the ear than the normal cocking process.

The firing pin has to be hardened to avoid wear on the sear notch, which makes the steel a bit brittle. If the firing pin is released when the finger is still in front of it, that would deliver an impact to the ear it was never designed to survive. Dry firing with the breech block down might do this, but I'm not about to experiment on one to find out.

It could also just be a coincidence. There's a lot of force on the firing pin, and metal does fatigue when stressed repeatedly. At least the firing pin is still in production. I just wish they weren't so expensive.