Misfires with Silver Bear

[clrollins]

I got my PA-64 and about 200 rounds of silver Bear 9x18 from J&G. The gun is surplus but in pretty good shape. Out to range and about every third or fourth round would not fire. The first time it happened, I pulled it out and inspected it. Nice little indentation, so I know the firing pin hit it. So I put it back in and it fired. This kept happening. The rounds would eventually fire, but it sometimes took three or four tries. About 75 or 80% of the rounds would fire the first time. I figure I either got a bad batch or there is something wrong with the firing pin. Brand new factory ammo made in February of this year. Anybody out there have this problem? I thought Silver Bear was pretty decent ammo. I don't have another in that caliber to test.

BTW,single action was great - d-action atrocious. Pistol was VERY accurate.

[ArmoryRacks]

I was out at J&G over the 4th of July and picked up 1000 rounds of silver bear. I made it through almost 600 rounds without a misfire. It may be that you had a bad batch, but more likely you are not getting a hard enough primer strike. Could be oil or dirt around the firing pin. It would be an easy test to break it down and give it a good cleaning.

[juniustaylor]

I haven't had problems with Silver Bear in the past, it has always shot good. However, that is not to say that you just didn't get a lousy batch. You may see if you can acquire another brand, maybe try a box of Brown Bear or just another lot number and see if you have any better results.

If you would like to tear the whole thing down and give it a good cleaning, I've made some videos. Go to this post and you can watch them from there.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4200

[The Only Sarge]

Friend....all bets are off until the gun is cleaned. I mean disassembled and soaked in Mineral Spirits clean.

After that it is a matter of elimination. Hammer spring condition and strength? Firing pin condition? Firing pin channel clear and dry? Fire Control Group all operational and not hanging up? Lastly ammo.

These guns are very simple to work on even for the novice. Take your time.

Good luck and happy shooting!

[The Only Sarge]

Also....is the hit centered?

[juniustaylor]

Agree with Sarge... try the mineral spirits. Take the gun down as far as you are comfortable and let it soak in a pan of mineral spirits for 24 - 48 hours or so. Use a tooth brush to loosen some crud in some of the crevices. If you have a compressed air source, use a sprayer to blow all of the spirits out. The mineral oil is good at loosening the residual gunk and cosmo from the tiniest corners and crevices. It's worth a shot. Also, as he said, they are easy to work on... you can watch my videos to get it all apart and back together, detail strip. If you have any questions, you can always ask and someone will answer you.

[clrollins]

Thanks guys. The hits are centered. The gun looks clean and 3/4 of the rounds fired fine. I watched the video, and I'm afraid to go farther than a field strip. I tried to get "down and dirty with a Garand once, and couldn't reassemble it. Ended up taking to a gunsmith and paying him $100. I'm going to try and find some premium ammo. It could very well be the spring. I know pins are impossible to find, but are springs any easier? Would field stripping it and soaking it in mineral oil do any good. No compressed air available.
Thanks so much for taking the trouble to respond.

[juniustaylor]

Lots of parts are available on http://www.gunbroker.com. Just search for P-64 and a lot of springs, safeties, firing pins, axis pins, etc. will show up. May not be the price you'd think they're really worth, but they are certainly available.

mkubes (guy from http://www.buymilsurp.com) has this spring kit on eBay for sale. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polish-P-64-Spr ... 500wt_1202

You can see if another ammo will help. It certainly can't hurt.

[Hinermad]

Would field stripping it and soaking it in mineral oil do any good.

Mineral spirits, not oil. (Think paint remover.) Mineral spirits dissolve oil and grease and helps release the dirt and grit that they trap. Soaking the gun, even just field stripped, allows the mineral spirits to penetrate. Follow up with a good scrubbing with fresh spirits and a toothbrush, patches, clean rags, and whatever else you'd use to scrub out your gun's action. Rinse it all with fresh spirits to remove the stuff that's contaminated with the grease and dirt you just removed.

Let it drain and dry on a clean rag (mineral spirits evaporate quickly), then go through and lube or coat everything with gun oil, because the mineral spirit bath has removed all lubrication and unprotected metal may rust. Gun grease is probably appropriate in some spots, but I'll leave it to the experts to say where. Don't forget the barrel bore, too.

This isn't guaranteed to fix your problem, but it'll help rule out a dragging firing pin or other mechanical issues due to friction.

Dave

[clrollins]

OK. Watched the video three times this morning. I am going to try just taking the firing pin out and soaking it and the slide. Only problem I see with this is getting the safety spring back in. I ordered a spring+firing pin set and some brass PUU from Cabelas. I'll let you know how it goes.
...and Thanks again!

[juniustaylor]

clrollins, I can see about making a video this evening specifically for taking the FP out, and putting it back in. That way you don't have to watch through a bunch of other stuff. Getting that safety spring back in place really isn't that bad, especially if you have a small flat blade screwdriver. A small punch and forceps (hemostats) make it easier. So you can hold the firing pin taking the safety out or putting it back in place.

[The Only Sarge]

Yup...I have hemostats to hold the firing pin.....put a dab of grease on the safety plunger doohickey and stick it on the spring.....then I have ground down a small screwdriver to fit perfect and hold the plunger down while I slide the safety over. Putting it all together takes less than a minute or two. Mr. Taylor is correct...the trick is to have the firing pin held...and a small screwdriver with a very thin blade

[juniustaylor]

OK, videos...

HARDER METHOD:


EASIER METHOD (HEMOSTATS):

[clrollins]

Thanks so much for the new video! You are too good. Ordered two hemostats this morning. I have the punch and screwdriver. I'll keep loking at this. Hope I can keep the tiny springs from zooming around my shop. When they finally clean this place up after I'm gone,someone is going to find a treasure trove of springs!
Thanks again!

[GeneCC]

I have shot about seventy rounds of Silver Bear. No failures to feed, extract or fire. The cases a bit sooty but so far I don't know what that means.

Please be very careful about removing the Safety. The safety detent will "pop out" and is not easy to locate.

Gene