I picked up a second hand FA 7.5" .454Casull the on Thursday, which is now giving me trouble.

I noticed that the hammer did not sit flush in the reciever, rather, remained in the "safety" position.
When I tried to shoot, the hammer would not engage the firing pin becase it was being stopped by the safety bar that runs up along the inside of the hammer.

I also noticed that it would not go into the half cock position by itself unles you helped the trigger foreward.

I called FA and asked them about it and their gunsmith said it was probably part of the safety bar rabbing somewhere and that it would need to be put back together properly or maybe polished in the spot where it rubbed.

At this point I am dreading that the previous owner has done some very strange things to it and it will be troublesome to get to shoot.

I took it apart, and found nothing wrong.
I started putting it back together, each time leaving out one part to work out what it did.

The only thing that was out of place was the little hand plunger in the back of the reciever. The spring had been pinched in putting it back together at some stage. So I carefuly pushed it all the way in before trapping it in with tha lower part of the gun.

When I got to putting it back together properly, it looked and functioned right.
The half cock worked smoothly, and the hammer now sat in the reciever the way it's supposed to.

So I went to shoot it again. Same agin, only this time the hammer falls all the way down.

I now take out the cylinder and find that the firing pin will not protrude through the face of the reciever.

What I don't know, never having owned a FA or any other SA is whether this is normal or not.

To my eyes it isn't. The hammer can only come down flush with the reciever, so the firing pin, by right should come sticking out the other side to strike the cartridge when it's pushed to sit flush with the reciever on the other side.

Well it doesn't. Not even it you try to push it further with a punch. What more is that the end of the firing pin, from where I can see it looks flat, not slightly rounded like most are.

So it looks like the firing pin may be broken. Right?

I hope someone can shed some light here, I'm getting really frustrated having thought I'd solved the problem by simply putting it back together properly now this pops up.

Express,

I pulled the cylinder on my Model 83 and the firing pin does protrude from the frame when the hammer is fully at rest. Sounds like you have a broken firing pin to contend with my friend. As for the other, I do not know, but it sounds as if you have it back together properly.

Hope this helps and good luck to you.

Thanks MS, you don't happen to know how I can get the firing pin out of the reciever to check or replace it?

I can't send the gun to FA for obvious reasons, nor am I happy about trusting it to any gunsmiths around here.

MS Hitman is correct that the firing pin of your FA should stick out when the hammer is fully down. This system is the same for all Colt style single actions without the "automatic" transfer bar. That is the main reason why the half cock position is in place to clear the firing pin and the lock from the frame so the cylinder can be rotated. The firing pin head should have a dome shape and it will protrude out to the cylinder end when pushed by your finger from the hammer end. I would say either the firing pin is worn or broken, whichever case may be I would have it sent out immeditely for an inspection without messing with it any further. Good luck and please keep us posted.

If this problem was not disclosed to you when you bought the gun, I would be going after the seller for a return of the purchase price.


Sorry to hear about your trouble. I hope you get your FA issues resolved soon and with as little hassle as possible.

David

From the parts list and exploded diagram, I find a firing pin, spring and bushing. You should email or call Freedom Arms and see about getting a couple of the entire assemblies sent to you. Hang the seller if you can; I'll be glad to send you some rope. Seriously though, if this was not disclosed to you at the time of sale, I would try to get the seller to make it right or at least pay for the parts and postage.

Sorry for your trouble. Hope things turn out well for you. Please do keep us posted on this matter.

You're all right of course, I should have been more carefull, but you don't expect a FA revolver to present any defects at all, and the problems weren't likely to have been noticed even had I looked over it better untill I tried to fire it.

On the parts diagram, I get the firing pin, the spring and the bushing. The firing spring retainer screw (#54) is listed as not being shown.

I will have to call FA on Monday and see if they will send me a firing pin, and have them bill the gunshop directly.

The other strange thing I noticed is that I got two manuals with the gun, and neither one has the correct serial number on the warranty registartion card.
I am wondering what in the hell this guy has been doing.

Monday can't come quickly enough for me to get on the phone.

Well, you should not have had any trouble had the guy taken care of it. Depending on the age of your revolver, this can be a simple matter to address. I have two Model 83s from the 1990s which look to me that a hydraulic press would be necessary to remove the bushing from the frame and insert another once the firing pin has been changed. These are press fit bushings. Also, some refinshing around the the bushing would most likely be necessary.

I have a newer model (2001 vintage) which has a screwed in bushing with the firing pin projecting through it. This should be part #54 which is not shown. I sincerely hope this is the set-up on your particular revolver; I would not be that lucky myself.

Again, given you location; I'd order a couple of sets just in case. There is apparently a large number of FA shooters in Germany if you have any contacts in that country.

MS; I suspect that my revolver is of older vintage and will require the hydraulic press you mention.
I spent hours looking at the gun, fully dissassembled and could find no way of getting to the firing pin other then pushing it back out.

Thanks for all your help mate, I'll keep it posted.

With the hammer out of the equation (and out of the gun, out of the way) can you depress the fring pin and make it protrude into the frame?

No mate, it still sits a mm or so within the frame.

You can see that the pin firing is crater shaped, indicating that it has snapped off, probably near its base.

All I can do is hope that I can get another one sent over and find a way to get the old one out and the new one in.

I'm thinking I could modify a C clamp by welding a punch to one side then making up a support for the rear of the reciever to hold it steady then pushing it out.
If a hydraulic press is needed, but I'm not sure you can get enough power from a C clamp.

Freedom Arms would retrofit the old press-in firing pin bushing with the new screw-in style for a very small fee if any if you could find a way to send it to them. Good luck.

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No mate, it still sits a mm or so within the frame.

You can see that the pin firing is crater shaped, indicating that it has snapped off, probably near its base.

All I can do is hope that I can get another one sent over and find a way to get the old one out and the new one in.

I'm thinking I could modify a C clamp by welding a punch to one side then making up a support for the rear of the reciever to hold it steady then pushing it out.
If a hydraulic press is needed, but I'm not sure you can get enough power from a C clamp.

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