Been building replica of subject rifle as in Marine Corps Sniper w/ C stock and Unertl and have it completed and glad to report it shoots very well indeed. However, understand that there is a one piece firing pin used due to supposed breakage problems with the two piece/collar arrangement mine has. Can this be replaced with a one piece firing pin and where would one find such a firing pin?? All help appreicated.

Gundog 64,
Neither have I and have shot a bunch of them over the years, but figured if there was such a problem it would surface here. Fellow at recent High Power match was telling me and others he had installed one piece to avoid any breakage?? Again, never heard of the problem but understand that the two piece/collar was a method to insure repairing firing pin if occured in battle?? (You hear a lot of things at these matches.)

An unnecessary worry, IMO.

my late gunsmith did A LOT of work on my springfield (not finished) everything he could think of, made new magazine cutoff switch from scratch. I'm guessing if the firing pin was an issue he'd have made a new one of those too.

probably just as easy to carry spare and swap it out versus getting a custom one piece.

Red

The 1903 firing pin breakage issue has been a problem for many years, albeit a minor and relatively rare one. I have broken one and seen another that was cracked. Actually if something DOES break, the shooter better hope it's really the firing pin and not the striker!

Another ongoing issue has been perceived erratic ignition and increased lock time due to the 3-piece assembly and all the lost motion associated with it.

Anyway, over the years various correction methods have been tried with varying success. You can examine an old M70 to see how Winchester solved the issue when they copied the 1903 design.

The most-commonly accepted correction method involves a threaded design rather than a slip-collared one, and is MUCH safer plus having improved ignition capability. This method was detailed in an article in Rifle magazine many years ago and can be accomplished using the original parts even if they're already broken.

I possess all the special tooling necessary for this alteration and will be happy to consult with anyone interested in it, just PM me.
Regards, Joe

PS: the article is in Rifle 92, pg 29 and is written by Ludwig Olsen, the noted author of several books on bolt action rifles and their specs & performance. Regards, Joe