Have a semiauto Browning Buck Mark in as new condition.
It has a missfire problems and I was wondering if this is a common problem for that model.
In the past, I found that accumulated dirt was a culprit, and a good cleaning solved the problems. This pistol is immaculately clean.
Was thinking that the firing pin spring may be weak. Son says he thinks the firing pin may be too short, which for a mass produced pistol seems illogical.
Any thoughts out there on why this is occurring?

First try different ammo. I suggest CCI mini-mags. If it snaps on those you have an issue. Bulk .22's can be a crap shoot. To check the FP protrusion remove the bolt and push the FP forward. If it protrudes just shy of the bolt nose you are good to go. Also check for interference with the FP travel. Does it move easily in it's channel? If the bolt does not go into full battery it can affect FP fall. Check chamber for fouling or roughness. With bolt out of the pistol insert live rounds into the chamber by hand. They should fall in easily. If there is resistance there is some fouling or something else preventing it.

Check the firing pin closely had to replace one for a friend of mine that the tip broke off of.

Seems there's a LOT of misfires with .22's.
At the range I've regularly picked up over
400 every year all with one indention. Some
not very deep. Most are though.

I just wipe them off and fire in my guns.
Usually only 2-3 out of the 400 fail to fire.

Good luck finding the problem.

George

As already mentioned, try different brands of ammo. .22 rim dimensions depending on brand are all over the map. Usually finding one that works in your gun is enough.

Ammo is a big variable. I've had good luck with Mini Mag (or most cci stuff) . Even Eley prime stuff is not as good. (eley brand is different)

Check the edge of the chamber for dry-fire dents.

Yes, I knew there was something I forgot. If you dry fire a lot the FP can indent the breech face and cause misfires. The indent prevents the rim from being pinched enough to ignite the primer compound. There is a tool from Brownells that can iron these out.

quote:

Originally posted by TomP:
Check the edge of the chamber for dry-fire dents.

I also have a new'ish Buck Mark that I shoot both non and suppressed. I shoot around 300 .22 rounds weekly and I am finding more and more crap .22's regardless of fouled/clean and it's not just the Buck Mark.

I shoot Tenex, Wolf, CCI, and Winchester - lead and copper washed, subsonic and high velocity. Sooner or later I find one that simply refuses to go bang. I rechamber it twice and still no bang. I believe that ammo manufacturers are operating 24/7 to address the demand and letting quality slip possibly. Just my guess, but seems I am experiencing more dud cartridges. I don't pay a lot of attention to it, but I would say Wolf is the worst... as one would expect.

But if you believe it is the firing pin here is a simple drop in replacement - https://www.brownells.com/aspx...id=209385&pid=113534

And if you do a lot of dry firing, get some .22 snap caps.

Often enough, I find that rotating the round in the chamber will get it going, sometimes just getting hit twice will do it.

quote:

Originally posted by TomP:
Check the edge of the chamber for dry-fire dents.

Exactly what I was going to say.

My family knows better than to dry fire a rim fire, so that's not the problem.
I removed a bullet and dumped the powder, then Snapped off the brass 22 case in the pistol.
What I see is a very dominant firing pin impression, however it looks so thin that I am wondering it Browning makes the head of the firing pin too narrow.
I removed the firing pin and it is in original condition with no sign of battering, but it is tapered so thin that its front is only about 0.015 thick by about 0.080 tall.
I am thinking I might modify the end so that there is a larger impact when the firing pin strikes. I doubt that the energy would be lessened to the point of not hitting the shell case with enough force to ignite the primer.
Anyone have thoughts on that modification.

That will shorten the FP and reduce the impact force on the case rim. You may end up creating a real "snapper". Have you tried different ammo? I'll take a look at our replacement FP's in the morning and compare to your measurements.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Nisbet:
My family knows better than to dry fire a rim fire, so that's not the problem.
I removed a bullet and dumped the powder, then Snapped off the brass 22 case in the pistol.
What I see is a very dominant firing pin impression, however it looks so thin that I am wondering it Browning makes the head of the firing pin too narrow.
I removed the firing pin and it is in original condition with no sign of battering, but it is tapered so thin that its front is only about 0.015 thick by about 0.080 tall.
I am thinking I might modify the end so that there is a larger impact when the firing pin strikes. I doubt that the energy would be lessened to the point of not hitting the shell case with enough force to ignite the primer.
Anyone have thoughts on that modification.

Bob


I have a Tanfoglio 22 conversion (like a CZ). The FP tip is very small also. I had the same thought as you but was wondering if there would be less force if the fp was wider.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Nisbet:
My family knows better than to dry fire a rim fire, so that's not the problem.
I removed a bullet and dumped the powder, then Snapped off the brass 22 case in the pistol.
What I see is a very dominant firing pin impression, however it looks so thin that I am wondering it Browning makes the head of the firing pin too narrow.
I removed the firing pin and it is in original condition with no sign of battering, but it is tapered so thin that its front is only about 0.015 thick by about 0.080 tall.
I am thinking I might modify the end so that there is a larger impact when the firing pin strikes. I doubt that the energy would be lessened to the point of not hitting the shell case with enough force to ignite the primer.
Anyone have thoughts on that modification.

The firing pin can be heated and equivalent of forged into a slightly wider than 0.015 firing pin head. By doing this the length is not shortend but may actually be lengthened by a few thousandths. The impact force imparted to a firing pin is usually well beyond what is necessary to set off a primer. Has to be or there would be constant miss fires.

I correct snapping rimfires all the time by narrowing worn FP tips and making sure they have crisp edges. Impact is spread over a larger surface area when you widen the FP tip. This can lead to snapping especially in semi-auto rimfires which generally don't have real strong mainsprings.

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
Bob


I have a Tanfoglio 22 conversion (like a CZ). The FP tip is very small also. I had the same thought as you but was wondering if there would be less force if the fp was wider.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Nisbet:
My family knows better than to dry fire a rim fire, so that's not the problem.
I removed a bullet and dumped the powder, then Snapped off the brass 22 case in the pistol.
What I see is a very dominant firing pin impression, however it looks so thin that I am wondering it Browning makes the head of the firing pin too narrow.
I removed the firing pin and it is in original condition with no sign of battering, but it is tapered so thin that its front is only about 0.015 thick by about 0.080 tall.
I am thinking I might modify the end so that there is a larger impact when the firing pin strikes. I doubt that the energy would be lessened to the point of not hitting the shell case with enough force to ignite the primer.
Anyone have thoughts on that modification.

experimented today

Tanfoglio witness elite with 22 top.
1911 with marvel top.

same 2 boxes of Aguilla 22, eley prime std vel and super extra hi-vel.

The Tanfoglio failed to light up some of the rounds from both boxes

The marvel had NO misfires.

The TF Fp is a tiny dot. The Marvel looks like a brick in comparison.

The Browning firing pin is made of hardened steel.
I had to reform the end to a round shape instead of the chisel shape it had.
The chisel shape was so sharp that I believe any variation in the primer material distribution could easily allow for miss fires. After reforming just the end of the firing pin, I tested it on an empty case. The report indicated an excellent ignition

The key is whether the FP indent is all the way to the edge of the rim. The priming compound is in the outer part and has to be pinched against the breech face. It is usually lead styphnate not mecury sulphate. Mercury hasn't been used since the mid 1950's.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Nisbet:
The Browning firing pin is mae of hardened steel.
I had to reform the end to a round shape instead of the chisel shape it had.
The chisel shape was so sharp that I believe any variation in the mercury sulfate of the primer couold easily allow for miss fires. After reforming just the end of the firing pin, I tested it on an empty case. Thereport indicated an excellent ignition

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Nisbet:
My family knows better than to dry fire a rim fire, so that's not the problem.
I removed a bullet and dumped the powder, then Snapped off the brass 22 case in the pistol.
What I see is a very dominant firing pin impression, however it looks so thin that I am wondering it Browning makes the head of the firing pin too narrow.
I removed the firing pin and it is in original condition with no sign of battering, but it is tapered so thin that its front is only about 0.015 thick by about 0.080 tall.
I am thinking I might modify the end so that there is a larger impact when the firing pin strikes. I doubt that the energy would be lessened to the point of not hitting the shell case with enough force to ignite the primer.
Anyone have thoughts on that modification.

Meant no offense, it was not clear what the history of the piece may have involved. I've seen the problem a few times in the past...

I have a Browning Micro Buckmark. It misfires because of the following problems:

1-Dirty chamber or dirty firing pin area.

2-Cheap bulk ammo. Bulk ammo has become junk in the last few years, it malfunctions a lot even in CZ rimfire rifles, which have a very stout firing pin spring.

3-The top strap of the pistol (called Sight Mounting Base part # 51 in the diagram) the two (2) screws that hold it together can work loose. This causes malfunctions you have to tighten them. They use a little lock washer that you should change every time you disassemble the gun for cleaning. They become flat and useless. You can use a little Locktite on the threads, but be careful with this.

Hope this helps.