Titanium Firing Pins

[sniper_uppercut]

Hey Fellas

Im contemplating upgradin my 10/22 and ive been looking around for parts. A lotta of places sell an aftermarket Titanium Firing Pin which they advertise as "Custom design profile produces a firing pin which is 43% lighter than the factory pin with an improved impact point. This allows for faster lock time, less chance of misfires, and more positive ignition"

If the pin is 43% lighter, wouldnt that mean it generates lesser momentum and thefore lighter strikes?

Anyone ever used these pins? Opinions?

Thanks

 

[hminsky]

Hey Fellas

Im contemplating upgradin my 10/22 and ive been looking around for parts. A lotta of places sell an aftermarket Titanium Firing Pin which they advertise as "Custom design profile produces a firing pin which is 43% lighter than the factory pin with an improved impact point. This allows for faster lock time, less chance of misfires, and more positive ignition"

If the pin is 43% lighter, wouldnt that mean it generates lesser momentum and thefore lighter strikes?

Anyone ever used these pins? Opinions?

Thanks

I don't think it can generate less momentum, the momentum (mass * velocity)
is set by the amount of energy stored in the hammer spring. The weight of the hammer and firing pin will determine the speed at which it strikes; the heavier the pin, the slower it would strike.
If it is lighter, it might move faster which might end up causing a more reliable detonation of the primer, I don't know.

 

[adweisbe]

Are you getting light strikes? Sounds like a solution to a non-issue. If you are getting light strikes it is time to replace the spring, or more likely clean the assembly.

I agree with LoginName that lock time is more of factor with more precise instruments at longer distances. I know some people think that lock time is a big factor in accuracy when shooting off hand.

 

[LoginName]

+1 on the "solution to a non-issue".

Titanium is also more brittle than steel (it doesn't handle hard impacts as well).

Personally... I also think the faster lock time improvement isn't of any benefit either except when used in the more finely-tuned/precise/surgical type sniper and benchrest rifles.

 

[sniper_uppercut]

I don't think it can generate less momentum, the momentum (mass * velocity)
is set by the amount of energy stored in the hammer spring. The weight of the hammer and firing pin will determine the speed at which it strikes; the heavier the pin, the slower it would strike.
If it is lighter, it might move faster which might end up causing a more reliable detonation of the primer, I don't know.

Im not getting lighter strikes, im just thinking whether or not these advertised parts are worth my money.

Since Momentum is a product of mass and velocity, lighter mass (titanium pin) would yield lower momentum. And since Force = Mass * Accelaration, lighter mass would also result in less force? That was my logic behind it.

And i do agree that all these supposed benefits will probably never be used unless i make it to some serious pro competitions which i dont really intend on doing. Thanks for the help guys. Shoot safe

 

[cdkayak]

I've heard mixed reviews on the TI firing pins. At least for the AR it's been recommended to stay away from them. More brittle, therefore more likely to end up with a sharp tip that can pierce a primer. That's not really an issue with a rimfire, but being more brittle could be bad if dryfired.

The theory behind it sounds good, but I don't think it makes a big difference. The momentum needed to ignite the primer comes from the hammer weight and spring tension. A lighter firing pin would have less inertia to get moving when the hammer strikes it, therefore a quicker locktime. I don't know if any of us would really be able to see the difference.

 

[LoginName]

I've heard mixed reviews on the TI firing pins. At least for the AR it's been recommended to stay away from them. More brittle, therefore more likely to end up with a sharp tip that can pierce a primer. That's not really an issue with a rimfire, but being more brittle could be bad if dryfired.

Titanium (lighter firing pins), in an AR supposedly make it less prone to slam-firing (again... sounds like another non-issue or one that's overly anal).

The other thing with Titanium firing pins is that they're also more susceptible to
high temperature. If one does manage to pierce a primer, the effect is almost like a miniature blow-torch and will leave pitting on the tip of the pin.

 

[matt]

I've wondered about this myself... I think this may be the reasoning (though I don't know if it is true):

The firing pin gets its energy from the hammer. Assuming the impact of hammer on pin is roughly the same between the materials, then the firing pins will have the same energy.

E=1/2 x M x V^2

So, to keep the Energy constant with 0.57x of the mass, the velocity must be (algebra time):
E1=E2 - Energy with titanium = Energy with steel
(0.53)xMxV1^2=MxV2^2 - M is the mass of the steel pin, V1 = velocity of titanium, V2=velocity of steel
V1=sqrt[(V2^2)/.53]
V1=1.37 x V2

So the pin is moving faster and imparts its energy in a shorter period of time which means it delivers more power (power=energy/time), albeit for a shorter period of time.

So, IF power equates to more reliable ignition, then it would help a little bit.

but who really knows...

 

[Gammon]

Save your money; don't fix it if it ain't broke. I was involved in IPSC competition when the titainium craze hit. Hammers, firing pins, hammer struts, etc. I never bought into this because I noticed that if you added enough titanium parts to your ignition system, reliability would suffer.

 

[7.62x39]

They work well in Large ring Mausers. Mostly due to the fact that the factory firing pin is huge and very heavy in comparison to modern day firearms. I doubt you'd realize any benefits in a 10/22

 

[Mooney]

My belief is that they are finding results comparable to what is seen when a revolver's hammer gets bobbed- that a fast slap to the primer area produces more reliable ignition. There are a bunch of USPSA guys who are getting drastic with reprofiling their hammers, and nearly skeletonizing the internals- much of this due to the severe lack of Federal Large Pistol primers. Whether the reliability of the part would be affected is out of my realm of knowledge, but I believe this is the angle the companies are coming from.