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brass firing pin on colt lightning?

gpete

Aluminum
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Location
laurie, mo.
I just bought a rough .22 cal Colt Lightning rifle. It has s brass firing pin which has worn down too short to ignite a round. Need to make another but cant decide whether this pin is a replacement or original. Seems steel would be a better choice but I want to keep it close to original. Does anyone here know?
 
I have no idea how old the gun is but I can't imagine the factory using a brass firing pin; way too soft for repeated blows from the hammer. I would replace it with steel and save the brass one in case it turns out that the original was made that way.
 
I don't know if the pin was original. I'm not a Colt collector. But the use of a hard brass or bronze alloy is perfectly acceptable for a replacement. In 1886 the US Army adopted an "aluminum bronze" firing pin for the trapdoor rifles and carbines and it worked very well. That material will not rust and jam in place like a steel one will do at times.

Ray
 
brass firing pin on colt lightning

The gun was made approx 1890. The firing pin would not be easy to duplicate as it has a pocket machined in the side of it so I'm thinking it may be original. The metal is lighter colored than say a brass pipe fitting so maybe it is an alloy. The gun was in the family for most of its life and saw hard use. Someone was firing it by hitting the pin with a hammer as evidenced by the marring and dents on the receiver and pin. I took a couple strokes on the pin with a needle file and it doesn't seem real soft. The gun also has half of the buttstock split off and a crude pump grip installed. The rifle came out of the ozark hills and the owner told me it was his grandfather's meat gun. Nobody in the family had much interest in it any more. I disassembled it and removed about a teaspoonfull of dirt from inside the action and it cycles all right now.
 
gpete, Phosphor bronze. Same idea as trapdoor Springfield fire pin. Not prone to rusting in place and more dependable than steel of the day for the job, meaning that smooth
machining in manufacture was far less of a problem and could be done in the hardened condition. tomas , Kalispell MT.
 
The phosphor bronze makes sense. I'd like to have a look at another gun to confirm or hear from someone who has seen one. I wonder if p-bronze is readily available at the usual suppliers. The firing pin has a 1.300 by .113 projection on the end which fits through a very narrow (.150) breechblock to reach the rim of the cartridge. This delicate end has broken off of the main body of the firing pin. These rifles had a reputation for having a complex action. Probably a lot of them broke and were thrown on the trash heap,people being more strictly practical in those days. The gun was not cheap in its day, costing almost twice what an 1873 model P handgun cost. Must have been frustrating to pay a good price for something that was hard to keep working This pin will take some time to make with the long front part which is off center to the main body of the firing pin and a blind pocket on the side which interacts with the slide mechanism to retract the pin when cycling the action.
 
gpete, I looked at my .22 Colt Lightning and it has a brass/bronze firing pin. I picked this up awhile ago and have not shot it as yet but cycles fine. The serial is 3745. The medium frame 32/20 I have has a steel firing pin.
NCP
 
brass firing pin on colt lightning

Thanx NP I have made a steel firing pin for this rifle and think I will order some bronze and make one that is same as the original. I should be able to make the second one much more rapidly as I have all the fixtures made and the setups fresh in mind. G. petersen
 
I recently received an 1897 Colt Lightning 22 with a missing firing pin.
Do you have a print for the one you fabricated?

Thanks
 
I always thought that the material used for those brass colored firing pins was beryllium copper. I think the the Colt 1902 and the the 1903 pocket hammer also used them.
 
I made an aluminum bronze spacer for the clutch setting on my tractor. The mechanic took it with him in case he needed again. He called when he got back to his shop and said the bronze was magnetic. I checked my scrap pcs here and sure enough they are slightly magnetic. Might be helpful to know when replicating brass colored parts.
 
Beryllium bronze may be correct...very tough material in hard temper ,suitable for hammers ,chisels,wrenches, spring leaves etc......also reputedly very poisonous dust.... ,but if you can find a Berylco tool ,then you have a nice cheap piece of the alloy in the correct temper......The military use a lot of Berylco tools ,and I have quite a few surplus ....not as good as steel by any means.
 








 
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