Light Primer Strikes on Taurus 24/7G2 9mm

[Centurian22]

Stop right there! Any Taurus bashers can turn around and walk away right now. I'm not looking for "I told you so / all Taurus' are junk" comments.

That being said, after doing ALOT of research I decided a Taurus 24/7 G2 in 9mm was the best fit for what my wife and I were looking for in a handgun. I cleaned it well and thoroughly upon getting it home, oiled, lightly greased, and reassembled. My first (and only) outing with it so far was in low single digit Fahrenheit temperatures with brand new Winchester white box 115gr fmj ammo, a few old rounds of RWS, and some reloads (Mixed brass, CCI primers, titegroup, and 124gr plated bullets).

As the title says long story short I got ALOT of light primer strikes. What has me baffled is in most cases the second strike (and 3rd, 4th, 6th, 10th etc) strike did Not set off the round. Only once (or possibly a couple of times, hard to remember) did I get a failed round to fire. The RWS i only shot 5 rds of so not much to go on but it was much more successful than the WWB. Also tried two of my reloads and had the same problem.

Went back to the car, disassembled, RE-cleaned the firing pin and spring the best I could with shop rags / towels. Tested again and got similar results. I brought the gun home, did a COMPLETE take down of firing pin and spring Very Carefully (ask me how I know its really easy to send the little spring cups ricocheting around the inside of a car...) and did a completed degreasing with brake cleaner, applied a very light coat of oil and re-assembled again.

I have not gotten back out to re-test it but I do not expect to find it magically fixed. SO onto my questions: anyone else deal with something like this? I plan to contact Taurus and hope they will send me a new firing pin spring to try before anything else. IF I have to send the pistol back to them i REALLY hope they plan to pay for it, I'll be pretty disappointed if the good deal I got on this gun (yes brand new from a reputable dealer) is squashed by an instant $65 shipping fee to get it working.

My other question is could it be something Besides the spring? Bad headspace / chamber, could the extreme cold be having any other affect on the ammo? Any help or insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[BBBBill]

Sounds like the firing pin block is not clearing the striker (firing pin) before it's released.

 

[Centurian22]

That's exactly what I'm looking for! Thank you, I had not thought about that yet. I'm guessing theres no clear way to 'test' for that? Also it did not seem to matter if I ran the gun in double action or single action 'mode' both resulted in the light strikes.

 

[Centurian22]

No other input?

 

[BBBBill]

Not many folks will have any experience with that gun. I don't either, but based my comments about the firing pin/striker safety on my familiarity with Glocks and guns with similar firing systems. My reading tells me that the 24/7 is a striker fired system and the photos reveal some similarities.
Remove the slide and look for the firing pin block plunger in the slide and the corresponding part in the frame. Most likely a vertical protrusion on the drawbar attached to the trigger. That part must lift the plunger early enough and high enough to unblock the firing pin before the firing pin/striker is released. Look for wear or damage to those parts. It also may be slipping by to one side of the plunger if it's bent. A comparison with the slide held inverted right next to the frame and aligned front to back as it would be installed should begin to point you in the right direction.

 

[Jim K]

To avoid repeated range tests, you can use primed cases, or, even less costly, a common pencil with an eraser. Making sure the gun is not loaded, simply drop the pencil down the barrel, eraser down, hold the gun pointing upward, and pull the trigger. If the pencil jumps a foot or so or even flies way out, the gun should fire reliably.

Jim

 

[Centurian22]

I'll take a look at the block/plunger and matching parts you're talking about.

Thanks for the tip about the pencil. I've heard of using it for dry fire but it never occurred to me to use it for firing pin strength testing. That will be a life saver! I plan to call up the store I bought it from to see how helpful he's willing to be. Seems like a great guy, he may just swap it out for a different one or might help me in dealing with Taurus I'm not sure. I will report back as this progresses.

Thanks again and I would still love to see more input from others.

 

[gamestalker]

Hmm, I haven't had that problem with any of my Taurus pistols, and I have quite a few, including the 709 series.

I don't know if it would effect FP strike, but you didn't accidentally put the main spring in backwards. They can be put in backwards, which causes cycling problems, so I'm told. I think Taurus includes a comment about this in the owner manual, I think. If not, I must have read it some where else.

GS

 

[Centurian22]

Unless it was installed backwards to begin with, i have not 'flip flopped' the recoil spring. I will double check the orientation in the manual and on the gun to be sure.

Called the dealer yesterday. He basically (but politely) told me I'd have to deal with Taurus. The part that bugged me was when he gave me false (and potentially Criminal) information that it was OK to send my handgun back to Taurus by US Post Office flat rate box!!! Suspecting this to NOT be the case I did my own research and found that right on the ATF FAQ they state handguns may only be shipped via private carrier and NOT through the USPS. I will be contacting, informing, and citing the information to the dealer in the near future and may no longer do business with him depending on his response.

So today I called Taurus and could not be happier with my interaction with their customer service department!!! Within a few minutes (less than 15min on phone total including hold times) I received an email from fed ex with a link to print a prepaid shipping label, and was told what they would do and that the turn around times are 4-6 weeks right now.

As long as they fix the problem the first time around and stay reasonably close to that turn around time I will be impressed and likely will remain a loyal Taurus customer as this is my first gun from them.

Thanks for the help and I will update when I know more. Right now the top 'contenders' are firing pin (short, bent, out of spec), firing pin spring, firing pin 'track' causing hang up, firing pin block not getting out of the way properly and consistently, or out of spec chamber causing inconsistent head spacing off the case mouth. I'm very curious and interested to learn what it was.

 

[BBBBill]

Hopefully Taurus will tell you what was wrong/repaired. The dealer can legally send a pistol through the postal system. A private individual cannot.

 

[Centurian22]

BBBBill: thanks for the clarification on the shipping. Makes more sense that he would say that now. Interesting turn in the events. I took the gun out one more time yesterday before getting ready to pack it up and ship it off to Taurus. Shot 60-70 rds with only 1 light primer strike which when loaded into my buddy's G26 fired on the first shot.

Only differences were the temperature, 20's to 30's instead of low single digits, and I scrubbed the firing pin group with break cleaner to remove all traces of the yellow paint that was on the spring. Anyone know why there is paint on the springs or what purpose its supposed to serve?

 

[JRH6856]

Anyone know why there is paint on the springs or what purpose its supposed to serve?

Springs may be color coded to indicate strength or sometimes just for easier identification during assembly.

 

[Centurian22]

Thank you very much! I don't feel bad removing it then. Lol

 

[Jim K]

It is very common for dealers, even those with associated gunsmith shops, not to want to work on guns that have a factory warranty simply because that will void the warranty. But most good dealers (ones you should patronize) will return the gun to the manufacturer at their USPS rates if you let them make sure the gun isn't loaded, then seal up and address the package, enclosing your letter.

Jim

 

[Centurian22]

That makes sense Jim, and thats kind of what I was looking for but instead I received advice that if followed would have broken laws. Glad I did follow up research and glad Taurus paid for the shipping.