Firing pins are flattened

[readgriff]

I need to remove my firing pins (Hammers) they are flattened. The gun stills fires but one only protruding.040 and the other.050. Has anyone had this happen to there gun?
I’m not sure what my options are.
Does anyone have information on the removal of the hammers.
I’ve removed the wood on several guns before but not hammers.
Thanks
Dave Read

[Jeff S]

Not me. But I'll bet someone out there has done it.

[Silvers]

Unless modified, Fox hammer tips (so-called firing pins) are semi-flat at the business end and typically will have about .050" protrusion from the breech face. IME the 40 thou you reported will also work reliably. Net, hammer tips don't wear in use and unless something else is going on I wouldn't do a thing to your Fox. Fox hammer removal and especially reassembly is fraught with problems for many who try it.

frank

[Brian Dudley]

If the gun fires and is not puncturing primers, then leave it alone.

[readgriff]

52A44952-31CA-4778-A160-F7DD59AFA545.jpeg (26.82 KiB) Viewed 3586 times

See attachment of firing Hammers wear

[Silvers]

It's hard to tell for certain from one pic but it looks to me that the right hammer tip has been ground flat and maybe a scootch on the left one, probably to make your Fox easier to open after firing. JME but I can't see how "wear" would cause that. The hammer tips are pretty hard, as in Rockwell C number. Again I think if the Fox is functional then you're better served by leaving the hammer(s) in place; or if you're adamant to replace one or both hammers, to send the Fox to a good 'smith because replacement will carry over to the sear, trigger and safety engagements.

frank

[readgriff]

Primer hit

34CB0F2E-1119-4E4C-AFAA-763B258ACB54.jpeg (38.51 KiB) Viewed 3542 times

As you can see the hit is pretty shallow and large.
The hit has definitely changed over the years.

[Silvers]

Those very few of us that still try to help by answering tech questions can only go by what's written by the OP. In your first post you wrote that the Fox still fires but now you post a pic of a primer with a light strike.

If indeed that right hammer has .040" protrusion as you posted that should be more than enough to fire if the mainspring isn't weak, if headspace is OK, if there's no mud or field debris inside the mainspring counterbore, and if whoever ground the hammer tip flat didn't do anything else inside the mechanism to impede the hammer fall. Cheddite primers as in the last pic are easily fired. And there's no way the hammer tip became flat from "wear" over the years. At this point it seems that right hammer must be removed for troubleshooting and on that line we've seen so many times where fellas ask for videos and directions on how to remove Fox hammers, and sometimes even with directions that results in multiple follow-up "please help me" requests when the frustrated fella can't put things back together and/or the replacement hammer is misfit to its sear and causes other operational problems. Then the helpful guy who gave the directions feels obligated and gets sucked into more and more effort and time to reply. Again I strongly urge you to send your Fox to a good Fox 'smith.

OK 'nuff said, this will be my last reply here.

frank

[spyder]

I did it once just for practice on a parts receiver. It's easy getting them out, but it's tricky getting them back in as you're working against the tension of the hammer springs. I followed the directions in the post below (scroll down to Doug Mann's response). I personally wouldn't attempt it on a gun I was planning to shoot.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1329&hilit=Mann

[readgriff]

ThankYou all for your replies
I looked at the hammers fireing pin on my other fox and they protrude farther and are rounded.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do at this point keep shooting until they don’t hit or take it to a gunsmith see what his thoughts are or try to remove and see if they can be reshaped.
I really like to fix things but maybe this out of my expertise.
Thanks again
Dave Read

[Stan Hillis]

If I'm understanding correctly you have not said that you have had any misfires, or that you have had any light strikes. The pic you showed appears to me to have a very large and unusual indentation, typical of what I would expect after viewing the pics of the gun's non-typical firing pin "noses". I would expect a striker shaped like that to yield such an indentation. Frankly, I've never seen firing pins, or primer indentations, like those.

You're probably not getting any pierced primers because of the shape of the firing pin "noses". So, as long as you're getting 100% reliable ignition with the shells you're using I'd just keep shooting it like it is. If it gets unreliable on you then you can decide who to send it to for proper repairs. As you have been advised, it is a tedious repair that requires considerable expertise.

Best, SRH

[readgriff]

Stan
I have not had any misfires yet but the way they look hitting the primers they are really shallow and large.
So I’m trying to address this prior to having light hits and no fires.
This is why I posted this to get information and see if anyone else has seen this problem and what they did to resolve it.
So thanks to everyone with there thoughts on this issue.
I also should mention I have probably shot 3 thousand shells through this gun.
Mostly light reloads Fiochhi primers.
Dave Read