on line gunsmith forum etc ????

[Greenleaf4902]

I have a Walther PK 380 that I bought from an individual who is a trader. He didn't know anything about it. But I can say it's trash. I have followed some you tube tips and now it will shoot most of the time and that is a huge improvement. But still getting occasional light hammer strikes. One in 15-20 shells. Sometimes so light the pin will not even touch. To a novice it is physically impossible. With new factory brass name brand ammo.

There is a quality smith in area but I would prefer to remedy myself.

Still working on sight in as the sight are simply decorative. It would be fun to actually sight it at something and strike it with a bullet. The theory of s self protection/CCW handgun ; simply point and fire is well and good but shooting bowling pins, water bottles and metal spinny targets be fun and cool. I think a few more thousandths of an inch (.030 or so) of front sight stock removal will zero me in at 35 feet.
But Failure to Fire is just not acceptable.

[Brian D.]

You will probably want to skip shooting those bowling pins with a .380. Bullets tend to bounce off pins rather than penetrate, with the projectiles ending up someplace other than down range. Same deal with 25 acp, .32 acp, and Makarov, not enough speed to punch through that hard plastic skin. Even a .38 special needs to be jacked up to +P and fired out of a 4" or longer barrel. On the other hand, high velocity .22 long rifle will not bounce off, much more speed with those.

Sorry for the drift as I don't know much about fixing the Walther PK family of firearms. However I'm darn near an expert on shooting bowling pins.

[Greenleaf4902]

LOL
That's quite alright. Im no expert in fixing guns. Not a gunsmith. Im a blacksmith. But it actually shoots now, after following some tips. Maybe it's just time to put it up or take it to a gunsmith.

As a side note a local CCW instructor uses bowling pins. Good or bad I don't know. But the Marlin 45/70 makes a mess of them.

[Brian D.]

Bowling pins are fine for relatively powerful rounds. I just wanted to warn you off shooting them with "mouse gun" calibers that would very likely ricochet.

[techmike]

I have a PK .380 and my daughter has a (pink) one. Ours have always been utterly reliable. That said, the safety on these is simply a hammer block, and the safety is non-intuitive. What I mean by that is, if you move the safety to F for fire, the safety is ON. Conversely if you move the safety lever to S for safe, the gun can fire with a trigger pull as the safety is OFF.
After ensuing the gun is unloaded the magazine is removed and with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction: cock the hammer. Look at the firing pin and cycle the safety lever several times. You should be seeing the firing pin block moving from a flat plane (fire) to a pointed plane (safe). Look to see if the pointed plane is actually pointed, or if it is worn/rounded. I have seen pics of one that was dry fired excessively with the safety engaged - it rounded the pointed plane and the gun would usually fire with the safety on, but with light strikes.
The other possibility is the firing pin stop. The FP stop is a threaded collar located under the safety bar. It can be threaded in too far. That condition will not allow the firing pin to stick up enough past the safety bar for the hammer to give it a good enough whack - that WILL cause light strikes. If you are not comfortable with removing the safety to check this, by all means take it to a smith.
If you do decide to check it your self, the firing pin stop must be adjusted to:
1. Allow the FP to be struck by the hammer with the safety off.
2. NOT allow the FP to be struck by the hammer when the safety is ON.

Any time you or a smith works on a gun, ALWAYS test the safety! Make sure the gun goes bang when it should, but also absolutely positively ensure it does NOT go bang when the safety is engaged! (Best not to test that at home)
Let me know if you have any more questions!
TM

EITED to add: If you do remove the safety, there are two very small steel balls that WILL fall out and easily get lost.

[Greenleaf4902]

Thank you for your time. I will look at that as you mentioned. I remember a youtube video about that very same thing you mention; the safety is non-intuitive. I don't see it myself. S on mine is safe and F on mine is fire. The lever up it shoots. I have never tried to fire it with safely ON (in down position) but I have my mistake. Oops..I have the safety on, duh...no wonder. So I really don't have any problem with the safety in terms of when is it on/off.

The problem is it will fire several times, then stop; light strike or ZERO strike. I cannot figure it out. I will have to look into the safety as you mentioned. I do know, for sure, that when that lever is moved, it requires effort to do so and then once moved, it locks into place.

[heathen]

My XD SC started getting light strikes from the firing pin and it was just because I had lube in the channel where the firing pin is contained. The oil slowed it down enough to cause problems. Removing the lube stopped the problem.

[Greenleaf4902]

I did just look it over well. The pin protruding out from the safety block about 1/64" on fire mode and well recessed when in safe mode.
Upon removal of safety block I see no adjustment of pin. The pin is not free to remove.

[techmike]

I did just look it over well. The pin protruding out from the safety block about 1/64" on fire mode and well recessed when in safe mode.
Upon removal of safety block I see no adjustment of pin. The pin is not free to remove.

There is a threaded collar (retainer) around the firing pin, the retainer is also slotted. Unscrew the collar 1/2 turn or a full turn which will allow the spring loaded firing pin to move rear-ward a bit for stronger firing pin strikes. (Since the pistol is used, I am assuming that the previous owner has removed the FP retainer and FP & spring for cleaning and got the retainer in a bit too far) See the slotted retainer at bottom of pic. You will also find a plethora of great PK380 info HERE.

[Greenleaf4902]

I will look into intonation provided. Thank you.
This may ruffle some feathers but I will bring it up regardless; would it be prudent to remove the safety feature altogether? I mean just that. Render inoperable. It's a cc firearm. It's what it's made for. If you carry with a chambered cartridge and you need this thing, looking at the safety block position isn't prudent.

Why do we carry double action revolver on "half cock" and its ok per industry standards. Why not an ACP ? This thing has "half cock" position. Not exactly half mind you. More like 10% cock position than 50% but that's technical.

If I recall. .....there are ACP w/o a physical mechanical safety. Its up to the user to be safe.

[techmike]

My answer to your question is to never ever modify or remove the safety on a gun, especially one you intend to carry in a holster and depend upon to function 100%. If you desire a gun with no manual safety mechanism, purchase one that is designed that way. For instance, at this moment I have a holstered SIG P290RS on my hip. It does not have a manual safety. There are many valid reasons for not removing a safety device, I have not heard of a valid reason for removing one. (Well, maybe magazine safeties but that is another issue.) Legal ramifications alone should make anyone hesitate to remove a safety device from a firearm. If you removed your safety, had a NG (negligent discharge) and someone was injured, you have no defense - a prosecutor will tear you up. Seriously, no.
Half cock - Original purpose of the half cock was to permit carrying a SA wheel gun fully loaded without having the hammer/firing pin down on a live round. On the PK there is a half cock position, it is designed as a hammer drop safety - for instance, if you are manually dropping the hammer on a live round, and the manual safety is off (it should be ON btw), the half cock is supposed to catch the hammer and prevent an accidental discharge. (FYI - This safety device does not work if you are holding the trigger back) There is also a firing pin block safety on the PK, it is engaged when the hammer is in cock or half-cock. Some links for your reading pleasure.
http://www.usacarry.com/handgun-safetie ... teristics/
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/safeties-yay-nay/

[Greenleaf4902]

Yes, that all makes sense, except the next thing that comes to mins is the fact that my theory is much safer than the guys who shoot the long range rifles with a hair trigger so sensitive that they fire when you bump the gun. That seems to be ok as a gun smith will do this for you, but messing with a safety isn't.

I understand the legal ramifications of which you speak of. thank you.

[Bruenor]

Yes, that all makes sense, except the next thing that comes to mins is the fact that my theory is much safer than the guys who shoot the long range rifles with a hair trigger so sensitive that they fire when you bump the gun. That seems to be ok as a gun smith will do this for you, but messing with a safety isn't.

Those rifles have manual safeties, and the safety isn't turned off until the shooter has the rifle aimed at the target and is ready to shoot. I opted for the two stage trigger in my target rifle so that in addition to the safety, there would be some takeup before that light trigger break. I would NOT want a trigger that light without a safety, nor would I put one that light into a field / hunting rifle.