My 229 has been on my bedside table for years. In the past I would take my carry and bedroom guns to one IDPA match each year. But since my back put an end to my serious and regular pistol competition, it's been awhile since they got that much exercise. Today I took the .40 to the range for some practice. Fired two rounds of Speer Gold Dots and on the third round the cartridge didn't chamber. The nose was pushed up into the top of the chamber and palming the back of the slide had no effect. So I dropped the magazine, racked the slide, reinserted the magazine, dropped the slide release and got the same thing, so dropped the magazine and looked in the gun to see what was going on. The firing pin was pushed fully forward out of the slide and was blocking the rounds from chambering. I put the gun in the bag and went on shooting another gun. By the time I got home, the firing pin had returned to normal position. But, obviously, I'm not going to use or trust this gun until I know why it did that and feel certain it's not going to do that again. What would be the remediation for this ?

thanks,

I'm not an armorer, but if it were my own P229, I would remove the firing pin positioning pin, firing pin, and firing pin spring.

Then I'd clean out the firing pin channel - no lubrication required in the FP channel.

Lastly, because the parts are relatively cheap, I would install all new FP, FP spring, and FPPP.

The only way to be sure is to remove the firing pin positioning pin and then the firing pin and clean it and the channel to remove any built up lube/solvent/milkshake residue, etc. Unfortunately removing the firing pin from Classic line pistols is somewhat difficult, especially if it’s an older gun with the solid retaining pin, but ….

In addition to the channel being gunked up, the firing pin might be broken.

Added: If the problem is residues of some sort that hold the firing pin in place, and something to try is to use a “scrubber” type spray, and flush out the channel by spraying through the hole in the breech face and letting the solvent drain out the back. Of course, that won’t tell you if something else is going on.

A check to see if the firing pin is broken is to press on the back of the firing pin and see if the pin retracts back through the hole in the breech block when the firing pin is released. (It’s necessary to push up on the “safety lock” at the same time to allow the firing pin to go forward.)

Thank you both for the quick responses. This is an older 229, I had it refinished about 12 years ago by a gunsmith in South Carolina who had a process for bluing the stainless slide. He also put in all new Wolff springs and fiber optic night sights. I added a tungsten guide rod and G10 grip panels and have put all sorts of ammo through it since, mostly in the year or so after the work. But now, just pushing the firing pin forward with a pen makes it stick again. And pressing on the protruding pin doesn't make it go back. So I'm guessing there is rust or other crud in the firing pin channel. Now I get to learn how to take it apart. We also have a West German P226 and a TacOps model, that was my carry gun until I let my wife shoot it. We all know how that goes. Now I'll be sure to get them all out to the range more often for regular shake downs.

What I'm seeing right now is that the round piece in the bottom of the slide, that appears to need to be depressed by the corresponding piece in the frame when the trigger is pulled, is not keeping the firing pin from going forward, but is keeping it from coming back into position. I don't see how to post photos here. But the flat on the semicircular surface is perpendicular with the slide. And I have to depress it to get the firing pin to retract. I bought this gun used over 20 years ago and didn't get any kind of manual with it. Is there a website with good directions for disassembling the slide ?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ppcgm,

It seems like things are gummed up. It’s important to keep solvents, lubes, and other stuff out of the firing pin mechanism.

Rust is possible, I suppose depending on the gun’s history and environment, but I would put that as a low probability.

I never recommend anything these days, so that’s not what this is, but if it were my gun I’d try flushing with some sort of “scrubber” spray, to include the “round” thing (the safety lock) and the extractor opening. I would even introduce the spray around the rear of the firing pin toward the front of the slide. That flushing procedure worked for a friend who had inadvertently gunked up the mechanism by using the wrong stuff in an attempt at cleaning. When he used the right stuff his light strike misfires disappeared.

Just be aware that those solid firing pin positioning pins can be a major PITA to remove. Our former armorer did some scheduled maintenance on our P229s a couple of years before we retired them, and he never was able to get the pin out of mine, and not for lack of trying. He said he tried everything, up to and including the BFH, but it just wouldn't budge. There are some pretty pronounced marks on the slide where his punch slipped off the pin. Not a huge deal as it's no worse than a lot of other things that I put that gun through over the years, but it sounds like yours is kind of nice. I now own that gun, and I haven't touched that pin because everything still works. If that ever changes, I suppose I'll have to fight with it myself.

If mine was acting like yours, I wouldn't feel comfortable relying on the gun without actually getting in there and inspecting everything and cleaning it out. I'd start by soaking the hell out of that pin with some kind of quality penetrating oil for a few days, and then make sure I have a padded vice and some long and short cup punches of the proper size handy. It's likely going to take some significant force to get the job done. Or maybe you'll get lucky and it'll just pop right out .

The slide has been soaking in Kroil for about three days. I watched a video on youtube showing slide disassembly. But mine isn't coming apart like his did. I can depress the firing pin retainer fully, partially, repeatedly ... and the firing pin never offers to come out of the slide even a nanometer. It's soaking again. But I'm inclined to think something is wornout at this point and need a gunsmith in the Bristol VA area who knows Sigs. ? Anyone ?

quote:

Originally posted by ppcgm:
I can depress the firing pin retainer fully, partially, repeatedly ... and the firing pin never offers to come out of the slide even a nanometer.

Firing pin retainer?? The fp is retained in the slide by the firing pin positioning pin which, as was mentioned previously, can present some difficulty in removing.

But, you also think that depressing this FPP should release the firing pin and let it come out the back of the slide ? Because what's happening is that the firing pin will go forward but is then trapped by this positioning pin and retracts into its normal position when this pin is depressed. You're thinking that it needs to be further depressed until it releases the firing pin ?

Perhaps it would be best to just send the pistol to SIG for their $90 service.
https://www.sigsauer.com/sig-s...ervices-and-upgrades

I would be very leery of turning the pistol over to just any ’smith who might be convenient. Being a gunsmith doesn’t guarantee that someone will be able to perform the work satisfactorily. The one thing I am most grateful to various professional “gunsmiths” with whom I dealt years ago is that their incompetence prompted me to learn how to do much work myself.

The fppp needs to be removed. I’ll second sigfreund’s advice.

Thanks, I've contacted Sig and will see what they say.