Primer strikes in hard fit .45

Opening this up to the group as I want to better understand the fitment and interfaces at play here. How important is the firing pin alignment with the primer? What if any drawbacks will I see with this fitment as long as it fires reliably?

I had a kart barrel fit in a brand new RIA. The primer is hitting a bit off center to the 12:30-1 o’clock range. I’m thinking it’s probably fine, but it doesn’t match the other barrel fit in a Springfield RO frame.

Photo got flipped when i uploaded it. Top(left) is RIA bottom(right) is Springfield.

I don't think it's a big deal if the rest of the functionality is there - i.e. the barrel is fitted correctly and you get the accuracy and reliability you'd expect from this gun.

From a reliability standpoint, having a centered firing pin strike is ideal. This is typically seen on older wadguns or where slide/fame dimensions are less than ideal. I personally have seen reliability issues with offset firing pin strikes, but typically they were mitigated with federal primers. I would not run small pistol primer 45 bass with an offset primer strike.

Chiz is giving good, safe, advise,  and I an not disagreeing, but I've run thousands of rounds of small primer brass with CCI primers and an offset firing pin due to hard fitting my barrel, without a single issue. 19 lb main spring. 

I'm only using small primer brass because I used to shoot steel with .40 cal and had a pretty good supply to use up.

I wouldn't be too concerned, unless you start having issues.

Interesting that yours is striking near 12:00, as mine strikes near 6:00 due to hard fitting raising the barrel in the slide.

My first 1911 was an original Clark. It was worked on and tightened up by Al Dinan and was later worked on  by Dick Crawford, who fitted a new barrel. From day one the primer strike was off center as in your picture. It still is ( although less) and  still shoots reliably.

The off center strike is nothing to worry about as long as the primer is hit and gun goes bang. The hit on the primer is dependent on one or two things. Or a combination of both. Shallow locking lugs on the barrel. Deep locking recesses on the slide. Or a combination of both.

I don't know if there is any validity to it, but I once heard that some bullseye pistolsmiths would intentionally set up a pistol so that the primer strike was slightly off center. I was told that doing so would actually allow the firing pin to strike more of the primer compound than if it were exactly centered.

BE Mike wrote:I don't know if there is any validity to it, but I once heard that some bullseye pistolsmiths would intentionally set up a pistol so that the primer strike was slightly off center. I was told that doing so would actually allow the firing pin to strike more of the primer compound than if it were exactly centered.

that doesn't sound like solid logic to me
My meager understanding of primers is that we are trying to squeeze the compound between the cup & anvil to initiate the kaboom.

I will add a few more of my thoughts.

In the particular gun that I had ignition reliability issues with the offset primer strike, it was usually 2-3 shots per 500. Which was less than ideal. Though If I used federal primers, no issues. Being tied to one make of primers (especially if you don't have 20 years of stock to pull from) sucked when availability was limited, part of the reason I semi retired that particular gun from match use. 

In regards to my thoughts on not running small primer 45 brass with small primers, I am thinking along the line of not putting unnecessary stresses on the firing pin if the hit is enough off center. Possibly over conservative, but I strive for reliability. 

Primers are designed to be struck in the center. In many cases you can get away with an offset strike, but not always. A good comparison would be using a screwdriver as a prybar, often times it works, but sometimes it doesn't.

Once the priming compound detonates anywhere, the rest of it will go off within microseconds.  It's no-bang or full-bang, with nothing in between.

gwhite wrote:Once the priming compound detonates anywhere, the rest of it will go off within microseconds.  It's no-bang or full-bang, with nothing in between.

I had been given a box of Winchester 45 ACP that had been stored on a shelf in a garage.  It fired like a flintlock musket.  There was a fizzle then a second later the round fired.  The bullet left the barrel, but didn't make it to far down range.

Steve K wrote:

gwhite wrote:Once the priming compound detonates anywhere, the rest of it will go off within microseconds.  It's no-bang or full-bang, with nothing in between.

I had been given a box of Winchester 45 ACP that had been stored on a shelf in a garage.  It fired like a flintlock musket.  There was a fizzle then a second later the round fired.  The bullet left the barrel, but didn't make it to far down range.

I should have said "good" primers.  Those clearly never made it to the "detonate" stage of things...

In the mid 1980's, an elderly guy in my Club had some .22 ammo that was really ancient & probably poorly stored.  About every other round would hang fire for about a second.  I was shooting next to him, and it was driving me nuts.  I swapped him a couple boxes of good stuff, and I have his ammo set aside for demonstration purposes for pistol classes.

gwhite wrote:In the mid 1980's, an elderly guy in my Club had some .22 ammo that was really ancient & probably poorly stored.  About every other round would hang fire for about a second.  I was shooting next to him, and it was driving me nuts.  I swapped him a couple boxes of good stuff, and I have his ammo set aside for demonstration purposes for pistol classes.

Sounds like the old DCM Olin white box issue ammo.