When to retire a plinking gun?

[jhellwig]

I was shooting my S&W 22A a couple of days ago and having all sorts of FTF issues with three different boxes/ brands of ammo. Had several light strikes that fired on a second or third attempt and about 5 duds out of a 1100 round Federal Black Pack and a couple of Auto Match. No duds with Aguila but several FTF that went on the second or third time. The gun was getting gunked up on the face of the slide and barrel and having trouble extracting the FTF rounds so I cleaned it up and tried again. Still several issues but not as bad then it cleared up back to its normal occasional FTF on the second round every few magazines. Took the gun clear down and disassembled it further than I ever have and found a broken firing pin return spring and a worn firing pin. I found the big issue though. The Firing pin is worn to the point it is catching in its slot in the slide and worn to the point where the hammer wont push it all the way forward. Firing pin is NLA from S&W and rare on the internet. Will clean the bur up with a file and see if it helps but this gun might be done for if I don't get a new firing pin. Looks like I could make one easy enough from flat bar but that leads me to my question....

When do you retire a plinking gun that is out of production and parts are becoming NLA? I like the gun but it might not make it another 10k rounds.

 

[ripcord]

When you don't love it enough to keep it working, I guess. Any decent gunsmith could weld up that firing pin and refit it.

 

[oil pan 4]

A decent gun smith could cut out a new firing pin.
For a cheap fix try cold hammering the mushroomed firing pin and filing any sharp edges.

 

[oldcodger]

As long as I can keep it going. I have my Grandfathers Marlin 1892. Ammo was no longer available so I had it relined and chambered in 32 S&W. Did it make sense to spend money on an old obsolete rifle? Not really, but to be able to shoot my Grandfathers rifle means a lot to me. Means even more that my Grandsons will be able to shoot their Great-Great Grandfathers rifle.

 

[dubber09]

You should be able to have the part made if no new ones are available, unless it becomes price prohibitive.
Some parts are prone to failures and are good to have a few spares of. I shoot CZ Shadow and slide stops usually last 20-30k rounds, went thru 3 so far, one extractor, one firing pin spring, one trigger return spring, replaced barrel after 75k rounds as gun started spraying. It's at about 90k rounds on it now, 2008.

 

[jhellwig]

Yeah I am going to file the bur off and hope it works. If not I will have one made. There is no sentimental value to this gun. It is just a cheap plinker I bought 2005ish.

It was kinda an open ended question. I have worn this one out so probably going to get another plinker even though it is fixable. Not going to get rid of it. Just leave it in the safe and only shoot it occasionally. Just wondering everyone else opinion on when a non special gun gets retired.

 

[burbguy82]

Firstly, I will start by commending you for shooting a good gun until breakage. Most never get to this point.

So, to your question.

If your gun is just the fun plinking gun, I would try to fix it, should not be that hard to do.....but the moment the gun costs more to fix than to select and buy a new one, get a new one.

 

[atikovi]

Had to Google, plinking. Thought it might be similar to kipling, as in,

guess not.

​

 

[ripcord]

Had to Google, plinking. Thought it might be similar to kipling, as in,

guess not.

​

My attempt at a definition for the word plinking.

"Plinking" is a form of onomatopoeia. It comes from the sound of a BB or pellet hitting a can. It's the activity of informal shooting for pleasure, usually with an airgun or small caliber firearm.

 

[jhellwig]

Firstly, I will start by commending you for shooting a good gun until breakage. Most never get to this point.

So, to your question.

If your gun is just the fun plinking gun, I would try to fix it, should not be that hard to do.....but the moment the gun costs more to fix than to select and buy a new one, get a new one.

It is a fun plinking gun and fits my hands well but it's a good justification for a new gun. This one probably has over 15k or more rounds through it with nothing more than field stripping and cleaning with rem oil. I took the grips off maybe once.

 

[mr_boring]

A decent gun smith could cut out a new firing pin.
For a cheap fix try cold hammering the mushroomed firing pin and filing any sharp edges.

Machinist. Wouldn't even take a smith.

 

[tasch72]

When the repair costs are more than the sentimental or inherent value I would hang it up.

If you're looking for something new, the Taurus TX22's are pretty nice and have a mail-in rebate for 3 free mags through the end of this month.