SA/DA and 2nd strike capability

[cjive134]

On the Walther P99 forum I frequent someone suggested the importance of having the ability to pull the trigger again, should the primer not go off after the first hit from the striker. This got to thinking.

This has never happened to me, but I think if it did, what are the odds that a 2nd strike is going to set off the primer if the first one didn't? I would think if you had a faulty primer, no amount of striking is going to set off a spark. Can anyone with experience explain this to me?

Seems like the logical thing to do would be to cycle a new round and try again.

Thanks,
Chris Cahill

[Loves2Shoot]

Sometimes a second/third/forth strike will set it off. Just buy/reload good ammo If it doesn't go bang, I believe it is better to rack a new round rather than "hope" it goes bang on the next trigger pull.

[Broadside]

Slap, tap, rack, bang....

[JD McDorce]

Originally Posted by cjive134

This has never happened to me, but I think if it did, what are the odds that a 2nd strike is going to set off the primer if the first one didn't? I would think if you had a faulty primer, no amount of striking is going to set off a spark. Can anyone with experience explain this to me?

I had a situation about 1-1/2 years ago where I bought 10 boxes of 124gr FMJ 9mm Olympic ammo (which I was not aware prior to the purchase of Olympic's reputation for having "hard" primers). While I had no issue with my XD9 Service, this ammo did not get along with my Hi-Power. It was range work and when I had a round that would not ignite with my Hi-Power, I thumbed back the hammer and gave it another go. Sometimes it fired with the second strike, sometimes it didn't (in those cases, I racked the slide, ejected the live round, and fired it without issue with my XD). Had it been a SA/DA in this circumstance, I would imagine that if I kept pulling the trigger, it would have eventually gone off.

In my personal experience, a more common cause for a CLICK, no bang circumstance was not having the mag fully seated. Restrike capability doesn't do any good if you are sitting on an empty chamber.

[NoMoreGlocknspiel]

Is my Xd the only one that will recock the striker with a short 1/4" or so rack of the slide? Just slowly pull the slide back gently enough to reset but not extract or chamber a new round? I use this method during most of my dry fire exercises to save time and energy(I am able to reset the striker with one hand while I am doing my trigger exercises by grabbing the forward side of my rear TFO's and with my thumb still on the grip safety doing a modified slide press check.
Don't try this with sharp sights or you will probably cut the base of your index finger up. It is much easier than doing a full slide rack is much less distracting for the wife while we are watching TV and the dog doesn't duck and spin around every time I cycle the action completely during practice. He thinks there is a squirel in the room when I do a full cycle. lol

I can't seem to see how this could hurt to take a second stab at a hard primer. Wwhat exactly could be the harm in trying to touch off a hard primer a second time? Maybe an extractor ejector issue with a live round in the chamber because of angle of approach since it is not being fed from the Mag?

Off topic a tad:A while back one of the gun mags explained that one of the quick ways to test a firing pin at say a gun show was to place a pencil in the unloaded barrell eraser side first, tilt up at an angle and pull the trigger.(always double check that no ammo is near in or around the handgun while doing this...YMMV) If the pencil launches out of the barrel the firing pin works. If it does not then there is a possibility that there are issues. My Ruger P89 would launch a pencil half way across the room and my new xd9sc only goes about a foot. Any one else care to experiment with their XD to let me know if I have a weaker firing pin spring? I figure it is part of the USA trigger set up but since my gun was on display for a while I want to verify with someone else.
One drawback to buying this one was the wear on the top of the breech but a plus is I figure that the 200 round dry fire break in was close or exceded before I purchased it. I am amazed by how smoothe and crisp the trigger break is on mine. I notice much less if not any off target sight twitches during dryfire. Better than any gun I have ever owned. The darn thing feels like an extension of my arm when it is in my hand and aside from a touch of backstrap rash after an hour of handling which I will solve with more trimming and buffing of the mold draft of the frame and sharp edges around the grip safety it is by far more comfortable than the Glocks I have handled. The Glocks always reminded me of 1978 playing Cops and robbers or S.W.A.T. in my buddies back yards.
Ok TMI, sshhh I played baseball and never ever played guns ma honest!
Ok enough reminiscing before I break into the collectible cabinet and spend the day playing with the hotwheels. Man one of the bad things about having daughters is the wimpy engine and burnout sounds they make. Just no fun...lol
Have a great day,
Critch

Originally Posted by cjive134

On the Walther P99 forum I frequent someone suggested the importance of having the ability to pull the trigger again, should the primer not go off after the first hit from the striker. This got to thinking.

This has never happened to me, but I think if it did, what are the odds that a 2nd strike is going to set off the primer if the first one didn't? I would think if you had a faulty primer, no amount of striking is going to set off a spark. Can anyone with experience explain this to me?

Seems like the logical thing to do would be to cycle a new round and try again.

Thanks,
Chris Cahill

[Old School]

I agree with Loves2Shoot. When my guns go click when they should go bang, I eject that round by racking the slide and getting back up on target. That seems to be the fasted way to deal with the issue. "Hoping" for the gun to fire takes too much concentration and time.

I do practice such a move when I am at the range, using dummy rounds, since thing like this happen during matches. Hell, it happened six times on Saturday and cost me the match.

OS

[aiformula]

While my carry gun does have a second strike capability, there is only one time in which i will ever attempt to use it. If I am in a gunfight out in the open. By keeping your gun on target and moving to cover, you reduce your chances of being shot by approx 50%, and if you can get rounds going downrange again, up that another 20%. These were stats from my ccw training. Most of the time, as long as the other guy thinks he might get shot, he's gonna keep popping blindly or from bad positions or running away. The moment you pull your gun off him, his confidence goes up, and he will take more time and aim a shot. This is also why in a retreat situation, you should ALWAYS backpedal keeping your gun pointed downrange toward the BG. Once behind cover though, I am going to clear that bastard POS round out of my gun and hope it doesn't get me killed as I run from cover and slip on it sprawling me out spread eagle on the ground and my weapon skidding accross the ground. But that's just my pessimistic view.

[mcb]

One of the advantages of a revolver. If you get a click you just keep pulling the trigger and it gets rid of the bad round for you. No rack, tap bang whatever.

mcb