Light primer strike

[Trriemferent]

I bought a Shield (9mm) a few months ago and have put about 500 rounds through it so far. The first 400 were my own reloads and all shot flawlessly. Yesterday I shot 50 rounds of Blazer Brass (115gr) thats been sitting in a ammo can for about 3 years. One out of 50 rounds had a light primer strike, so I put it back it the magazine to try again and it fired the second time. At first I didnt think any of it and packed up and went home. I went back again today and shot another 50 rounds through it and had another light primer strike with the same ammo. So now Ive had 2 failure to fires out of 100 rounds in my shield and this has me worried because Im scheduled to qualify for CCW next monday.

I plan on cleaning it tonight and going again tomorrow with a couple different brands of ammo, to so if I have any other issues. I bought this shield to replace my P239 for CCW but now Im having second thoughts. Any suggestions on how to determine if the problem is from the ammo vs the pistol.

EDIT: I should also add that I also shot 100 rounds of this same ammo in my other CCW pistol (MP9c) with out any issues.

[$nake-Eye$]

I can only speak from my limited experience, but the only time I ever got light primer Strikes was when I swapped out the striker spring on my XDS for a lighter one to reduce the trigger pull.

I realize yours sounds like it’s stock but it’s probably the ammo or the factory striker spring. One way to check the spring is to put a small pencil in the barrel of the gun (safety checked and empty of course) and let the firing pin shoot the pencil in the air. With my lighter spring, the pencil barely jumped about a 1/4 inch into the air. When I replaced the factory spring, the pin shot the pencil 3 inches above the muzzle of the gun. A big difference and I never had a light primer strike again. I say try the pencil test and see how high it jumps. If the striker is fine, it might be the ammo

Good luck!

[Lonestargrizzly]

Its a shield.

[aspenvalley]

[Lonestargrizzly]

Hopefully you never get into a 600 round gun fight.

[NorCalGlock9]

I’ve had issues with glock and s&w with blazer ammo. I think they have hard primers. Run 100 rounds of better ammo and I’ll bet you don’t have these issues.

[XDJYo]

Hopefully you never get into a 600 round gun fight.

With the 7 & 8 round magazines, THAT'S A LOT OF MAGAZINES!!!

I had light primer strikes with my new XD. Turns out a lot of CLP got in the firing pin/striker channel while I was cleaning it. There was a lot of shipping grease/cosmoline and I went a little overboard I suppose. Once I took it apart, I saw how much CLP was in there. It was swimming in it! After I cleaned it, I replaced it with an extra-power spring and made quadruple sure that the channel was nice and dry. Now, I don't go crazy cleaning the outside of the gun anymore. Just wipe it down with a towel.

Anyways, after you do the pencil test, you may want to detail strip the slide and get into the striker channel and get it nice and clean and dry.

Hope you get it sorted out quickly and no issues with your CCW quals. We should have those problems here in Contra Costa County!

Happy shooting and be safe!

[Trriemferent]

I dont have a pencil at the moment so thats going to have to wait till tomorrow.

I did a quick wipe down of the insides and calling it a night. I didnt clean the striker or the housing, but I will if I get a light strike again. Im taking Winchester white box, Freedom, Independence and Aguila to try tomorrow. Hopefully I wont have any issues.

[RustyIron]

I didnt clean the striker or the housing, but I will if I get a light strike again.

You need to do this as part of your periodic maintenance. Oil and powder residue get in there, dampening the motion of the striker. Sometimes even little bits of brass can get in there. The only way to clean it is to remove the striker and the springs, and then clean everything meticulously. Use no lubricants when reassembling. Leave it dry.

[Trriemferent]

You need to do this as part of your periodic maintenance. Oil and powder residue get in there, dampening the motion of the striker. Sometimes even little bits of brass can get in there. The only way to clean it is to remove the striker and the springs, and then clean everything meticulously. Use no lubricants when reassembling. Leave it dry.

I understand what you're saying. Right now I want to determine if this is a ammo vs gun issue which is why I want to try different ammo. I don't have this issue with any of the pistol including my other MP pistols and I'm hoping it's just this ammo. If it happens again today I'm gonna break it down and clean everything.