Smith 625: Light Primer Strikes?

[Full Clip]

At the range the other day, I was getting intermittent light primer strikes with my 625. Out of six rounds, three would fire perfectly -- with solid dimples in the primers -- while the others failed to fire -- primers just barely dimpled. After repeatedly pulling the misfires and reloading, two would fire, or four, or one.
The misfired rounds all later worked perfectly in my 1911.
I thought there might be some gunk clogging up the 625's firing pin channel, so I took it home for for a good cleaning.
If the problem persists, what else can I try before taking it to a professional?

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Is the main spring tight? Sometimes people will back off the main spring to get a lighter trigger pull and inadvertently they weaken the tension enough to get this problem.
If it's tight, then.... bad primers? I know that you can kill primers dead with WD40 or other penetrating oils.

I thought there might be some gunk clogging up the 625's firing pin channel, so I took it home for for a good cleaning.

You have an older model with the pin on the hammer I take it? Very nice guns, have one myself. BUT! it would take an incredible amount of crap in the firing pin bushing to cause the problem you describe... in fact I'm not even sure it's possible.

[zeb]

Yeah, take off the grips and make sure the screw that puts tension on the mainspring hasn't backed its way out.

[eaglemike]

As noted - check the strain screw. This is the most common issue. Are the moonclips flat? If they are bent, they can absorb some of the energy. Do you know about the extended firing pins? Available from Midway and Brownells, made by Cylinder and Slide. These can be very useful.

all the best,
Mike

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Are the moonclips flat? If they are bent, they can absorb some of the energy.

Ah! Forgot about this one; had that happen to me few times.

[Full Clip]

Thanks guys -- I'll check on that screw.
Also, the pin is not on the hammer. There is a spring-loaded pin in the frame that the hammer strikes.
The misfired rounds all worked fine in my 1911, so I'm ruling out bad primers. Also, visually, it was clear to see that they had not been hit hard enough to go off.

[QuarterBoreGunner]

ok so you have a more recent vintage Mod 625. It's still unlikely that there's any sort of debris in the firing pin bushing hole.

[gdr_11]

If you did not purchase the gun new, there is also the possibility that someone filed down the mainspring to create s lighter DA pull. You can tell by checking the spring and seeing if there are any abrasion marks on it where it was filed or sanded down.

If this is the case, a new spring should fix your problem ($10 part)

[Full Clip]

Nope, I'm a sucker for full-priced new!

[inkedshooter]

What ammo are you using? I had a 625-8 that had the same problem with Win White Box ammo. If you reload or been thinking about it, load using Federal primers. I also agree on the strain screw coming loose for the main spring, it will and does come loose. You can also try an extended firing pin.

[tzahoy]

I've put quite a few rounds down a 625 and have had most every issue you can have with one. I've never had trouble with the stock length firing pin, and if you look to the competition guys they've uncovered reliability issues with the extended ones and none of them use it. Nobody whose opinion I trust has had an improvement in ignition with one either.

I struggled with this one for a while even with a stock mainspring and factory ammo. The cure I found which got me to 100% reliability even with a reduced power mainspring and shortened strain screw is to seat all primers by hand with a good hand priming tool. Mines an RCBS.