I have a second hand S&M 41 and recently it has started to misfire fairly frequently. The cartridge loads ok into the breach. When I remove the misfired cartridge there is no firing pin mark on it. What could be the problem and what can I do to rectify this please?

Thank you
Denis

I have a second hand S&M 41 and recently it has started to misfire fairly frequently. The cartridge loads ok into the breach. When I remove the misfired cartridge there is no firing pin mark on it. What could be the problem and what can I do to rectify this please?

Thank you
Denis

Denis,

The first thing I would check is the cleanliness of the chamber. The chamber on the model 41 is fairly tight and the bullet is the same diameter. In other words, when a round is fired, a ring of residue builds up just beyond the cartridge case and the new round is forced through this residue ring. The design of pistols prevents them from firing out of battery, therefore, if the slide is not completely closed, the pistol will not fire and there will be no firing pin strike. Sometimes it is hard to know if the slide is not fully seated because the hammer fall will finish closing the slide. Often, this condition is worsened due to a worn/weak slide spring. I hope this gives you an idea where to start looking.

Best of luck and I hope this helps,
Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your help. I will have a look at the spring and see if I can locate a new one locally. The pistol was cleaned before the last shoot, so it should have been pretty clean.
Regards,
Denis

I bought a used M41 a couple of months ago and had a similar problem. It would fire the first round and the action would cycle normally and chamber the next round. The problem was the second round would not fire. If I manually worked the action, ejected the round and seating the next, it would fire. I sent it back to S&W and they replaced the hammer which solved the problem.

Hope that helps,

Frank

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sona si latine loqueris .

It is also possible that the firing pin has left a mark on the bullet-chamber. Dry-firing the weapon causes metal to be moved into the chamber, so that cartridges will not feed completly and the slide will not close completly. Check the seated cartridge if it has a mark on it of the metal intruding into the chamber. If so use a metal file to remove the intrusion from the chamber.

Thank you for your suggestion. I cannot see any marks on the chamber. I think I will need to take the piston to a gunsmith to have it checked out properly. Thanks again..

My Model 41 has been doing the same thing. Sometimes when I pull the trigger it goes click, no bang. The cartridge is unmarked. The ones that do fire show solid firing pin hits.

I don't religiously clean it like I do my center-fire guns, but I have had the problem after cleaning it.

I'm beginning to suspect the firing pin channel may be gummed up, so the firing pin can't move freely when hit. I was going to try cleaning it out next.

While field stripping the 41 is easy, I don't have any instructions for disassembling the slide to get the firing pin out. Does it require any special tools?

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Common sense isn't so common.

We get a ton of those in our bullseye league from ****** ammo. .22 ammo sells at Wal mart for about $9/550 rounds..... ask yourself what kind of quality control they will have on a item that sells retail for about 1.7 cents apiece.

I'm shooting CCI SV, which is good stuff. If the misfires showed firing pin hits I would blame the ammo. Since the misfires were unmarked, that tells me the problem is with the gun. I'm hoping it is just dirty.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Johngalt:
Did you resolve the firing issue? Contemplating buying a used 41--wondering what type of gremlins might pop up.

FrankD45: Since the gun was used--did it fall under any warrantee coverage--did they charge you?

S&W replaced the hammer at no charge and it was back to me in 4 weeks. It would have been quicker but I sent it back when they had closed for vacation.

Right now it runs reliably with Winchester silver box target ammo. I have tried Remington Thunderbolts and have experienced multiple FTF, all with a very good firing pin strike. I will be at the range today and will try some Federal Value Pack rounds.

I hope that helps,

Frank

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sona si latine loqueris .

I haven't solved the problem yet, but I've had other things to do. Last weekend I put 100 rounds through it, no malfunctions.

After I read USBP SW's post I paid more attention to the slide, and noticed that it intermittently would not close completely.

I don't think anything is broken, but is just dirty.

The most likely 'gremlin' you'll have is finding ammo that runs - 41's seem to be picky. CCI SV is highly regarded by most everyone, Remmington is condemned by most. I would start with CCI SV.

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Common sense isn't so common.