Walking pin issue

[Ron_Solo]

I'm a new M&P 15-22 owner and I have an issue with this trigger pin.

Every time the trigger is pulled this pin walks itself out of place little by little in either direction.

Until it no longer holds the hammer and spring in place on either side. This makes it so the hammer cannot strike the firing pin with enough force to fire a round.
I'll reset the pin and after 3 or 4 rounds/trigger pulls it slips out again.

Is this a known issue?
Do I need new parts?
Also, I haven't modified the rifle in anyway out side of grips and optics.

 

[RedNeck Jim]

On a forum like this, search is your friend.

Go to search at the top, select advanced search, in the keyword area type "Pins" (without quotes), change search entire posts to search titles only, at the bottom tell it to search in the 15-22 forum, then hit search.

There is lots written about your problem & fixes. I use JP trigger pins which are cheaper than KNS. Both work great.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/96...trigger-pins-ar-15-small-pin-156-package-of-2

 

[Ron_Solo]

I see. Thank you very much.

 

[ScopeEye]

Slidefire Threaded pins are the cheapest I've seen anywhere
$9.95 plus ship Threaded Trigger Pins | Slide Fire® - Superior Performance Gun Stocks

 

[zonker5]

I found some really nice pins on eBay. Both ends are threaded and a mushroom head set screw goes in each end. The ones with a groove and a snap ring are trash.

About $7 as I recall.

Cheap enough that I can put them in all my ARs just to eliminate any future problems.

 

[Gopher Slayer]

Your J-spring inside the hammer must have broke or bent and is not engaging the center groove on your hammer pin. It's a common issue with the FCG that S&W uses in the 15-22.

You should really upgrade the trigger (FCG) anyway. This is just a good excuse.

Anti-walking or anti-rotation pins will fix your current FCG though. Just make sure you get the little chunk of metal out of there if it didn't already fall out so it doesn't cause binding issues.

Here's what it looks like

Here's the proper spring orientation for when you re-install.

 

[TYSTYX]

My hammer pin was walking from day one. I installed the KNS Gen 2 Mod 2 pins and never worried about the hammer pin again.

 

[Ron_Solo]

Your J-spring inside the hammer must have broke or bent and is not engaging the center groove on your hammer pin. It's a common issue with the FCG that S&W uses in the 15-22.

You should really upgrade the trigger (FCG) anyway. This is just a good excuse.

Anti-walking or anti-rotation pins will fix your current FCG though. Just make sure you get the little chunk of metal out of there if it didn't already fall out so it doesn't cause binding issues.

Here's what it looks like

Here's the proper spring orientation for when you re-install.

My hammer pin was walking from day one. I installed the KNS Gen 2 Mod 2 pins and never worried about the hammer pin again.

Same here.
Day one and the rifle was having problems.
From reading around this is a somewhat common issue and I'd think that Smith & Wesson would have better quality control.

Thanks for the info everyone.
I ended up getting a set of KNS pins.

Went to the range today and the rifle shot flawlessly.
I checked the J pin as well and it didn't appear to be bent or damaged. odd.

Thanks everyone for all the help

 

[johnt111]

you can buy locking trigger pins, which are very inexpensive.
I had the same issue and a drop of locktite solved the problem and I haven't had a problem in over 3 years.

 

[Majorlk]

I wonder how many of these problems are the result of improper reassembly after messing with the FCG. I have three 15-22s and have never had any such problems with any of them.

 

[TYSTYX]

Maybe you just got lucky. Like I mentioned, my hammer pin walked from day one, always the same direction. I never pulled the FCG out until the 4th time it happened. I inspected everything, no problems found, put it back together and still had issues. I went through disassembly, inspection, re-assembly several times over a few range sessions until I finally gave up and got the KNS pins.

 

[strobro32]

my hammer pin walked from day one, always the same direction. I never pulled the FCG out until the 4th time it happened. I inspected everything, no problems found, put it back together and still had issues. I went through disassembly, inspection, re-assembly several times over a few range sessions until I finally gave up and got the KNS pins.

This was my experience too.

My M&P 22C was missing the slide stop reinforcement pin.

I've only bought 2 firearms from S&W and both were defective. I love both firearms but I think they have a problem in quality control.

 

[Gopher Slayer]

In one of the old threads about this I came to the conclusion that the problem started when S&W started using different FCG's in the 15-22.

The OP has an embossed hammer. The older 15-22's have a normal hammer with smooth sides. If you have both hammers side-by-side (removed from the firearm) and try to push a pin through the holes, guess which one slides right through and which one has the required spring pressure to hold the pin in place?

Before S&W switched we never saw walking pin threads around here. After they switched these threads were everywhere.