S&W 686-6 Firing Pin

[Zhillsauditor]

I was showing a friend my S&W 686-6 when we both noticed something fall from the weapon as my friend turned the barrel up and started to decock the (empty) weapon. We picked up what we could find on the carpet--it was the (frame mounted) firing pin and firing pin spring! That wouldn't be good in a tight situation!

What the heck happened?

 

[MrBorland]

The FP & spring is retained by a small (& pretty loose fitting) cross pin that's accessible only when the side plate's off. If the side plate was recently removed, it's possible it fell out without you knowing.

 

[Zhillsauditor]

The FP & spring is retained by a small (& pretty loose fitting) cross pin that's accessible only when the side plate's off. If the side plate was recently removed, it's possible it fell out without you knowing.

That is exactly what happened. I have only myself to blame, as I had a bunch of roll pins out at the same time and swept up the firing pin retraining pin with the rest of the roll pins and put them away. Rule #1 -- keep your working area clean.

I dug it out of my box of roll pins and put it back in place, so everything is in working order again.