[Curley]

I've run about 200 rounds through my new P99C AS and have experienced quite a few light strikes.

So far, I've only fired WWB FMJs through it, so it might be an ammo problem. But I've never had this issue with WWB ammo before.

I disassembled and cleaned the gun before taking it to the range for the first time. But I didn't take apart and clean the striker assembly.

I'll do that and see if it makes any difference. But I was wondering if others had experience the same issue.

If I good cleaning and different ammo don't clear up the problem, then I guess I'll need to send it in.

Otherwise, I love this gun.

 

[Yakko Warner]

I've never had a light primer strike in about 1600 rounds through my 2003 P99 DA/SA from Federal AE, WWB, and Speer Lawman. Perhaps try some different ammo.

 

[sniper350]

I know you realize that ammo can't cause light strikes .......... so what you have to do is carefully examine the cartridges that don't fire and determine if the indent in the primer is as deep as every other fired shell.

If it is -- than hard primers may be an issue

If not -- than you have a problem with the striker assembly



JF.

 

[MGMike]

I know you realize that ammo can't cause light strikes .......... so what you have to do is carefully examine the cartridges that don't fire and determine if the indent in the primer is as deep as every other fired shell. JF.

Careful examination of the indent in a misfired cartridge may provide an important clue about the cause of the misfire, especially if it seems shallow. But the indent left in a fired cartridge is useless for comparison, as the indent often may appear shallower than a misfired one due to a certain amount of rearward extrusion from chamber pressure. Other variables may also add to or subtract from its apparent depth, including the amount of primer setback.

If the indent on a misfired cartridge is shallow, something is slowing down the velocity of the firing pin, or impeding its full forward protrusion. I'd start by cleaning out the firing pin channel in the slide with Q-tips and compressed air, and also checking for burrs on the firing pin, especially where it engages its safety block. Also make sure the safety block is moving up and down fully and freely; if the pin is nicking it on its way past, that will slow it down.

So-called "hard primers" are, IMO, mostly a myth. Any primer that is too hard to fire on a good first strike is way out of normal manufacturing spec. More often, the primer is half-dead from deterioration or something is wrong with the gun. Another frequent cause of misfires is that the slide is not fully closed when the trigger is pulled, and much of the striker's energy is expended smacking the slide closed.

M

 

[banddr2]

More than likely you need to send your gun back and have it looked at, it is a PITA. Before that, I would remove the striker and spring per instructions in your manual, clean and oil that and try it again.

 

[Ron]

I had one failure to fire with my P99c AS within the first 50 rounds, also using Winchester WB FMJ, but none since that time, and I now have about 500 rounds run through the gun.

Ron

 

[Soybomb]

Also as a reminder never put oil on your striker assembly or in the striker channel.

 

[Jake Starr]

Only problem I ever had with any of my P99s had to do with primer problems.
One batch of reloads had the primers seated too deeply causing light primer strikes...the double-strike capacity helped me to shoot that batch and I fixed the problem.

Only other time was when I bought some Israeli Army surplus ammo. Some of it required double-strikes too. It was some hot stuff. Turned out to be Uzi ammo...got rid of it. Only a box of it sits on my shelf as a reminder.

 

[scrogmanII]

I've got a 1st gen .40 P99. The only problem I've ever had in ~6000 rounds was with WWB. It was only one day at the range and 4/100 rounds failed to fire. I couldn't tell if it was hard primers, striker problems, being out of battery, or a dirty gun. I went home, cleaned the gun and had zero problems the next time out.

 

[ZeeRaBeet]

Do I understand that if you have a misfire with the AS trigger, you can use double action to make a second strike at the round? (which I don't think you can do with a Glock striker, correct? or the QA trigger?) I don't have enough experience to know if it's important. Do misfires ever go off on a second blow?

 

[153]

I have had one round of WB Federal fail to go off in about 600 rounds through my P99. I pulled the trigger again and the round failed to go off the second time.

I pulled the trigger a third time and the round againl failed to detonate. I then removed it from the P99 and loaded the "dud" in a Browning Hi Power, it again failed to go off. Then I tossed the bad round.

I don't know if most "duds" will respond to a second hit, or if a second hit is advisable - since an underpowered round could allow the bullet to stick in the barrel and cause even more problems. But I liked the ability of the P99 to render a second hit to the primer.

Still a smarter method would be to eject the bad round and move on.

 

[Ron]

Do I understand that if you have a misfire with the AS trigger, you can use double action to make a second strike at the round? (which I don't think you can do with a Glock striker, correct? or the QA trigger?) I don't have enough experience to know if it's important. Do misfires ever go off on a second blow?

That is correct. In fact, with my one failure to fire, the round did fire on the second pull.

 

[Curley]

My experience has been the same. Whenever a round would fail to fire on the first strike, it always fired on the second strike.

The more I analyze the light-strike problem I've been having, the more I think the problem is that the slide occasionally is not returning to battery. Thus the initial trigger pull brings the slide back into place, but does not fire the round. But then the round fires with the second pull of the trigger, in SA and DA.

I just need to clean and oil it well and try again before I do anything rash, like sending it to S&W.

 

[MGMike]

When the "first strike misfire/second strike fire" syndrome occurs with military surplus pistol ammo, the usual culprit is desensitization of the priming compound. This is often misdiagnosed as "hard primers". Desensitization is a byproduct of chemical decomposition, which means that greater energy is needed to detonate the primer. On the second strike the primer cup is already indented, so more energy is available to crush the primer pellet against the anvil. If it doesn't fire on the second strike, it usually won't fire on a third, as the primer pellet is by then shattered into fragments.

Primer desensitization is usually caused by poor storage, old age, or a latent defect in the manufacture of the primer; the next stage is "hangfire", followed by "dud".

None of this has anything to do with propellant powder decomposition, which is an entirely separate problem.

M

 

[Jake Starr]

When the "first strike misfire/second strike fire" syndrome occurs with military surplus pistol ammo, the usual culprit is desensitization of the priming compound. This is often misdiagnosed as "hard primers".

While I concur with this assessment, I have been told that some military surplus (IDF 9mm designed for the open bolt Uzi) do have "hardened" primers. This was primarily a precaution to protect airborne commandoes who would jump with the UZI in order to prevent a "slam fire."

 

[MGMike]

While I concur with this assessment, I have been told that some military surplus (IDF 9mm designed for the open bolt Uzi) do have "hardened" primers. This was primarily a precaution to protect airborne commandoes who would jump with the UZI in order to prevent a "slam fire."

While commercial primer cups are generally a bit softer than military primer cups (which need to resist the abuse of automatic weapons) the normal sensitivity range of both is well within the striking capacity of standard pistols. No military in its right mind --least of all the Israeli-- is going to issue subgun ammo that misfires in its pistols.

In any event, I think that story about the IDF got garbled somehow. The normal functioning of the Uzi submachine gun is by "slam-fire". The gun fires from an open bolt and has a fixed firing pin; when the bolt closes on a chambered round, it's designed and intended to simultaneously fire.

M