Originally Posted By Ohio_Man:
Ti firing pin is to make the gun more drop safe. Less mass means less momentum. Because of this, heavier mainsprings are used to make sure the FP Carrie’s enough momentum to reliably set off primers.

Lots of people put the standard steel FP back in and then are also able to reduce the mainspring (which can help the trigger pull).

Originally Posted By cb4017:
When i first got my Springfield Operator 4.25" 9mm it had some first strike failures to fire.  It also had some smeared primers, where on firing, the primer would flow back into the firing pin hole in the breach and get smeared off then the slide unlocked.  This would happen with factory ammo and some of my handloads.

I replaced the firing pin with an appropriate size Ed Brown steel firing pin along with a new firing pin spring.

No further issues.

Originally Posted By NN300BLK:

I've never had an issue with the trigger pull in guns with a Ti FP. I feel like it would be a downgrade to trade a Ti FP for steel one, but that's me.

Originally Posted By NN300BLK:

So, believing that it is a downgrade for an end user to reverse a design change to the original 70 series that the manufacturer made explicitly to make it more drop safe, is somehow a controversial opinion?

I like my 1911 trigger pull to be around 4.5-5.5 lbs. I can shoot them really well with a duty weight trigger. I have not had an issue with ignition in any of the 1911's I've shot and I've actually carried my 1911 quite a bit (probably about 25% of time).

Originally Posted By NN300BLK:

If I don't personally see the benefit in terms of performance by changing the FP from Ti to steel while recognizing that there may be potential downsides, wouldn't that be the definition of being a downgrade to me?

Originally Posted By rebel_rifle:
While posting a question regarding my SA Garrison, someone suggested I replace the OEM Ti firing pin with a steel firing pin. They didn’t state why, but I think I know the answer but would like others more knowledgeable than myself to explain the reason(s).

Thanks

Originally Posted By rebel_rifle:


Sure.

First off, my experience with Ti firing pins comes from my former days of shooting highpower. And yes, it’s with rifles and not pistols, whether that matters or not, I don’t know.

When the AR became the prevalent platform in service rifle competition, Ti firing pins were used and advocated by some. The prevailing thought was due to the firing pins were used being free floating, the Ti fp was a safety enhancement. A standard steel firing pins were used was probably around $3-$5 as I recall, but the Ti pins were more like $20-$25. However, if you had a Ti fp and pierced a primer the tip would be trashed. Until you replaced it you would continue to pierce primers and you were left losing $25 and possibly having to pull out of a match.

The key to using a steel firing pin was making sure your ammo/reloads did not have high primers and not using overly sensitive primers.

Again, just my experience. For AR’s, at least, it was a solution in search of a problem. In all my years of shooting highpower I never experienced or observed a slam fire due to a steel firing pin.

Originally Posted By rebel_rifle:

When the AR became the prevalent platform in service rifle competition, Ti firing pins were used and advocated by some. The prevailing thought was due to the firing pins were used being free floating, the Ti fp was a safety enhancement.