[William R. Moore]

I had to flip a coin to decide where to put this. Moderator, please move if necessary. This may be an obvious issue to some, but news to others.

I've been lugging a striker fired pistol around for 5 years now and have noticed that they all seem to share a slot in the slide to allow the trigger bar extension to operate the firing pin safety device. This provides a path for debris to enter and take up residence.

How serious a problem this may eventually become will vary according to your mode of carry, conditions in your environment and how often you do any routine maintenance. Concealed carry seems to allow an interesting collection of various varieties of lint. I've also found hayseeds in there from shifting haybales and feeding livestock.

I have not yet experienced anything more adverse than an abnormal trigger stroke for the first round from these accumulations. However, this is a issue that appears generic with the breed and suggests some remedial maintenance on the part of the owner. Frequency is going to depend upon your usage.

 

[spwenger]

I Just Noticed Yesterday...

...while demonstrating a Kahr pistol (discontinued model) to a friend, that some lint had migrated under the slide, and almost into the firing-pin channel, despite the fact that it is carried well enclosed in a pocket holster. I will now make it a point to strip and clean it at least once a month.

 

[dfariswheel]

Over the years I've seen a lot of potential problems caused by inadequate maintenance on hand guns.

In one case I saw a policeman's "K" frame S&W with a wad of lint impacted into the firing pin channel in the frame.
I doubt that the gun would have fired.

Always closely inspect all safety equipment EVERY DAY.
This doesn't matter if it's a seat belt, a life jacket, a hard hat suspension, or a gun.
Check it out before use.

 

[Charlie Petty]

Don't you think routine maintenance would be a better idea?

In my early days when I carried a blued revolver it got wiped regularly but then we went to nickel and finally stainess steel revolver and then pistols. We shot on a quarterly schedule and the gun had to be cleaned and inspected by an instructor before we left the range.

There were never any issues that I saw.

Now the gun that lives in my pocket accumulates more lint than I ever thought possible. It gets hit with the air hose now and then and it's like a dust storm.

My failing was that the gun just lived in the holster and the belt and all the junk hung in the closet when not in use.

If the gun is just looked at on a regular basis I doubt there would be much trouble with striker mechanisms- or not any more than something else.

 

[William R. Moore]

Charlie, if you want to see lint, drop a pistol magazine in your pocket. Even the watch pocket in jeans allows accumulation of enough stuff to affect function with shocking speed without some kind of case.

I should note that the abnormal trigger pulls I mentioned in the initial post were the result of noting the accumulation and deciding to see just what the affect would be. Less smooth than usual would be the best description.

 

[ExSarge]

Clean, clean, clean. Can't say it enough. Unless the piece is locked in my gun safe it's cleaned, or at least checked, regularly.

 

[WaltGraham]