I heard that there is no firing pin safty on M A1 pistols. However, in an article published on "On Target" May/June 2007, written by Massad Ayoob, there is such paragraph: PASSIVE SAFTY: The original Steyr M did not have an internal firing-pin safty. Bubits had designed the pistol not to need one, and was convinced that it was "drop safe". I never heard of one firing from impact or inertia, but many police departments (and some cautious shooters) insist on an internal firing pin lock ,so the A1 is so outfitted. So it means there is a firing pin safty, right? Or, did I misunderstand the meaning of "internal firing pin lock"?
Besides, on the official Steyr webpage: http://www.steyrarms.com/index.php?id=4 it says about the Safety Features of M A1 series: Trigger safety, passive trigger, drop, and striker/sear safety catch, loaded chamber indicators and limiting trigger access lock
For the most part, the "internal safety" they are talking about is the % of precock of the firing pin is generally considered to be insufficient to detonate all but the softest primers. Even if the firing pin were to fall, one can almost completely rule out the possibility of a discharge. DISCLAIMER: I'm shooting from the hip here, so forgive me if I am misreporting what I read... There are only a few people on the board that I feel are qualified to address this question. BigTaco, our resident trigger guru, has discussed the technicalities of the varies "degrees of safety" invovled in the Steyr pistols. IIRC, he wrote a rather detailed discourse on the matter not to long ago and concluded that some part of the sear will actually prevent any forward travel of the firing pin AND the % of precock (still technically unknown) would likely not be close to enough to detonate a standard primer. I hope BT will come along shortly and clear this up for us (again)... Or perhaps someone wants to dig through some of his past posts to find the discussion I mentioned?
Hi, guys, I am not talking about wheather a firing pin safty is necessary or not. I am talking about what I found on the Styer offical website which says the M pistols DO HAVE firing pin safty: "Trigger safety, passive trigger, drop, and striker/sear safety catch" Is that right? I am afraid maybe I misunderstood the safty features they listed.
hi doctorw, i had a 1st generation steyr m40 and the new m9A1. from what i know, our moderator can correct me if i'm wrong but the steyr has no firing pin safety. unlike the glock, hs/xd or other polymer handgun in the market, they have a firing pin safety. by definition, it's a safety plungger or a device that blocks the firing pin travel or movement in an event the firing pin or striker moves forward unintentionaly. the gun is 100% safe even without this safety, i tried testing by dropping the gun with a dummy round inside the chamber from a height of 7 ft with the muzzle hitting the floor ( on a rug floor of course ), throwing it side ways, still the firing pin/ striker didn't move, if youre not convince, test it yourself and e-mail me at [email protected] and let me know the outcome ok.
Steyrs DO NOT have a traditional firing pin safety like you find in the Glocks, Xd's, etc.... Steyr 'seems' to be labeling the pyramid shaped protrusion on the top of the sear as a firing pin safety, as it inhibits forward movement of the striker [until the trigger is pulled].... ..course, if that were the case, It would have to be said that Glocks have TWO firing pin safeties!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock: Thats all, folks.....
Yes, you are right! As what I read, Glock does have 2 firing pin safties, one in front of the pin, and the other behind the pin. So where is that thing for a Steyr M A1? Another thing is, the article I quoted says the passive safty is something that the older model M does not have. Is it true for what you said (the pyramid shped protrusion)? If it is true, then, it is the safty the article is talking about. If not, there should be something else.
You might misunderstand me. I am not worrying about the safety, because I do not carry any loaded guns. I am just talking about the exisitence of the device. The article says the M A1 has while the old M has not, and the information on Steyr website also says the M A1 has firing pin safty. What on earth are they talking about? I just want to know that. I am not talking about whether the M A1 is safe enough or not.
hi, if steyr says they have a firing pin safety, then, thats it, the gun has a firing pin safety, but if you ask my opinion, from what i know about firing pin safety, the steyr 1st gen. and the new a1 model has none, again using a glock, xd or any modern polymer pistol with such device in them as a reference
I do not carray them at all because I do not have concealed carray liscence. I only take the guns to the range and shoot and take them back, that's it.
hello doctorw, yes i carry my steyr loaded and ready. i have a permit to carry and it's kind of second nature to me carrying it like that, it may offend others but it took discipline , time and effort not to put the finger inside the trigger. ofcourse nothing is 100% fool proof , specially when it comes to firearms. PRESENSE OF MIND AND PRACTICE, the rest will come naturally ok
The Steyr doesn't have a FP safety in the classical sense. The sear has to move rearwards against the FP spring pressure to get to the point where it can drop and release the FP. The FP is also only held partially to the rear so even if the sear or the lug on the FP breaks off while cocked the FP still doesn't have enough forward momentum to discharge the round. You have to pull the trigger to get the FP far enough back for that. Hope that explains it.
Thank you, but, doen't Glock also work in the same way? I think the firing pin in a Glock is also partially held before you pull the trigger. Right?
Yes. The Striker is held under 'some' tension by the trigger connector in the Glock. ...and, as improbable as it may be, should everything else fail, and the striker be allowed to move forward in the Glock, the firing pin safety will prevent it from protruding beyond the breech face... ...with a Steyr, this is not true..... [Relax guys, I still own three times as many Steyrs as I do Glocks....] 8) 8) 8)
The only real advantage to the Glock's extra FP block is it prevents the highly unlikely chance of the FP getting stuck forward after breaking and the pistol slam firing.
an excellent point, but i would counter that the slide cycles faster than the shooters ability to release the trigger. if the trigger is held to the rear, the FP plunger safety will be defeated when the slide comes into battery. if seen some glocks full-auto at the range. whole mag empties in .06 seconds or so. when loading only two rounds to test, both rounds sound like one big boom.