[Blewis1981]

Bought a used p32 6 years ago and loved it. Pocket carried daily and digested every ammo flawlessly. Last year it developed failure to fire. Changed hammer spring and firing pin spring and still same problem. Sent to factory and came back experiencing intermittent light strikes. Sent back to factory and still has intermittent light primer strikes. Just received a new slide that I ordered and still light strikes. The only ammo that it seems to run fine is Remington ball ammo. I prefer hollow points in any carry gun. Specifically Hornaday, which this pistol used to run perfect. Any suggestions on what I can do?

 

[WPhilB47]

Bought a used p32 6 years ago and loved it. Pocket carried daily and digested every ammo flawlessly. Last year it developed failure to fire. Changed hammer spring and firing pin spring and still same problem. Sent to factory and came back experiencing intermittent light strikes. Sent back to factory and still has intermittent light primer strikes. Just received a new slide that I ordered and still light strikes. The only ammo that it seems to run fine is Remington ball ammo. I prefer hollow points in any carry gun. Specifically Hornaday, which this pistol used to run perfect. Any suggestions on what I can do?

Welcome to the KTOG forum. I hope we can help you. Does the firing pin mark the primers that it doesn't fire? Pictures of the fired primers and the light strikes would help.

 

[BlakeHanson]

Welcome to the KTOG forum. I hope we can help you. Does the firing pin mark the primers that it doesn't fire? Pictures of the fired primers and the light strikes would help.

Sounds like a batch of hard primers to me.
A quick search of the P32 forum turned up about 20 threads with that exact problem.
Evidently the P32 is not a 'slugger' when it comes to hard primers. Since he has had his gun back to KT for this and it fires other ammo fine, that may well be the problem.
Those PD rounds are expensive and tossing them would be painful.
Even worse would be to need them and just hear "click".

May have to buy another box of the Hornady or an equivalent and give that a try.

If I had PD ammo with hard primers, you'd be able to be able to hear the sound of them hitting the bottom of a trashcan from here.

Life is short. Save money on something else.

 

[Blewis1981]

Tried 2 different boxes of Hornaday with same results. Some fire, some light strike. Same result with Fiocchi ball ammo. I need to resolve the problem because it used to be my daily pocket pistol. Had to go back to my NAA pug, which is loaded with 30 grain Hornaday. I also load my Glock 32 with 147 grain Hornaday for weekend IWB carry.

 

[Blewis1981]

Firing pin marks are visible in the unfired rounds, but not as deep as in the fired rounds regardless of manufacturer. I was going to post pics, but I can't. My phone is giving me a migrane trying to figure out how to upload them to this site.

 

[WPhilB47]

If the pistol fired all brands of ammo reliably, and then stopped being reliable, something obviously changed. You say that it has been back to the factory twice for this problem, and you have changed the springs , and now also the slide, on your own. The only other things I can think of that would cause light strikes would be a broken firing pin, an improperly installed firing pin retaining screw, or a barrel seating too far forward on the frame. If it were mine, I would send it back to the factory. I can't imagine that they would charge you for a recurring problem. I also don't understand how they could not diagnose such a problem after two tries. It is a simple design.

 

[Blewis1981]

I changed the springs before I sent it in the first time. The factory never charged me a dime. I tried a new slide because it came with a new firing pin and spring. Maybe it just needs some more breaking in. Maybe I'll try another brand of ammo as well. Thank you for all your help.

 

[BlakeHanson]

I also don't understand how they could not diagnose such a problem after two tries. It is a simple design.

Only other problem could be headspacing.
Some guns I've had, the cartridge moved forward when the firing pin hit due to excessive headspace.
Maybe it's worth checking. It's not hard to do and if it's off, the gun will be a total [__] until it is fixed.

 

[WPhilB47]

Only other problem could be headspacing.
Some guns I've had, the cartridge moved forward when the firing pin hit due to excessive headspace.
Maybe it's worth checking. It's not hard to do and if it's off, the gun will be a total [__] until it is fixed.

Yes, that is what I was thinking if the barrel was too far forward due to a damaged block.

 

[BlakeHanson]

Yes, that is what I was thinking if the barrel was too far forward due to a damaged block.

And if the Hornady and Fiocchi case length was running close to the short end of the spec that would explain it

.

 

[flareside_ford]

Only other problem could be headspacing.
Some guns I've had, the cartridge moved forward when the firing pin hit due to excessive headspace.
Maybe it's worth checking. It's not hard to do and if it's off, the gun will be a total [__] until it is fixed.

I know that it is not supposed to, but will the P32 headspace on the extractor?

 

[BlakeHanson]

I know that it is not supposed to, but will the P32 headspace on the extractor?

Don't know that particular gun that well.
I do know that if the case can go forward into the chamber when the firing pin strikes it, the extractor will not be able to hold it strong enough to fire the round. It will end up with a light strike.
Probably time to get out the calipers and compare case lengths of problem rounds verses non-problem rounds to help narrow it down.
A lot can be learned before breaking out headspace gauges.

 

[Blewis1981]

The Remington case is just barely longer. Maybe need a new barrel. Again, this gun was bought used and I've shot it a lot since I bought it. I like to extensively break in my carry pistols. Another question. I'm a Virginia resident looking to expand my reciprocity and to back up my permit after the shameful actions of our governor last year. Any opinions on non resident Utah or Arizona? Looking into the Legal Heat class.

 

[jpshaw]

You changed the slide but not the barrel. You can get the same "headspacing" problems with enough build-up in the chamber. Anything that allows the firing pin to push the case forward will cushion the firing pin strike. I would stick a wire brush into the chamber and twist it around some to clean out any gunk that has built up in there over time.

 

[michael t]

Have you got working yet If so what was the problem

 

[Blewis1981]

Only with Remington ball ammo.

 

[Blue_State_Saint]

Only with Remington ball ammo.

Around me, Remington 71-grain FMJ is the only thing that Wal-Mart carries. My LGS carries WWB 71-grain FMJ with the flat points. I haven't shot that yet through the P32, so I don't know how it feeds.

 

[cluznar]

I use Fiocchi or Prvi Partizan FMJ for carry, they shoot flawlessly from my P-32. Have shot other ammos and had no problem, but these two are my go to ammo.