[George]

Dear Friends:

Can someone advise the reason why a Mauser Byf43 P38 discharges when the de-cocking lever is released on a live round.

After looking at the de-cocking system, my feeling is that the firing pin and plunger are sticking thus allowing the hammer to drive the firing pin forward and firing the round. This sequence does not happen on my other P38's!

Would appreciate your thoughts in this regard.

Regards,

George

 

[Orv Reichert]

You need to take the slide completely apart and examine the firing pin and the safety. Obviously, the pin is protruding when the gun goes into battery?

The safety "drum" might be broken and it would then lock the FP forward and the gun would "Slam Fire" like a SMG!

Also, years ago, some idiot was selling extra long firing pins as a 'full auto conversion kit'..

Orv

Orvel L. Reichert
P O Box 67
Vader WA 98593
360 245 3492 tel
360 245 3702 fax
360 520 6520 cel
[email protected]

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[Mark]

George,

You may have a broken firing pin! This is a very dangerous situation as the gun is able to fire full auto with this problem.

Remove the top cover and replace the pin, you may notice that one of the metal pieces that engages the safety/decocking lever is broken.

Mark

 

[George]

I took the end apart and firing pin is not broken. I cleaned every and put it back together. I will take it to the range tomorrow and see it problem is still present. Everything looked fine.

I took the top end off another Mauser P38 to make sure everything looks the same in both guns and they did.

If the problem is still present, I would suspect that there is a problem with the de-cocker assembly. Perhaps something is broken that is not visible. I will completely dissemble the side as I did not remove the de-cocker lever this time around.

Do these de-cockers have part inside that tend to break?

Pistol fires and functions just fine. One would never know there was a problem. Just when you de-cock it on a live round does it discharge.

Regards,

George

 

[Mark]

George,

You may want to remove the safety lever/decocker before you take it to the range and examine it as it can cause a full auto situation. I've seen some pretty dirty P.38s that don't fire when the safety is engaged.

Mark

 

[George]

Hey Mark:

Not to fear, as I mentioned in previous posting on this pistol, this P38 works fine. I discharged 20 rounds through it this past Sunday and works, feeds and ejects 100%!

It does not appear to a problem with the firing pin. My guess is that the de-cocker has a problem, bent or broken. Does anyone know if the de-cocker is one solid piece? I ask this because when I had the firing pin out I moved the de-cocker there seemed to be something loose within the de-cocker. That is why I ask if it is a one piece design or several internal parts.

I do not believe that a broken de-cocker could cause a full auto discharge. I am not an engineer, yet after giving this matter much thought, all the de-cocker does in lock the firing pin when it is moved downwards to the safe position so when the hammer strikes the firing pin it does not move forward and discharge a round that may be in the chamber.

If is a broken de-cocker and will have to keep an eye out for a used Mauser de-cocker. Anyone have extra one?

Would appreciate options on this matter since this is all new to me.

Regards,

George

 

[Mark]

George,

The decocker/safety lever is a solid piece that has been machined. There is a spring and plunger in it as well.

Tom Heller has original WWII P38 parts, his email address is:

[email protected]

Feel free to mention my name in the email and ask for one that matches the condition of your gun.

Good luck!

Mark

 

[George]

I have attached pictures on the safety lever or de-cocker lever on my 1943 Mauser P38. It is broken thus not locking the firing pin and allowing the pistol to fire when hammer is dropped.

Thanks everyone for all the help.

Regards,

George


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