{"id":971,"date":"2019-09-26T07:45:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T07:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/?p=971"},"modified":"2020-06-29T16:50:43","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T16:50:43","slug":"what-is-a-striker-fired-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/what-is-a-striker-fired-action\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Striker-Fired Action?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a Striker Fired Action?<\/span><\/h1>\n

Selecting the right handgun can be a daunting task. When the gun you are choosing is for self-defense or concealed carry it\u2019s even tougher. The choice is more complicated than just selecting a brand you trust. With the stakes involved in the purchase of a defensive handgun it isn\u2019t a decision that should be taken lightly. At the same time, the decision is made much easier by the fact that some guns are simply better suited to defensive use than others. When my students ask, \u201cWhat handgun is best for self defense?\u201d I almost always answer with, \u201cOne with a striker-fired action.\u201d The next question from curious students is an obvious one: \u201cWhat is striker-fired?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It is an excellent question that deserves a detailed answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hammer-fired<\/a>

In contrast to striker fired guns, this hammer fired, single action 1911 uses the mass of a hammer to send a separate firing pin into the primer to ignite the round.<\/p><\/div>\n

Action<\/span><\/h3>\n

Every gun has an action. The action is the set of parts that load the firearm, lock the ammunition into the chamber, fire the round, extract and then eject the spent casing. When we narrow the field from all handguns to semi-autos, the actions become incredibly similar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost all semi-auto handguns load the ammunition with the slide scooping the round from a magazine. Most lock the cartridge into the chamber in relatively similar ways.\u00a0 Most guns use a common method of extracting and ejecting the spent casing. Even where a handgun completes one of these tasks differently there is very little impact on the experience of shooting the gun.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is that one task of the action that can be different and often has an impact on the shooter and the shot. The mechanism that actually fires the gun. It\u2019s this difference in guns that makes the question, \u201cWhat is a striker fired handgun?\u201d so valid.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Action of a Striker Fired Handgun<\/span><\/h3>\n

When a striker fired pistol does its thing, it does it in a very simple and linear fashion. When the trigger is pressed, the striker moves slightly to the rear as internal safeties are defeated. Then the striker moves forward under the assistance of the spring that was compressed when loading the gun. The striker, which also acts as a firing pin, caries its mass into the primer. Energy from the detonation of the cartridge forces the bullet through the barrel and down range. As the bullet leaves, that energy also forces the slide to the rear. The spent casing is extracted from the chamber and ejected. As the slide moves forward the energy is used to load another round into the chamber and compress the striker spring. The striker spring is held safely to the rear until released by the press of the trigger.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Time-Line of the Striker Fired Action Firearms<\/span><\/h3>\n