John,David, and Revdocdrew thanks for the response. I made one mistake in my post in that it is the left pin that is the problem, not the right. Does this make a difference? If I remove the left plate can I readily access the firing pin? Thank goodness, all the side plate screws are easy to remove but I have not had the guts to remove the sideplates as I have never done it before. I own five other Elsies and thankfully, have not had any problems that would cause removal of the sideplates Thanks again RICHARD