Catch in my trigger pull...what from?

[Malikovski]

I need some advice diagnosing a trigger problem on my 1911.

It is a prefectly stock, unmodified Springfield GI model, 5". All I've done is a little light polishing and a lot of dry firing with a snap cap. It does not have the series 80 firing pin block.

Here's what happens when you slowly squeeze the trigger:

The trigger moves about 1/8" or a little more with light resistance. Then it hits firm resistance, and as you increase pressure there is a tiny movement and an audible click, after that there is no more movement until a nice clean break.

I want to get rid of the little motion before the break. I don't really want to lighten the trigger pull or do anything to it except get rid of that little motion.

What I've done so far as far as testing and fiddling goes:

I detail stripped the pistol (and actually got it back together!) and looked at the trigger, hammer, and sear. Nothing obvious to see and, moving the hammer and sear together by hand seemed smooth.

I polished the hammer/sear interface, being careful not to change the angles, just took the parkerization off and polished with some buffing compound on a patch.

Reassembled, lubricated, and...same thing. Break may have gotten a tad lighter and cleaner, but that little catch before the break was still there. Now the click only happens once. If you release the trigger after the click and then squeeze again, it just breaks cleanly. If you squeeze until it clicks, and then move the hammer back and then lower it onto the sear again, it does click when you re-apply trigger pressure.

Someone on another forum suggested it might be the disconnector, so today I pulled the safety out so I could see into the mechanism a bit better as it happened, and at the moment of the annoying click, both the sear and disconnector move towards the back of the pistol slightly (along with the trigger, clearly), but the hammer does not move. Also, the behavior is the same if I take the slide completely off.

Thoughts on what might be causing this?

[Hawkmoon]

Try it again with the grip safety removed and watch the disconnector. My guess is that the little "click" is the disconnector moving up into the firing position.

I recently put together a pistol out of junk parts and had the same thing ... except that for me, the hammer wouldn't fall the first time I'd pull the trigger. I'd get a "click," but that was it. Then if I released the trigger and pulled it again, the hammer would fall.

I finally traced it to the middle finger of the sear spring being too long, so that instead of pushing UP on the beveled lower surface of the disconnector, it was pushing the disconnector tighter against the trigger bow.

Try polishing both the bevel of the disconnector and the flat side of the paddle where it rides against the trigger bow. And put a tiny dab of oil or super slick lubricant on the paddle to make it slide up as easily as possible.

[1911Tuner]

Concur with Hawk. It's probably got somethin' to do with the disconnect.

On the angled area of the spade...where the sear spring leg bears against it...are there any toolmarks that would snag the sear spring? Does the center leg of the spring have a slight bevel at the top, or is it square with a sharp corner? if it has toolmarks, polish it lightly on a stone and be careful not to alter the angle. Then, polish the front corner of the spring leg at a slight angle and break any sharp corner at the top.

[Malikovski]

My brand new pistol works like it was made out of junk parts, oh no! :D

Thanks for the confirm on the disconnector as prime suspect. Sounds like it's time to tear it down again.

After it clicks but before it breaks, when I pull the hammer back to "reset" whatever it is, the sound it makes is almost like a ping. I thought that was odd, since it would have to be a thin piece of metal to make a sound like that. Hadn't considered the sear spring before...

Will post results tomorrow.

[1911Tuner]

Yeppers...Sounds like a little hitch between the sear spring and the disconnect.

[Malikovski]

Well shoot...the little ping sound had me convinced I knew what the problem was, but after another hour of disassembling, stoning, filing, lubricating, and pounding that damn mainspring housing pin back into place, it's still there.

I think I softened it a bit. It's less of a "sharp" movement now, but still there.

All the sear spring tips were already beveled and smooth. The disconnector is the piece that's rough (seam from being molded, et cetera), and the hole it passes through in the frame looks like it was drilled in two stages, with a larger diameter bit underneath and a smaller above, with a nasty ledge in the middle where I can't get to it. That said, when I push the disconnecter up and down in there by hand, it doesn't catch on anything. I smoothed the disconnector where I thought it was going to touch anything, but I couldn't do much about the inside of the channel is passes through.

I'm out of ideas...other than shoot a few hundred rounds through it and see if that helps, although I've dry fired a few hundred times with no noticeable change...

[1911Tuner]

Don't mess with the disconnector channel. Check to see if the disconnect will drop from the channel under its own weight. If it hangs up or hesitates,
smooth the outer diameter a little with paper, but don't take more than necessary...especially off the front surface...no more than required to just smooth it up a bit. If that's not it, you probably need to use a scrape to deepen the disconnector slot in the slide.

[Spindly61]

Try it without the disconnect in it. If it's still there try looking at the grip safety. Mine would hold the trigger in if I released the grip safety, not a good thing.

[1911Tuner]

Just re-read it closer and found this:

The trigger moves about 1/8" or a little more with light resistance. Then it hits firm resistance, and as you increase pressure there is a tiny movement and an audible click, after that there is no more movement until a nice clean break.

I want to get rid of the little motion before the break. I don't really want to lighten the trigger pull or do anything to it except get rid of that little motion.
******************

The little motion before resistance is the trigger take-up. You'll have to find an aftermarket trigger with adjustable tabs to limit forward trigger travel...or cherry-pick until you can find a trigger with a little longer bow...but that's an "iffy" proposition, since just a few thousandths TOO long will cause other problems. The take-up...or slack...is generally set to a minimum of .040 inch or so before the stirrup bears on the disconnect. less is ticklish, and approaching unsafe. At the least, reducing it further than that makes the gun more prone to trigger/disconnect "bump" induced hammer followdown. I like to see about .060 inch in a carry gun and no less than .040 on a slow-fire target pistol.

If you remove the disconnect, it will tell you if the timing slot needs to be deeper, but pulling the trigger won't provide the resistance after takeup. Also, without the disconnect installed, the center leg of the sear spring moves further inward, and may get tangled up in the trigger.

If smoothing the 48 degree angle doesn't get rid of the click, it's probably the top of the disconnect hitting the bottom of the timing slot as pressure is applied to the trigger. It requires a special tool to scrape it deeper, and should be deepened only in one area, and care taken not to make the slot longer. Do NOT shorten the disconnector to remove the click.

[Malikovski]

Just re-read it closer and found this:
The little motion before resistance is the trigger take-up...

You understood me correctly the first time. I don't want to change the take-up at all, nor do I want to lighten the trigger. Especially after the polishing I've done, it's not at all too heavy.

I just want to get rid of the little motion which happens in between the take up and the break. It's really just a nuisance or even aesthetic issue rather than something which is impeding function. It just doesn't "feel right" with that little jarring movement in between the smooth take up and clean break.

But since I have some more advice to work from, it's time to tear this thing down again. I'll jot test results as I go:

Disconnector in channel: it does appear to drop free in the channel if not pinned.

Removed disconnector: with the disconnector, grip safety, and thumb safety removed, the trigger didn't function, obviously, but if I applied pressure on the bottom of the sear with a punch, it broke cleanly, with no intermediate motion. I think hammer/sear interface can be ruled out as the cause of the problem.

Just for kicks I pulled out the trigger and examined it. Seemed a little rough on the underside, so I smoothed that a touch.

Reassembled enough to test and...stil happens. Although all this fiddling has reduced it quite a bit.

I am testing with only the frame, trigger, hammer, disconnect, sear, and mainspring assembled. The slide and safeties aren't there, so I know they are no part of this issue.

Peering into the mechanism as I squeeze the trigger, I can see that the take up ends just as the disconnector makes contact with the bottom of the sear, and the annoying little motion before the break occurs as both move together for the tiniest fraction of an inch.

Perhaps it's the surfaces where the disconnect and sear touch?

All the advice is highly appreciated. I would hesitate to do anything without someone more knowledge saying "polish that piece but DON'T TOUCH THAT ONE."

At least I am learning a lot about how the mechanism functions!

[Malikovski]

Just so you see what I'm working with, here is the sear and disconnector:

pic 1 (http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear1.jpg)

pic 2 (http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear2.jpg)

The disconnector looks very sloppy. The paddle is visually not square, seams from the mold visible all around, and so on.

[Malikovski]

Well I've reconsidered ruling out the hammer sear interface.

I found that when I squeeze the trigger with the hammer at half cock, it breaks cleanly. Maybe I'm comparing apples and oranges, but the motion of all the parts looks the same.

Also, when I "reset" whatever it is by moving the hammer, it is the sear that moves with a little "ping".

Yep...I can see it now. It's the sear moving slightly against the hammer, but not disengaging.

Ugh...I don't want to bugger up the sear, but that little twitch before the break is soooooo frustrating.

[1911Tuner]

Does the sear have a breakaway angle?

[Malikovski]

Does the sear have a breakaway angle?

Not sure what that is exactly. I didn't do anything to the angles.

Here are a couple pics:

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/hammer1.jpg

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/hammer2.jpg

The hook on the hammer look right at 90 degrees. There's a shadow under it that may obscure that a little. Sear is as you can see. One angle only as far as I can see.

[Hawkmoon]

A picture from an angle, showing the inside of the sear tip and the concave arched surface, would help a lot, but I don't see anything there that remotely resembles a breakaway angle.

[Malikovski]

So...is a breakaway angle something needed here? We've entered the area in which I'm totally clueless...

More pics, not sure if these are any clearer:

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear3.jpg

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear4.jpg

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear5.jpg

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear6.jpg

[1911Tuner]

There's no breakaway..or secondary angle. The primary looks a little rough, which may be part of the problem.

Get a .020 feeler gauge and lay it flat on a stone. Place the sear on it, with the safety engagement pad laying on the gauge, and work the sear back and forth sideways across the stone...not lengthways...back and forth...until you see an even line across the sear tip. Keep at it until the line is about .010 inch wide.

If you can find a 3/8ths lathe bit, you can polish the engagement surface of the hammer hooks, which may also be contributing to the problem. Use a
an 800-grit or finer lapping compound, and polish sideways, keeping the bit firmly in contact.


Put everything together, and oil the hammer hook and sear engagement angle
liberally...and lightly boost the hammer 5-6 times. The click and the little movement should go away. Boost LIGHTLY...with thumb pressure only. That hammer is MIM, and heavy boosting with a screwdriver may wipe the hooks clean off.

[wichaka]

The sear is MIM too, so go easy on both of them........

Also when you're done with the above operation of the break away angle, sometimes there will be a sharp edge where the break away and primary angles meet........just break this edge a bit.......no more.

[Malikovski]

Get a .020 feeler gauge and lay it flat on a stone. Place the sear on it, with the safety engagement pad laying on the gauge, and work the sear back and forth sideways across the stone...not lengthways...back and forth...until you see an even line across the sear tip. Keep at it until the line is about .010 inch wide.


Like so?

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear7.jpg

I'm not sure relative to which part you mean sideways vs. lengthwise. Move in the direction of the arrows, or perpendicular to them? Seems like moving perpendicular would cut more evenly.

Assuming I don't unintentionally convert my pistol to full auto fooling around like this, what am I going to do to the trigger pull? Will this process lighten it as well as smooth it out? It would be fine a tad lighter, but more than that and it would be a real hair trigger--not what I want for this pistol.

Thanks for bearing with the neophyte here.

[1911Tuner]

In the direction of the arrows, but get the sear closer to the gauge...and turn the gauge 90 degrees so you can make a longer stroke. If this causes the gun to go full-auto, it would have done it anyway. All this does is to create a breakaway...or escape angle...that lets the sear roll out of the hammer hooks without putting so much "lift" on them as the sharp edge comes up. Remember...The sear doesn't move straight in and out. It rotates around the pin, and as the edge of the primary angle moves, it follows an arc that places it higher than the plane of the engagement face.

And...as Wichaka recommended...buff the knife edge to dull it a bit. A piece of rough denim on a flat, hard surface will do the trick if you use some fine lapping compound imbeded into the material. Lacking that, you can use Arm & Hammer whitening toothpaste. In a pinch, even corrugated pasteboard will do. Remember how quickly that cutting pasteboard will dull a knife?

By the way..that stone is too coarse. You should use a medium India or Arkansas stone.

[Malikovski]

So am I really clever, or just an idiot for not thinking of this earlier?

http://www.adamanttech.com/guns/sear8.jpg

Probably the latter, but with the hammer and sear assembed outside the frame, I can clearly see what's going on. The leading edge of the sear is catching on the hammer hooks. Putting pressure on the hammer and then on the sear, it shifts a bit and catches before finally breaking free. So I think the problem area is actually not the lack of secondary angle, but roughness on the other edge. Under magnification, I can see almost a "bead" of metal running the length of the sear. It's definitely messy.

Thanks for the clarification of the sear adjustments. I have some very fine stones for sharpening planes, so I will use one of those and take it easy.

So to review, I want to put a secondary angle on the sear until that surface is 0.010" across (I assume I am mesureing the stoned surface, not the height or length of the new angle), then break any hard edges with cloth and buffing compound, so that the hammer will not catch on the leading edge and will roll of the trailing edge smoothly.

I'll collect my fine stone this afternoon and see how it goes this evening.

[Lubaloy]

If the secondary relief does not cure it, it is indeed 'disconnector click'.
This is commonly cured by peening the top of the disconnector hole.
Some smiths use 1 peen in front of the hole, some use 1 fore and 1 aft.
At least one smith uses 4 at 10,2,4 and 8 o'clock.

[1911Tuner]

Not .010 long... .010 in width, across the width of the sear tip. The toolmarks on the engagement surfaces of the hammer hooks are doubtless part of the problem, but without a proper tool to polish those surfaces, the breakaway angle is all you have at your disposal. May help...may not...but at least it won't hurt anything.

[Malikovski]

YES!!!

Success! Complete and total.

Procedure followed: secondary angle added with a fine stone, and, as gently as possible ground off the nasty burr on the leading edge of the sear. The face of the main angle was obviously not flat, so this was lightly stoned until flat.

Reassembled, dry fired with light boosting, and the hitch is GONE, 100%. Take up is the same, and the break remains right about 5 pounds. The trigger feels wonderful now. Total cost $5 for a set of feeler gauges.

MANY thanks to all who contributed. It's clear that this would be foolish to attempt without an expert "looking over your shoulder". As a bonus, I now know what every piece of the pistol does and how it functions.

Now...I should probably stop while I'm ahead, and I probably will stop for now, but let's just say...hypothetically speaking, because I'm not sure, but let's just say I wanted to take the trigger down to 4 or 4 1/2 pounds. How would one go about that? Most the trigger job "instructions" I have seen mention reducing the hammer hooks to 0.20". At the moment, according to the feeler gauge, they are a tad longer than that. That does not seem any harder than what I did to the sear just now. Would that adjustment alone allow to shave 8 ounces off the weight?

And one final question...I see from all this that most of the innards of this piece are MIM. Some of it, I'm sure, doesn't matter a bit, but the pieces that rub together under pressure, are these hardened enough not to abbrade one another? Or am I going to end up replacing the hammer and sear after a few thousand rounds anyway?

[1911Tuner]

Don't be pattin' yourself on the back just yet... :p

Empty gun...Lock the slide and drop it at full speed by tripping the slidestop...once...to make sure the hammer doesn't follow. Finger off trigger for the test.

Don't shorten the hooks to less than .025 inch. That'll make it break a little cleaner. Lay the .025 feeler gauge on the hammer, butted up to the hooks and stone across the top to get the tips of the hooks flush with the gauge. VERY LIHTLY break the sharp edge left on the hooks, where the sear rolls out.
Repeat the hammer follow test.

Be happy with 5 pounds. ;)

[John]

Do I see another happy customer here? Great!!! :)

And now, go read the Amazing reduction in recoil, with a simple part change, in the Gunsmithing forum, for understanding some more delicate things on how the 1911 works.

LoRL, darn I knew Johnny would solve it. Now Johnny, check your PMs please!

[Malikovski]

And now, go read the Amazing reduction in recoil, with a simple part change, in the Gunsmithing forum, for understanding some more delicate things on how the 1911 works.

Already been browsing that thread...and I don't think I'll be able to resist after this little adventure.

Although I generally try to maintain a healthy level of scorn for tricked out ported, tweaked, hair trigger pistols strapped down with lights, lasers, holographic doodads, and bottle openers (lanyard loops excepted), this experience has whetted the old appetite for under-the-hood fiddling.

At the moment I'm thinking of adding the new firing pin stop and a slightly heavier recoil spring.

Btw, the hammer did not follow in the drop test, and it passed the usual safety checks (which just means I put it back together right, I guess).

I'll check the hammer hooks, but I doubt there much more than 0.025" at the moment. If so, I'll leave them alone. Measured trigger pull and at the moment it's 5 lbs. 10 oz. I don't really have trouble keeping the sights steady at that weight.

So yes, one more happy customer indeed!

[Hawkmoon]

You may be able to reduce the pull weight a bit by bending the leaves of the sear spring. I think it's included in the "Poor Man's Trigger Job" article. If memory serves (which it may not, so be sure to check up on me) with the hammer removed and the MSH holding the sear spring in its usual position, the trigger pull should be about 2 pounds -- that's 1 pound for each of the leaves involved (the right leaf is for the grip safety).

[1911Tuner]

Quote:

>I'll check the hammer hooks, but I doubt there much more than 0.025" at the moment.<
*************

Then take'em down as far as the .025 gauge will take'em. This accomplishes two things. It makes the hooks an even length and it knocks the tips off, if there are any. Be careful when bending the sear spring leaves. Grip them above the main area at the bottom, where they split. If you bend from the junctions, they'll snap off in the corners.

A heavier recoil spring will make the gun feel like it's recoiling harder. Remember "Equal and Opposite." As the slide moves back, the spring is using the frame to push off of...and your hand is on the other end. 16 pounds is standard, and no heavier than 18.

[Malikovski]

Johnny strikes again...

Another perfect prescription there. I knocked off the very tops the hammer hooks and then just barely broke that edge (needed 10x magnification to see the bevel).

The trigger is now even crisper than before, and possibly ligtened a bit, although my current gauge is a bucket of rocks on a string--not exactly precise.

So I think it is now definitely time to leave well enough along with the trigger.

But I can't possibly just leave the whole thing alone, so I guess I will be ordering an EGW firing pin stop, and the 18 lb. recoil spring to play with, mainly because the only problem I've had was a ftf on a USGI mag. Probably the $5 magazine's fault, but a stouter spring might have stripped that round just fine.

So I'll try 18 lbs. and see. I'm not much concerned about recoil. I had a very interesting first shooting experience with regard to recoil. I wanted to take the basic NRA pistol course, but no one wanted to do it. All the instructors just wanted me to come to the CCW class instead, but I really wanted more shooting and less legal lecture.

After much searching, I finally found someone here in upstate SC to hold the basic class, which was very kind of him since it turned out only my wife and I showed up. Rather than skimp though, he decided his mission that day was to cure us of any apprehension we might have of recoil or noise. Neither of us were particularly apprehensive, but it turned out the cure was very enjoyable, and consisted in an extensive tour of the man's handgun collection.

He started us out with a suppressed .22 and then throughout the afternoon just kept going bigger and louder. We fired .22, .38, 9mm, 10mm, .45, 7.62x25, and .357 magnum. Then he brought out two pistols chambered for rifle rounds, on in .30 carbine and one in .308 Winchester. After those two, the .45 feels like a real softie!

Anyway, thanks again. Couldn't have done it without the helping hand.

[John]

So I'll try 18 lbs. and see.

WHY? I mean the standard spring for a 5" barreled 1911, in .45 ACP is 16 lbs. Why would you want to go higher? If your pistol does not work with the standard spring, something is wrong, the heavier one is just covering up the problem, not solving it.

[wichaka]

So am I really clever, or just an idiot for not thinking of this earlier?

Brownells sells trigger adjusting pins. They are pins specially made for going on the outside of the frame, so...........as you found out, can see exactly the engagement of the hammer & sear.

A must in my opinion for trigger jobs............

[Malikovski]

WHY? I mean the standard spring for a 5" barreled 1911, in .45 ACP is 16 lbs. Why would you want to go higher? If your pistol does not work with the standard spring, something is wrong, the heavier one is just covering up the problem, not solving it.

Why? Well, to see hands-on the difference it makes, if for no other reason. Some people recommend a heavier spring, some say leave it alone, the only way to form a remotely enlightened opinion is to try it out and see what difference it makes.

Also, if I want to feed it something other than hardball, I am departing from the original design, and it stands to reason adjustments might need to be made.

Or they might not. I might go right back to the standard spring and join the "leave it alone" ranks.

[Malikovski]

Brownells sells trigger adjusting pins. They are pins specially made for going on the outside of the frame, so...........as you found out, can see exactly the engagement of the hammer & sear.

A must in my opinion for trigger jobs............

How do those pins differ from using the normal ones as I did? Something to hold them at 90 degrees?

[wichaka]

They go thru the frame and have a stop on them, with a shorter length pin coming out from the stop. So the parts dont rub on the frame, yet the pins are solid because they go thru both holes.

[wichaka]

The gun should easily feed with about any type of round with a 14lb spring...........I run 14-16lb springs in my full size 1911's, and 16-17lbs in my Commanders.

[Malikovski]

The gun should easily feed with about any type of round with a 14lb spring...........I run 14-16lb springs in my full size 1911's, and 16-17lbs in my Commanders.

What's the motivation on heavier springs, then? Is it purely for +P ammo?

[John]

Exactly, only if you use hotter rounds you should deviate from the standard spring!

You won't be able to see any difference (well, any appreciable difference) with the heavier spring. Maybe a little less recoil. But remember, springs work both ways, so the payment for that slight recoil reduction (which you may or may not notice) is heavier battering of the barrel's legs against the slide stop shaft. That leads to premature wearing of these two areas (barrel legs and slide stop shaft), which can lead to catastrophic failures. And if it is the slide stop that gives first, it's a minor issue, but if the barrel legs break, you are in for an expensive repair.

If you want to gain something recoil-wise, try the EGW firing pin stop, together with a 16 lbs recoil spring and a 23 lbs main spring.

[Malikovski]

That's very odd...I've read, more than once, just the opposite--that the standard spring is too light and leads to wear.

Since the expertise of this board has been so well demonstrated to me, I think I'll take your word over theirs. I'm all for leaving a good thing along, I had just read over and over than bumping up to an 18# spring was good as a general practice for normal power loads, 20# for +P and 14# for light loads.

So I'll let all the springs be for now and go with the new stop. Did I read the other thread correctly that this was part of the original design and only changed later to make hand cycling easier?

[John]

Correct. The ... more square-bottom firing pin stop was part of the original design. It was later changed to facilitate pulling the slide. Remember that the armed forces carried the pistol with an empty chamber.

As for those who suggest the heavier than normal springs, what can I say? It's a proven fact that a heavier spring is not necessary for the 1911 to work properly. I tend to believe more the words of some one who's been dealing with the 1911 design for 50 years, than that of the so-called experts who started using a file 10 years ago. I personally know such gunsmiths. One of them recommends a 20 lbs spring for a 5" 1911. Of course, when the barrel legs break, he says the barrel was to be blamed and charges about 400$ to install a new one (parts and labor).

You do not have to take my word for that, read the original specs. You think that anyone of those late gunsmiths knows more about the 1911 that John Moses Browning? I sincerely doubt it.

[Malikovski]

You can't top the designer's credentials, certainly, and obviously there are some strong, self-serving reasons (conscious or otherwise) for all the talk about how you have to customize the 1911 and change out almost every part for something new.

I read an endless stream of reviews and opinion pieces before I bought the Springfield and the main thing I took away from it is that the pistol comes just fine from the factory, that almost no one can appreciate the differences between a $2,500 custom gun and a $500 mil spec, and that almost no modifications are really actually needed, even to shoot hollow points.

Fiddling is addictive, however, so I might just have to build one from parts someday...

[wichaka]

If you have access to a tool that measures spring weight, you'll find that most come from the factory with less than 16lb springs.

I had access to such a tool a few years back, and was amazed at the different weights of springs I encountered from the factory.

Full size guns running from just over 14, up to a tad over 16lbs.
Commanders from just under 17, up to close to 19lbs.

I run a 17lb spring in my Commander, which has the aluminum frame. No signs of damage. Although for alum frames, I would not suggest a daily feeding of hardball and above.

But have 14-16lb spring in my steel frame 1911's, and have shot thousands of rounds thru them.........not one sign of damage or fatigue anywhere.

Years ago when the info of customizing 1911's was in short supply, one persons recommendation was taken as gospel. In my early years of 'smithing 1911's back in the 80's, I fell for this kind of info too. But it didnt take long before it showed its flaws.

There's lots of truely experienced folks on this forum, who give their info. freely like they were working on their own gun........and I know for a fact they would not recommend something that ever hurt one of JMB's babies!

[Malikovski]

There's lots of truely experienced folks on this forum, who give their info. freely like they were working on their own gun.

Didn't take me long to discover that! I'm already indebted.

The experience has made me a tad worried about my pistol though. I knew Springfield used a lot of MIM parts, but I was surprised to find that this included parts which are going to be under stress while firing, like the hammer and sear. Is this a cause for concern? I do plan on shooting this one a great deal, and I might even carry it someday down the road...if I can trust all the parts to hold up. Are these parts even heat treated?

[wichaka]

I believe they are heat treated.

If you're going to use the gun on the range, leave it alone and shoot it. If it's meant to save your life, I would change out the parts.......my opinion only.

I have had many Springers on the bench within the last 3 years, with L.E. guys wanting me to change out the parts.

[Gammon]

A stock .45 needs only a 16 lb spring. More is not better, unless you are using hot ammo. Using only as much spring as you need, coupled with the firing pin stop should produce the least amount of felt recoil and muzzle flip.