Well folks, I am sure you all know by now, that our friend Johnny (1911Tuner), is a genius, right? And most of you must have heard of his preference, for a very specific style of firing pin stop.

It's an EGW firing pin stop, with a square lower edge. Johnny uses them, with a very minor break there, just make that edge a bit round and you are done. Actually, here is Johnny's instructions on how to modify the stock EGW firing pin stop:

Start with a smooth mill file and cut a light 45 degree bevel on the corner. Be careful to keep it straight across. Just lightly break the corner. Use a file that's at least as wide as the stop.

I use the file for the next step, but the stone will work. Slower, but slow is good on your first one.

Shape the radius by swiping the beveled corner on the stone with a rocking motion...like you're trying to polish a radius that's already there. The main thing is to keep it straight arcoss to prevent side-loading the hammer pin.

For what it's worth...Using it with just the bevel will work, and EGW even suggests a bevel only...likely because it's easier to instruct the first-timer in establishing a bevel than in cutting a radius. All you really need is to remove the sharp corner. I do the radius because...well...that's the way John Moses did it.

Well folks, last Saturday, I got the chance to shoot two 1911s, same guns, side by side. Both were setup with what Johnny considers the perfect setup. Recoil springs were 16 lbs, new ones. Mainsprings were 23 lbs, new ones too. The ammo was the same 230 gr Fiocchi FMJ. The only difference between the two pistols was that the first one had a standard, rounded firing pin stop, while the second had the EGW one.

Well folks, I can tell you this: The difference in the way the gun recoils is more than obvious. It's amazing. With Tuner's firing pin stop, the gun made a small jump, perfectly upwards (not to the side) and was back on target in no time at all. The other gun was jumping up and to the right, much more than the Tuner's fp stop equipped one.

Now, I've tested several recoil reduction devices, such as Hartts, Recoil Reducer, Sprinco's etc. None of them show me this much recoil reduction. None! With most of these devices, I had to try hard to see any perceivable difference in recoil. The difference with this setup is obvious, from the first 2 rounds fired.

I asked two other experienced shooters, to compare the two guns. The first one's comment was "Wow!". The second one was "These two 1911s do not use the same ammo". Both are extremely familiar with the 1911.

Overall, we spend more than 100 rounds comparing the two pistols and we all agreed that this is indeed (and by far) the best setup we have ever tried on the 1911.

I just thought I should share this with you.

This is an edit to this post, to register the part numbers for this firing pin stop, from Brownells, just in case someone wants them.

#296-000-058 is for Series 70s style guns.
#296-100-001 is for Series 80 guns.

__________________
John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

EGW stops are in all of my 1911s. Since I don't get to see a big difference amongst my guns, I have to shoot other's guns to appreciate the benefit of the part. It should theoretically improve accuracy as well, as there should be a slight delay in unlocking.
I noticed a huge difference in the peceived recoil of my Detonics Combat Master, and a new version from Detonics USA. I had just completed a 150-round match with my gun, and am very familiar with its handling characteristics. I loaded up the new gun, and after touching off the first round, could not believe how much harder the gun recoiled.
When I put the EGW part in my Delta Elite, it completely eliminated the slight "tail" I was getting on my primer strikes. A lot of people think a heavier recoil spring will have an impact on unlocking speed/timing, but on my gun, I went from a 24# spring with the stock FP stop, to a 20# spring with the EGW FP stop, and the firing pin strikes are nice and round with the latter set-up.
It is a part that, unlike a FLGR and other parts that cause debate, has a real impact on how the gun shoots.

I have also seen the firing pin stop at Johnny's house that you are talking about and it is a great idea to reduce recoil and also remove a little mechanical advantage from the slide and transfer it to the mainspring as added shock relief. That is the way Johnny explained it to me.

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If it ain't a Colt its a copy.

John,

Could you post some pics of the proper bevel and radius ? I've read a bit about the EGW stop recently and would like to try one.

Thanks,

Hersh

No offense to Tuner but Dawson offers those in his catalog. I thought I had seen a good selection of them in the hard copy catalog but the online catalog only shows 2 cam profiles.

Dawson Precision Catalog: Page 12

None taken. The small radius isn't my idea and it isn't new. It was actually
the original radius in the old, pre 1911A1 pistols that was changed later at the
whining of the troops insistnece that the gun be made easier to hand-cycle with the hammer down...and it does make a difference.

My part in it has been to educate other folks who aren't aware of its effect on the gun...and that's why I can't seem to keep a couple on hand here. As soon as I let one of the guys shoot one of my guns, they ask how I get it to cycle so smoothly...and what type of recoil system that I use to hold the muzzle flip down. When I show'em what it is and explain it to'em, the response is pretty universal: "I WANT one!" Soooo...Mine all disappear and I gotta order more. In fact...I'm out of'em at the present time.

For the record...The recoil spring doesn't have anything to do with delaying unlock timing OR containing the higher pressure of the 10mm...and using a heavier one has very little effect on delaying the slide's rearward movement. Unlock timing is a mechanical event, and occurs at a predetermined point...regardless of the slide's speed. This predetermined point varies from gun to gun. Delaying the slide at the onset of movement delays the unlock of the barrel relative to the bullet's position IN the barrel...but the point that unlock begins remains the same. The only way to alter the unlock timing is to
change the center-to-center spacing between the holes in the link...or using a different length link...which can bring on big headaches if you don't have a full understanding of what happens.

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This is seriously good stuff, dang it Tuner, when are you going to get that book written?! I have dibs on five copies and I want 'em signed! Don't let that tard Kuhnhausen's ripping you off stop you from writing a real book of 1911 tuning wisdom! I want I want I want I want! Seriously bro, you're sitting on a goldmine!

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-Matt-
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
~Benjamin Franklin
Acta non verba

OK folks, here are the pictures:



This is an EGW square profile firing pin stop on the left, and a standard rounded profile stop on the right.

Here is how the bevel should be filed.







And here is how it should not be filed. This is a stop that Johnny send me.



As you can see, the bevel I created is not straight accross the width of the stop. This was the first one I worked on, and I managed to totally destroy it. So I keep it only for playing and experimenting.

Thank God, I always order more parts than I need, LORL.

__________________
John Caradimas SV1CEC
The M1911 Pistols Organization
http://www.m1911.org

just wanted to ask how much metal you take off to make the cut. in the first picture the angled face is much larger than the in the second picture.

Why wouldn't EGW sell them with the bevel/radius already cut if the benefits are so dramatic??

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