MemphisMechanic

I'm glad I won't have to do that again for a while, but what I did was use my favorite gunsmithing tool: a foot long 2x4 with a 1/2" hole in it. I started a thin punch from the top of the slide through everything, cussing at that damn extractor and spring as I shoved it all in line. Then I pushed it out with a thicker drill bit that just barely fit through the slide & extractor from the bottom so that everything was perfectly lined up. I set the slide down on the 2x4 with the drill bit sticking out of the hole in it (clamped the wood block to my bench so the hole could hang over the side) and drove the roll pin in through the top. Still wasn't fun, but that worked pretty well.

Back 16 years ago when I took my carry permit class, the gentleman in the lane next to me clipped the bottom right corner of my target. That's a low/left error of rough 8 feet. At 7 yards.

@IronArcher which firing pin did you have installed for that test?

I'd be far more comfortable with a powder that fast behind a 147 than a lighter 124 or 115. That's really where ultrafast powders really shine in 9 minor, and it's considerably safer.

All my pencils used weighed a hair over 80 grains, and you've gotta be very meticuous about tipping the gun so that the pencil is clearly dead vertical. But I can see that measurement - my 14# PD spring and the factory firing pin went 15-15.5" on average, and the EGD light is probably what? An 11ish pound spring maybe? Yours also has a ton of firing cycles on it, right? That's hardly a new spring.

Good question. Those are all double action. I didn't want to punch holes in the kitchen ceiling with the EGD Medium in single action.

Yes, Wyatt shoots a Stock 2.

2" at 25yd is typical. 2" at 50yd is ... impressive.

Send me the first one you make. This morning I had actually decided to run the EGD Medium spring. Since I run the worst-case scenario for reliable ignition (CCI primers seated on a Dillon 650)... I want the extra margin over the 14 pound spring. If you can make a 15-15.5 pound spring that doesn't stack like the EGD springs do, I want it. A lot. I'd rather have a smooth crisp 7 pound DA and not have the slightest concern when loading ammo, than try to chase a 5 pound DA and shoot a princess that requires Federal primers loaded with meticulous attention.

The obvious answer to getting gooder is... try to crush all the Limited Bs if you're a Production B, while shooting Production. Dont let the division differences be an excuse. Yes you have to really crush your stages, but the challenge is fun

Valid point, John, and obvious enough I should have gone there instantly. The 13 pounder has indeed only seen a few dozen dryfirings and spent perhaps 10 minutes in the gun. I have 1,000+ rounds downrange and easily 500 dryfires with the PD 14... and it's been compressed under the hammer for two months. This makes all kinds of sense.

If you want to mail me one... I can't test what I don't have.

Mine is 5lb 8.9oz, so ours match. (That's roughly 5.5ish pounds) IMO, you're done. It's time for us both to learn to shoot the sucker like a boss. The difference between my DA pull and @ryridesmotox's is a quarter of a pound. You can't feel that. Put the dremel down and load some ammo. EDIT: damn. Just now noticed you're running less hammer spring. Meh. Shoot thing a bunch them look for where it might be rubbing!

Update: More gunf###kery tonight. First, I tested the Patriot Defense firing pin and my assortment of 4 hammer springs with the highly scientific "pencil test": http://forums.brianenos.com/index.php?/topic/243387-tested-hammer-springs-pf-firing-pin-pencil-test/ Then... all of my Flitz-polished parts got a lengthy run in with Blue Magic polish. The goal was to try to drop my DA pull into the 5.5 pound range so that if I have to bump the hammer spring weight up to run magnum CCI primers, I'm not rowing an 8 pound DA. I found places on the bottom of the sear cage that I haven't polished which the trigger bar rubs. I found a large burr on the side of the trigger bar plunger where it rubs against the frame. I had barely polished the spot where the head of the plunger rubs on the trigger bar. Add all of that together, and... (these are 10-pull averages!) If I have any more issues with the gun eating marginally seated hard primers, that pencil testing session leads me to believe the EGD Medium spring will more than likely be the solution. I'm hoping that I don't need to go there. I'll know whenever I get a chance to live fire it next.

HAMMER ... SPRING ... DEATH ... MATCH Version 2.0 If you want to see the trigger pull weights for each of these springs without any changes to the gun? CLICK HERE Test procedure: The gun was held vertically against the side of the table top and fired. Height was observed from my iPhone mounted in a small tripod, and the video paused to see how high the eraser of the pencil was at the peak of it's flight. I played the video back and paused it and recorded the measurement. I also did all of these tests with the firing pin block removed so that it's fitting wouldn't be a factor. Example: A 19" measurement of the 14 pound Patriot Defense hammer spring and their Optimized firing pin: Now you know how much a #2 pencil weighs. They were all 80-85 grains, and I used the four closest matching ones for these tests. First I tested the 14 pound PD spring because it was already in the gun. With and without the extended / heavier PD firing pin: 1. 14 pound PD with factory firing pin: Pencil Heights: 16" ... 15.5" ... 15" (Average 15.5") 2. 14 pound PD with PD "Optimized" firing pin: Pencil Heights: 19.5" ... 18.5" ... 19.0" (Average 19") So in my gun, on this day, the P.D. unscientifically hits roughly 23% harder than the factory one. That's definitely good news! 3. 13 pound PD with PD "Optimized" firing pin: Pencil Heights: 19.0" ... 18.5" ... 20.0" (Average 19.1666") 4. 14 pound WOLFF with PD "Optimized" firing pin: Pencil Heights: 20.0" ... 21.0" ... 20.5" ... 21" ... 20.5" (Average 20.6") 5. EGD Medium with PD "Optimized" firing pin: Pencil Heights: 25" ... 26" ... 26" (Average 25.666") A note on consistency: I consider a tolerance of +/- 0.5" to be the margin of error for each launch as far as measuring it next to a carpenter's level on video. I'd consider an average of 18.5 and one of 19" to be practically identical. Firing with the gun tilted just a bit off off vertical would lower the launching height considerably due to the pencil dragging in the barrel. I was able to lower the 19" launches of the PD 14 a full two inches by tilting the gun less than 5 degrees away from vertical. This is anything but scientific. Your mileage may vary. Professional driver on a closed course. Do not feed mogwai after midnight. From what I learned, these springs are all pretty closely matched. [EDIT] The lack of difference between my brand new PD 13 and broken-in PD 14 spring launch heights makes sense, given that the 14 pounder has perhaps 1,500 cycles on it. The Patriot firing pin definitely made an obvious change to how high my gun tosses pencils. I hope that it's enough to crush CCI's from now on. If not, I'm tossing the EGD Medium spring in there. @waktasz was right - it's a damned monster compared to the lighter options on the market.

I just stuck my gun back together after 4 more hours of work on it. "Wet chrome" polished some places I'd merey rubbed the black off of, before. I lost 9oz of DA pull and I'm down to an honest 5.5lb average now. I'm convinced switching from Flitz to Blue Magic definitely helped. Hell, it let me polish up the GF's high end stainless steel pans until scrambled eggs don't have a hope of sticking anymore...

<double tap> oops

Which division is more popular depends on region. Locally those two switch back and forth as the most popular division depending on who happens to make it to that particular match. The CZ is vastly more competitive in production than in Limited. All minor (9mm) guns are. Theres is a reason all the 17-19 round 9mm guns are found in Production, and that Limited is dominated by .40 caliber wide-body 1911 platform guns.

That's exactly what I said.

Definitely agree with you on the "80%" factor. They really are very very different. So far the only thing that has helped me is that I am motivated to dryfire with the new gun, whereas if I'm honest two days of dryfire per month was common with the M&P. I wasn't practicing. I think that about sums it up. The switch slows you down - as long as you were practicing beforehand, anyway.

I'm buying one in a month or two. And you know I have a fetish for documenting the piss out of things.

In IDPA and USPSA: Double action (hammer down) = safety may be left off, but you can flip it on if you wish. Single action (hammer back) = safety must be on before holstering. These rules affect all divisions and gun models.

You will be wanting to search through topics started by @kneelingatlas using the advanced search feature. He's the resident Tanfo Open gun expert.

Well done, sir. I can see the camera lens indeed. I knew that if I threw that gauntlet down I would get some quality 'trigger bar' porn.

Of course it will. Small frame guns were made for girly hands. Tanfos actually fit the hands of men. (Which trigger is 5.1% more awesome really doesn't matter in your scores if you practice!)