Parallax3D

It may be that Bobby got a batch of mislabeled springs. Who knows? The 19# spring that I installed certainly was much heavier than what shipped with the gun.

Sorry, but that was NOT a 19# mainspring in the gun. I REPLACED whatever was in there with a 19#. Also, I'll wager that MOST people shooting 9mm major are using small rifle primers. If you're building a 9mm Major open gun, you should know that and plan for it.

Chuck, most people don't use SPP on 9mm major loads because of the pressures involved. The gun should go bang, regardless.

Did you have to adjust the trigger pull, as well? Yes. Changing the mainspring will affect the trigger pull, because that is the spring that is applying pressure to the hammer. IIRC, the pull went up from 2# to about 2.5#. I just tweaked the sear spring until I got it back where I wanted it. And my primers ARE seated below flush. Pistol primers went off, but rifle primers didn't. All rounds loaded on the same press with the same die setup, (no adjustments between major and minor rounds, aside from primer type and powder), so it's NOT a primer seating issue. A 15# mainspring just isn't strong enough for reliable ignition, IMO.

or if the stage has been rendered unsuitable or unworkable for any reason, Weather conditions that affect the safety of the stage and make it unsafe would apply in this instance. Also, as I said, offering the shooter the option to come back is NOT an answer. You offered them the option to shoot the match in 1 day, If you weren't going to honor that, you shouldn't have offered it, Shooters cannot be held responsible for acts of God, or your shortsightedness as a MD. Totally wrong call, IMO. The stage should have been thrown out.

If all shooters were not given an opportunity to complete all stages, any stages that were not able to be shot by everyone SHOULD have been thrown out! This is really no different than if a piece of range equipment broke, and could not be fixed until the next day. The fact that the weather was better the next day, or that the equipment might have been fixed the next day, does not change the fact that shooters who were authorized to shoot the match in 1 day did not get a chance to shoot the stage. As the MD, you chose to offer competitors the option of shooting the match in 1 day, You can't penalize them if they fail to complete a stage because of inclement weather or other issues that are out of their control, and since you offered them the option to shoot the match in a 1 day format, you can't require them to come back for a second day and complete the match. 1 day format means exactly that.

Three powders? I can think of about 6 that 9mm open major can use.

Sure, all you need to do is put me up in the Presidential Suite at the Fontainebleau in Miami for two weeks.

My primers are below flush, and I still had light strikes.

The ONLY time I really worry about which direction I engage the targets in, is when you are shooing strong-hand/weak-hand. When you do, the gun will naturally rise to the opposite side of your shooting hand, (muzzle rises to right if shooting with left, and to left when shooting with the right.) I use that to ride the recoil to the next target, instead of fighting the recoil.

Try to avoid mooching, especially if you already had a plan, then see someone ahead of you do something that seems "better." Changing your plan at the last minute is never a good idea, If I DO see someone that has a better plan, and I have time to walk through it and rehearse, then hell yeah! You'd be stupid not to use a better plan if you see it, and have time to rehearse it.

IIRC, the CK Arms XL firing pin measused 2.332". The firing pin on my other open gun is only 2.325". (Since I was having problems, I took it out and mic'd it with my micrometer.) It may be lighter than others though. I'm not sure if they're titanium or not. I didn't think to weigh it. Increasing the mainspring weight will definitely fix the issue, but you may have to tweak the sear spring to get your trigger pull back to about 2#. You also may need to tweak the recoil spring weight when using minor power loads. (I had to, because I started getting stovepipes. I dropped to a 7# recoil spring for minor.)

Come on now! I'm a girl. and I did it myself. You're gonna let a girl out-gunsmith you? (Throws down gauntlet.)

I had problems with light strikes in my new CK Arms gun as well, and primarily just on major loads with rifle primers. I think the mainspring must be VERY light, (like a 15# spring.). I replaced mine with a 19# mainspring, and haven't had problems since. I would suggest at least a 17# mainspring, to get good ignition.

Just get the longest ones available, (3/4" usually), and cut them down. Cut them down and file to final length, (so they don't protrude and scratch up your slide.) Taking a little extra time to do it right is worth the results, and you're sure to get as much thread engagemnet in the frame as possible, as opposed to using screws that are "just long enough."