bountyhunter

Para intentionally makes some of their part dimensions non standard. I noticed it on my 1640 when the guide rod failed, and I tried to fit in a standard one (it didn't fit). I'm not sure why it is some Para parts are not 1911 standard (?) As for fitting and who makes parts that fit, probably only Para.

NOTE: the Brownells site used to have a tech paper on setting up a 1911 for a 2.5# trigger that had good info. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=10297/GunTechdetail/2-lb-Trigger-Pull

The sear spring does affect trigger pull, but not 100%. One leaf of the spring pushes on the trigger bow, one on the sear so both of those springs contribute directly to trigger pull weight. A significant part of trigger pull weight is caused by the sear pulling past the hammer hooks and in the process, deflecting the hammer slightly rearward. So the mainspring (hammer spring) as well as the sear cuts affect trigger pull. HOWEVER: You can't just bend the sear spring any amount you want to lighten the pull. If you get too light, you can get hammer follow. If you want to learn about the 1911, the best books are shown below. the Wilson manual is $10 and worth it's weight in gold. Kuhnhausen 1911 Manuals (two volumes) http://www.brownells.com/books-videos/books/gunsmithing-books/handgun-gunsmithing-books/jerry-kuhnhausen-the-u-s-m1911-m1911a1-pistols-a-shop-manual-prod13815.aspx http://www.brownells.com/books-videos/books/gunsmithing-books/handgun-gunsmithing-books/jerry-kuhnhausen-the-colt-45-automatic-prod13805.aspx Wilson 1911 Manual http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Wilson-Combat-1911-Auto-Maintenance-Manual-by-Bill-Wilson/productinfo/401/

Sorry to hear it man. I got the big boot back in 2008 during the big economic collapse from a company I had worked at for 20 years..... my layoff turned into retirement because it turns out employers don't hire 56 year olds much when they can hire younger guys for half the money. Hope you have better luck.

I did, that's where I ordered the Ed Brown trigger specifically because it claimed to be an oversized piece for fitting. I then found out it was too small and that Brownell's doesn't cover return shipping.... Hence my quest for knowledge as to where to actually get an oversized one so I won't get another shortie again.

The problem is the size of the shoe. The makers I have contacted seem to think tat 0.922" is oversized. I know after shimming mine it took a size of about 0.940 to get a good fit which may mean my frame is a shade out of spec (?) My confusion stems from the Kuhnhausen spec showing the stock trigger should be 0.920 - 0.930" so I assumed an oversized trigger shoe might be closer to 0.940". It's possible the Kuhnhausen spec is overly generous. Not sure what the spec is on Videki. Just seems odd that nobody makes fat ones that could fit up to taller frames.

Be careful about reload 9mm: if the brass is not resized and crimped just right, it will jam your barrel like a cork in a champaigne bottle. All the calibers like .40, .45, .38, .357 etc are easy to size because they are straight walled. If it fits through a sized hole, it will fit in your barrel. 9mm is tapered and that can be a real problem. So much of the 9mm reload ammo has a bulge about 1/3 of the way up from the rim. I couldn't count how many guns I have worked on that started jamming when people had to switch to reload, even "good" brands like Miwall. I got about 5 cases of it and ended up buying a few aftermarket barrels so I could ream the throats enough to shoot the ammo. Didn't want to screw up the stock barrels and didn't want to return the ammo since there was no other ammo to buy anywhere. Be careful and do the "drop test" in your barrel to make sure.

My Trojan did that when new. So did my SIG 226. After I broke the guns in, problem disappeared. You can try going down a couple of pounds on the recoil spring until the gun breaks in. Also, need a very strong grip to reduce this as it maintains maximum slide velocity. ADD: does the slide stop on the Trojan have the "slot" in the face to catch the detent ball? I just fitted a new aftermarket slide stop and that stupid slot was keeping it from locking back. The stock one on my Trojan did not, but that can make it reluctant to lock.

Can't fit something that's already too small when it arrives "oversized". I ended up fabricating an aluminum shim out of some .012" al that I had and taking up most of the wobble, just surprised nobody makes triggers that are .930"

You wouldn't believe the assortment of stories people at Para gave me back then to keep me from cancelling my order. They make it up as they go along...

It's Deja Vu all over again...... many years back I ordered a P18-9 and waited.... and waited..... and waited....... since I am in california, they had to ship 10 round mags with mine. Well, as it turns out, in the early 90's Para had yet to build any 10 round mags. They didn't even have the tooling. It would have been nice to find that out before waiting so long. So after about 8 months of waiting, I cancelled and bought an STI Trojan. If it is the full capacity magazines, it does seem odd they have none. The reason is probably due to the amount of 9mm guns ordered compared to other calibers.

You can buy the thickest Slide Glide and then thin it as desired with any liquid oil like FP-10 or Militec liquid. That basically means you get a more for the money buying the concentrate.

A small modeler's paint brush works best for applying it.

I guess my definition of 'work fine' includes being able to speed reload. If they can't be inserted on a closed slide when full, they would be completely unacceptable to me. Mine could always be inserted on a closed slide as long as they are loaded one round less than "max capacity". If forced in full, I usually get a nose down feed jam on the top round only. So you can speed load as long as it's a round down. The stock Mec Gars were nine round mags stock, and would do a nosedive when loaded to nine. Then I modified some "+1 followers" that increase full capacity to ten rounds and then they could work OK with nine rounds but would do a nosedive feed if loaded to ten. Mine only have a problem when loaded to max and inserted on closed slide which really takes a lot of force and crushes the spring.

+1 That's why an empty slide drop is the "worst case" test to detect hammer follow, although empty drops can cause chatter that is hard on trigger parts so it should not be done a lot. IMHO, any gun that shows hammer follow needs work but yours may simply need the sear spring adjusted. I also recommend checking overtravel adjust. I remove the slide then knock the pin out of the MSH to release hammer tension. Then hold the trigger pulled and rotate the hammer fully through range to make sure it is not hitting the sear nose anywhere (the half cock notch is taller than the full cock notch so that's where it hits if it's set too tight).

Just so everybody knows I'm not hallucinating, I will attach the fabrication drawing published by Kuhnhausen shop manual. Either somebody can't read dimensions or something must have changed because the world seems to think that 0.922" is an "oversized" dimension for a part that appears to be specified to be from 0.920 - 0.930" in height. Maybe the Kuhnhausen spec is obsolete? But odd that my STI trigger reads about 0.930". The gun was new about 20 years ago, possible that the dimensions have been shrunk on newer stock?

Go to Calgus and peruse the for sale section. Truly hysterical.....

That's what has me so puzzled. The Kuhnhausen book's fabrication drawing for the standard trigger shows the size to be 9.200 - 9.300", but the world seems to think that a 0.9225" trigger is "oversized for fitting". Something is clearly wrong here.

Interesting. I did buy the Trojan new, so the frame is exactly as made by STI, nobody has ever worked on it. The frame is exactly as originally made. Not sure how an SVI trigger could have gotten into it or why. The trigger looks EXACTLY like the standard STI triggers they still show on their site. http://stiguns.com/triggers-hammers/

May seem like a dumb question.... My old Trojan came with the STI fiberglas molded trigger . It always had some up/down play (too much) and has gotten more over it's life. So, I figured installing an "oversized" trigger I could fit in would be the way to go. What size is the trigger supposed to be? I went to the Kuhnhausen reference manual and it includes the original machine drawings for a 1911 trigger. The vertical height of the trigger shoe is supposed to be 0.930" tolerance (-0.010") which means it is 0.920" - 0.930". I measured the STI trigger and found it was about 0.930 (close). So I buy an "oversized" trigger from Ed Brown. It arrives and I measure it: 0.922" ?????????????????? How is being near the min spec amount to "oversized"? So I saw Fusion makes "oversized" 1911 triggers and I asked one of their guys what size and he said it was about 0.922" high which meant it would need fitting.... not in my gun, it wouldn't. It would just wobble up and down. Does anybody make 1911 triggers that are actually oversized, ie taller than 0.930"? I "fixed" mine by fabricating an aluminum shim about .012" thick and cementing it to the top of the trigger and then shaving it to fit, but a new trigger would sure be preferred. BTW: After fitting the old one with shim, the "perfect fit" height on mine was about 0.940". I saw a post where some guy fabricated one for his and his final size was 0.937" not far from mine so I wonder if needing a larger trigger shoe is a common issue?

My ballpark guess would be about 1800 - 1900 but that's just a guess.

I assume you are not in California as their import restrictions skew prices into the stratosphere. In a "free" state, I would say go to Gunsamerica and try to get a survey of prices on similar models. If that's not possible, I would say a ballpark value would be somewhere around 80 - 85% of the price the gun is currently selling for new. New price seems to be about 2200 right now. http://www.gunsamerica.com/957306471/STI-Executive-40-S-W-Dawson-FO-NEW-2011-Hard-Chrome-D-T.htm

+1000 And my .40 Para has an 18# recoil spring. Last thing I want to do is have to fight that stupid spring on and off every time I need to clean the gun. Capturing the spring on the rod is worth it's weight in gold. Doing things the easy way: PRICELESS

I'd wager bobbing the hammer will increase strike energy, not reduce it. Most hammers are significantly above optimum mass for max strike energy and taking a little off improves performance. That's why Apex hammers and reduced mass strikers are standard aftermarket additions to use with reduced power mainsprings.

It gives an easy way to capture the recoil spring and reverse bushing on the rod so they are removed/returned as an assembly. You never have to screw around with a recoil spring again. That's the biggest advantage.