cautery

LOL! I'm guilty of much of the herein described behaviors, but I had to openly confess to this one...

Since there are several options for perscription shooting glasses, this could get real expensive if you choose an option that doesn't work well for you. I wonder if there is one particular option that generally works for most folks who already wear bifocals and who want to compete in the various venues?? As to the approach you are suggesting, how does this work if you are shooting in a venue where you have to move? Doug Since I haven't done it yet, I can't say how it will work out... Though it does look like I will be having to get them sometime soon. I suspect that it will work fine for me. But my prescription won't be all THAT strong yet... Don't know how it will/would work for folks with radically differing prescriptions... Maybe a top lense front sight focus would work better for that... just would require more training on having the right head tilt at target acquisition... Again, i am only making an educated guess since I haven't tried it yet.

1K? ONE thousand? What do you recommend for those of us who get them 20K at a time? Dedicated stalker?

There is no ONE secret to Glock trigger work in the "under 2 lbs" realm. Down to about 2lbs or so, it's "simply" a matter of doing certain mechanical modifications relatively competently. Under 2lbs, is where skill, experience, and frankly a lot of time comes in. At this point, it's a matter of doing EVERY mod perfectly... At this point, doing things most folks never think of start yielding benefits... Actually, the benefits are there even above 2 lbs, but are simply not revealed until you get all of the gross improvements done. Down below 2lbs (actually, right around <3lbs), it becomes more and more important that all of the mods be done such that they all "fit" together in a balanced approach, or you start introducing reliability/safety problems into the equation. I don't do Glock triggers commercially, but I probably have almost as many hours of research, trial and error, and testing into the process as any other person around... You will definitely find a lot of folks who disagree with me, and say that it doesn't take nearly the work/skill that I say is required, but I simply speak from my own experience... which is limited to my own weapons. (BTW, I am a much better tinkerer, than I am a shooter) How to go below 2lbs depends a lot on how you got to 2lbs in the first place, and how reliable the pistol is at this point. Personally, I do not believe that the BEST results are going to be attained without thoughtful/experienced metal working. You cannot polish your way to a top trigger job... You HAVE to know how the system works, what engagement points are critical, what surface planes need to be at each point, etc. Then you need to start with good parts, put the right surfaces (flat, true, and at the correct relative angles) on them with the proper tools (files, stones), and THEN polish them (more stones, compounds, etc)... Additionally, I have come to the conclusion that from a sheer pull weight stand-point, having the PERFECT balance between the striker spring and trigger spring is probably the most important part of the job. A lot of pretty good compromises have been achieved with various combinations of reduced power striker springs, relocated trigger spring holes, and different off-the-shelf replacement trigger springs. However, my experiements with making custom trigger springs leads me to believe that you can achieve the same/better results using a stock striker spring and a custom wound/terminated trigger springs (all other mods being equal).... thus eliminating the real/fabled light strike worry/problem. Let me back up a second.... Strictly speaking, trigger pull weight boils down to 2 main things in a Glock: Opposing spring weights (and the delta between them), and friction between moving parts. 1) Achieving an opposing spring balance that a) reduces trigger pull weight to a minimum, while simulataneously provides enough of a striker spring +delta to provide a reliable reset, becomes a "fine art" down at the <2lbs point. This step is actually some 80-90% of the game. 2) Reducing/avoiding/eliminating friction at its extreme involves intimate understanding of exactly how all the pistols parts work/act as assembled; nature of friction/physics, and through theory/experience/art, how to eliminate/avoid/reduce friction. This is only about 10-20% of the game, but as it turns out in all extreme pursuits, it is the most important, most time consuming, and hence the most expensive part of the process. 3) As in ALL engineering projects, there are tradeoffs. Money, time, performance... Ultimate performance is achieved at the drastic increase and expense of the other two. Further reduction in the time resource can be attained at the further enormous increase of the remaining money resource. Example... the 25 cent trigger job... You get a "big" improvement... say 60% of the ultimate 100% theoretical maximum... It ony costs you a quarter... You can get to say 80% with Ralph's drop in solution for what $50-60... Pretty good balance... hence his good success in the market. You can get to say the 90% mark with Vanek's hand fit system for what... $200.00 or so.... <numbers not exact> The point is that each incremental movement toward the theoretical 100% becomes increasingly more expensive... and it is not a linear increase. Cost per unit goes up by some definable function well in excess of linear. This phenomena (not really a phenmena) is present anywhere you are going for that "last little bit" in any pursuit... cars, guns, computers, missiles, etc... All of the above is ONLY addressing trigger pull weight. Trigger pull QUALITY is an entirely different matter altogether. AND this is the primary reason I don't do Glock trigger jobs commercially. 1) I am a perfectionist (to put it mildly), and would find it unacceptable to put my name on a trigger job that wasn't the "BEST" available. 2) To do the "BEST available" job would require me to expend a huge amount of time/resources on each job.... thus necessitating that I do it as a full time pursuit. 3) This expense of resources would have to be passed on with a substantial markup (as I do like to be able to pay my bills, eat, have a place to live). 4) The market would not support the price I would have to charge in sufficient quantity for me to ultimately earn a sustainable living. The average Glock owner is simply NOT going to pay better than $300 for a 95+% trigger job on a pistol they bought for $600.00 or less. Actually, let's do the math for the hypothetical guy wanting to go into business full-time as a Glock trigger man... Let's say that he currently makes $60,000 a year. That means he needs to replace a $5000.00 a month job doing triggers at a minimum. OK... let's use some of my data... Currently, to do a 95%+ job on a Glock trigger job, it would take me approximately 2 FULL days (including the overhead time of receiving, bookwork, storing, shipping, etc.) per weapon. OK...That mean is I NEVER took a day off, I could do 15 jobs a month. $5000/15 = $333.33 per job, not including excise tax, shipping, or any of the other overhead like FFL licensing, etc, etc, etc... Taking off on Sundays only raises the price to $385.00 or so... And THIS is assuming that you ALWAYS had exactly the number of jobs you needed to fill your work schedule... At that price, I don't think you'd be able to get 156-180 trigger jobs a year... year after year. Anyway... I didn't mean to drift off into an economic lecture, but it is relevant actually... I started out to say that there are no "secrets" really. What there are are "techniques" that folks like Vanek, Sotelo, CGR, et al. have spent tons of time, money, sweat, talent developing. A LOT of the base knowledge is already public knowledge. Those guys make part of their living off doing Glock trigger work, selling parts, etc. I think it is unreasonable to expect them (or anyone) to give away for free what they spent time and money (and time = money) to discover, develop, learn, master, etc. Finally, BECAUSE Glock pistols are not as expensive to acquire initially, and because they are not "precision" match pistols out of the box, the guys that work on them and/or develop improvements for them aren't regarded as "real" gunsmiths, or craftsmen, etc. Hence, many folks similarly dismiss their work/achievments as not being as "valuable" or that they should not have to pay for the knowledge or expertise (as opposed to "real" smiths who work on 1911/2011s). One again... this is all just my opinion.

RE: your shooting glasses... I am rapidly approaching the point where I will need corrective lenses as well, so I have been reading up on it. There are some discussions of various approaches to this here on the forums. One option is as you described, to put the focal distance to your front sight at the top of your shooting eye lense... The option I am seriously considering, and which I seem to see more support for as the solution for IPSC type shooting, is to make the entire shooting eye lense with a prescription for the front sight, and the other lense set for distance (target focus). Though it is said that this technique requires a bit of getting used to, it seems that the results are better in the long run (score-wise). For someone like me with cross-dominance (more like equi-dominant), using this technique should actually be a benefit from the eye dominance standpoint.

EVEN IF your brain doesn't screw with the "feeling input" you receive, it is still an order of magnitude slower than SEEING... Nerve impulses travel wayyyyy slower than light. So, using feedback from anywhere in/on your body that has a longer nerve pathway than your optic nerve is going to be slower...

I use the 5.56mm ammo cans (same size as the .50cal IIRC). IF they are going to be stored for more than about 3 months, I add in a dessicant pack. Another deal is to make sure that the final tumble of the clean brass is with media that is dry... no cleaner at all. Under 3 months, I don't use the dessicant packs... Eliminated all my corrosion probs... oxidation as well... I just opened a can a few weeks ago that had been stored for 3 years and compared them to some I had just removed from the vib machine.... no discernable difference in color.

Wonder if I am still barred from entering the Republic of Panama? Back in '88, they seemed kinda "set" on the idea that I not return... Course, it was because I promised to do "not very nice things" to M. Noriega... Perhaps it wouldn't be an issue after all this time. I really enjoyed and liked being there... It's a beautiful country... Wonder if El Valle still has that cool "log cabin" style Hotel...? I'd love to shoot down there... as a civilian. For ANYONE that has the time, money, and inclination... You should go... Balboa Gun Club was really nice back in the 80s... No reason to suspect that it isn't still...

INTJ (67,62,75,89) No particular surprises here...

You actually let your system HEAR you planning its replacement? Bad Ju-ju man... Never talk about your system IN FRONT of your system unless it is 100% praise. The VERY first computer I ever bought was a "Packard-Bell"... Needless to say, I have personally built every computer I have owned since that experience. There is NO SUBSTITUTE for a system that is properly researched, integrated, and tested prior to use. I've "consisdered" buying systems from several builders, but every time it comes back down to the fact that I build a much better system for the money than anyone else can... period. No one else could/would spend the time to make the system EXACTLY what I want... (need... yeah right. )

OK, y'all... I'll make 'em. But I have some more work to do before I make them public... not the least of which is figuring out how to make them faster and with absolute consistency. Right now, I'm rejecting about 3 out of 4 for not meeting my exact specs... I suspect there'd have to be AT LEAST two different models... one for those with stock trigger bars, and one for those that have drilled the spring hole higher...

Robert... I KNEW I should have held my ground.

Velcro is a solution, but properly done, set screws are a better solution IMHO. Velcro won't stop the mag pouch shims from loosening and falling out. I think it's in the Gear forum, but I posted a thread on how to do the set screw thing on the CR speed rig. Actually, doing the set screws AND the velcro would be even better. The screws keep everything set on the outer belt, and the extra velcro keeps the outer belt more securely attached to the inner belt... especially when you have mag pouches close together...

+1 Me either.

Hmmm... hadn't even considered it. I'll think about it.

Didn't know Charlie was back to work... Good for him! I also hadn't seen the "other" additions before. I'd like to try his trigger housing... My pre-travel works great, but I don't seem to have figured out the over travel secret yet. Thanks,

Thanks vluc... Yep, I've seen them at TG...

Thanks to EricW for cluing me in to this possibility: Adjusting RF100 Timer FAQ My timer was running for something like 2:15 and always finishing the 100 primers in less than a minute. (BTW, heed Eric's warning about NOT doing this mod if you don't have the requisite skills and experience working with AC electrical stuff) When I disassembled the RF100 to look at the circuit board, it hit me that the linear trim pot on the RF100 circuit board is oriented similar to the trim pot on the PACT MkIV timer.... vertically oriented to the board and right next to a case wall... (Thanks again Eric for the clue on the MkIV timer mods). So, I decided to drill the case to permanently expose the trim pot for adjustment. This way, I'll never have to disassemble the machine's main stud and lower unit again to adjust the time. Here are the measurements I used (measurements described with unit assembled): Measure up from the bottom of the case 0.927" in two places, spaced apart by at least a couple of inches... Join the two points with a pencil line. NOW, measure IN from the side (outside eadge of the case on the right as you are looking at it) right at 0.680" along the line you just drew and draw an intersecting line at this point. Drill a 3/16" hole at the intersection point. NOTE: YOU MUST remove the circuit board before drilling!!! PLEASE do not try to disassemble the machine until you unplug it... double check!!! Reassemble the unit making sure to square it up as Eric describes in the tuning tips FAQ. Now... on my unit the MAX time was 2:34. The minimum time was 27 seconds. Your unit may be different by a bit. Get a small standard screw driver... or better yet, use a non-conductive trim pot adjusting tool like I have from my big screen TV tweaking days. Adjust the on-time by turning the trim pot: 1) Counter clockwise REDUCES the on time. 2) Clockwise INCREASES the on time. BE CAREFUL and do not over torque the pot... If it has never been adjusted and the time is over 2:00, then the pot is very close to its max clockwise limit. Move the pot a little at a time and time it with your watch... Set for whatever time you want. Cover the hole if you want, or are worried about dust getting inside the case... Masking tape is a good alternative. Hope this helps... AGAIN, do NT do this if you are not confident and competent with electrical stuff!

First, I want to recognize/thank EricW for doing the powder measure retrograde article here: Dillon Powder Measure Retrograde Now, I have a couple of things to add/update it with. Sorry guys, but my digital camera is on the fritz, so no pics.... 1) After doing three powder measure mods, I have found that a 7/64" drill bit is the best size to drill the rivet out. Doing it on a drill press is wayyy easier. 2) You don't have to drill the return rod!!! If you will use a 5/32" ID x 3/4" OD x 0.125 thick (or maybe a little thinner if you like), you don't have to drill the return rod. Simply pas the return rod Z-bend through the remaining cam slot from the back. Then feed the washer on (it helps to put some light grease between the cam and the washer). The size of the washer OD and the thickness being close to the same as the original cam, allows for secure operation WITHOUT a pin. Next... I set up my Super 1050 yesterday and did the retrograde today... Did y'all know that the 1050 return rod will work perfectly on the 550B? It has an L-bend with a pin already drilled... If you use the washer described above, you are set. ALSO, the cool thing about converting to the 1050 rod, is that you can remove the powder measure from the 550B WITHOUT having to jack with that little plastic keeper that attaches the rod to the ram bracket... a la 1050. Now, for the more anal and tweeker inclined... If you REALLY want to smoothen up the return rod/cam operation, do this: Use a 1050 rod. Drill an additional hole near the L-bend but on the horizontal leg Get TWO thinner washers with an ID of 5/32" and at least 1/2" OD... Put the rod together in this order... going from the L-bend: Inside pin washer #1 grease return cam grease washer #2 pin #2 (original pin on the 1050 rod) This will insure that the return rod is riding ONLY on the horizontal leg through the slot and not the beginning of the bend. The TRUE anal retentive will do the following: 1) Optimize (read lap to width) the thicknesses of the two washers such that it is a snug but free fit when assembled. 2) True and polish the cam slot faces smooth. 3) True and polish the cam side faces... Almost like having bearings on the rod after all this... Very smooth, very quiet.

Flex, I plotted the curve on my stock G22 trigger... The plot is VERY instructive... Shows where all the glitches and hitches are... Gives you a good tool to use when tuning... helps diagnose what's causing what throughout the pull. Joe D - LOL! I have a life NOW that I'm rid of the 105lbs of bad news out there in California. Nah, not enough time really. I need about 8 more hours a day to get done what I want done in the time frame I need it done. It's tweekers like me that make all the cool discoveries... About 1 in 100 projects at last check turn out to be something pretty cool.

So the JP requires sending them the pistol frame for them to drill and tap for the set screw? Not for me. I prefer to do my own work when I can. I'd definitely like to see some pics of it though. I'd also like to see some pics of the G20 trigger bar. Glock really should standardize on that TB design if it works like you say it does.... Sounds like a sweet deal. Regarding ALL over travel approaches... In MY pistol, it seems like the plunger depressor on the trigger bar hangs up on the slide somehow whenever a set screw is applied... You can feel (and hear) it when you pull the slide back... Sounds like the trigger bar is in a bind and then you can hear/feel it when it slips loose... I like some overtravel too, but it's just too much... And I'm trying to figure a way to get a rock solid bottom to the trigger... Get rid of the mushy stop... I'd settle for more overtravel if the trigger were more solid at the rear...

Flex... you are exactly correct on the Jentra... It might work, but it sure is ugly. JP puts the screw in the frame huh... You'd have to fully pull the trigger bar to adjust huh? I was thinking about using that location, but using the typical "cautery over-engineered approach". I think I'd put a metal insert in the frame for a set screw to use as a stop so it doesn't eat up the frame/wear. Then I'd drill/tap the trigger bar for a set screw. It would be adjustable with the trigger bar in. I know folks worry about them coming loose... Just set it and then use Green LocTite. Green is for penetrating assembled fasteners... wrks great. I' ve used it a lot. using it on my pre-travel screw as a matter of fact. Flex.... I missed the part on the G20 triger bar... What a cool solution to that problem... I have stared at that deflection for long periods of time through the mag well... running that trigger back and forth... It never occured to me to add a spacer to keep the trigger bar out of that pinch between the plunger and frame and from deflecting...

I wish I had a sample of the Zero 180s to check in my proto... Curious about their profile. The thread idea on zeros sounds like a winner Flex.

Flex, On the jump spec of 0.004". Yeah, that's getting down there in the near minimum range. A lot of factors here to consider... If the bullet tips in the 0.003" or so sidewall clearance in the chamber, will the bullet touch? Yep, the best way here is to do the tilt and spin test to see if you can feel it drag while you tilt the bullet to the side of the chamber and twist it in a full 360 degrees... Once I get back to a good foundation to work from, maybe I'll do some testing with jump as the only variable.... 0.004" to say 0.020" by every 0.002 " or so... see if it has an impact down that far... I believe there will be a tradeoff between accuracy and jump distance... I also think there will be a point of diminishing returns down around 0.010"... but I may be way off. There IS one... just gotta plot the curve and pick it out.

Flex... ALL good points... Here, let's put the proper warnings in. 1) You probably don't want to try this one at home kiddies!!! 2) Reducing bullet jump results in placing your bullet VERY close to the rifling. If you screw up... AT ALL when you have clearances in the low thousandths, you can have BIG problems in a hurry... 3) IT IS POSSIBLE/PROBABLE that you can have major pressure spikes that could rupture the case and/or blow the barrel up if you screw up. 4) You MUST use good brass that is properly trimmed to within 0.001" of each other if you are going to monkey with setting headspacing to close tolerance. Brass can often vary by over 0.010" from case to case even after resizing. When you are talking about setting headspace around 10-20% of that, you can see the futility and the possible problems it could cause. 5) You MUST, MUST, MUST either spend a zillion hours like I did to get my progressive press capable of producing OALs (and with trimmed brass = seating depth) consistently to within 0.001" OR use a GOOD single stage press to seat the bullets. 6) You ABSOLUTELY MUST measure and chamber check EVERY ROUND! Failure to follow the above and a bunch of other stuff may well result in damage or death to you, damage to your stuff, or at least a malfunctioning pistol.