Best Lightened Striker?

[ck1]

Thinking of getting a lightened striker as I've heard it should allow me to run a reduced power striker spring with it and get the better trigger while keeping the gun reliable enough to set off all the factory ammo I'm likely to encounter (Please, I don't reload and am not going to anytime soon so no need to share your load data or how you check your primers are seated right...), well "reliable" so I've heard... Every thread I've found on the subject has someone posting of going back to a stock spring due to light strikes or breaking their lightened striker...

So, can it actually work reliably?

If so, who makes the best option (Jager, Glockworx, Lightning Strike, etc.)?

(please refrain from posting how you made your own by using a lathe or whatever, I'll be buying a manufatured one not making my own thanks)

TIA

Edited May 9, 2010 by ck1

[Jman]

I am having great luck with the Jager lightened steel striker/spring combo.

Zero experience with the others.

[ck1]

I am having great luck with the Jager lightened steel striker/spring combo.

Zero experience with the others.

By "good luck" do you mean 100% reliable? ...and through how many rounds?

[Jman]

Good question. Yes, 100% reliable. Just shy of a 700 rounds. Not exactly wrung out but it's getting there. Installed in my Jager Open G17 it comes with a Wolf 4# striker spring. Everything else in that trigger group was provided by Vanek. Breaks consistently at 2.5 pounds. Not hurting my game at all.

[anilson]

I have run Vanek with good results. I have tied the Lightning Strike had to send it back, then got another and had to send that one back. They did not reduce trigger pull but made the trigger heavy. I have a Jager on order. Vanek is now using jager so that the best endorsement in the biz. Also glockworxs makes good triggers i have not used their striker but if its anything like the triggers its also good.

[Sarge]

I'm probably the guy you mentioned having one break. It was apparently a bad striker. I have a new one back and in my gun along with the Vanek trigger. As much as I would like to tell you it has been perfect I can't. I have put over 1000 rounds through my new G34 in stock configuration with absolutely NO malfunctions of any kind including FTF. But since I put the trigger and lightened striker in I have fired about 300 rounds and have had one light strike. I know that's not too bad and I know it can't be proven to be the strikers fault but it DID happen so therefore it's not technically been 100% reliable.

[spanky]

I have one of the original Glockworx ones in my 34 and it has been 100% reliable through at least a few thousand rounds.

I did have two or three light primer strikes at area 4 last year but I believe that was more to do with the weather.

It has all been either Win White Box or Blazer Aluminum

Edited May 9, 2010 by spankaveli

[beginner shooter]

I have a Glock Worx trigger/striker/spring kit etc. Striker has functioned 100% with about 1500 rounds with both the 3# striker spring and the factory striker spring.

[BlueOvalBruin]

I’ve had mixed luck with lightened striker systems. The problems I’ve had were caused by lighter striker springs, they just don’t seem to last very long. I get maybe 1,000 rds before I need to switch out springs, or else I might get light strikes on not fully seated (but not high) primers and the reset starts getting weak too. I’ve been using the Glockworx striker and springs. A friend of mine used to use the 4.0lbf Wolf springs with the same GW striker and needed to replace the spring every 400 rds or so. And then I have 3 other friends who have been using the GW striker + GW spring kit and rarely change out springs and have never had a misfire. I’m not sure Glockworx could have done anything different to make the light spring more reliable, I would have had the same problem with the jager and definitely with the stock striker. As far as I know, all the aftermarket lightened strikers are about the same weight, use the same materials, have the extended tip and the extended lug. I think I’ll just cut down a stock spring and see what I can get. I’ll get a better reset too.

[Micah]

Jager/Vanek. No primer problems with Win and Fed.

[LPatterson]

Vanek trigger kit with reduced power striker spring Jager striker 1000 rounds 100% reliable with CCI primers hand seated.

[jripper]

Glockworx striker with Wolff reduced spring. About 600 rounds with a mixture of Remington, CCI, Fed Sm Rifle, and Win. No light strikes so far. Brownells carries the Glockworx striker FYI.

[ck1]

As far as I know, all the aftermarket lightened strikers are about the same weight, use the same materials, have the extended tip and the extended lug. I think I’ll just cut down a stock spring and see what I can get. I’ll get a better reset too.

That's it right there... it's not really the lightened strikers. In fact I had started a whole thread not too long ago about looking for a striker spring that's "in-between" in strength as I'm starting to get convinced that's the solution I'm looking for... I'd be cool if all or some of these companies that offer lightened strikers would offer alternate striker spring weights/strengths... as while most of us who shoot Glocks want the benefits the lightened strikers provide, we would like to keep the level of reliability we've come accustomed to with the Glocks... Seems a lot of you guys are making it to around 1000 or so before a light strike, but beyond that it gets iffy (not to mention in my experience with recoil springs, the actual strengths of the springs can vary wildly), so for now, not sure that's enough built-in reliability after being spoiled, not sure if I want to go this route.

I've got my trigger and gun to a pretty good place where it's subtly enhanced over stock yet still bomb-proof, so part of me is now thinking there's a limit to pushing the design of the arrow to where I wish it were, and I'd be better off just pushing the indian so to speak.

Thanks to all for the info thus far, appreciate it, this forum more than any I've found is made up of real shooters with real experience, very helpful and refreshing.

Edited May 11, 2010 by ck1

[Duane Thomas]

I did have two or three light primer strikes at area 4 last year but I believe that was more to do with the weather.

How could the weather affect firing pin impacts?

[Sarge]

I wondered the same thing.

Edited May 12, 2010 by Sarge

[SPR1]

I am running the Steel Lightening Strike fp with a stock Glock spring. My goal was a faster locktime while maintaining stock reliability. I have not kept records on the round count. Conservatively though, it has held up through 1500 or so rounds. Many years ago I tried the 4 lb Wolff springs and while I never had light hits with the factory heavy pin, in multiple Glocks I had failure to reset the trigger problems. I ended up throwing all of my lighter springs away to avoid the temptation of using them. I have kind of gotten used to the gun going bang when I pull the trigger, so it was annoying to have an unreliabe Glock.

[dsmw5142]

I have three of the lightening strike lightened steel strikers. The two in my Glock 34's have seen probably a combined 15,000 rounds and the one in my G17 has probably 4000 rounds on it. No problems with any of them with 4lb. sriker springs until recently. My last match I had one light strike FTF. Might be time for a new spring in that one. Today's match... no issues, other than I gave a no shoot a third eye

AND... At least 5-6000 of those 15K were the notoriously hard Wolf silver SP primers.

[eric nielsen]

I've been shooting one machined out of the stock striker by forum member JerseyGlock. Saved me from waiting for the Jager to be sold separate & saved me some $$ too. It weighs 88gr versus stock weight of 114gr.

Very happy with it. With the reduced spring it shoots pencils just as far as a stock-striker/stock-spring combo. He also put a very subtle mod that reduces let-off friction in a way that I'm totally good with - not a hack job at all, more of a jeweler's approach to making a striker.

Only had 2 primers to compare - Federal SPP and Wolf SPP. It is perfect [of course] with the Feds but wouldn't light 1 out of 35 Wolf primers. I suppose I could cook up a few dozen 40cal rounds with CCI small rifle, that's the only other brand I have.

[Jman]

Good question. Yes, 100% reliable. Just shy of a 700 rounds. Not exactly wrung out but it's getting there. Installed in my Jager Open G17 it comes with a Wolf 4# striker spring. Everything else in that trigger group was provided by Vanek. Breaks consistently at 2.5 pounds. Not hurting my game at all.

edited to show updated round count of 954! Batting a thousand.

Edited May 17, 2010 by Jman