Dale Hash Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 After eight years of shooting production I've gone to the dark side and bought a used STI open gun with a 1.5 pound trigger. I'm also practicing, something I have avoided for years. I load the big stick with dud rounds and use a snap cap in the chamber. Each time I draw and dry fire, I cock the hammer manually with my thumb. At last weeks match the gun went full auto on me. Up to this point, it has functioned flawlessly. I have been told that manually cocking a gun weakens the trigger spring. Has anyone heard of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaGunner Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Never heard that. I Cock my hammer by hand all the time to dryfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 See 1.5lb. trigger job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro2AInPA Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 See 1.5lb. trigger job. Bingo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Hash Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Just got the gun back from the smith with a 2 pound pull. No match this weekend so going to the range Monday to try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro2AInPA Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Just got the gun back from the smith with a 2 pound pull. No match this weekend so going to the range Monday to try it out. Did he tell you what caused it to go full auto? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Hash Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Said the spring weakens after a lot of rounds. With as lite a pull as I had, it didn't take much. I had him bump it up to 2 pounds. I am also going to learn how to do my own tweaking. Shooting open is way to much fun. I'm surprised it isn't against the law or taxed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 See 1.5lb. trigger job. Yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD Niner Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Let us know if you can feel any difference between the old 1.5# trigger pull and the new 2.0# setup. My guess is that you'll find no discernable difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 For the record, there's no such thing as a "trigger spring." Trigger pull is a function of friction, the main spring, and the sear spring "tweak," from my observation anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calishootr Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 you make it sound like its evil or impossible to have a 1.5 lb trigger in an open gun???? is it obtainable??? yes, is it for newbies that dont understand that it needs to be watched after/cared for/maintained a lot morethan say your standard triggers in anything else??? had a 1.5 lb triggers in all of minefor yrs, do they go away??? yes, luckily for me, it was about 10 yrs and a few zillion rds later. open class is like driving formula 1 racecars, you dont put gas in em from the local AM/PM and you dont let the guys at jiffy-lube service em or rotatethe tires... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 ACK!! That had to make things exciting to say the least. Kind of makes you wonder how much muzzle rise you get in a full auto Open gun with a big stick. lol Just glad to hear no one got hurt. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Been cocking my open gun for a long time while dryfiring with no issues. My Limited gun requires a little attention once in a while to prevent hammer follow. Open trigger is 1.75 and the Limited gun is 2.25 lbs. It is hard to feel any difference in the triggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Hash Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 I was over dramatizing. The first time I knew I had a problem was on a four target array. On the forth target it doubled, giving me a mike. The RO said I should have taken an additional shot after the double as the second round went high. I was so stunned by the double that the last thing I was thinking of was another shot. The next stage it doubled twice in a row the first two shots, then the hammer followed the slide. The next two shots were singles with hammer follow. A friend was kind enough to let me finish the match with his gun. It was a level one match and I was the score keeper, so no one complained. The gunsmith that worked on the gun said it went full auto on him while he was testing it. Hammer spring is a misnomer and I used it for brevity. It is actually the sear spring, the mechanics of which I am somewhat aware. I was very fortunate to get my hands on this gun. It was made by Gene Morin of Sutherlin, Oregon for his nephew, before the young man discovered girls and lost interest in shooting. Gene is a master millwright and a master shooter. Just finished sixth overall in the 2010 Smith & Wesson International revolver championships. His guns are works of art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 I want to say my trigger pull is around 2 pounds even, has been been since the day I got it. 25000+ rounds ago. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Hash Posted July 16, 2010 Author Share Posted July 16, 2010 I want to say my trigger pull is around 2 pounds even, has been been since the day I got it. 25000+ rounds ago. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Hash Posted July 16, 2010 Author Share Posted July 16, 2010 The trigger is set at 2 lbs. Went to the range yesterday and shot two hundred rounds without a hiccup. Turns out I may have been more the problem than the gun. The gun needed a through cleaning. Yea, duh. I have been shooting a Beretta for years and you can carry it around in a bucket of mud and still shoot it. The open gun is a different animal. I'm the classic example of never being to old to learn, but I'm close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztecdriver Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 It's not a practice I do regularly (cocking the hammer by hand) but i regularly see many different competitors do it as a regular part of their make ready routine. The pull the hammer back by hand, run the slide a couple of times, then seat the mag (and whatever else). I've heard other people say it can damage the sear engagement surfaces, but I don't know how much I agree with that. Just observations - no real stance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Hash Posted July 16, 2010 Author Share Posted July 16, 2010 The reason I brought the topic up is a friend heard from a well respected local gun smith and noted maker of major nine guns that manual cocking harmed the guns. I have also heard it does or doesn't hurt to dry fire on a empty chamber. Shooting the open gun major or minor does or doesn't effect the comp. The amount of advice I have been getting since I went open has been phenomenal. So after years of reading the forums I have decided to participate and start putting some of the questions out and getting a wider range of opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecichlid Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 The reason I brought the topic up is a friend heard from a well respected local gun smith and noted maker of major nine guns that manual cocking harmed the guns. Something I would ask this smith, aside from being slower how does manually cocking the hammer differ from the slide doing it as it cycles? As part of my Make Ready rutine I draw the gun, turn the dot on then cock the hammer by thumb, rack the slide three times to make sure the lube I just put on it is in all the places it needs to be, take a sight picture and drop the hammer on the first target. After that I insert my Barney mag, cock the hammer again and cycle the slide, flip the thumb safety on and remove the Barney mag and make sure it is empty *since it only had one round in it to start with if it is empty there is only one place it can be and no need to press check the gun lol* and finish with a full mag then reholster the gun checking to make sure the safety is on one last time before I let go of the gun. With that said I have been doing it for years, shooting every week and it hasn't harmed my trigger job in the least. Joe W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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