Powder River Trigger and ND

[tambarika]

I am a gunsmith who specializes in working on the Springfield XD. I have modified quite a few with both Powder River and Springer Precision trigger kits. A customer just brought me a .40 that had the Powder River kit in it, and had an ND in a motel room.

the problem and solution were fairly obvious. I do not like to bad mouth anyone's after market parts --especially a company as successful as PR, but since i have observed the same situation now with at least 3 other XD's, and it is a major safety issue, i need to bring it to your attention.

the primary issue revolves around the sear spring pin. this is a non-captured pin sitting directly in front of the sear pin in the frame. what i have begun to see is this pin has a tendency to move inwards about .020-.030 (or more) during usage -- sometimes in as little as 25-30 rounds. as the pin moves inward, it will eventually contact the striker safety release lever.

on a stock XD, or one with a Springer Precision trigger, this is not an issue. while it may contact the release lever, it should not adversely affect usage -- although it will create a bit of friction at the point of contact.

however, with the Powder River replacement part, the pin can (and will) jam the release lever in the upward position, making it virtually impossible to remove the slide normally. the customer who brought this to me had an ND in a hotel room when he attempted to seat a full mag and release the slide. the pin had jammed the release lever up, he had the grip safety depressed, and when he released the slide the gun discharged into the bed. fortunately, no one was injured.

after seeing his pistol, i checked all 4 of my XD's and found two had pins that had started to migrate inward.

after some thought, i obtained some hardened drill bit stock of the same diameter as the stock pin and manufactured a longer replacement pin. I drilled a blind hole in the other frame rail to trap the pin, and then milled a small slot into the stock striker safety release lever to allow free movement around the pin. the amount of metal removed from the release lever is nominal and does not impact the structural integrity of the part.

i am not fishing for business here. i believe this is a major safety concern. i have since used all of my modified XD's, two in competition, and the modification is working fine -- and provides me with the peace of mind that the pin is no longer free to migrate.

i urge everyone with a Powder River trigger kit to closely examine their sear spring pin for movement. while there may be other solutions to this problem, i am satisifed that the modification i have designed is both safe and effective.

unfortuantely, the Powder River release lever is contoured in such a manner that it is not possible to perform this fix on one without adversely affecting the integrity of the safety release lever. the neck of their lever is contoured so much that removing material for a captured pin would render the part too thin for safe usage.

attached are photos showing a stock XD and the modification i have made.

[cyberiad]

I have a Powder River kit in a 9mm XDM and just took the slide off. The sear pin has in fact moved (I didn't measure how much) but even if it should move all the way "across" the opening I don't see any way for the pin to become trapped under the striker safety lever, even with the lever as far up as it will go. However, I can see that if more material is removed from the overtravel stop on the trigger (I have the new trigger with the overtravel stop built in) perhaps the malfunction could indeed occur but almost all of the overtravel stop would have to be removed and the pin would then likely have moved so far across that it would either fall out or be dislodged by the safety lever.

Edited January 1, 2011 by cyberiad

[Wild Gene]

Has this been brought to PR's attention?

This does not appear to be a slam PR or fishing for business post, but a legitimate concern.

I hope PR is aware.

WG

[tambarika]

I have a Powder River kit in a 9mm XDM and just took the slide off. The sear pin has in fact moved (I didn't measure how much) but even if it should move all the way "across" the opening I don't see any way for the pin to become trapped under the striker safety lever, even with the lever as far up as it will go. However, I can see that if more material is removed from the overtravel stop on the trigger (I have the new trigger with the overtravel stop built in) perhaps the malfunction could indeed occur but almost all of the overtravel stop would have to be removed and the pin would then likely have moved so far across that it would either fall out or be dislodged by the safety lever.

i have not seen the new trigger kits or worked on an XDM (they are not legal here in Ca). the two i have seen were older XD's whose parts were placed by another well known after market parts manufacturer. this one i do not want to name, but they did less than stellar work on the XDs i have repaired (i have fixed 3 of their botched trigger jobs so far). it is quite possible that they were using first gen parts (of PR) and the design has changed since then.

in any case, the initial problem is Springfields as far as i'm concerned, since the non-trapped pin has no where to go except in the wrong direction. any part that 'travels' inside a gun can cause a number of problems. while i'm sure that most serious shooters completely field strip their guns, this pin can wander during the course of a single day at the range. whether it causes a nominal gritty trigger pull from contacting a stock part, or a complete jam by contacting a PR part, neither is accepatable as far as i'm concerned.

[agalindo]

How is the OEM safety leaver and the PR safety leaver different in the engagement area where the sear spring pin touches it? From what I've seen of the PR safety leavers the difference is at the bottom end of the leaver where it engages the sear tab. The upper part looks identical to the OEM safety leaver to me.

[tambarika]

How is the OEM safety leaver and the PR safety leaver different in the engagement area where the sear spring pin touches it? From what I've seen of the PR safety leavers the difference is at the bottom end of the leaver where it engages the sear tab. The upper part looks identical to the OEM safety leaver to me.

i suggest you take a closer look at the two parts. the differences are quite obvious.

i no longer work on XDs that have powder river parts in them unless the owner permits me to substitute a stock safety lever.

[Powder Finger]

How is the OEM safety leaver and the PR safety leaver different in the engagement area where the sear spring pin touches it? From what I've seen of the PR safety leavers the difference is at the bottom end of the leaver where it engages the sear tab. The upper part looks identical to the OEM safety leaver to me.

i suggest you take a closer look at the two parts. the differences are quite obvious.

i no longer work on XDs that have powder river parts in them unless the owner permits me to substitute a stock safety lever.

If you would, add a photo of the modified safety lever out of the gun. If I understand your fix you now have an elongated hole in the

lever for the new pin to go through. I also wonder if a pin like a 1911 sear pin with the larger head on it would work the same with

less work. That said this looks like a nice clean fix for the problem and probably isn't a bad standard treatment.

[tambarika]

How is the OEM safety leaver and the PR safety leaver different in the engagement area where the sear spring pin touches it? From what I've seen of the PR safety leavers the difference is at the bottom end of the leaver where it engages the sear tab. The upper part looks identical to the OEM safety leaver to me.

i suggest you take a closer look at the two parts. the differences are quite obvious.

i no longer work on XDs that have powder river parts in them unless the owner permits me to substitute a stock safety lever.

If you would, add a photo of the modified safety lever out of the gun. If I understand your fix you now have an elongated hole in the

lever for the new pin to go through. I also wonder if a pin like a 1911 sear pin with the larger head on it would work the same with

less work. That said this looks like a nice clean fix for the problem and probably isn't a bad standard treatment.

the 1911 sear pin is a great idea -- but the main diameter is too large. it would take more work to install it than it takes me to blind pin the XD currently. i have a lot of .760 pin stock, and it takes about 50 minutes, start to finish to modify a stock XD for the new pin.

so far, every XD i have examined show some signs of pin migration. for the judicious shooter, it's simply a matter of making the pin flush every trip to the range. Since i CCW 2 of my XDs, the mod was a no brainer. i compete with all 4 of mine, and have several thousand rounds down the pipes since the mod, and there have been no problems.