whitea87 Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 I don't understand how some people think that you can shoot endless thousands of rounds without needing to proactively replace springs. Nothing lasts forever guys. If you want your firearm to perform reliably then you need to maintain it reliably. i have gone threw many of springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordfan485 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I experienced light strikes for the first time on Friday at a match. Happened on 2 rounds out of about 60. Gun has the APEX CAEK in it, the primers were CCI so I wasn't too surprised. Only about 400 rounds thru the gun so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I have the apex competition aek in my M&P. I usually have 1 or 2 light strikes per match. A typical match is around 90 rounds or so. I have been using CCI primers. I picked up some federal primers but haven't tried them yet. Some of the other shooters swear by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 CCI Primers are way harder than Federal primers. Getting light strikes on harder CCI primers while using the APEX competition striker spring shouldn't be a surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 My 2nd MP9 pro with APEX kit now has 5000 rounds on it. Mainly shooting Federal primers, but recently changed to WSP due to shortage of Federals. I started having one light primer strikes every 100 rounds or so. I don't know if I keep shooting Federal primers, maybe the light primer strike issue won't surface so soon. I emailed APEX and they told me the APEX striker spring life time is 8k-10k. I guess replacing it every 5k is on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 To follow up on my story - I got new APEX striker spring yesterday. I put it on and tried it this morning. To my disappointment, I am still getting 2-3 light primer strikes among the 100 rounds fired today. I took off the new APEX striker spring and swapped the factory striker spring on. Fired another 100 rounds - 0 issue. It looks like even new APEX striker spring is too light for WSP or CCI. This only makes the situation worse, because Federal primers are out of stock everywhere. I have not seen any in the past 3 months (that's why I am switching to WSP). Anybody knows what's the impact to use APEX kit with stock striker spring? I did not feel any significant difference firing the 100 rounds in that setup, but I can tell the trigger pre-travel seemed to be a bit longer and the trigger pull is a tiny bit heavier. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 The only thing you need to watch out for is running a recoil spring that is too light. If you are running an 11lb recoil spring then the stock striker spring can allow the barrel to unlock or lockup inconsistently. If you are running the stock 15lb recoil spring then it won't matter what striker spring you are using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 The only thing you need to watch out for is running a recoil spring that is too light. If you are running an 11lb recoil spring then the stock striker spring can allow the barrel to unlock or lockup inconsistently. If you are running the stock 15lb recoil spring then it won't matter what striker spring you are using. Thanks for confirming. Yes I have been running the blue stock springs on all my MPs. I guess before I get hold of some Federal primers, I will be running the stock striker spring on the 5k WSP I just stocked up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Another factor may be the striker block timing being off and the striker is hitting the block partially as the trigger is pulled. This will take a lot of striking force out of the primer hit. An easy way to test this being an issue is to temporarily remove the striker block plunger then do some test firing to see if the light strikes continue. If they don't, then you have a timing issue between the striker and the striker block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelsonAK Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 (edited) Or... pop a pen down an EMPTY pistol - point it up and 'click' - a striker block that is in the way will result in the pen barely clearing the barrel. If the spring and striker block are the way they should be your pen should get some 'good air.' And besides - it's fun. Edited April 14, 2015 by KelsonAK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordfan485 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I use the apex striker spring and WSP primers and have had no issues. Had about 2-3 out of 100 rounds light strike when using CCI primers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarkeg Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Or... pop a pen down an EMPTY pistol - point it up and 'click' - a striker block that is in the way will result in the pen barely clearing the barrel. If the spring and striker block are the way they should be your pen should get some 'good air.' And besides - it's fun. While that may be true for 1911's, I don't believe that applies to an M&P 9mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelsonAK Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 It has worked for me. Tried it with a flat face trigger install. Kept the block stock - pen made it out of the barrel by 2 inches. Swap to the included block - 4 feet up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I tried the trick on all my MPs, MP9 full size, MP9 pros and MP9c, some with APEX kits and some are just purely stock. In all cases, the pencil made it out of the barrel by about 2 inches. I don't see a difference between the stock ones vs. APEX ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarkeg Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I've got APEX competition striker springs in all my M&P's, but I shoot mostly Federal primers so I've never had a problem. The "pencil test" on my pistols doesn't get it out of the barrel, not even close. I guess it's time to look for striker block interference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I've got APEX competition striker springs in all my M&P's, but I shoot mostly Federal primers so I've never had a problem. The "pencil test" on my pistols doesn't get it out of the barrel, not even close. I guess it's time to look for striker block interference. I have the APEX kits installed on some of my MPs, and the kits include the "ultimate striker block". I did compare stock MPs with the APEX kitted ones using the pencil test. Both of them could only get the pencil out of the barrel for about 2 inches. I am not convinced that striker block interference is the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) I've got APEX competition striker springs in all my M&P's, but I shoot mostly Federal primers so I've never had a problem. The "pencil test" on my pistols doesn't get it out of the barrel, not even close. I guess it's time to look for striker block interference. I have the APEX kits installed on some of my MPs, and the kits include the "ultimate striker block". I did compare stock MPs with the APEX kitted ones using the pencil test. Both of them could only get the pencil out of the barrel for about 2 inches. I am not convinced that striker block interference is the problem. Did you take the striker out and look for damage on the leading edge of the striker block leg? This is really the only way to confirm if there is interference or not. Or are you not going to heed my advice yet again and send your M&P off to S&W to verify what is going on to only waste a month and get the same answer? I hate to sound like a prick, but you seem to start these threads and question all of the guidance you get. If you don't understand how the M&P trigger parts function or interact with one another then maybe you shouldn't be tinkering on your own gun. Leave it to a qualified gunsmith if you can't figure it out yourself. Edited April 15, 2015 by CHA-LEE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I've got APEX competition striker springs in all my M&P's, but I shoot mostly Federal primers so I've never had a problem. The "pencil test" on my pistols doesn't get it out of the barrel, not even close. I guess it's time to look for striker block interference. I have the APEX kits installed on some of my MPs, and the kits include the "ultimate striker block". I did compare stock MPs with the APEX kitted ones using the pencil test. Both of them could only get the pencil out of the barrel for about 2 inches. I am not convinced that striker block interference is the problem. Did you take the striker out and look for damage on the leading edge of the striker block leg? This is really the only way to confirm if there is interference or not. Or are you not going to heed my advice yet again and send your M&P off to S&W to verify what is going on to only waste a month and get the same answer? I hate to sound like a prick, but you seem to start these threads and question all of the guidance you get. If you don't understand how the M&P trigger parts function or interact with one another then maybe you shouldn't be tinkering on your own gun. Leave it to a qualified gunsmith if you can't figure it out yourself. I will take off the rear sight and look at the striker block tonight. I was just responding to the "pencil test", which shows identical results on one APEX kit MP9 vs. one near brand new stock MP9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killab Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) You have to remove the rear sight on the MP9 Pro to get the striker assembly out, correct? It's a pain in the *** My MP9 Pro ate through about 7000 rounds, and today it had the first light primer strike issue. Looks like it's due for a complete dissembling and cleaning, possibly replacing the striker and recoil spring. You do not have to remove the rear sight to get the striker out. Look for disassembly videos on YouTube Go back and READ this post (#20) by CHA-LEE He knows what he is explaining to you Edited April 20, 2015 by killab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 You have to remove the rear sight on the MP9 Pro to get the striker assembly out, correct? It's a pain in the *** My MP9 Pro ate through about 7000 rounds, and today it had the first light primer strike issue. Looks like it's due for a complete dissembling and cleaning, possibly replacing the striker and recoil spring. You do not have to remove the rear sight to get the striker out. Look for disassembly videos on YouTube Go back and READ this post (#20) by CHA-LEE He knows what he is explaining to you Yes, he explained correctly that taking out the striker assembly does not require taking off rear sight However, taking out the striker block plunger does require taking off the rear sight, because the plunger spring is pressed against the rear sight I did take out the striker block plunger (and spring) over the weekend. The physical appearance seems fine to me, no scratch marks, dents, etc. I put them back and went to range. Out of 300 rounds (all with WSP) fired, I got 0 light primer strike, and this is with the APEX spring going on 6k round count. I am very much perplexed. Still not sure what's causing the previous light strikes. I do check primer seating on each round. I am sure there were no high or tilt primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixty Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 I too have recently been getting a few light strikes per match. My trigger pull is down to 2.2 on my pro 9mm. I bought the gun used so I guess in need to go ahead and replace some of the springs. I'm using cci primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Anyone tried sharpening the tip of the striker to give it better penetration (less resistance) when using light striker springs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarkeg Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Probably a bad idea. It could lead to pierced primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RacerDave6 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I just started getting the light strikes this season from my 9L Pro. I does not have any trigger work done to it. I cleaned the striker and channel. It was a bit dirty so I had hoped that would fix it, however I still encountered the light strikes at my last match. 3 or 4 out of 100 rounds. I have installed the SSS competition striker spring and will see if it helps. I'm shooting a state match this weekend. Hope this fixes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) I just started getting the light strikes this season from my 9L Pro. I does not have any trigger work done to it. I cleaned the striker and channel. It was a bit dirty so I had hoped that would fix it, however I still encountered the light strikes at my last match. 3 or 4 out of 100 rounds. I have installed the SSS competition striker spring and will see if it helps. I'm shooting a state match this weekend. Hope this fixes it. Competition striker springs are usually lighter than stock. I'd get a new stock striker assembly from Brownell and try that. Also, using Federal primers could definitely help as they are much softer than Win and CCI. Edited May 29, 2015 by MilkMyDuds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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