Light Primer Strikes

[Bkreutz]

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.

SSS makes a extra power striker spring, I'm thinking that's what he was talking about.

[RacerDave6]

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.

SSS makes a extra power striker spring, I'm thinking that's what he was talking about.

Yes, it's longer and stiffer than the factory spring.

We shall find out tomorrow in Sparta, if we don't get flooded out.

[Hallz]

Here is what I have experianced.

Numbers are approximates based on how many LS per mag

limited gun with the Flatt Faced Trigger

• With #11 recoil spring, and factory striker spring, CCI primers are about 1 per 50 light strikes, 1 in 75 with WSP
• With Apex comp striker spring 1 in 15-20 CCI, light strike 1 per 20-30 with WSP
• With #13, CCI and factory striker spring about 1-2 per 100, WSP maybe 1 in 150
• I swapped to a wolf plus power striker spring and in the last 3 matches (100-250) each match I have had 2 light strikes with the WSP's. One was from a deep set primer. It did take the trigger pull up from 2.25lbs to 3lbs,...but worth it IMO.

With the Federal gold match primers, I was able to run the Apex comp striker spring, factory sear spring and 11lbs recoil spring in my production gun and have 100% reliability with a 2.5 lbs trigger. WSP primers were about 95% reliable.

Good luck all, I will be following to see how everyone resolves their issues. I know too many people that have ditched their M&P's out of frustration with moddifications.

[CHA-LEE]

Once again, are you guys checking the striker block leg on the striker to verify that its not a timing issue? If the leading edge of the striker block leg is beat up or rolled over, then you have a timing issue and the striker is smacking into the striker block before it can hit the primer. This takes a crap ton of energy out of the strikers forward velocity, thus light strikes.

Any time you start jacking around with the trigger bar loop, or swap to after market triggers or sears, the timing of when the striker block gets pushed up gets jacked up. If you don't verify that the striker block is being pushed up and out of the way before the striker comes forward, then YOU WILL have light strike problems.

If the striker vs striker block timing is setup correctly you should be able to shoot CCI primers + the APEX competition striker spring with ZERO light strikes.Or you can not fix the timing and keep putting stiffer and stiffer striker springs in there to try and overcome the timing issue using a brute force method.

One of these methods of solving the issue leads to an actual solution, the other only leads to a delayed failure mode. Decide wisely.

Edited June 8, 2015 by CHA-LEE

[Hallz]

Once again, are you guys checking the striker block leg on the striker to verify that its not a timing issue? If the leading edge of the striker block leg is beat up or rolled over, then you have a timing issue and the striker is smacking into the striker block before it can hit the primer. This takes a crap ton of energy out of the strikers forward velocity, thus light strikes.

Any time you start jacking around with the trigger bar loop, or swap to after market triggers or sears, the timing of when the striker block gets pushed up gets jacked up. If you don't verify that the striker block is being pushed up and out of the way before the striker comes forward, then YOU WILL have light strike problems.

If the striker vs striker block timing is setup correctly you should be able to shoot CCI primers + the APEX competition striker spring with ZERO light strikes.Or you can not fix the timing and keep putting stiffer and stiffer striker springs in there to try and overcome the timing issue using a brute force method.

One of these methods of solving the issue leads to an actual solution, the other only leads to a delayed failure mode. Decide wisely.

I think I was having this problem with one of my guns. See the attatched photos.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Hallz

[Tarkeg]

Once again, are you guys checking the striker block leg on the striker to verify that its not a timing issue? If the leading edge of the striker block leg is beat up or rolled over, then you have a timing issue and the striker is smacking into the striker block before it can hit the primer. This takes a crap ton of energy out of the strikers forward velocity, thus light strikes.

Any time you start jacking around with the trigger bar loop, or swap to after market triggers or sears, the timing of when the striker block gets pushed up gets jacked up. If you don't verify that the striker block is being pushed up and out of the way before the striker comes forward, then YOU WILL have light strike problems.

If the striker vs striker block timing is setup correctly you should be able to shoot CCI primers + the APEX competition striker spring with ZERO light strikes.Or you can not fix the timing and keep putting stiffer and stiffer striker springs in there to try and overcome the timing issue using a brute force method.

One of these methods of solving the issue leads to an actual solution, the other only leads to a delayed failure mode. Decide wisely.

O.K. Then the question would be: What's your preferred method of solving the timing issue?

[CHA-LEE]

Once again, are you guys checking the striker block leg on the striker to verify that its not a timing issue? If the leading edge of the striker block leg is beat up or rolled over, then you have a timing issue and the striker is smacking into the striker block before it can hit the primer. This takes a crap ton of energy out of the strikers forward velocity, thus light strikes.

Any time you start jacking around with the trigger bar loop, or swap to after market triggers or sears, the timing of when the striker block gets pushed up gets jacked up. If you don't verify that the striker block is being pushed up and out of the way before the striker comes forward, then YOU WILL have light strike problems.

If the striker vs striker block timing is setup correctly you should be able to shoot CCI primers + the APEX competition striker spring with ZERO light strikes.Or you can not fix the timing and keep putting stiffer and stiffer striker springs in there to try and overcome the timing issue using a brute force method.

One of these methods of solving the issue leads to an actual solution, the other only leads to a delayed failure mode. Decide wisely.

I think I was having this problem with one of my guns. See the attatched photos.

image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

Yep. The leading edge of the striker block leg is beat up. Timing issue.

[CHA-LEE]

Once again, are you guys checking the striker block leg on the striker to verify that its not a timing issue? If the leading edge of the striker block leg is beat up or rolled over, then you have a timing issue and the striker is smacking into the striker block before it can hit the primer. This takes a crap ton of energy out of the strikers forward velocity, thus light strikes.

Any time you start jacking around with the trigger bar loop, or swap to after market triggers or sears, the timing of when the striker block gets pushed up gets jacked up. If you don't verify that the striker block is being pushed up and out of the way before the striker comes forward, then YOU WILL have light strike problems.

If the striker vs striker block timing is setup correctly you should be able to shoot CCI primers + the APEX competition striker spring with ZERO light strikes.Or you can not fix the timing and keep putting stiffer and stiffer striker springs in there to try and overcome the timing issue using a brute force method.

One of these methods of solving the issue leads to an actual solution, the other only leads to a delayed failure mode. Decide wisely.

O.K. Then the question would be: What's your preferred method of solving the timing issue?

Fix the timing issue. You can change the angle of the loop on the trigger bar or change the height of the striker block leg on the striker. If this does not make sense then get it to a gunsmith to fix it for you.

[Hallz]

Here are a few pics of how I verified and confirmed timming on two pistols.

Last pic after 200 rounds and no light strikes, if the striker leg was hitting the USB I should see a shiny spot were it removed the die.

If still no light strikes after another 2 matches, I will give the factory striker spring another try and the maybe the Apex comp spring.

Edited June 9, 2015 by Hallz

[Tarkeg]

Once again, are you guys checking the striker block leg on the striker to verify that its not a timing issue? If the leading edge of the striker block leg is beat up or rolled over, then you have a timing issue and the striker is smacking into the striker block before it can hit the primer. This takes a crap ton of energy out of the strikers forward velocity, thus light strikes.

Any time you start jacking around with the trigger bar loop, or swap to after market triggers or sears, the timing of when the striker block gets pushed up gets jacked up. If you don't verify that the striker block is being pushed up and out of the way before the striker comes forward, then YOU WILL have light strike problems.

If the striker vs striker block timing is setup correctly you should be able to shoot CCI primers + the APEX competition striker spring with ZERO light strikes.Or you can not fix the timing and keep putting stiffer and stiffer striker springs in there to try and overcome the timing issue using a brute force method.

One of these methods of solving the issue leads to an actual solution, the other only leads to a delayed failure mode. Decide wisely.

O.K. Then the question would be: What's your preferred method of solving the timing issue?

Fix the timing issue. You can change the angle of the loop on the trigger bar or change the height of the striker block leg on the striker. If this does not make sense then get it to a gunsmith to fix it for you.

I know how I would fix it. I was just asking how you would.