dukeguy Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 My Witness Match 9mm has developed an "issue." When firing, the slide is not racking the hammer all the way into a fully cocked position. Even when I rack the slide by hand it will not push the hammer into a fully cocked position. It's almost like it's in a half-cock position and it has to be pulled back until it clicks into full lock. Hammer issue? Sear issue? Springs? Thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nealio Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) It would be nearly impossible for the slide NOT to push the hammer into cocked position unless the roll pin holding the hammer in has broken. Could your sear be slipping? Approximately how old is the gun, and have you done anything to it? Edited June 8, 2015 by Nealio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Nealio, The slide does push the hammer back but it's not in the fully cocked position. I have to pull the hammer back until it clicks a fully cocked position. I'll try to shoot a video of it tomorrow and post it here. The gun is about 5 years old. What have I done to it? Henning trigger, Wolff springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Could your trigger pre travel be set to short and it is not allowing the sear to engage fully with the hammer? It could catch enough to hold on when manually cocking the hammer, but in the act of racking the slide or firing, the sear just slips off the main hammer hooks to the half cock hook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Did you put the hammer strut in backwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Could your trigger pre travel be set to short and it is not allowing the sear to engage fully with the hammer? It could catch enough to hold on when manually cocking the hammer, but in the act of racking the slide or firing, the sear just slips off the main hammer hooks to the half cock hook. I don't know. I'll play with it and see what happens and let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Did you put the hammer strut in backwards? No, I have not removed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 New piece of info: the pre-travel screw doesn't seem to change the pre-travel at all. I back it almost all the way out and the pre-travel is almost non-existent. Screw it in and nothing changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nealio Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 If its an unmodified pre-travel screw then that is not abnormal. They grind the face at an angle, making it useless. Rack the slide with the trigger pulled all the way back and tell us if the sear catches then or what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 If its an unmodified pre-travel screw then that is not abnormal. They grind the face at an angle, making it useless. Rack the slide with the trigger pulled all the way back and tell us if the sear catches then or what happens. No. It does not reset. I still have to pull the hammer after it has been racked. There is a slight click and it will fire then. I have a video, but haven't been able to figure out how to upload it to my replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbu Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Upload the video to a host like photobucket or youtube, then link to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 https://youtu.be/5wmAxSRspGQ In this video I have already racked the slide and hammer. I pull the trigger and nothing happens. When I pull the hammer you'll hear a faint click. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Try backing out the pre travel screw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Try backing out the pre travel screw. Like I said in post #8, I have manipulated the pre-travel screw and it changes nothing. The pre-travel in the trigger never changes no matter where the screw is located. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) Delete, brain fart... Edited June 10, 2015 by EngineerEli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I'm pretty sure your lack of pretravel is the issue, try racking the slide, then pushing forward on the trigger, I'll bet it resets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 I'm pretty sure your lack of pretravel is the issue, try racking the slide, then pushing forward on the trigger, I'll bet it resets. Tried it. Does not reset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Do you have another hammer or sear you can try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I'm pretty sure your lack of pretravel is the issue, try racking the slide, then pushing forward on the trigger, I'll bet it resets. After watching the video, I completely agree. Sear is catching the hammer but because of the restricted pretravel the trigger bar is not popping up to re-engaging the sear leg. When you pull the hammer back annually it actually pushes up ever so slightly on the sear rotating the leg just enough to clear the trigger bar. Don't take this as an insult but are you sure you are turning the right screw for pretravel, and turning it the right way? I'd be curious to see the sear cage assembly from the bottom, maybe there is a burr or something if you're sure about the pretravel spring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeguy Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) I'm pretty sure your lack of pretravel is the issue, try racking the slide, then pushing forward on the trigger, I'll bet it resets. After watching the video, I completely agree. Sear is catching the hammer but because of the restricted pretravel the trigger bar is not popping up to re-engaging the sear leg. When you pull the hammer back annually it actually pushes up ever so slightly on the sear rotating the leg just enough to clear the trigger bar. Don't take this as an insult but are you sure you are turning the right screw for pretravel, and turning it the right way? I'd be curious to see the sear cage assembly from the bottom, maybe there is a burr or something if you're sure about the pretravel spring... I just tried something else. Racked the slide/hammer, then removed the slide. Pulled the hammer while looking up under the sear cage. The trigger bar pupped up when I pulled the hammer back. Took the trigger out and adjusted the pretravel screw completely down, effectively putting as much pretravel into play as possible. That did it. I guess I just had not taken enough pretravel out. I guess the pretravel screw crept out during shooting. Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this! P.S. Nothing is an insult when you're trying to diagnose from a distance. Edited June 10, 2015 by dukeguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Glad to hear you're up and running. Those trigger screws NEED loctite, btw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkalot Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Hello! I need some help with an issue I have with an EAA Witness 45acp full size. So I just had a rather hair raising experience. I just purchased this used gun. I cleaned it thoroughly. I notice that the safety will not engage unless the slide is all the way back. At that time , once the slide is released it will move to fire fine, but will not move back fully to safe when I use my thumb to move it. I took it to the range and noticed that several times after firing and clambering the next round the hammer would not cock. Instead it was in double action position. I load my own ammo and ran at 97% max so I do not think that is the problem. Now the scary part: today I decided to test function of the slide. I used the original magazine and on each of the 3 tests I did manually pulling and releasing the slide, the rounds ejected fine, but the hammer was once again in the double action position against the firing pin. I decided to try a different magazine that was factory new. As I loaded it I noticed the magazine spring stronger than the used one. I was in my bedroom now with the gun ALWAYS pointed at the floor ( I am a fanatic about firearm safety). To my absolute horror, when I got to the 7th cycle...the gun FIRED!! Scared the begeesus out of me! Now I'm realizing its not the ammo, or the magazine...but an issue with the gun. I would appreciate any input and advice on how to remedy this problem. Thanks, Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkalot Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Footnote: on the initial 3 tests with the original magazine the first 7 rounds ejected fine and the hammer returned to fully cocked. Only at the 8th round did the hammer problem show up. Upon reflection, I noticed the same at the range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkalot Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 A couple more notes: 1) I only performed a full field strip clean. I did not completely disassemble every single part. 2) I did check the model number on the EAA website and mine was not included in the safety lever recall. Was it a mistake to cycle live rounds thru this gun to test feeding? I have done this dozens of times on my other semi autos with no issues. Thanks so much for any replies. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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