Tanfastic Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 I recently acquired a Stock II Xtreme, and I have waded through dozens of great threads here with lots of valuable information about upgrading components in a standard Stock II, I'm now thoroughly confused about which parts my Stock II Xtreme already has vs. what the conventional wisdom would say it "needs" to optimize for USPSA Production duty. Can someone point me in the right direction as far as the meaningful items I should be looking at? I understand that I need to spend some time polishing things the same as you would on a standard, but wondering what needs to be on my Christmas in July list for actual components to swap (and why)? Supposedly, this is what's already "inside": Tuned with a trigger job from Tanfoglio's Custom Shop - Straight Barrel with Polygonal Rifling; Ambidextrous Safety, Xtreme Aluminum Grips; Xtreme Hammer; Xtreme Guide Rod; Xtreme Firing Pin; Xtreme Firing Pin Spring; Xtreme Hammer Spring; Fully Adjustable Supersight; Xtreme Front Sight with Fiber Optics; Custom Magazine Catch; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalShooter69 Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) PD hammer spring (s), PD firing pin spring, bolo, polish it... twice. Shoot. Polish again. Make GM. Edit: verify you have titan vs. delta hammer. If delta, buy titan. Shoot. Polish again. Make GM. Edited June 13, 2017 by SoCalShooter69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbu Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Patriot Defense should be your next visit. Bolo optimized 13,14,15.5 pound hammer springs (you should have a selection) optimized trigger return spring, sear spring and firing pin return spring. Polish polish polish. swap in the springs using the 15.5 or 14 hammer spring. Run it 500 rounds, polish polish polish. The 14 hammer spring "should" pop all quality ammo after a decent polish. The 15.5 gives more margin for error with a stronger whack. The 13 pound spring will pop winchester primers that are seated well with a good polish. As your polish improves and the gun breaks in, you can use weaker hammer springs. Conversely, you can keep the same light trigger and have a more robust strike. Your choice. Primers should be 0.006" below flush. 0.005-0.008" is a good range. nearly all "light strikes" are caused by primers not seated deeply enough or ammo that does not pass the "plunk test". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 They summed it up nicely. If you have a delta hammer, sell it here or on eBay and buy a Titan and Bolo from patriot defense. The springs they listed. Polish it thoroughly enough you are sure it's great. Shoot for a few weeks, strip it down, and realize you need to do a lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ck867 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 6 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said: They summed it up nicely. If you have a delta hammer, sell it here or on eBay and buy a Titan and Bolo from patriot defense. The springs they listed. Polish it thoroughly enough you are sure it's great. Shoot for a few weeks, strip it down, and realize you need to do a lot more. What is the reason that the titan hammer is more preferred over the delta? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 (edited) Shallower hooks and lack of need to fit the bolo are the primary ones. Cleaner SA trigger and easy fitting for a gun with zero SA pretravel. Mostly, though, "Titan Hammer" sounds badass. Like something Thor would carry into battle. That's an important factor. Edited June 14, 2017 by MemphisMechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanfastic Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 Good info, thanks guys! I understand the bolo for reduced trigger travel and hammer spring and trigger return spring you're running lighter to reduce the trigger pull weight, but what's the purpose of running a lighter firing pin spring and a lighter sear spring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 (edited) Sear spring... also reduces pull weight. Firing pin spring: This used to be a huge headache. See, the weaker your hammer strike gets from lighter mainsprings, the more a lighter firing pin spring helps. The firing pin (return) spring pushes the pin to the rear and takes force away from how hard the primer is struck. The weaker that spring is, the more reliable ignition becomes. In the old days, guys would take Xtreme springs and cut coils off. The downside here is that when you went too light, the firing pin would get jammed sticking through the breechface and lock your gun up hard. The Patriot spring is lighter in rate, and according to them it fully collapses and goes into coil-bind which stops the firing pin before it can wedge in the breechface. I put one of theirs in right away, and haven't though about tooning or clipping that spring. It just works. Edited June 14, 2017 by MemphisMechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanfastic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 That makes perfect sense, I guess the sear spring reduces just the final break weight and not the full travel weight, but it's still relevant. I see what you mean now on the balance between firing pin spring and main spring, thanks so much for explaining that! So as far as those of you competing with these pistols, besides primer strike reliability (which I would say is THE most important factor), have you found a sweet spot for balance between the elusive lightest possible trigger pull and effective action shooting? In other words, have you gone TOO light on the pull and found that it feels great on dry fire or slow-fire shooting on static targets, but in the action of a real match you found you liked a little heavier pull? I have a friend with an STI that he's let me shoot a few times with about a 1.5lb SA pull, and I don't like it, I feel like I'm just along for the ride and the gun decides when it wants to fire instead of me. Might just be that I'm used to my 4.5lb. striker pull on my current USPSA pistol, and I would get used to a lighter pull with more practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikieM Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) I have a new Stock II Xtreme, myself, although I haven't taken it out of the box yet. About all I plan on doing is installing a Bolo, and changing the recoil spring to suit the ammo that I use. Most everything has been taken care of from the factory. Good looking guns. Edited June 15, 2017 by MikieM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotDefense Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 1 hour ago, Tanfastic said: That makes perfect sense, I guess the sear spring reduces just the final break weight and not the full travel weight, but it's still relevant. I see what you mean now on the balance between firing pin spring and main spring, thanks so much for explaining that! So as far as those of you competing with these pistols, besides primer strike reliability (which I would say is THE most important factor), have you found a sweet spot for balance between the elusive lightest possible trigger pull and effective action shooting? In other words, have you gone TOO light on the pull and found that it feels great on dry fire or slow-fire shooting on static targets, but in the action of a real match you found you liked a little heavier pull? I have a friend with an STI that he's let me shoot a few times with about a 1.5lb SA pull, and I don't like it, I feel like I'm just along for the ride and the gun decides when it wants to fire instead of me. Might just be that I'm used to my 4.5lb. striker pull on my current USPSA pistol, and I would get used to a lighter pull with more practice. Unless your rolling with all federals and a 10lb hammer spring you wont have to worry about a sub 2lb SA pull. I think on average you'll see a 2.5-3.5lb SA range which you'll find to be just right once you get to learn a DA/SA gun. It takes a bit of time to move from a striker fired to a DA/SA platform but with a little dry fire you'll learn to love it. 46 minutes ago, MikieM said: I have a new Stock II Xtreme, myself, although I haven't taken it out of the box yet. About all I plan on doing is installing a Bolo, and changing the recoil spring to suit the ammo that I use. Most everything has been taken care of from the factory. Good looking guns. I hate to rain on your parade but the factory left the gun far from "Xtreme" and taken care of. Yes the majority of the parts are there, but so is the stacking and zipper feeling in the trigger pulls. Do your self a favor and take the time to polish the internals, you'll be glad you did once your complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikieM Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 35 minutes ago, PatriotDefense said: Unless your rolling with all federals and a 10lb hammer spring you wont have to worry about a sub 2lb SA pull. I think on average you'll see a 2.5-3.5lb SA range which you'll find to be just right once you get to learn a DA/SA gun. It takes a bit of time to move from a striker fired to a DA/SA platform but with a little dry fire you'll learn to love it. I hate to rain on your parade but the factory left the gun far from "Xtreme" and taken care of. Yes the majority of the parts are there, but so is the stacking and zipper feeling in the trigger pulls. Do your self a favor and take the time to polish the internals, you'll be glad you did once your complete. Oh, I agree. I was speaking in generalities of course, but in defense of my gun there is no "zipper" feeling when pulling the trigger. There is a bit of "stacking" towards the end of the DA pull, though. All of which should be easily remedied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 17 minutes ago, MikieM said: Oh, I agree. I was speaking in generalities of course, but in defense of my gun there is no "zipper" feeling when pulling the trigger. There is a bit of "stacking" towards the end of the DA pull, though. All of which should be easily remedied. You feel the ridges in the trigger bar zipper-ness when taking it out of the gun and manipulating it manually. Once you sand down the components (Like @johnbu I do actually chuck the plunger rod in a drill and aggressively sand out machining marks here) and polish it like mad? You'll feel the difference in the trigger pull. The trigger bar plunger and the pins and corresponding holes in sear/hammer/trigger? Those are where extra attention polishing things really make the gun feel amazing. Most guys don't really pay them enough attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbu Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 The plunger when activated alone and out of the gun will feel like a zipper as the machined ridges ride over each other on the strut and inside the head. The outside of the head and the hole in the gun also have ridges that "zip" and need to be polished up glass bright. Making that a smooth action with no "zip" will really smooth out the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 (edited) 24 minutes ago, MikieM said: Oh, I agree. I was speaking in generalities of course, but in defense of my gun there is no "zipper" feeling when pulling the trigger. There is a bit of "stacking" towards the end of the DA pull, though. All of which should be easily remedied. You feel the ridges in the trigger bar zipper-ness when taking it out of the gun and manipulating it manually. Once you sand down the two mating components here (Like @johnbu I do actually chuck the plunger rod in a drill and aggressively sand out machining marks here) and polish it like mad? You'll feel the difference in the trigger pull. The trigger bar plunger and the pins and corresponding holes in sear/hammer/trigger? Those are where extra attention polishing things really make the gun feel amazing. Most guys don't really pay them enough attention. Edited June 15, 2017 by MemphisMechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalShooter69 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Also, a big contributor to DA grit, is the underside of the sear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 1 minute ago, SoCalShooter69 said: Also, a big contributor to DA grit, is the underside of the sear. Very true. Bottom of sear/cage where trigger bar rubs, and more attention to pins and holes and plunger dropped a full 1.25 pounds off my DA pull when I went back in for polish attempt #2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikieM Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Good to know. I just checked the SA trigger pull of my Stock II Xtreme and it was a clean break at 3 and 1/2 pounds. The DA pull, however, was atrocious and is where all of your info should help greatly. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanfastic Posted June 15, 2017 Author Share Posted June 15, 2017 3 hours ago, PatriotDefense said: Unless your rolling with all federals and a 10lb hammer spring you wont have to worry about a sub 2lb SA pull. I think on average you'll see a 2.5-3.5lb SA range which you'll find to be just right once you get to learn a DA/SA gun. It takes a bit of time to move from a striker fired to a DA/SA platform but with a little dry fire you'll learn to love it. I hate to rain on your parade but the factory left the gun far from "Xtreme" and taken care of. Yes the majority of the parts are there, but so is the stacking and zipper feeling in the trigger pulls. Do your self a favor and take the time to polish the internals, you'll be glad you did once your complete. Great, got my PD parts ordered up and look forward to making this thing a runner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotDefense Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Just now, Tanfastic said: Great, got my PD parts ordered up and look forward to making this thing a runner! we should have those out to you asap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbu Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 8 hours ago, Tanfastic said: Great, got my PD parts ordered up and look forward to making this thing a runner! Start polishing now. It takes 3-4 polishing cycles to really get the gun goodm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanfastic Posted June 16, 2017 Author Share Posted June 16, 2017 3 minutes ago, johnbu said: Start polishing now. It takes 3-4 polishing cycles to really get the gun goodm I haven't even shot it yet, will be heading to the range tomorrow evening. Figured I'd put a couple hundred rounds through it, tear it down, clean it, and start polishing round #1 after my Multigun match on Sunday afternoon (won't be shooting that gun, obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanfastic Posted June 16, 2017 Author Share Posted June 16, 2017 6 minutes ago, johnbu said: Start polishing now. It takes 3-4 polishing cycles to really get the gun goodm P.S. - What polishing compound do you like? I have some of the Dremel-brand metal polish, but that's I have on hand now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotDefense Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 7 minutes ago, Tanfastic said: P.S. - What polishing compound do you like? I have some of the Dremel-brand metal polish, but that's I have on hand now. Blue magic works well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Second the recommendation for blue magic. autozone carries it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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