4 leaf vs 3 leaf sear spring

[NOSHMJ]

Anyone have a preference on 4 leaf vs 3 leaf?? I noticed some of my guns use 4 leaf springs, and others use 3.

[OnVacation]

1 hour ago, NOSHMJ said:

Anyone have a preference on 4 leaf vs 3 leaf?? I noticed some of my guns use 4 leaf springs, and others use 3.

I'm assuming you mean on a 1911/2011?

[NOSHMJ]

Yes.  2011's.

[jim vaughan]

Either will work but the key aspect is the length of the spring.

Too many leaf springs are sold that barely touch the bottom edge of the sear.

Find a brand that has enough length and stick with it.

[jwhittin]

I'm trying some of the 4 prong springs in a couple competition guns.  No preference yet.  It does take a little more patience to get the 4 prong spring tuned.  

[Bill H]

I am not a gunsmith but 3 excellent gunsmiths have told me they are no good. 

[yigal]

1 hour ago, Bill H said:

I am not a gunsmith but 3 excellent gunsmiths have told me they are no good. 

 i knew this. 

i will remove this part from my 2011.

[NOSHMJ]

Both my Limcats have 4 leaf springs, my STIs have 3 leaf.  I believe my Atlas has 3 as well. 

[N3WWN]

I've played with both 3 and 4 leaf springs in my xx11 pistols and can't say that I have a definite preference for one over the other.

 

I think I probably liked the 4 leaf springs when I had less experience adjusting the spring because the trigger return was decoupled from the disconnector.  I could set a safe disconnector weight and then lighten the trigger return to tweak the trigger weight.

 

Currently, I don't worry so much about the perfect trigger weight... I worry more about safe sear and disconnector weight and I don't notice an extra couple of ounces more or less after the timer goes off.

 

That said, I wouldn't take out a perfectly good 4 leaf spring and replace it with a 3 leaf spring just because it's a 4 leaf spring.