Obvious Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 So I put a lightened ignition kit in my 1911 as well as a 17lb main spring and I’m now getting light primer strikes https://imgur.com/a/cKVh4KA the nickel plated brass is from before, and the light primer strike is on the regular brass. It’s my understanding I have a few options, putting in the stock main spring or using an extended firing pin for better primer hits. I’m liking the look of the Dawson hyper drive firing pin, however I’ve heard mixed reports on what kind of firing pin spring to use. One person has said to use a heavier one to reduce primer drag, and one person has said to use a lighter one for more reliable ignition. I’m hoping someone here can help clarify my confusion, the gun is a RIA pro match ultra in .40 and I’m not sure what weight the stock firing pin spring is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Biggest problem you have is barrel is not fit correctly. F.p. strike is way out of center. Tip on primer strikes test with primed brass only not loaded ammo. When round fires pressure forces primer back around to and causes primer strike to look much deeper than it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakerjd Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 While the barrel fit isn't great at all we can assume it worked before putting the new trigger parts in. Either way the stock RIA firing pin is junk. I bent one in less then 5k rounds. As for extended firing pin and what spring. I just put in what ever one comes with the Wolff recoil springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 1 hour ago, barry said: Biggest problem you have is barrel is not fit correctly. F.p. strike is way out of center. Tip on primer strikes test with primed brass only not loaded ammo. When round fires pressure forces primer back around to and causes primer strike to look much deeper than it is Yeah, I’m not sure why it’s off center but it definitely it. It’s not something I ever noticed because I don’t reload, once my brass is on the ground it stays there so I’ve never looked at my primers before. Any possible fixes for it being off center other than using more force to ignite the primer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Bakerjd said: While the barrel fit isn't great at all we can assume it worked before putting the new trigger parts in. Either way the stock RIA firing pin is junk. I bent one in less then 5k rounds. As for extended firing pin and what spring. I just put in what ever one comes with the Wolff recoil springs. Yep it worked stock, and honestly I suspect that the my firing pin is bent but the gun only has around 4K rounds on it. So 4K rounds through the stock gun and no light strikes, tossed in new parts and now light strikes. https://imgur.com/a/X0mI5Qi here’s a picture of the stock firing pin, I can’t tell if it’s bent or not but I pulled it to clean everything around the 3k round mark. Also just an update, the new RIA match guns appear to be shipping with a trigger adjustable for pre and over travel. My stock trigger had the ears that I could bend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postal Bob Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 There's a good chance the FP is bent. Easiest way to tell is to roll it on a flat surface, keeping the back part against the surfce, and watching the tip. It probably worked when using the heavier stock setup, as there was enough force to overcome the FP dragging through the FP hole. A 17lb mainspring is more than enough force to set off primers. And a lightened trigger pull will have no effect on primer strike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I can't see the photos, but off center firing pin strikes aren't the problem unless they're way off toward the edge of the primer. Also, off center fp is pretty normal for guns/barrels that have a higher lockup. The problem is the 17 lb spring. I know that's a common setup, because it's an easy way to lighten the trigger pull a bit. But if you do the hammer and sear angles correctly, you can get a 2 lb (or lighter) trigger with a standard firing pin and 19 lb (or heavier) mainspring. And zero ignition problems. As Bob suggested, I'd check to see if the fp is bent. If not, you're going to have to change something because I'm not aware of anyone making a lighter firing pin spring for 1911/2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Watson Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 17 lbs is on the low side for a mainspring, I use 19 or 20. USGI is 23, I don't know what Armscor uses. What are the diameters of your firing pins, original and replacement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakerjd Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 A 17lb main spring is plenty strong enough. Ran one in the same gun for 20k rounds. The firing pin is going to be the standard .068" small diameter one. The gun I pictured had EGW internals, 17ob main spring, 12lb recoil spring and whatever firing pin spring came with the Wolff recoil spring. It set off CCI small rifle primers all day every day. We, prasky gunworks, and I did a LOT of testing what parts worked the best with these guns. Belive me the stock internals (all of them) are junk. Toss it all out. Keep barrel, slide, sights, frame, mag release, MSH. it's all poor quality MIM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Bakerjd said: A 17lb main spring is plenty strong enough. Ran one in the same gun for 20k rounds. The firing pin is going to be the standard .068" small diameter one. The gun I pictured had EGW internals, 17ob main spring, 12lb recoil spring and whatever firing pin spring came with the Wolff recoil spring. It set off CCI small rifle primers all day every day. We, prasky gunworks, and I did a LOT of testing what parts worked the best with these guns. Belive me the stock internals (all of them) are junk. Toss it all out. Keep barrel, slide, sights, frame, mag release, MSH. it's all poor quality MIM. That’s what I was thinking. Gonna order the Dawson extended firing pin and an extra power firing pin spring in the next day or two. Even after all new internals and tweaking my hammer spring and sear spring I’m still getting a trigger in the ball park of 4lbs, might need to go to a smith and make sure the angles are correct Edited January 8, 2022 by Obvious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakerjd Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 We messed with a few different sear/hammer combos on mine and ended up going with EGW/Koenig hammer and EWG long sear, extreme engineering disconnect. Had it about 1.8-2.0lb. And super crisp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GringoBandito Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 7 hours ago, Bakerjd said: A 17lb main spring is plenty strong enough. Ran one in the same gun for 20k rounds. The firing pin is going to be the standard .068" small diameter one. The gun I pictured had EGW internals, 17ob main spring, 12lb recoil spring and whatever firing pin spring came with the Wolff recoil spring. It set off CCI small rifle primers all day every day. We, prasky gunworks, and I did a LOT of testing what parts worked the best with these guns. Belive me the stock internals (all of them) are junk. Toss it all out. Keep barrel, slide, sights, frame, mag release, MSH. it's all poor quality MIM. It's my understanding that all Wolff recoil springs come with an extra power firing pin spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GringoBandito Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 1 hour ago, Bakerjd said: We messed with a few different sear/hammer combos on mine and ended up going with EGW/Koenig hammer and EWG long sear, extreme engineering disconnect. Had it about 1.8-2.0lb. And super crisp. That's a great combo but be advised that EGW does not cut the secondary angle on their sears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 1 hour ago, Bakerjd said: We messed with a few different sear/hammer combos on mine and ended up going with EGW/Koenig hammer and EWG long sear, extreme engineering disconnect. Had it about 1.8-2.0lb. And super crisp. I just dropped in an extreme engineering sear, hammer, and disconnector along with a 17lb ISMI main spring. First match and boom light strikes, along with a heavier trigger pull than I was expecting even after messing with the sear spring a bit. So once I get my ignition issues sorted (ordered an extended Dawson pin and a 12lb Wolff recoil spring that came with the firing pin spring) I’ll probably have an actual smith look over the sear/hammer angles and make sure they’re okay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postal Bob Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 All my guns have a 17 or 15 lb mainspring, with no problem. Check to make sure nothing is dragging on the hammer link, that may be slowing down the hammer. You should be able to tell by holding the trigger and hammer at same time, and moving the hammer back and forth to feel for any resistance. You can even take out the mainspring, and see if the hammer moves freely back and forth while holding in the trigger. Also, it's possible your 17lb ISMI is not really 17lb, but less. It's possible as it's happened before. Try a different 17lb spring, and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulm540 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 (edited) I also use a 17 lb hammer spring in my TSS long slide with a Dawson extended firing pin without any issues. It would pop Tula and wolf primers without any issues. Edited January 9, 2022 by bulm540 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 16 hours ago, Bakerjd said: A 17lb main spring is plenty strong enough. Funny how this same issue comes up every couple months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 2 hours ago, ltdmstr said: Funny how this same issue comes up every couple months. I don’t think it’s an issue with my main spring, it just seems that everyone that replaces it with 17lb also used an extended firing pin/spring, and I didn’t realize that. I only had half of the equation lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakerjd Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 4 hours ago, ltdmstr said: Funny how this same issue comes up every couple months. Hundreds of thousands of rounds have been shot with a 17lb MS. They are plenty strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 11 hours ago, Bakerjd said: Hundreds of thousands of rounds have been shot with a 17lb MS. They are plenty strong. I just wanted to leave an update because I like when the solution is posted after being found out. I'm not sure what type of spring I need to use yet but I just pulled the firing pin and sure enough it was bent pretty badly. This wasn't noticeable until I rotated it while keeping it from rolling away. new extended firing pin and spring are on the way already. I suspected this because the last time I pulled it out to clean the channel I had to rotate it until to slotted back into the channel but I wasn't sure, and at the time it was still setting off primers so it wasn't a big deal. Either way, I agree with @Bakerjd most of the stock MIM parts are likely to be pretty meh. I'm keeping them for now but will change them as they will surely break down the line. Bent firing pin and I first noticed when I gave it a deep clean around the 3k round mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 2 hours ago, Obvious said: most of the stock MIM parts are likely to be pretty meh. I'm keeping them for now but will change them as they will surely break down the line I'd rethink that. Typically, when a part fails it is during a match. Then you are done for the day. You have already replaced the trigger group with good part, so finish the job. A good slide stop and thumb safety will complete the upgrade. It is a good idea to have a gunsmith look the gun over. He can check barrel lockup and tell you if you have the correct link pin installed. He can also tell you if you need a .199" or .200" slide stop. Do all of this now and you are good to go for 50k rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakerjd Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 @zzt just reminded me that mine broke the slide stop at a match. Gun stopped working and I look down to see the slide about to fall off the frame. I put a .200 EGW slide stop in it the next week and never an issue after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 8 hours ago, zzt said: I'd rethink that. Typically, when a part fails it is during a match. Then you are done for the day. You have already replaced the trigger group with good part, so finish the job. A good slide stop and thumb safety will complete the upgrade. It is a good idea to have a gunsmith look the gun over. He can check barrel lockup and tell you if you have the correct link pin installed. He can also tell you if you need a .199" or .200" slide stop. Do all of this now and you are good to go for 50k rounds. One of the first things I did was replace the slide lock with an extended WC one so I could actually reload with it, that was within probably the first 500 rounds. After the new firing pin it’s going to a local smith to check sear/hammer angles and to verify the lockup. I want to replace the ambi safety with a shielded ambi safety and the trigger with the infinity billet trigger, but those are both expensive parts and will come with time. Likely in the next month or two before any major matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postal Bob Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 On 1/9/2022 at 12:48 PM, Obvious said: but I just pulled the firing pin and sure enough it was bent pretty badly. This wasn't noticeable until I rotated it while keeping it from rolling away. That's what I said to do. Shouldve been the first step, especially after seeing the off center firing pin strikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Postal Bob said: That's what I said to do. Shouldve been the first step, especially after seeing the off center firing pin strikes. Yep! it was my first real step when I actually pulled the gun back out to diagnose it. Thank you for the advice! Edited January 10, 2022 by Obvious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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