occasional light strikes help

[jimbullet]

its interesting that I have not had issues previously with my reloads through my other 2011 DVC but I will recheck the batch just to be sure. 

 

Is there any info out there on what is the factory mains spring weight of a Bul Radical 2011. I couldn't find any on their website.

[yigal]

On 2/13/2024 at 12:57 AM, CHA-LEE said:

From what you have described it sounds like more of a High Primer situation than anything. If the Primers are flush or protruding above the brass at all they are not seated deep enough. When the primers are seated to the proper depth they should be recessed a little bit vs the top of the brass.

 

High primers can also cause the slide to not fully lock up in the full forward position because the extractor hook depth is fighting against the brass rim because the primer is pinching against the breach face instead of the bottom of the brass. If the slide is unlocked even a little bit the hammer will fall against the bottom edge of the firing pin stop instead of the firing pin.

 

 

I came across something like this. I checked Headspace and saw that chamber  was too tight. The problem was fixed and never reappeared.

[CHA-LEE]

11 hours ago, jimbullet said:

its interesting that I have not had issues previously with my reloads through my other 2011 DVC but I will recheck the batch just to be sure. 

 

Is there any info out there on what is the factory mains spring weight of a Bul Radical 2011. I couldn't find any on their website.

 

Contact BUL directly for info on their products. BUT..... Even with a 15lb hammer spring on a properly setup 1911/2011 it should set off all of the "Normal" primers we use for reloads. Most 1911/2011's are setup with 17 - 20lb hammer springs which will set off super hard primers.

 

I also want to point out that "My ammo works in this other 2011" is never a solid confirmation that the ammo is "Good" for any 2011 type of gun. Every gun has its own unique build qualities that may not work with the same ammo as another gun. To rule out the ammo, try Factory ammo to see if the light strike issue continues.

[DrewM]

I'm always wary of the firing pin in most 1911/2011 models, in order to pass drop tests most manufactures put in heavy FP springs and super light Titanium FP's.  Somebody mentioned putting a pencil in the barrel, point the gun up and fire and see how far the pencil moves, that is a great test.  I do it with some cheap 5" pieces of delrin I found on Amazon.  In a 'weak' factory setup the Delrin rod will barely clear the barrel when I do the test.  Swap out their FP spring and put in a Wilson or EGW FP and the delrin rod will now hit the ceiling with authority when I do the test.  

[jimbullet]

Did some test and I found the factor main spring is 13lbs. Bought replacements to increase this to 15lb. Testing in progress with factory ammo seems working. Interesting that the nominal increase in spring weight has altered trigger pull weight near a quarter of a pound more.

[CHA-LEE]

On 3/8/2024 at 12:48 AM, jimbullet said:

Did some test and I found the factor main spring is 13lbs. Bought replacements to increase this to 15lb. Testing in progress with factory ammo seems working. Interesting that the nominal increase in spring weight has altered trigger pull weight near a quarter of a pound more.

increase in trigger pull weight is to be expected on "Normal" hammers as increasing the main spring weight also increases how hard the hammer hooks are pressed into the sear lip. EGW hammers have the hammer strut pin position over clocked just enough to put the pivot point in an almost over travel scenario. This dramatically reduces the "Cocked Force" between the hammer hooks and sear lip. It also dramatically reduces how much the trigger pull weight changes when swapping main spring weights. On a properly setup EGW Sear & Hammer setup you will rarely feel much of any trigger pull weight difference between a 15lb > 24lb main spring.

 

I can't speak to why BUL would think a 13lb main spring would be reliable in a 1911/2011 style production pistol which would be exposed to a wide range of ammo and varied primer hardness's. Sounds like a dumb idea to me but what do I know.

[LeadDispenser]

A lot of good advice from previous posters - it sounds like the primers might not be properly seated.

You might want to press the handle forward twice on your SDB to make sure the primer is properly seated (first time when you've just lowered the shell plate, second time after you've placed a bullet & new piece of brass, before cycling/lowering the handle).

 

If you're still getting failure to ignite after you've made sure primers are properly seated, I'd start swapping ignition parts one by one with good quality components (EGW for example), in this order:

 

1. heavier main spring
2. up to spec firing pin & and firing pin spring
3. firing pin strut
4. hammer (normal weight steel hammer)

 

You could try swapping parts from your 2011 to find the culprit, so you're not buying parts you don't need. FWIW, cutting off coils from the FP spring doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

[jimbullet]

A recent trip to the range using PMC factory ammo it was flawless igniting the rounds. I tried my reloads using cci primers and I’ve never had a light strike for over 400 rounds through.   Just a question- among all primers that I could possibly expect to become match ammo, is cci primers the hardest? 
Trying to determine if there are primers out there that might be tougher that my current set up might just not work. 

[yigal]

7 hours ago, CHA-LEE said:

 

 

I can't speak to why BUL would think a 13lb main spring would be reliable in a 1911/2011 style production pistol which would be exposed to a wide range of ammo and varied primer hardness's. Sounds like a dumb idea to me but what do I know.

I got mine with a chopped  main spring. I replaced it with a 15lb spring.

[Philip Dedmon]

Maybe need to go with a extended firing pin also.

[jimbullet]

11 hours ago, Philip Dedmon said:

Maybe need to go with a extended firing pin also.

yep, I got that on