astephenson Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I've been getting light primer strikes lately with lightened striker springs in my newish 34, first a well-used Trapper medium and lately a Wolff, even though the Wolff feels a little heavier than the Trapper. The same setup was 100% in the 17 that I ran prior to getting this 34. When I bought the 34 I just swapped out the springs from the 17 to the 34 (13lb. ISMI recoil spring on the stock guide rod, Wolff heavy trigger return spring, and Trapper medium lightened striker spring). When I had a few light primer strikes I put in the new Wolff striker spring, thinking that it may have just worn out. It didn't help. I had 4 light primer strikes in one stage of an IDPA match I shot this past Tuesday evening. Interestingly, I didn't have a single one in the other stages. After that I decided that the sub-3lb. trigger wasn't worth losing time over, so I installed the stock striker spring, using the rest of the springs listed above. Now, when dry-firing from reset with the trigger held back the slide will move back and forth on its own when shaking the gun. If I continue to hold the trigger back I can pull the slide back and get it to stay about an eighth of an inch from being fully forward. Obviously the recoil spring is worn out (I'm really not sure of the round count, but 5,000 would be a conservative guess, plus hours and hours of dry-fire practice). I have a new 15lb. ISMI recoil spring on order from Lone Wolf...my minor loads WILL cycle the slide on a stock spring, but the brass just sort of "trickles" out. Alright, so here's the question. Could the weakend recoil spring have been a factor in producing the light primer strikes? I'm thinking that it may have been allowing the gun to fire just ever so slightly out of battery. Might I be able to go back to the lighter striker spring when I get my new recoil spring installed? Is this theory sound, or am I way off base? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SA Friday Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Your problem is absolutely the recoil spring. The striker spring and recoil spring work as opposite forces within the gun. The OEM striker spring is too heavy for a 13 lb ISMI recoil spring in the G34 based on what you have described. The G34 slide seems to be more touchy in this respect than the G17 with this set-up. Go to the factory spring for now if you shoot the gun. What you have is a gun that could potentially discharge with the round slightly out of battery (bad ju-ju). The 15lb spring should cure the problem for ejection and slide lock-up, but as long as the ejected case is not getting caught up in the slide and you are getting full cycling from the slide it should be OK even with the 17 lb spring. The only issue might be a slower slide response if you are pushing .20 or faster splits. If the sluggish slide is a problem, the 15 lb spring is probably the ticket. The other alternative is to pump up the pf on your reloads to about 140ish. FWIW, WWB pf from my G34 was 138pf and cycled just fine completely unmodified, and UMC yellow box was about 132-135pf and cycled it also but right on the edge. Lastly, also check your reloads for high primers. A primer not fully seated will cause what appears to be a light strike. It can sometimes be difficut to detect initially because the light strike can seat the primer but not light it off. So it looks like the primer was seated after it didn't cook off, but it initially was not. Regardless of weather you have some high primers, your description of how the slide is operating leads me to believe you MUST go to a heavier recoil spring or risk an out-of-battery discharge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astephenson Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 Thanks for the input. I'm gonna try out the stock recoil spring with the Wolff lightened striker spring tomorrow and see what happens. Stay safe out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 You are lucky, the striker is pulling the slide out of battery and that is causing your light strikes. It could have been a LOT worse than just a couple misfires..... If you are going to run other than stock springs you really need to keep a close eye on them and perform the safety checks often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuck in C Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I put a 13 lbs recoil spring and a reduced power striker spring in my G34-and I always had light strikes (maybe once every 50-60 rounds). I know people who use this combination with no problems-but it didn't work in mine. I finally went with the stock striker and a 15 lbs ISMI recoil spring. Works great and feels slightly better than the stock recoil spring. The stock striker spring is too strong for the 13 lbs spring, but seems to work fine with the 15 lbs-but perfom the safety checks to insure the slide is closing fully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Not to be a fuddy-duddy...but while you are changing out springs, why not shoot a few rounds with the stock recoil and striker springs and see if you notice a big difference. You might be surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I use Medium strngth striker spring with 13lb ISMI springs and the trigger doesn't move the slide at all. One other thing- check your striker channel- make sure it is squeaky clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 I put a 13 lbs recoil spring and a reduced power striker spring in my G34-and I always had light strikes (maybe once every 50-60 rounds). I know people who use this combination with no problems-but it didn't work in mine. There's seems to be some variance between individual guns in this regard. You can put a particular trigger spring/connector/striker spring combo in one gun and it'll work perfectly. Put the same setup - or even the exact same parts - in another gun, even of the same model, and it'll give you light strikes. I put a little over 30k through my personal G34 with exactly the setup you describe, and never had a misfire. At the same time, I have to admit that these days I run factory stock recoil springs, striker springs, and trigger springs in all my Glocks. Pharoah Bender's advice to just try running the factory parts and see what happens is good. Like he said, you might be surprised at how well the stock parts work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astephenson Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 Got to do some dry-firing with the stock striker spring tonight (with the stock recoil spring for now until my 15lb spring arrives) and I think I'm gonna keep it this way. I didn't get to go out and shoot because it was too rainy and cold- maybe tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Why not retain the stock recoil spring, as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I think you are making the right move to run the stock striker spring. There are other better methods to reduce the trigger pull weight that do not sacrifice reliability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astephenson Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Why not retain the stock recoil spring, as well? My minor PF reloads don't cycle the slide as reliably as I'd like...stovepipe every 100 rounds or so. 136 PF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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