g17 .22 conversion kit?

[shooterready]

John,

Have you thought about clipping your recoil and striker springs? One or two coils should do the trick to make the Feds run 100%.

I've spent some time looking at your suggested mods and they look like the ticket to get this thing running with Feds.

Thanks, I'm going to work on this tomorrow. I'll let you know how all these changes run for me in a few days.

I'm also going to make the mods to the mag for more capacity. I'm shooting for 15 rounds with a mod to the follower as well.

[badchad]

Please read the Advantage Arms instructions - they specifically advise the use of remington Golden Bullets. As much as you would like to use the federal bulk pack ammo it will not reliably cycle the AA kit. Stop moaning and use either Remington Golden Bullets or CCI MiniMags and you will not have any problems.

Normally I would agree, but in this market, beggers can't be choosers.

[shooterready]

I just finished increasing my extractor tension and taking a little off the back of the hook. Cut about .3" off my striker spring as well. No mods to the recoil spring yet. I ran one full mag of Feds without any issues. Extraction seems to have increased 300%.

I also modified one of my mags to get 13 rounds. I'll run it tomorrow and post a report.

Should have this thing running Fed's in no time.

[jg-rider]

Please read the Advantage Arms instructions - they specifically advise the use of remington Golden Bullets. As much as you would like to use the federal bulk pack ammo it will not reliably cycle the AA kit. Stop moaning and use either Remington Golden Bullets or CCI MiniMags and you will not have any problems.

Hi Tony

Do I take your post to be criticism but not the constructive kind ?

If Rem. GB were readily available around here, and if the only source for them, being Wal-Mart, weren't so far away, and if there weren't a rimfire ammo famine where you're only allowed to buy 3 bricks at a time, I would begrudgingly use only CCI or Rem GB or what ever else is recommended. But if you read my original post, I wrote that my problem was with all ammo including CCI & Rem. GB. I had to figure out what was wrong myself because the AA company wasn't any help.

If I want to try to come up with a possible fix for my AA Glock conversion's ammo issues, that's my prerogative. I don't see anything in my posts that resembles moaning. If you want to think that shooting just what's prescribed by AA is OK with you, that's your prerogative. Just please don't call what I do as moaning. I don't sit back and always accept what I'm told. I've seen differant AA conversions have different rates of failures using Fed ammo. It seemed to me that the older style mags had less failures to extract.

At first I thought that the Fed ammo issues in the Glock conversions was because a stiff recoil spring was needed to counter the force of a cocked striker spring when the slide was in battery. So I kind of accepted the Fed and other ammo restriction. But then I saw that the AA conversion units for 1911's had tha same ammo issues. There isn't a need for a stiff recoil spring in those conversion units because when the slide is in battery, there isn't any counter pull from the cocked hammer.

I shoot an older, heavy, all steel slide, Colt Ace, with a 14# recoil spring and a 23# factory mainspring in speed steel matches, using any cheap ammo I can find without any problems. That pistol runs 100% reliable with high vel. ammo and those springs

And I also use an older all steel slide, heavy recoil springed High Standard Victor. This one runs 100% with anything, even .22 longs, shorts, subsonics when a silencer is attached

And I've seen lots of Rugers and Brownings and other conversion units used in matches, using any cheap ammo with almost no failures. But I've only seen one AA Glock conversion used and it had lots of problems.

I like to think that all my trouble shooting has made my conversion unit more reliable than any that's come out of the factory, using a wider range of ammo than what is prescribed. But I still don't trust it to compete with.

John

I just finished increasing my extractor tension and taking a little off the back of the hook. Cut about .3" off my striker spring as well. No mods to the recoil spring yet. I ran one full mag of Feds without any issues. Extraction seems to have increased 300%.

Shooterready

I'm don't see where the striker spring plays into the extraction problem. That spring doesn't create any tension as the slide moves back. The tension is created as the slide comes forward, cocking the stricker and causing a pull against the recoil spring. I hope you haven't created a misfire issue. Am I missing something ?

John

Edited May 2, 2009 by jg-rider

[shooterready]

I just finished increasing my extractor tension and taking a little off the back of the hook. Cut about .3" off my striker spring as well. No mods to the recoil spring yet. I ran one full mag of Feds without any issues. Extraction seems to have increased 300%.

Shooterready

I'm don't see where the striker spring plays into the extraction problem. That spring doesn't create any tension as the slide moves back. The tension is created as the slide comes forward, cocking the stricker and causing a pull against the recoil spring. I hope you haven't created a misfire issue. Am I missing something ?

John

John,

You are right, the striker spring does not have anything to do with the extraction. Just thought I would lighten the load, so to speak. Trigger feels much better, like my other trigger mods. Anyway, I believe another couple coils could come out of the striker and still detonate. At that point, I'd be ready to take a couple off the recoil spring.

I ran 4 mags through the gun with Fed VP. No issues. Remember, before Fed VP's turned my gun into a single shot Encore. Anyway, a couple more mags and I started to get one or two failures. I believe taking off about 3 coils from the recoil spring will do it.

Extraction has been increased 10 fold. I'll report back in a few more days.

[jg-rider]

I believe another couple coils could come out of the striker and still detonate. At that point, I'd be ready to take a couple off the recoil spring.

I ran 4 mags through the gun with Fed VP. No issues. Remember, before Fed VP's turned my gun into a single shot Encore. Anyway, a couple more mags and I started to get one or two failures. I believe taking off about 3 coils from the recoil spring will do it.

Extraction has been increased 10 fold. I'll report back in a few more days.

shooterready

Don't forget to do the verticle test as you slowly cut coils of the recoil spring. Remember that you have two springs that create a counter pull, the striker spring, and the extractor spring when it's not chambering a round.

From what I know or think I know about recoil springs, cutting coils would only increase the weight.

This is based on comparing the amount of coils and wire diameter of Wolf 1911 Govt. mod. springs and commander springs.

But if you got a lighter trigger pull when you cut coils off the striker spring, that throws my theory out the window

John

[shooterready]

John,

The only two springs to worry about are the recoil and striker springs. The extractor spring has little influence given the force vector is not axial with the two other springs.

As long as the recoil spring produces enough force when the slide is in battery to counteract the forces of the striker spring (compressed into firing position), your OK. Having a small safety factor between the forces is ideal. More recoil spring force (in battery position) than striker spring force (in fire position).

But, by clipping the recoil spring back a bit would allow the Feds. with less energy to run a bit better. A lighter recoil spring does not increase trigger effort. Reducing the effort of the striker spring directly relates to a lighter trigger pull. To much reduction will decrease ignition reliability.

Now, I just have to figure out how to disassemble the recoil rod assembly to get at the spring.

[jg-rider]

John,

The only two springs to worry about are the recoil and striker springs. The extractor spring has little influence given the force vector is not axial with the two other springs.

As long as the recoil spring produces enough force when the slide is in battery to counteract the forces of the striker spring (compressed into firing position), your OK. Having a small safety factor between the forces is ideal. More recoil spring force (in battery position) than striker spring force (in fire position).

But, by clipping the recoil spring back a bit would allow the Feds. with less energy to run a bit better. A lighter recoil spring does not increase trigger effort. Reducing the effort of the striker spring directly relates to a lighter trigger pull. To much reduction will decrease ignition reliability.

Duh! I shouldn't be posting early in the A.M. but that's what happens when you're retired. I don't know why I brought the extractor in to the equation. What I meant to say was that with a lighter recoil spring and factory striker spring, the slide could come out of battery as you pull back on the trigger. My wife carries a Kahr K9 concealled, which as you may know has a striker system almost like a Glock, and when they first came out they had a really stiff recoil spring. So latter they came out with a lighter recoil spring for ladies. The down side being that as you pressed the trigger, the slide would also move back. I think they dropped that option. The differance of a Kahr is that it has a long smooth, almost double action pull. Not the partially cocked striker of a Glock

Now, I just have to figure out how to disassemble the recoil rod assembly to get at the spring.

I was thinking of applying a little heat to the tip of the rod to see if that nail head looking thing is threaded and loc-tited on.

John