joshuahr Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) Hey all, thanks in advance for any helpful advice. I currently shoot a G17 in SSP IDPA. I have a 3.5# polished connector, polished trigger bar and firing pin safety, extended mag release and slide stop lever. Now my thoughts are moving to how I can get a softer shooting 17. Ammo is, I'm sure, a huge way. I currently shoot 115gn Remington UMC fmjs. I am just about ready to start reloading (jacketed bullets), so suggestions on a good bullet/powder combo would be great. What about springs? I don't mind moving to ESP if need be. Any suggestions there? I'm not really interested in gun mods like mag wells, etc. It is IDPA after all. Just looking for advice on making my gun shoot a little better. I do dry-fire practice, lots of live-fire, lots of research and practice on stance, grip, trigger control, etc. Please keep responses limited to how I can or might modify THIS GUN only. Thanks a million Joshua Edited March 12, 2009 by joshuahr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouSlide Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 My favorite load is 3.3 grains of Titegroup behind a Zero 147 gr JHP, with a 13# IMSI spring. Many feel the bigger bullets feel softer due to a recoil "push" rather than "snap". You can load down toward 3.2 grs, but may find that you're skirting minimum power factor and may occasionally have the pistol fail to recycle properly once is a while if you sap a little energy off the slide with a less firm grip or your thumb dragging a little on the side of the slide. As always, YMMV. Curtis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 My first advice: yank that extended slide stop and replace it with the stock low profile jobbie. If you shoot with a straight thumbs grip - and you should be - sooner or later, probably sooner, you've going to find the heel of the support hand, pressing up on the slide stop lever, causing the gun to lock open with rounds still in the magazine. Frankly, I'm not the world's greatest fan of the extended mag release button either. In my experience I can get the mag out of the gun just as fast with the short button by flipping the gun a bit in my hand. The first time you see a mag drop out of a gun after one shot with an extended button on a table start - and I saw this happen to no less a skilled shooter than Dave Sevigny at the '02 Factory Gun Nationals - you'll really start to question the wisdom of this part. Why not save yourself the painful learning experience and just dump it now? As to loads, really the better I've become as a shooter, the less fixated I've become on having "soft" recoil. There are two basic types of recoil we can get at the power levels we have to run our guns in USPSA and IDPA: slow and pushy or fast and snappy. "Slow and pushy" is what people mean when they say a load is "soft". Frankly, the more I've shot, the more I've come to prefer snappy recoil that gets gun movement betweeen shots over as fast as possible. Having said that, the classic way to get "soft" recoil in 9mm is to use 147-gr. bullets with a fast powder. I prefer N320 over the popular 147/N310 approach because there have just been too many cases of 147-gr. loads with the super-fast N310 blowing up guns. N320 by contrast seems marginally less "soft" - but one hell of a lot safer. In 9mm, in a G34 or G17, you'll probably find the most popular recoil spring weight is 13 pounds. I've gone back and forth over the years, but I always seem to come back to the ISMI 13-pound recoil spring in a 17 or 34. Hope that all helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clown Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Re spring it and load your own ammo. i like 147 fmj's. others like 124's. everything else on the gun is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuahr Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 Many thanks to both of you. Duane, I am a lefty, and find the extended Slide Stop Lever helps in closing the slide with my index finger. I should probably be pulling back on the rear of the slide instead, but I seem to be faster using the lever. I'm going to start pulling the slide though, for consistency of motion, ie: clearing jams, etc. I probably have 10-12,000 rounds through the gun, and no malfunctions of any kind yet... The extended mag release I guess I could go either way on. Thanks for the advice on load. Much obliged. Joshua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuahr Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 Would you guys recommend a lighter firing pin spring to go with a 13# recoil spring? Any danger of light strikes there? Joshua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Would you guys recommend a lighter firing pin spring to go with a 13# recoil spring? Any danger of light strikes there?Joshua Yes. At least in my Glocks, I can feel the slide beginning to edge out of battery with the std weight striker spring as I pull the trigger. This is more obvious as the 13# spring starts to take a set. If you test this by doing the "Gravity Test", make sure that you cycle the slide first so that the striker spring is compressed as it would be with the gun in firing condition - the greater pressure opposing the recoil spring is what you need to test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Duane, I am a lefty, and find the extended Slide Stop Lever helps in closing the slide with my index finger. I should probably be pulling back on the rear of the slide instead, but I seem to be faster using the lever. I'm going to start pulling the slide though, for consistency of motion, ie: clearing jams, etc. Ah, I didn't realize you were a lefty. In that case the extended slide stop lever should case no problems, and I can see where it could be a great asset when fingering down the slide stop. I'd encourage you to put both using your index finger and jacking the slide on a timer to find out which is faster for you. Make that the deciding factor in your decision, not any need for commonality. While I understand the logic of of the old KISS adage, IMHO that is primarily a rule for shooters at the lesser trained, poorly practiced skill levels. At the higher skill levels we can afford a bit of complexity to our skill set. We're going to practice it until it's second nature, anyway, so KISS doesn't really apply. The extended mag release I guess I could go either way on. Actually if you're left-handed, again things change and I don't see the extended mag release button causing a problem, either. On a table start you're going to be laying the gun on its right side (i.e. with the button facing up instead of down on the table) so it should cause no problem at all. Thanks for the advice on load. Much obliged. Yer welcome. We live to serve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Actually with a little careful grinding of the slide stop you will never have to touch it to release the slide. I find either a 12# Wolf or 13# ISMI works. I do take 2-3 coils off the ISMI. The extended slide stop is the first thing removed from my Glocks. I am right handed. A 147 gr plated/jacketed bullet with 3.2 gr of Titegroup is a very good combo. 3.2 is a little iffy with a G17. No problems with a G34. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calmwater Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 As a fellow southpaw, I concur on the extended slide stop. I liked it so much on my 34 I had a department armorer put them on my duty guns. If the extended mag release doesn't tear into your middle finger, then I say keep it too. I took mine out and replaced it with a standard one pretty quick due to that problem though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildWest N AZ Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I like Wolff springs and guide rods, I feel the round spring is much smoother when the gun cycles. IMHO, but some say that Wolff springs wear out faster? Try running the stock 17 pound spring at first and once you find a load you light then test with some lighter spring weights to see what you like? I run stock weight springs in all my Glocks even when running light loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Actually with a little careful grinding of the slide stop you will never have to touch it to release the slide. Quite a bit of the time, with a 17 or 34, when you slap in a fresh mag at slidelock, the slide with go forward on its own. The problem I find is that if I begin depending on that, and it dosen't happen, it just complets screws my slidelock reload. I'd rather train myself to hit the slide stop every time. Different strokes for different folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe D Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Duane, put a little bevel at the point where the SS contacts the slide notch. Most Glocks, after being shot a good bit, will drop the slide "most" of the time. I have not touched the SS on my Glocks in years. Slide goes forward every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braxton1 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Duane, put a little bevel at the point where the SS contacts the slide notch. Most Glocks, after being shot a good bit, will drop the slide "most" of the time. I have not touched the SS on my Glocks in years. Slide goes forward every time. I've always been scared of that "feature". My fear is that I'll bump the gun WHILE inserting the mag and the slide will go forward before the round is there to be stripped. I recently went back to the Ext. Stop. I was having a heck of a time dropping the slide when doing slide-lock reloads. Time will tell if I have the "thumbs forward" problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will227457 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I shoot a g17 and I have experienced the on the table start were my mag was poped out of battery, by my extended mag release....a real issue for me as I really like it and feel it helps with reloads... as stated before a heavier bullet will give you that soft push you are looking for, I shoot 147gn bear creek valley over 3.5gn of unique....very manageablle recoil... the best thing to do is start a new hobby...you got reloading!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I shoot a g17 and I have experienced the on the table start were my mag was poped out of battery, by my extended mag release.... Literally one of the first things I ever did to my G34 was to yank the stock extended magazine release and slide stop lever and replace them with the non-extended parts off a G17. Having said that, I have carried a Glock with the extended mag release button for about a year. It gave no problems in concealed carry. If it wasn't for the issue of table/box starts in USPSA/IPDA, and laying the gun on my nightstand at night which is also a valid concern, I'd have no problem with the extended mag release. Unfortunately those ARE valid concerns. No extended mag release for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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