Would a lightweight striker help me with light primer strikes?

[z06pilot]

I put in a reduced power striker springin my G34, and I am getting a fair amount of light primer strikes. Would a lightweight striker help me? If so is titanium better than lightend steel? Which is the best of the bunch as far as lightweight strikers?

Edited July 16, 2009 by z06pilot

[FF1063]

From what I understand, a lighter striker will give lighter hits.

Any brand of ammo or primer giving more trouble than others?

[g34]

What pound recoil spring are you using?

[prreed10]

I had problems with light hits with my light striker spring and CCI primers. Went back to Winchester and no more light hits.

[nwb01]

I experience light strikes with a reduced striker spring and Winchester primers. Best fix I found was to use the stock striker spring, it really isn't that much different.

I would much rather sacrifice a little heavier trigger pull than reduced reliability.

[VegasOPM]

I have had 100% reliability using a skeletonized striker with the lightweight spring or the standard striker with the standard spring- even with CCI primers. Lighter springs and standard striker, not so much. If you want the lightest trigger pull possible and reliability with all primers, you will want to get the skeletonized striker to go with the lightened striker spring. One other point to make with the reduced power striker spring- you need to be sure that the primers are fully seated when you reload. A standard striker has enough inertia to cover up for a shallow primer, the lightened setup does not. Don't ask me how I know.....

[sfinney]

Ok, my understanding is a light spring with stock striker can give light strikes, but a light spring with light striker should work better. But even so CCI can still be hard to bust.

[Micah]

Reduced power striker springs are almost always the cause for light strikes.

#2 (only because it is rare) is a damaged striker. Take a good look at the tip of the striker...compare it to a rarely used striker tip and see if it is chipped or worn. I have used the same striker for millions of dryfire clicks and tens of thousands of rounds and there is still no damage, but ymmv.

[z06pilot]

What pound recoil spring are you using?

13lb on an non-captive guide rod

[z06pilot]

From what I understand, a lighter striker will give lighter hits.

Any brand of ammo or primer giving more trouble than others?

Remington primers

[zipper046]

From my experience:

stock striker + light striker spring = LIGHT STRIKES

stock striker + stock striker spring = NORMAL STRIKES

lightweight striker + light striker spring = NORMAL STRIKES

stock striker + stock striker spring (minus 2 coils clipped) = NORMAL STRIKES (plus a lighter trigger pull)

lightweight striker + stock striker spring = PUNCTURED PRIMERS (sometimes).

BEST OPTION: stock striker + stock striker spring. THe lighter springs only give you a few ounces of reduced pull...not enough in my book to sacrifice reliability.

[Duane Thomas]

THe lighter springs only give you a few ounces of reduced pull

In my experience it's about two pounds less.

[kmitchl]

I've found a signinicant variations in Wolff reduced power striker springs. When I need striker springs I buy a package and measure the spring weight of each. I select one close to the middle of the road. I have no problems with a stock striker and the selected spring using CCI primers.

[Rob D]

I put a reduced power striker spring on my gun and started having light strikes 1-2% of the time(which is too much for competition).

I struggled with this for a few months before I finally ordered an extra striker from glock and took a dremel cutting wheel to it. I removed around 25gr, and haven't had a light strike since. I run CCI primers.

There's a good thread somewhere around here on how to lighten a stock striker, or I'm sure the aftermarket skeletonized ones will have the same effect.

[01G8R]

How many rounds on the light spring?

I have found the Wolff reduced power striker springs have a limited life. Most of the guys I shoot with (me included) shoot Glocks with the Wolff springs. I replace my striker spring every 4 months. That is 7k or 8k rounds for me. I use CCI primers in my reloads and since I started changing the striker springs regularly I have not had any light strikes. I keep 3 extra springs in my range bag and if someone at the range gets a light strike we change out the spring. We have not had any light strikes after changing the springs. I use a stock striker. I would imagine a light striker with a light spring would extend the lifetime of the spring.

Edited July 17, 2009 by 01G8R

[SDM]

I’ve had the same Wolff reduced power spring in my 17 for somewhere between 7000 and 10,000 rounds. The majority of that has been Blazer Brass. The firing pin is stock. I’ve not once had a light strike. Maybe the spring I have is one of the heavier ones.

[coltgov]

I have tested my strikers performance by putting a cap type ballpoint pen (one with a flat top, not paper mates which are recessed) into my 9mm barrel to see how high the pen flies. I can hit my 8 ft ceiling from a seated position firing from a face level using a reduced power wolf spring.

BTW the pen is only good for a few tries before the pen develops a divot.

[00bullitt]

I am using a Lightning Strike Ti strker. I really like the way the Ti striker makes the trigger feel. The Wolf reduced power striker spring makes for a much lighter trigger at the expense of reliability. The spring rates are not consistent from Wolf nor is their durability. Some Wolf springs seem to last longer and some fail pretty quick.Some feel strong and some much weaker. I have seen them last 50 rounds and some 15k rounds. I quit using them in the middle of the 2007 Nationals. I had a striker spring go tits up in the middle of a stage and put a new spring in. It lasted 2 more stages and started giving light strikes. At that point I put the factory spring in and have not changed since. As a matter of fact....I'm still running that same striker spring.

But to answer the original question.....yes,a reduced weight striker will give more reliable ignition with a reduced power striker spring. I prefer the Ti strkers by Lightning Strike. They also make a lightened steel strker. But to me.....its a noticable difference in feel of the trigger and I prefer the Ti. I have not broken a Ti strker but I have worn them out. I have also worn out a lightened steel.

Lightning Strike advertises the life of their Ti strikers at about 15k rounds. Mine has gone close to 50k.

[Flexmoney]

The safety plunger need to get out of the way of the striker (cleanly) as well. It can drag.

This is of special importance if you have somebody's "trigger kit"...where they have rounded the edges of the safety plunger in the effort to improve the trigger pull. (It doesn't get actuated far enough and drags or blocks the strikers movement/momentum.)

[SA Friday]

Quite a few of you are having issues with the combo of light striker spring and the hardest manufactured primers on the market, CCIs.

I used a regular striker and a reduced striker spring for years in four different Glocks and never had a light strike on rem, win, fed, or wolf primers. I've had high primers, but not light strikes. I won't use CCI's in a down-sprung gun.

There are other possibilities that should be looked into to ensure you are fixing the right problem. As Flex mentioned, a dragging safety plunger can give you a light strike due to drag. High primers can look like a light strike sometimes. A dirty striker channel can cause light strikes. A chipped striker can cause what appears to be light strikes. Using rock hard primers with an uber light spring will cause light strikes. None of these require changing from a light striker spring or OEM striker to fix.

[zipper046]

THe lighter springs only give you a few ounces of reduced pull

In my experience it's about two pounds less.

2lbs less with just the lightened striker spring? I've seen that achieved with the whole Wolff Competition kit installed (light safety plunger spring, light striker spring, lighter recoil spring, etc.), but never with just the light striker spring. Then again....I haven't seen everything in this lifetime yet.....