"Boy, are you dumb or what?"

[chim]

I finally got to spend a little time at the range recently. Came to the conclusion I should shoot a lighter pistol for a while, so I put a 4" bull barrel on the frame I've been using lately and went out and sighted in last night. Durinig the range session, there were a few instances of the hammer following the slide forward. So when I got home it received the best cleaning I could give it without removing the parts from the frame. Had the barrel, grips and slide off. I removed the slide's internals and scrubbed and hosed everything with contact cleaner.

I verified the sear spring wasn't in the flipped position and didn't see anything that looked out of place. After work tonight - and prior to the match - I figured as insurance I'd do a little adjusting to the disconnector just in case the top was worn enough to prevent it from "disconnecting".

Put her back together and headed for the match. Got half way through the match and had the hammer follow the slide twice in two mags.

I violated one of my own rules to never trust a pistol that has been worked on without a good session for it to prove itself. I had convinced myself the problem was properly diagnosed and resolved.

There's a price to pay for being cocky


EDIT TO ADD: When I truly solve it I'll post what I found.

[M2HB]

I can't wait to hear what the problem was.

[photoracer]

There you go Chim. You know a problem is not fixed till it shoots clean at the range. Violated one of the cardinal rules of troubleshooting, diagnose, fix, then test. You realize a lighter gun requires a stonger more solid grip of the gun.

[chim]

I DID follow the rule.

The problem is I had the poor judgement to perform the test during a match because I was so anxious to try out the new configuration.

Limpwristing is something I wouldn't have associated with a sear not catching. Still won't. Besides, I'm 6-4, 277#, use a grip that's almost too firm most of the time and the pistol is wearing big Nill grips that fit me like a glove.

[chim]

Need to spend some time at the range to be sure but I think the problem was a weak sear spring and gritty crud. I first removed the slide and barrel so I could work/watch/feel the action. It felt like the gun spent a weekend at the beach (or IN the beach). Real gritty and the sear didn't snap into place like it should. I took it completely apart and cleaned it thoroughly with Eezox and shot some contact cleaner into the mainspring hole. Then applied a very minimal amount of moly-bearing oil to the metal to metal interfaces. When I reassembled it I replaced the sear spring with a new one. Felt a lot better and it seemed odd the trigger pull felt the same before and after.

[M2HB]

Let us know how it works. I'll bet that you have it fixed.

[photoracer]

Originally Posted by chim

I DID follow the rule.

The problem is I had the poor judgement to perform the test during a match because I was so anxious to try out the new configuration.

Limpwristing is something I wouldn't have associated with a sear not catching. Still won't. Besides, I'm 6-4, 277#, use a grip that's almost too firm most of the time and the pistol is wearing big Nill grips that fit me like a glove.

OK we can leave that out then. What ammo are you running?

[chim]

CCI SV is what keeps 'em tickng.

[chim]

Reporting in - The sear spring must have been the problem. I took the pistol to the range last night and it ran perfectly.

[chim]

Originally Posted by FlysAlot

Whew... my faith in humanity is restored!

Come on admit it, you were just seeing if we were all awake and paying attention right?

Just admitting I'm human