Rimfire Central Firearm Forum banner

HEAVY trigger problems ...

973 views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Fuzzy Limey 
#1 ·
Many years ago, I bought one of the original GSG 1911-22's when they first came out ... that was long before all the current "aftermarket improvements" came along. On the whole it was a satisfactory fun substitute for the "real thing" .... same general feel, relatively accurate, and with a workable 4-5# trigger pull. Over time, I "improved" on the original, until a couple of years ago when my 40+ year old grandson talked me out of it.

Moving right along - last Fall I bowed to a whim and got one of the current crop ... lots of subtle changes found. What with winter weather, advancing age and attendant health problems, it has not been shot - or tinkered with - as much as would normally have been the case in days of old. Overall, the GSG feels good in my hands, and depending on ammo used, I find I can still accomplish 3-4" groups with it at 25 yards, double-handed - (without ears, "real" knees and "dead feet" - I nowadays have to sit to shoot) - with maybe 10% flyers. No comparison to my regular old Slabside Buckmark, but ... !

To date the only work done on this newer GSG has been stripping, cleaning and stoning sharp corners on slide and lower and removal of the magazine safety and spring. No doubt I'll end up by fitting some of the current crop of imporoved barrel bushings, firing pins and such. BUT ... this particular pistol does have a major problem that I don't see any reference to on the Forum - the trigger pull !

Right now, and since new, when tested for pull weight, my Lyman Electronic gauge merely says "OUCH ! - it has a 12# limit ! I'm planning on doing a complete strip and replacing the firing pin safety gubbinery with a spacer, but common sense tells me that any improvement would only be marginal. So something else has to be wrong ... any thoughts on where to start looking ?

Fuzzy
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Mine is the later improved (2nd gen?) model. I had not worked on any 1911s before but did the research, asked some questions and went at it, did the basic 1911 trigger tune with the existing parts. Btw, I cant recommend removing any factory safety components but will say my funky f-pin block stuff got lost.....except for some little part that became the 'spacer (no need to source anything).
The improvement was immediate, but it was still a bit glitchy. I found the strut that rides up into the radius cut underside of the slide was rough and dragging. Careful stoning of both surfaces and a spot of automotive anti-seize did wonders. Some friends with custom tuned real 1911s were complimentary of my work.
I also put in some aftermarket barrel bushing but keep in mind the GSG does not have a floating barrel, it is intended to be rigidly attached with a smallish screw from the right side (even though it is held with the through-pin) with the slide only returning to battery, not centering up the barrel. With a more 1911ish bushing the slide and bushing may be riding the barrel into battery. I had intended to shoot control groups as stock, then new bush, then with the new bush and barrel lock screw off. Didnt happen....instead I shot it some with the screw, it all seemed Ok (though Ive found mine likes to 'run wet') so I just pulled the screw and started using it.
Fwiw, a few weeks ago I had some time to play (1st time in about a year!) so I took the GSG and my old Buckmark Compact? to the 20yd range with some big gongs freshly painted. Picked a centerish hold and a Weaver stance.
Back to back I shot about a 30% smaller overall group with the GSG, pretty much all in the bottom of a pop can dia.; Im happy.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for those thoughts, Gerald ! Yep - I'm still around despite all the parts the quacks keep removing. Most of the time I don't log in but just read things to keep abreast of what you kids are up to ! Besides, I still have a few more years to go to "make the ton" !

With regards to the immense trigger pull on the GSG, it mysteriously disappeared after a total strip down and rebuild - I suspect a piece of manufacturing residue got lodged somewhere in the tangle of bits that make up a 1911. Since then I have had it fully apart again - several times - and, along with an awful lot of polishing, done some progressive replacement of various components with ZR goodies - some improved the operation, some didn't ! Like "gcrank1", many of my firing pin block bits had a mind of their own during the first total strip-down. but found one of the two pawls and used it as a "spacer" - lol ! (NB: 90+year old arthriticky fingers do not stick to these itty-bitty parts like they used to !)

Over the next few weeks, I hope to repeat the strip and polish a few more times on the remaining "bits in the 'andle part", each time heading back out to my 25 yard bench to see if "the old touch" is still there. RIght now it has a tolerable 4-1/2# trigger pull and can shoot 1-1/2" 10-shot groups at 10 yards, with 3-5" groups at 25 yards. So as a "tractor-carry gun" out on the back-40 it's now useable as long as I tremember to aim low - the sight geometry is bad just like the previous one, 10 years ago rear sight way too high or front too low !

Fuzzy
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top