That light spring result looks great ... for run and gun. Probably too light for me, LOL. I wonder what the optimum ratio of striker spring to trigger spring weight might be? On first thought, I would probably need to increase the striker spring weight if I used the light trigger spring to keep the total pull weight closer to 3.5 lbs. Or just stay with the stock trigger spring and use the Glock 4#. No telling what will happen with the competition striker. So the options multiply--three possible strikers, 3 (or more) striker springs, two trigger springs, if one includes the factory parts.
This is fun. Earlan357 and CGW do all the work, and we get to critique everything with nothing to loose!
Joe
Yeah definitely competition or bullseye only. I'm probably going to build everything around the CGW competition striker. I also don't know how much I've compromised the metal and how long the trigger will last before it wears out. Plus I don't know if the MIM parts are heat treated or not, and whether they're treated through or just the surface. I don't think there's all that much stress on the disconnector so I don't think it will wear out prematurely, at least not at these light trigger pull weights.
The perfect ratio is what I'm trying to determine, at least for myself. The 1911/2011's I've handled in USPSA typically have 1-1.5# of takeup and a 2.5-3# break. For my needs, I want to be able to sprint into a position and have the sights on target and the trigger prepped before my feet have even settled.
So let's look at two extreme examples.
In the first, the trigger's pre-travel weight is 1# with a 10# break. This in effect feels like a 9# trigger. It would be super easy to find the wall at any speed, but as I'm pulling through the break, at some point my brain feels all that finger pressure and thinks, "geez the gun should've gone off by NOW!" and I snatch at the trigger, pulling my shot. Chuck Pressburg has a great video on it called "the flinchies".
In the second example, the pre-travel is 9# with a 10# break. Now my finger is tensed up pretty hard up to the wall, but I can barely tell the difference between 9# and 10#, so I blow right through the wall and set off a round earlier than intended.
It's the same story to a lesser extent with the take-up distance. Imagine having to pull through 2 inches of trigger before finding the wall. It would be easy to rush through it and blow past the wall if you were in a hurry. With 0 take-up, you have to climb the entirety of the break all at once, inviting a trigger snatch.
So at some point, there is a magic ratio of take-up to break weight, overall weight, pre-travel distance, creep, and finger position in the trigger guard itself that works perfectly for me. Obviously this doesn't mean I can slack off in technique or practice, but I'll take any mechanical advantage I can get. Imagine racing 500 miles in a car with poorly adjusted seats. You can do it, but why would you want to if you can do something to change it?
One thing about the striker springs is that they not only have different spring rates, but different free lengths as well. Typically, a lighter spring rate requires a longer free length. This preloads the spring more to still retain enough energy to pop primers. Too long and the coils will bind, reaching full compression before the striker moves back enough to release from the trigger bar. Less spring rate + more preload = trigger resistance increases more gradually. By playing with the springs you could achieve a lighter break weight but maintain the same take-up weight for example. Break weight and the wall is controlled by the disconnector ramp's position and angle. The trigger spring is goofy because it helps pull the trigger. It has more pulling force when the trigger is forward, which is when the striker spring is also the lightest. As the trigger is pulled, the trigger spring's force weakens. The space is very limited inside the P10 trigger housing. Too short of a trigger spring will overstretch it as it goes forward. Too long, and there isn't enough pre-load resulting in a heavier break. The spring also has to hook the tiny nubs on the trigger bar and the cross pin, so there's a very narrow window of wire sizes, diameters, and lengths that will work. Not only that, but good luck finding springs with loops/hooks at 90 degrees. Since the trigger spring is near relaxed at the break, it has very little effect on the break/wall, but can drastically reduce pre-travel/slack weight. So the trigger spring is more to fine tune the take-up weight than the wall/break.
Looking at the graphs, the shallow lines that rise gently from 0 to about 4oz are just the weight of the trigger safety. The pre-travel weight must be heavier than this, otherwise the trigger safety wouldn't pivot into the trigger as it's pulled. I have zero intention of deactivating any of the safeties since that would be both irresponsible and forbidden in competition.
One cool thing is how little the firing pin block effects the trigger. It seems to peak around the 11mm mark. My recut disconnector is dangerously close to passing over the fp block which would allow the striker to drop on the block. It passes the pencil test, but I don't think I can reduce any more over travel. I may have to get another disconnector and not cut it back as deep and at a steeper angle to remove some of the creep. Will have to live with the overtravel for now.
Finally, I mistakenly referred to my disconnector ramp cut as 39 degrees. I meant 36 degrees, 9 less than the factory 45 degree cut. I chose 9 degrees because it the same angle difference as a standard vs minus Glock connector. I think I'll cut one to 40 degrees and see what happens. I might also put a slight curve on the ramp instead of cutting it flat. It would lengthen the reset, but it would cause the creep to reduce as it's pulled and counteract the increasing striker weight. Done right, the force to overcome would be perfectly linear. Too much, and the trigger will seem to "fall away" from your finger just before it releases.
