1911 hammer follow through

B

B Shipley

New member
I have a Gold Cup (new version w/o the depressor, etc.) that has had a trigger job and follows through only if the gun is tilted downward from horizontal. This, BTW, is on a live round or snap cap.

What is going on here? The sear looks fine and seems to have the requisite .010 of surface. The hammer hooks appear to be just a bit over .023 as measured against a feeler gauge by eye and fingernail. This isn't enough from what I've read. Is this the real cause? Also have a tiny bit of intermittent creep.

Some additional info is that I have an aluminum trigger, a four finger Clark sear spring, an 18.5# recoil spring (no guide rod), and a reduced power mainspring (Colt green). Additionally, the series 80 parts have been replaced with a shim.
 
B, hammer follow is usually the result of tool little sear engagement combined with too heavy a recoil spring. Even a trigger pull as heavy as 4# can have hammer follow eventually if a heavy spring is used. I recommend you have a trigger job done on the pistol. If you don't have anyone near you, feel free to e-mail me. George
 
The amount of hammer hook engagement (.023") seems fine. The angle of the sear nose and/or hammer hook may not be correct. It's hard to get it right without a jig. It's also possible that the sear spring doesn't have enough tension & is allowing the trigger to float back as the slide slams home, in effect, pulling itself. This would be corrected by slightly bending the center leg forward to apply more tension/resistance to the disconnector & trigger. Sometimes the left leg of the spring will also need adjustment.
 
I paid to have somebody with a jig do the job right. It only does it when nose down 30-45 degrees or more, but this is a real-life angle if reloading, so it must hold, in my book.

Is 18.5# too much spring? I want something that will stand up to +P.

I'll try bending the fingers.
 
I guess I have to wonder why you don't take the pistol back to the guy that did the trigger job and have him do it correctly. Isn't that the correct option?
 
IMO, this isn't an area for the untrained to be tinkering with. When I pay for work, I expect it to be done correcty.

Note that I don't always get what I expect... :)
 
Try increasing tention on the spring as mentioned eariler in the thread before doing anything else. It may just solve your problem. If it is not 100% after adjusting the spring, get it looked at by a professional. John K

------------------
NRA MEMBER? GREAT, NOW JOIN GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top