As my previous post stated I am a proud owner of the Berretta APX full size 9mm. I gave my perspective of a new handgun owner and what I liked and thought could be better. Now being a natural tinkerer and self taught hobbyist along with a real interest in performance increase for value, naturally I would investigate what I could do for a relatively low cost to improve my handgun. Looking at both Berretta's offerings and Galloway Precision I found 2 things I could do to improve the performance. I ended up settling on the Berretta's Heavy duty guide rod and the modified striker spring. Galloway's offered aftermarket items they machined that boasted the same thing with a little more flare ( guide rods can be purchased in various spring weights to tune the gun to a load or your liking) and the striker spring claims to remove the much and make the "wall" as they put it lighter, dropping pull weight 1-2 lbs depending on the tolerances of your handgun. I went with Berretta since it was manufacturer aftermarket parts and they have exact specs so I figured they would be guaranteed to work and they were 15 bucks cheaper overall for both parts.
The shipping was quick and I received my parts within the week. I installed the guide rod first. I wanted to see if I could noticed each step of performance increase if any. Also I could do this at the range in a matter of minutes and fire rounds right away. 5 shots to warm up with old spring. Then 5 shots with each, 3 shots slow and deliberate then a double tap. I noticed the new spring instantly made the slide harder to rack. Expected since it was touted to be heavier. Not horrible mind you but noticeable. Changed how the gun moved in hand upon discharge. It lessened that initial snap and made it easier to keep my sights on target/manage them for follow up. It did nothing for what I call the guns actual accuracy but helped me on my part to reacquire and deliver another round quickly. The double tap was and has been much easier to make the rounds closer. I went back and forth between the 2 and ensured a minimum of 50 rds were shot with each.
Next was the striker spring. Replacing it was a little more involved but not hard. Having now shot over 400 rds I felt I had a good grasp on the trigger so I didn't need to worry about warming up with the old pull. Function test was flawless and it was a noticeable difference. The trigger gauge reported the original spring coming in at 6.4 lbs on avg ( it lightened up from first measurements when I bought the gun...to be expected on handguns???) Original was very 2 stage like and once the wall was engaged it broke fairly solid with very little over travel and a quick reset. The new trigger pull weighed in at 5.0 lbs avg and the take up was easier or less apparent with the break being very noticeably lighter. Over travel was the same and take up as well. It did not feel unsafe but actually more natural like it was meant to actually fire this way in the first place. It did help my groupings ( I still had to relearn the gun for about 100 rds and my POIs shifted back toward center after migrating due to changes made but not a lot)
I think Berretta should have released the gun with the after market trigger spring at the very least. The reduction amount is not so much that it makes the gun feel like a hot rod. It puts it in line to challenge some of the better known factory triggers out there ( Walther PPQ). The aftermarket guide rod will require more testing to see if it too should have been the standard part installed vs a mod. I think I understand that the stiffer slide racking would have made new owners feel like it was too cumbersome to work with and shy them away but for military use I am curious if they had that with the model they submitted. I have seen the biggest improvement when I use +P ammo with the guide rod and it would be argued that it could increase the life of the pistol in regards to wear. Over all I am pleasantly pleased with the aftermarket parts and now have the ability to change the way my gun feels when I shoot it.
The shipping was quick and I received my parts within the week. I installed the guide rod first. I wanted to see if I could noticed each step of performance increase if any. Also I could do this at the range in a matter of minutes and fire rounds right away. 5 shots to warm up with old spring. Then 5 shots with each, 3 shots slow and deliberate then a double tap. I noticed the new spring instantly made the slide harder to rack. Expected since it was touted to be heavier. Not horrible mind you but noticeable. Changed how the gun moved in hand upon discharge. It lessened that initial snap and made it easier to keep my sights on target/manage them for follow up. It did nothing for what I call the guns actual accuracy but helped me on my part to reacquire and deliver another round quickly. The double tap was and has been much easier to make the rounds closer. I went back and forth between the 2 and ensured a minimum of 50 rds were shot with each.
Next was the striker spring. Replacing it was a little more involved but not hard. Having now shot over 400 rds I felt I had a good grasp on the trigger so I didn't need to worry about warming up with the old pull. Function test was flawless and it was a noticeable difference. The trigger gauge reported the original spring coming in at 6.4 lbs on avg ( it lightened up from first measurements when I bought the gun...to be expected on handguns???) Original was very 2 stage like and once the wall was engaged it broke fairly solid with very little over travel and a quick reset. The new trigger pull weighed in at 5.0 lbs avg and the take up was easier or less apparent with the break being very noticeably lighter. Over travel was the same and take up as well. It did not feel unsafe but actually more natural like it was meant to actually fire this way in the first place. It did help my groupings ( I still had to relearn the gun for about 100 rds and my POIs shifted back toward center after migrating due to changes made but not a lot)
I think Berretta should have released the gun with the after market trigger spring at the very least. The reduction amount is not so much that it makes the gun feel like a hot rod. It puts it in line to challenge some of the better known factory triggers out there ( Walther PPQ). The aftermarket guide rod will require more testing to see if it too should have been the standard part installed vs a mod. I think I understand that the stiffer slide racking would have made new owners feel like it was too cumbersome to work with and shy them away but for military use I am curious if they had that with the model they submitted. I have seen the biggest improvement when I use +P ammo with the guide rod and it would be argued that it could increase the life of the pistol in regards to wear. Over all I am pleasantly pleased with the aftermarket parts and now have the ability to change the way my gun feels when I shoot it.