TBT said:
...Talking to people that know more than I do a lot of the P-series shootability comes from it being a hammer fired gun because of the resistance the hammer assembly provides in slowing the slide down. Don’t know if that’s true or exactly where I've heard that but one of the comments was that if the P-series were striker fired they wouldn't be nearly as good tracking shot to shot as they are. May have been Mike Pannone I saw that comment from? I don’t know. Maybe someone who knows more than I do can comment.
The following comments are conjecture, and I welcome different or opposing viewpoints, as there may be points I'm overlooking -- and I'd like to know if that is the case.
I've not encountered the argument (
underlined above) in years of reading on this subject, and I'm a long-time CZ enthusiast. There could be something to it -- but I suspect there are ways to compensate for changes that would come with moving to a striker assembly in place of a hammer assembly. (As I note below, a heavier slide can be used to slow slide velocity, if that is desired -- as can a heavier recoil spring.)
The hammer spring does the slowing, as it is compressed by the slide movement. The weight of that spring is frequently modified to give a lighter or heavier hammer strike. A heavier hammer spring affects felt recoil by storing a small additional amount of the recoil force and passing it back to the frame when the hammer is dropped. I suspect that most of us would notice something different (if only a heavier trigger), but not notice much difference in recoil -- except, that with heavier recoil springs, the recoil sometimes feels subtly longer and maybe gentler. (It's mostly illusion, just spreading the recoil out a bit as the heavier spring slows and stores.)
While the hammer spring DOES help slow the slide, I suspect that any resistance at that point in the firing cycle could easily be compensated for by a different recoil spring and/or by adding a buffer in the recoil spring assembly. Even variable rate springs or dual spring assemblies might have the desired effect. I the spring is too strong, the slide is hard to rack, which is probably one of the reasons some of the force is used to charge or partially charge striker springs.
Some pros use very light recoil springs to allow greater slide velocity and then use buffers to "cushion" the impact as the slide slams to the rear --
*which helps reduce barrel rise. Faster slide and less flip. (*An
addition to the original comment, for clarity's sake.)
(
The buffers aren't used to protect the frame, but to change the shape of the recoil impulse.) I've heard of that technique used with with striker-fired guns, but suspect it would work with hammer fired guns, too. As is the case with the hammer spring, the force hitting and being absorbed/affected by the buffer isn't directly returned as the slide slams forward -- a fraction (perhaps very small?) of the stored recoil force is delayed until the trigger is pulled. Slowing down the slide is NOT the objective for some shooters.
The main function of the recoil spring is to make the gun function (load the next round, cock the hammer or charge (or partially charge) the striker spring, and not to protect the gun or the shooter from recoil. (Heavier slides can be used in place of heavier springs, if slide velocity is a concern.)
A heavier recoil spring alone can cause some barrel DIP as the slide slams home, but a less strong recoil spring with a buffer seems to offset that natural "dip" in some gun designs. A too-heavy recoil spring alone can be a problem, causing more dip, and while the gun still functions, it can take longer for the gun to be brought back on target. (This is seldom discussed on these forums, but there are great examples shown in videos on YouTube.)
It's a design/user choice issue. There are a LOT of striker-fired guns used in the gun games with great success. I think we'll start to see Gray Guns-tuned SIG P320 out there in the near future (in the IDPA SSP or USPSA Production divisions).
Would a P-series CZ not stack up? Hard to say until we see it done ... but I suspect it's coming. (That too is conjecture.)
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