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Thread: Striker Spring

  1. #1
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    Default Striker Spring

    I am looking for a stronger Striker spring for a P45. When I use Winchester Primers sometime the striker just don't hit the primer hard enough. I call Wolff Spring and don't make a stronger striker spring for the Kahr.

  2. #2
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by shootinbil View Post
    I am looking for a stronger Striker spring for a P45. When I use Winchester Primers sometime the striker just don't hit the primer hard enough. I call Wolff Spring and don't make a stronger striker spring for the Kahr.
    Initially, I had some light primer strikes with my CW-45 and Kahr sent me a new striker and spring.
    This cured the problem BTW.
    The new spring is stronger, by about 4 coils.
    It didn't noticeably affect trigger pull, however I think that if I had just shot the gun more the problem would have cured itself.
    Mine get better the more I shoot them.
    You might give them a call.
    Where are we going and why am I in this hand-basket?

  3. #3
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    Default

    Thanks for your help. I will call them on Monday.

  4. #4
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    Default wolffs

    Quote Originally Posted by shootinbil View Post
    Thanks for your help. I will call them on Monday.
    only makes a lighter 5# striker spring. If u having issues with the factory spring and it has never been altered, indeed call kahr and get another striker spring. I use the 5# striker spring in my PM9 and have never had one light strike ever and that is about 2.5# lighter than factory kahr spring. I love the way it smooths out my trigger pull even.

    I am assuming your kahr is new and not used etc, If used, u never know what anyone has done in the striker channel area either. You stated light strikes but never stated if the light strikes are causing failure to fire or that you just look at the primer indent and are making your decision that they are light strikes. there is a difference.

    If u have never had that striker channel apart, indeed you could have a crud build up inside that channel causing light looking strikes. Normally kahr factory springs never wear out either, so I would advise for sure to clean that channel out perfectly and do not oil that striker channel either. Leave dry and clean.

    Get a new striker spring from kahr while your at it and if u don't mind spending the extra bucks buy a new striker while you are at it. cheap insurance..If anyone should get light strikes my 5# system should produce them and I have never had a failure to go bang, but I keep that channel spotless to by using that small clean out hole in the bottom of the slide and just inserting a spray nozzle in there and sprayaing away. u will see fluids and crap coming out both end. walla, u have not cleaned the striker channel..

  5. #5

    Default

    I think the light strikes is more likely either inadequate striker protrusion, or drag on the striker as it moves through the hole in the breech face, and not the spring.

    And by the way, a spring with the same wire diameter and material and four more coils (more turns) will be WEAKER and not STRONGER. However, if the spring is too short it can cause a problem especially if there is drag in the striker.

    My Kahr had light strikes and eventually they replaced the whole slide. I think these Kahr pistols have a design defect or two and one of these days Kahr is going to have to address it in an expensive manner. For the time being they seem to be content to band-aid it on a case-by-case basis.

  6. #6
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    Default have since

    Quote Originally Posted by 500KV View Post
    Initially, I had some light primer strikes with my CW-45 and Kahr sent me a new striker and spring.
    This cured the problem BTW.
    The new spring is stronger, by about 4 coils.
    It didn't noticeably affect trigger pull, however I think that if I had just shot the gun more the problem would have cured itself.
    Mine get better the more I shoot them.
    You might give them a call.
    found out what I had originally thought was true. ALL KARH STRIKER SPRINGS ARE THE SAME, except the little P380. Howurs got 4 coils less and if it was a new gun, is beyond me, course another thing could have happened to is that the striker spring might have broken an when you took it apart to check things out that little part of the 4 coils might have droppd somewhere out of sight,but all kahr striker springs are the same..

    If it was by chance a used gun, then the previous owner had just cut 4 coils off the striker spring to lighten trigger pull.

  7. #7
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    Default A Little Confused

    Quote Originally Posted by mr.72 View Post
    I think the light strikes is more likely either inadequate striker protrusion, or drag on the striker as it moves through the hole in the breech face,
    I agree that this could contribute;

    But could you enlighten me a little about this statement?

    Quote Originally Posted by mr.72 View Post
    And by the way, a spring with the same wire diameter and material and four more coils (more turns) will be WEAKER and not STRONGER.
    ETA: I think I see what you're saying now.
    The assumption is that the spring is being totally compressed; right?
    Last edited by 500KV; 11-02-2009 at 10:00 AM.
    Where are we going and why am I in this hand-basket?

  8. #8

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by 500KV View Post
    But could you enlighten me a little about this statement? <snip>
    ETA: I think I see what you're saying now.
    The assumption is that the spring is being totally compressed; right?
    No.

    The physics of a spring dictates that with all other things being equal, the more turns, the lighter the spring. And this is also why cutting coils off of the spring will not really reduce the trigger pull, in fact it will stiffen the trigger pull, unless you cut it so short that there is no preload on the spring (in other words, the striker is not partially cocked by cycling the slide).

    To make a lighter spring would require a spring with either more coils of wire, thinner wire, or wire made of a different material or alloy. In any event, a lighter spring requires a replacement spring. There is no way to modify the factory spring to make it weaker unless you work harden it or deform it mechanically or do something else to it to degrade the material the spring is made from.

    Now getting away from the discussion about this striker spring in particular, but talking about springs in general, some people may find that shortening a spring by cutting coils can appear to reduce the effort required to begin to compress the spring, but this is only the case if the spring is under preload and after it is cut it is no longer preloaded.

    So for example, let's say that I have a spring that is 10 lbf/in rate that is 1.0" in free length, but it is .75" in the installed length. So it is under 2.5 lb of pre-load. It will require 2.5 lb of force to just begin to compress the spring. So to compress it another .25" will require 5.0 lb of force total (2.5 preload plus 2.5 lb for the additional .25"). Now, if I cut 25% of the coils off of the spring so that now it is only .75" long, it will now be 13.3 lb/in (33% stiffer) but under no preload when installed. So to compress it .25" will require only 3.3 or so lb of force.

    Now, with a Kahr striker spring, you would have to cut it down to the point at which it was not under a significant preload while the pistol was in the partially-cocked "ready" state in order to reduce the trigger pull. Maybe there is a sweet spot where you could cut the spring and result in a lighter trigger without compromising the function of the striker. The Kahr striker spring is under heavy pre-load when the pistol is partially-cocked. The more reliable way to reduce the trigger pull is as Jocko suggested, put a lighter striker spring in there and then hope for the best with respect to primer ignition. Jocko has good results. I am not so confident of lighter striker springs being a good idea universally.

    Incidentally any of you S&W Sigma owners out there, the striker spring is the real way to lower the trigger weight. You can probably more safely reduce the striker spring in a Sigma than you can in a Kahr because the Sigma seems to have much more striker protrusion than a Kahr (at least .010" more) so it's not on the edge of not working to begin with.

  9. #9
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    Default

    If wolffs had not made this 5# striker spring for the kahrs, I certainly would not be experimenting either. Not sure a 5# striker spring is really to light either. It sure works great in my K9 and PM9 but Mr72, u described this spring thing very well. In as much as wolffs makes all of kahrs springs for their guns, I trust their 5# spring....

  10. #10
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by mr.72 View Post
    No.

    The physics of a spring dictates that with all other things being equal, the more turns, the lighter the spring. And this is also why cutting coils off of the spring will not really reduce the trigger pull, in fact it will stiffen the trigger pull, unless you cut it so short that there is no preload on the spring (in other words, the striker is not partially cocked by cycling the slide)....
    Very good read.
    Thank you sir.
    Where are we going and why am I in this hand-basket?

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