How to check if your aftermarket Safety Lever or Sear is causing light primer strikes - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

propellerhead · 06-11-2008, 07:18 PM

When you install an aftermarket Sear or Safety Lever there's a chance that the Sear releases the Striker before the Safety Lever pushes the Striker Safety out of the way. Here's what happens when you pull the trigger:

1. When the Slide goes back then forward, the tab on the Striker (A) catches on the Sear (B) and the Striker is held under spring tension with the tab somewhere at the yellow blob.

2. When you pull the trigger, the trigger bar moves forward and pulls the bottom end of the Safety Lever (C) which rotates up. The Safety Lever then pushes up on the Striker Safety (D). As you keep pulling the trigger, the Sear (B) rotates down and releases the Striker tab (A). The Striker then springs forward and hits the firing pin and off goes your round.

The job of the Striker Safety (D) is to stop the forward movement of the Striker (A) if the Sear (B) somehow fails and releases the Striker (A).

There was a recent group buy where there was a misunderstanding about an aftermarket sear and whether it was a drop in or needed adjustment. I was one of the ones who installed the aftermarket sear without any adjustments. Unfortunately, it released the striker too soon on my XD. What was happening was the sear was releasing the striker before the safety lever pushed the striker safety out of the way. The tab on the striker was hitting the striker safety which prevented the firing pin from getting a good solid hit on the primer. The primer would get a light strike that wasn't enough to fire the round. The bad thing is the striker tab can weaken if this is done repeatedly. If you want proof, there's a picture of a striker with a broken tab posted here somewhere.

Many thanks to agalindo for posting how to make sure this isn't happening when you install an aftermarket sear or safety lever. Here's the pictorial version of what agalindo said...

propellerhead · 06-11-2008, 07:19 PM

1. Using a punch, push down on the Striker Spring Guide through Striker Locking Plate. Pull on the Striker Locking Plate enough to move it about 1/8 inch. Be careful to not pull the Striker Locking Plate all the way off.

2. Using a punch, push down on the Striker Spring Guide and pull the Striker Locking Plate off. The Striker Spring Guide is under a lot of spring tension and it will fly out.

3. Carefully release the tension on the Striker Spring. If it flies out, go find it. You'll need it.

4. Remove the Striker Spring Guide, Striker Spring and Striker Status Indicator.

5. Insert a dowel into the hole and push in lightly. This will push the Striker forward until the tab hits the Striker Safety. This is what happens when the Striker goes forward while the Striker Safety is still in its way.

6. Push down on the Striker Safety. Push the dowel in further. The Striker should go forward some more. This is what happens when the Trigger is pulled under normal operation. The Safety Lever pushes the Striker Safety out of the way so the Striker can go forward all the way. Mark the dowel with a piece of tape to indicate how far in it should go.

7. Put the slide back onto the frame. Apply a little force to the dowel.

8. Pull the trigger.

If the Safety Lever pushed the Striker Safety out of the way then the Striker should go in all the way and your tape marking should show that. Bounce the dowel in and out to make sure the Striker isn't hitting anything. Slowly back off on the Trigger. At some point, you'll feel the Striker Safety hitting the Striker.

If the dowel stopped short of your mark, then that means the Striker tab made contact with the Striker Safety. This is when you need to make adjustments. Contact the vendor of the Safety Lever or Sear that you installed to find out how to make adjustments.

propellerhead · 06-11-2008, 07:19 PM

1. Reassembly is pretty simple. Insert the Striker Status Indicator.

2. Insert the Striker Spring and Striker Spring Guide.

3. Push down on the Striker Spring Guide and slide on the Striker Locking Plate.

4. Done.

**agalindo** · 06-11-2008, 08:45 PM

Nice job prop.

propellerhead · 06-12-2008, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agalindo

Nice job prop.

Thank you. You were the one who posted how to check it. I just did the pictorial.

azxdfan · 06-13-2008, 04:35 PM

Agalindo, Propellerhead,

You two make a great team, Thanks for all your help on this Forum. Its your sharing that helps everyone.

Azxdfan

**BOFH** · 06-13-2008, 04:43 PM

Nice post.

Those of you with light strikes....how often are/were you having them? I have had one light strike with the Springer sear, but that was only once in about 1500 rounds.

propellerhead · 06-14-2008, 07:22 AM

I have had zero light primer strikes with the Powder River Precision Safety Lever in my XD9 Tac. I know of one user on here that was getting light strikes. With the XDGuys/Bob's Level 2 Trigger Kit, around 4 out 5 pulls were light primer strikes. This same kit on my gf's XD9 Sub resulted in 1 in 80 rounds.

If you got 1 in 1500, you could say it's the ammo but I would make a small adjustment. Contact the vendor on how to do this. It sounds like you're on the hairy edge. I'd rather bring back 1/10th of a degree of trigger travel back in than be on the edge.

06-11-2008, 07:18 PM	#1
propellerhead XDTalk 3K Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Foat Wurth, TX Posts: 3,510	How to check if your aftermarket Safety Lever or Sear is causing light primer strikes When you install an aftermarket Sear or Safety Lever there's a chance that the Sear releases the Striker before the Safety Lever pushes the Striker Safety out of the way. Here's what happens when you pull the trigger: 1. When the Slide goes back then forward, the tab on the Striker (A) catches on the Sear (B) and the Striker is held under spring tension with the tab somewhere at the yellow blob. 2. When you pull the trigger, the trigger bar moves forward and pulls the bottom end of the Safety Lever (C) which rotates up. The Safety Lever then pushes up on the Striker Safety (D). As you keep pulling the trigger, the Sear (B) rotates down and releases the Striker tab (A). The Striker then springs forward and hits the firing pin and off goes your round. The job of the Striker Safety (D) is to stop the forward movement of the Striker (A) if the Sear (B) somehow fails and releases the Striker (A). There was a recent group buy where there was a misunderstanding about an aftermarket sear and whether it was a drop in or needed adjustment. I was one of the ones who installed the aftermarket sear without any adjustments. Unfortunately, it released the striker too soon on my XD. What was happening was the sear was releasing the striker before the safety lever pushed the striker safety out of the way. The tab on the striker was hitting the striker safety which prevented the firing pin from getting a good solid hit on the primer. The primer would get a light strike that wasn't enough to fire the round. The bad thing is the striker tab can weaken if this is done repeatedly. If you want proof, there's a picture of a striker with a broken tab posted here somewhere. Many thanks to agalindo for posting how to make sure this isn't happening when you install an aftermarket sear or safety lever. Here's the pictorial version of what agalindo said... __________________ XD-9 Tactical for IDPA, XD-40 Subcompact for concealed carry, XD-45 Service for home defense. Three calibers, three models, three purposes. No compromises.

06-11-2008, 07:19 PM	#2
propellerhead XDTalk 3K Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Foat Wurth, TX Posts: 3,510	1. Using a punch, push down on the Striker Spring Guide through Striker Locking Plate. Pull on the Striker Locking Plate enough to move it about 1/8 inch. Be careful to not pull the Striker Locking Plate all the way off. 2. Using a punch, push down on the Striker Spring Guide and pull the Striker Locking Plate off. The Striker Spring Guide is under a lot of spring tension and it will fly out. 3. Carefully release the tension on the Striker Spring. If it flies out, go find it. You'll need it. 4. Remove the Striker Spring Guide, Striker Spring and Striker Status Indicator. 5. Insert a dowel into the hole and push in lightly. This will push the Striker forward until the tab hits the Striker Safety. This is what happens when the Striker goes forward while the Striker Safety is still in its way. 6. Push down on the Striker Safety. Push the dowel in further. The Striker should go forward some more. This is what happens when the Trigger is pulled under normal operation. The Safety Lever pushes the Striker Safety out of the way so the Striker can go forward all the way. Mark the dowel with a piece of tape to indicate how far in it should go. 7. Put the slide back onto the frame. Apply a little force to the dowel. 8. Pull the trigger. If the Safety Lever pushed the Striker Safety out of the way then the Striker should go in all the way and your tape marking should show that. Bounce the dowel in and out to make sure the Striker isn't hitting anything. Slowly back off on the Trigger. At some point, you'll feel the Striker Safety hitting the Striker. If the dowel stopped short of your mark, then that means the Striker tab made contact with the Striker Safety. This is when you need to make adjustments. Contact the vendor of the Safety Lever or Sear that you installed to find out how to make adjustments. __________________ XD-9 Tactical for IDPA, XD-40 Subcompact for concealed carry, XD-45 Service for home defense. Three calibers, three models, three purposes. No compromises.

06-11-2008, 07:19 PM	#3
propellerhead XDTalk 3K Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Foat Wurth, TX Posts: 3,510	1. Reassembly is pretty simple. Insert the Striker Status Indicator. 2. Insert the Striker Spring and Striker Spring Guide. 3. Push down on the Striker Spring Guide and slide on the Striker Locking Plate. 4. Done. __________________ XD-9 Tactical for IDPA, XD-40 Subcompact for concealed carry, XD-45 Service for home defense. Three calibers, three models, three purposes. No compromises.

06-13-2008, 04:35 PM	#6
azxdfan XDTalk Newbie Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 19	Agalindo, Propellerhead, You two make a great team, Thanks for all your help on this Forum. Its your sharing that helps everyone. Azxdfan __________________ The Second Amendment is a fight we can't loose!! XD40 Powder River Rocks

06-13-2008, 04:43 PM	#7
BOFH XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 312	Nice post. Those of you with light strikes....how often are/were you having them? I have had one light strike with the Springer sear, but that was only once in about 1500 rounds. Last edited by BOFH : 06-13-2008 at 05:07 PM.

06-14-2008, 07:22 AM	#8
propellerhead XDTalk 3K Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Foat Wurth, TX Posts: 3,510	I have had zero light primer strikes with the Powder River Precision Safety Lever in my XD9 Tac. I know of one user on here that was getting light strikes. With the XDGuys/Bob's Level 2 Trigger Kit, around 4 out 5 pulls were light primer strikes. This same kit on my gf's XD9 Sub resulted in 1 in 80 rounds. If you got 1 in 1500, you could say it's the ammo but I would make a small adjustment. Contact the vendor on how to do this. It sounds like you're on the hairy edge. I'd rather bring back 1/10th of a degree of trigger travel back in than be on the edge. __________________ XD-9 Tactical for IDPA, XD-40 Subcompact for concealed carry, XD-45 Service for home defense. Three calibers, three models, three purposes. No compromises. Last edited by propellerhead : 06-14-2008 at 07:24 AM.

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