Sig Hammer Spring

[TomJ]

I'd like to lighten the trigger pull on my P229 and am going to try a lighter hammer spring. The factory spring is 21 pounds. I ordered a spring pack from Wolf Springs, which comes with a 17, 18 and 19 pound spring. I'd like to go as light as possible without risking light strikes. Has anyone replaced this spring, and how low were you able to go while keeping the gun reliable?

 

[L-2]

While I've got a P226R, P229R, and P225, the only hammer spring I changed to a lighter spring was in my P225.

With the P225 I went down to the lowest 16 pound spring. This P225 has the old style hammer spring and retainer hardware, not the newer nylon set-up. It's been reliabe, so far, for a ~2000+ rounds. I changed it when the stock weighted spring began giving me light strikes. I first went heavier, then decided a heavier trigger pull was not what I liked.

I say go ahead and put the 17 pound lightest spring in your P229. If or when you begin getting light strikes again, you'll still have spare springs ready-to-install from your parts bin.

 

[pblanc]

I have a SIG P229R of relatively recent manufacture chambered in .40 S&W but I also have a 357 SIG barrel that I use in it. It has the newer hammer spring that fits in the large plastic mainspring seat. I bought the three spring reduced power kit from Wolff and have the 19 lb hammer spring installed. I read that this is the lightest hammer spring that Bruce Gray will use in a self-defense P229. I have a few hundred rounds of .40 S&W and 357 SIG through the pistol since swapping springs and have had no light primer strikes.

 

[ny32182]

Tula primers are pretty much universally regarded as the hardest, so you could get some Tula, shoot a few hundred of them, and if you are good to go with those, you should be able to pop anything.

Every gun is going to be a little different, so do NOT think that there is going to be a hard and fast rule that there is one universal spring weight that is the lightest you can go in any gun and still be able to pop all primers.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

IMO you really don't want a light trigger pull on a SD handgun. There is a reason why Sig builds them the way they do.

Don't take this wrong, work on your trigger control and you won't need a lighter trigger spring. Practice with DA revolver and it will make your trigger seem feather light.

 

[ny32182]

I wouldn't go super light in a carry gun either, but there is likely still lots of room for improvement between stock and the reliability line with hard primers if you are so inclined.

That said, Sig factory triggers are heavy (like all factory triggers are) but otherwise not horrible in my opinion. Mine are all pretty consistent out of the box. The reset on the normal factory trigger is a little long.

 

[TomJ]

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that I don't want to go too light, especially since the trigger is not bad, I'd just like it a little lighter and for the break to be a little smoother. I'll try the 19 pound spring, as I'm not sure I'm comfortable going lower than that.

ArchAngelCD, that's good advice. It's been a while since I've shot my revolvers, and shooting them does force me to focus more on my trigger pull.

 

[Quick Shot xMLx]

I put a #17 spring in my 226 and it was the best $5 investment I've ever made. I'm still impressed by how much of a difference it made. I've used a variety of different brass ammo and even wolf steel without any issues. Just jump directly to the #17. The DA pull is still around 8 lbs with the lighter spring.

 

[ny32182]

While you have it apart, just polish all the contact surfaces in the trigger mechanism (don't remove tons of material, don't change geometry, just polish) and it will probably help smooth everything out a good bit too.

 

[L-2]

Amendment to my Post #2 from 10/18/16. Yesterday, I did get some light strikes with Tula ammo and the 16 pound hammer spring (old style spring). I've now changed it to the 17 pound spring. Only time & round count will tell how long this one lasts.

EDIT: I'm back from the range and I still got a couple of light strikes with Tula ammo. I realize they've got hard primers, but I'm using it for practice and also to dial in my hammer spring reliability. I'll go up another pound or two.

EDIT again: I went to the range 3 separate times today. I shot the 17# hammer spring and got ~2% light strikes with the Tula steel-cased ammo. I went back after changing to an 18# hammer spring and got ~1% light strikes. I finally went back with a 19# spring (yes, as someone earlier in this thread recommended) and I was 100% with that Tula ammo. I should say if I'd only fired Speer Gold Dot, even with the 16# hammer spring I might not have undertaken this journey. I must say I've gotten pretty good at changing out those hammer springs with existing tools I had around the house. Much was trial and error as to what tools & methods worked best for me.

 

[Redcoat3340]

I put the 19# springs in two of my Sigs...the P6 and 226 and while I've only shot about 300 rounds through each I've had no problems. Gonna try a 19# in my 220 9mm and a little judicious polishing.

 

[TomJ]

I received the spring pack with a 17, 18 and 19 pound spring. I installed the 19 pound spring, but didn't notice much of a difference in the trigger pull compared the the factory spring. I then tried the 17 pound spring, and the trigger pull is fantastic. I'll be at the range next weekend and will see if I get any light strikes. I'm not in a hurry to carry it, as I have a number of other options and can wait until I put a few hundred rounds through it without a failure.