Ed Brown sear & disconnector

[robctwo]

Got my Brownell's order in yesterday. I ordered the match quality sear and disconnector for my Springfield Armory Black Stainless loaded. I've been looking at the 1911 thread and decided to try my hand. My goal is to get a better trigger, and to see if I can work on the gun without screwing up.

I did the complete disassembly this morning. Filed the trigger tracks. Took the edges off the trigger band. Did a very faint polish with the white stone on the sear and disconnector. Left the hammer alone for now. Put it all back together and it seems fine. Maybe slightly better than stock parts. I haven't had a chance to shoot it, but I've been dry firing with snap cap and cycling the action while the games were on.

The trigger breaks very nice. I'm thinking there is still a bit more pull than I'd like. I don't understand the idea of bending the leaf spring, so I'm leaving that alone for now.

Undoubtedly need to run a few hundred rounds through it to check things out. I am going to load magazines with the two rounds until I'm sure I didn't screw anything up.

I have that ILS system on the Springer. I'm thinking of replacing it.

I enjoyed taking the gun apart that I tore down my new S&W1911PD Commander. I filed the trigger channels and polished the band. Left the other stuff alone. Just cleaned it up and looked it over. Feels good to be able to tear these guys down to bare bones for cleaning.

Thanks to all who have contributed to the store of knowledge.

 

[Audie]

I have never detail stripped my springer...does that void your warranty?

 

[robctwo]

Not sure about the detail strip. I assume replacing internal parts might have some effect on it.

 

[1911Tuner]

Sear and Disconnect

When approaching replacement of trigger group/fire control group parts...one should proceed with due caution. Depending on a few critical dimensions, you could wind up with anything from no change to nice trigger to a 40-ounce, .45 caliber 1500rpm sub machinegun that may be only grasped in one hand at the moment of truth.

Detail stripping won't void the warranty unless you reassemble it wrong and damage something. Replacing parts, likewise...as long as you don't obviously alter anything original to the gun and you hang onto the original parts. If installation of a different barrel that doesn't time correctly and damages the slide or frame...kiss your warranty bye-bye. Likewise for the various hot-rod
.45 Super and .460 Rowland "Drop-In" kits....which can be perfectly timed and still break the gun in short order if somethin's not just right.

Replacing the ILS with a standard mainspring housing and related parts...including the firing pin and spring...won't, simply because, after returning the gun to original status, the work is pretty well undetectable by the layman and even the pro. There is, however, the possibility of legal or civil action against you for knowingly altering a designed-in "safety" feature of a gun that is used in a justifiable shooting or becomes involved in an unintentional/accidental injury to another person. That's the beauty of the Springfield ILS system. It can be done away with...and unless the opposing attorney really knows his guns and checks with Springfield to see if the serial number falls within the range for ILS-equipped pistols...it leaves no trace of ever having been there in the first place. It looks and functions exactly like
a pre-ILS Springfield pistol.

And...so warned...you have to make the decision for yourself.

 

[robctwo]

Thanks for the reply Tuner. I felt I could go forward once I was sure you weren't Turner and Fuff wasn't Fluff.

My goal is to get familiar with the beast and do a little bit at a time. i replaced the sear and disconnector for a couple reasons. One was to keep the stock parts stock. Same idea on repacing the ILS. I'll leave it intact for reassembly if needed.

I have no interest in any of the race gun kits/mods. Just looking for something better than the stock trigger. I plan on shooting the heck out of this gun. It will be for range work. The S&W will be for defense and will remain painfully stock. It has a sweet trigger out of the box! The laser grips are a whole new dimension in defensive weapons.

 

[robctwo]

I got an Ed Brown main spring housing with the mag well in stainless steel. Not an exact match for the gun. Looks OK. Might get it coated black some time by Arizona Response System. Had to wait a few days for the mainspring cap and retaining pin to come in from Brownells. I forgot to complete my order with them. Parts were waiting in the cart.

Put the main spring housing together tonight and installed. Needed a slight bit taken off the tops of the mag wells to get the retaining pin to fit. Still a bit tight. Trigger feels better. I also got a new Ed Brown hammer. I'm holding off on that until I've put a few hundred rounds through this guy in it's current condition.

I'm having fun with this tinkering.

I've loaded up a bunch of .45 ammo while rehabing the foot. Also put a reduced power recoil spring in to cycle the reduced loads. Should be interesting dialing this puppy in.

 

[Dale Taylor]

Do a safety check as recomended in the sticky. [email protected]

 

[robctwo]

Got to go to the range today. Here are some pics of the SA as modified. Only external mod is the Ed Brown mainspring housing/mag well and the Nills grips.







I started with two rounds in the magazine. Very nice trigger. Good break and much lighter than stock. Accuracy was improved, but I'm still fighting some flyers. Getting most rounds into the 5" circle at 25 yards.

 

[robctwo]

Photos gone from Photobucket. I filled up free space I guess.

Newest mod to the SA is the new hammer. Put the Ed Brown Hardcore Barstock SS hammer in this evening. I've had it for a while. Didn't have the feeler gauge to check hook height. Got that from Dad this weekend.

Friday and Saturday were range days. I put about 250 rounds through the SA on Friday and about 300 rounds on Saturday. All reloads. Mostly 200 gr SWC and RNFP, some 225 gr TC. All either Oregon Laser Cast or Precission bullets. No real problems with function. A couple hiccups with the SWC feeding.

The gun was filthy and so I decided to detail strip it again. Once apart it was a good idea to put in the new hammer. The hooks were right at .021. Didn't do anything to it. Fit fine and feels about like the original. I'll run a few hundred rounds through it before I do anything more. My idea is to run 500 to 1,000 rounds through it between modifications. It also seems like a good idea to put that much lead down range.

On a side note my factory stock Sig 220 ST Stock with no mods is still more accurate.

 

[robctwo]

My latest modification is to change the bend on the center spring on the sear spring. Slight bends and reassemble until had trigger pull weight same as the Sig 220 in single action. Not as light as the 226 or the CZ IPSC Standard. Now to get some range time.

 

[Malapai]

If you still have photos that chronicle this, it would be nice to see them as I plan to do a build up like this in the future.

 

[robctwo]

Finally made it out to the range on Monday. I put about 250 rounds each through the SA and the Sig 220. The lighter trigger on the SA really improved the accuracy. It finally feels like I thought a 1911 should feel. My best target @ 25 yds two handed with the SA


The other targets on the stand are more typical of my shooting


The SA is functioning great. I had two failures to eject with light Clays loads, the last round in the magazine was trapped and crushed by the slide. There were two failure to feeds with the SA as well. A couple of the Oregon Laser Cast 225 gr TC rounds hung up. Had little creases on the bullet nose. Odd that the TC would hang and the SWC went smoothly 100%. The jams occurred at the end of the day and the gun was quite dirty.

Now I'm wondering if I should have tweaked the sear spring first with the stock parts to get the same lighter trigger. Oh well. This is a learning process. I'm sure that the Ed Brown parts will be good for a long time. I might put the stock parts back in some time when I tear it down for a complete cleaning. My next move might be to replace the trigger. There is a bit of up and down wobble. I understand I can get an oversized trigger and file it down for a perfect fit. I'll put a few thousand rounds down range before I go there.

The Sig 220 ate everything without a hiccup. I'm calling it a toss up on accuracy between the two guns at this point.

The SA liked the OLC SWC with Titegroup best. The Sig liked the OLC TC with Clays best. I don't mind custom fitting rounds to each gun.