Hammer Fire vs Striker Fire...

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jar said:
Slow down.

Striker fired handguns have been around as long as there have been semi-automatic pistols.

Savage model 1907 made in 1913
View attachment 898903

The savage 1907 might be considered a striker-hammer hybrid sort firing system. Probably need to get a moving animated model from some one like C&Rsenal. In blue is indicated the striker that is linked to what looks like a hammer that functions more like a lever and the spring is around the striker-firing pin. The 1907 used a semi-double column magazine.

upload_2020-3-13_19-19-55.png

It also had a rotating barrel
""The curious premise of Mr. Ebert Searle's design is that the twist of the bullet moving down the bore was going to be enough of a time delay so the five degree rotation of the barrel in the opposite direction was going to be sufficient to allow this locking principle to reduce slide velocities and recoil.""
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I prefer the look and feel of a DA/SA but I have to admit that I have more striker fired guns. For me price is a big part of that. My M&P cost me around $100 less than I could get a Sig 2022 or Beretta PX4 for and I can’t think of a cheaper DA/SA from a reputable company.
 
Michael A Ferber said:
Is the day of hammer fired pistols over? Seems to me 75% of the market is all about new striker fired pistols. What are your thoughts!?!
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Absolutely not! Hammer- and striker-fired designs have different strengths and weaknesses that make them more or less appropriate for different uses.

As previously noted, the very best triggers will always be on hammer-fired designs because the firing mechanism does not require the loose tolerances necessary in a striker-fired design. Therefore, shooting involving extreme accuracy heavily favors hammer-fired designs, usually of the single-action variety.

Double-Action-Only hammer-fired designs are particularly appealing for carry. A long, heavy trigger pull helps prevent unintentional discharges in tense situations, but the lack of manual safeties ensures a DAO pistol's instant readiness. However, mastering a long, heavy trigger pull requires more effort than mastering a shorter, lighter trigger pull.

DA/SA hammer-fired pistols are excellent defensive designs. DA/SA pistols combine the first-shot instant readiness and relative safety of a DAO design with the ease of shooting and accuracy of single-action designs for subsequent shots. The downside to DA/SA designs is that they require substantial practice to learn two different trigger pulls and how to transition between them, as well as learning to use manual safeties and/or decockers.

Striker-fired designs tend to excel as general-purpose pistols and often appeal to casual shooters. A moderate and consistent trigger pull allows the designs to be used effectively with minimal training. Just pull the trigger and shoot; no long, heavy trigger pulls to master after much practice or manual safeties to learn and remember to engage and disengage.

The number of new hammer- or striker-fired pistol designs we are exposed to largely reflects our individual interests and the uses and intended audiences of the guns. Most of us would not notice if CZ introduced a bunch of new competition models, but we are inundated with advertising for "average-joe" models introduced by the major manufacturers.
 
The only reason I bought my first striker-fired handgun, the Walther P99 AS, is because it can be decocked into DA, in some contrast to the HK USP (Hammer-fired), along with the HK hammer-fired P30 handguns, all of which have more DA trigger ‘stacking/stiffness at the break’.

The issue with almost every “Non-P99” striker-fired handgun, to so many of us, is that a purely SA trigger seems prone to a possible mistake in extremely stressful scenarios.
 
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I don't have any striker fired guns I really care about.If I had to give them up because I needed cash, etc, I doubt they would ever be replaced. Almost all the hammer fired guns would end up being replaced as soon as I could get the cash saved up to do it. Part of it is just the fact that the hammer fired guns are pretty low priced, and polymer, so they have little value to me in general. I have several hammer fired non 1911's that are worth close to $1000 each, and those would be greatly missed.
 
i am way too new in this sport/hobby to be subjective. i have one striker fired (Glock 17) and one hammer fired(CZ 75 B) and both are as new as i am. they both shoot, and hit the targets, they are both comfortable in the hand, don't seem to have too much recoil, and are both dependable (at least according to the many things i have read, and was told at the range).

like anything else, what's better a Ford or Chevy, or a Dodge (they will always be Dodge to me, not this RAM crap)

i cannot say i "see" a future where one goes away due to a lack of popularity or function.

but maybe someday there will be an end, to one or the other......or maybe, just the catapult, as that's too damned heavy to carry concealed...lol
 
bersaguy said:
Personally, I think there's pros and cons to both. Pro for the hammers....better trigger. Pro for the strikers....allow less gunk to get into the action. So hammers for fun or competition, strikers for carry.
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Yet, strikers are much more sensitive to accumulation of gunk/debris/primer shavings
in striker channel, or striker safety plunger bore--resulting in the light strike syndrome.

Aftermarket kits to improve the trigger on striker guns rely (mostly) on lighter striker
springs, increasing the vulnerability to fouling. "I put in a ____ trigger kit, and now
I'm getting light strikes...".

In terms of ability to impart an adequate impact on primer, the hammer design is
stronger.
 
jar said:
You certainly have never heard of any light strikes.
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Can you please give more details?
Is that a problem? Mine never did, but then again some of these guns are now in excess of 100 years old and likely on the same spring set. We are talking about the civilian models in .32 and .380 right? And not the military tests of the .45 ACP model. In googling I have found so far one reference to light primer strikes and at that point the op was seeking advice on how to disassemble the breech of the gun to better look at the parts so the reason for the malfunction was not known. Most accounts so far speak of good functionally.
 
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barnetmill said:
Can you please give more details?
Is that a problem? Mine never did, but then again some of these guns are now in excess of 100 years old and likely on the same spring set. We are talking about the civilian models in .32 and .380 right? And not the military tests of the .45 ACP model. In googling I have found so far one reference to light primer strikes and at that point the op was seeking advice on how to disassemble the breech of the gun to better look at the parts so the reason for the malfunction was not known. Most accounts so far speak of good functionally.
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Of course it is not a problem. Just look at the spring on the striker. That sucker will launch a #2 pencil 25 yards.
 
drband said:
It seems that most who value (and like) a refined trigger prefer a hammer fired pistol, as do I. Striker fired guns just don't do it for me, so as long as I'm choosing, it will be hammer fired!
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Agree, if it's a SAO.

Between DA/SA and striker, I'll leave the hammer at home. Prefer a consistent trigger pull, even if it might be inferior to 1/2 of the DA/SA pulls.

But I much prefer SAO over anything, so I like the hammer.
 
JR24 said:
Agree, if it's a SAO.

Between DA/SA and striker, I'll leave the hammer at home. Prefer a consistent trigger pull, even if it might be inferior to 1/2 of the DA/SA pulls.

But I much prefer SAO over anything, so I like the hammer.
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Yes to SAO. I just converted my CZ97B to SAO, but mostly because the reach for the DA trigger was too long for me-- it was very smooth, but VERY long and had a very long take up for SA. Now, it's SAO with a short reach, short take up, and a very nice reset. It's just great that there's a variety of options to fit almost anybody!
 
Steve762us said:
Yet, strikers are much more sensitive to accumulation of gunk/debris/primer shavings
in striker channel, or striker safety plunger bore--resulting in the light strike syndrome.

Aftermarket kits to improve the trigger on striker guns rely (mostly) on lighter striker
springs, increasing the vulnerability to fouling. "I put in a ____ trigger kit, and now
I'm getting light strikes...".

In terms of ability to impart an adequate impact on primer, the hammer design is
stronger.
Click to expand...

I don’t agree with this. Hammer fired handguns are just as susceptible to these problems as striker fired handguns. Both, of modern design, have a striker/pin channel. Both have safety plungers. Both the firing pin and striker are inertial. This is why the firing pin doesn’t protrude when you carry in condition two.

In fact, I’d say that the exposed hammer is a point of weakness. In most hammer fired pistols, obstruction of the hammer, from either cocking or falling, can/will prevent the gun from firing. I’ve seen this happen.

Hiking around in the woods. My buddy has his 1911 in a holster carrying cocked and locked. We decided to pop a few caps. He pulls his pistol, releases the safety and nothing. Turned out that a small twig had fallen between the hammer and slide. Probably some that will never happen again, but it happened nonetheless.

As far as trigger jobs on hammer fired pistols go, MANY are done with lighter pin springs and hammer springs. Those light strikes on striker autos are usually from going too light and this can happen with hammer fired guns too. It’s just less prevalent with hammer fired guns because trigger jobs aren’t usually DIY.
 
I really do not like the striker system on the glock because it cocks as the slide goes forward taking away some energy or force from the recoil spring. A glock is what I use, but still do not like that aspect of the system.
 
I’m reminded of two old guys meeting in the parking lot at church one Sunday morning some (fairly large) number of years ago. Fred pulled up in his washed, waxed, and shiny Buick and parked next to Jim’s venerable (i.e., old, dirty, banged-up) GMC pickup. Both got out of their vehicles and proceeded toward the church door, shaking hands and then sharing a joke and a smile. I happened to know that they liked to rib each other about their vehicles, but inside each recognized that they had different needs—Fred was the town dentist and chairman of the community theater, Jim a farmer living east of town down a road that made trips to see Fred more frequent—and different tastes, too.

When they got up to where I was standing next to the door, I asked ‘em what they were laughing about.

“You must not have seen the pastor’s new car.”

“Nope—what’d he get?”

Fred and Jim both chuckled. “The most ridiculous car in Seneca County—a little green British sports car,” Jim said.

“It’s called a ‘Triumph’ something-or-other,” offered Fred. “It’s a convertible, of course. He’s gonna freeze his keister in the winter.”

“And he sure as shootin’ won’t be coming by the place to have Sunday dinner with the wife and I, driving that thing,” Jim exclaimed.

“But I expect he likes it,” I suggested.

The two old codgers spoke in unison: “Well, to each his own, I guess.” And they laughed. So did I.
 
I got one on me right now,(hammer) a XDE 9mm. One little advantage is second strike capable. If a round doesn't go the first time pull the trigger again, ya never know.
 
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jonb32248 said:
I got one on me right now,(hammer) a XDE 9mm. One little advantage is second strike capable. If a round doesn't go the first time pull the trigger again, ya never know.
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Second strike capability is important in a deadly confrontation.
 
JR24 said:
Agree, if it's a SAO.

Between DA/SA and striker, I'll leave the hammer at home. Prefer a consistent trigger pull, even if it might be inferior to 1/2 of the DA/SA pulls.

But I much prefer SAO over anything, so I like the hammer.
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For carry, EDC..when the fan gets hit..will the trigger goods or others really be noticed? I'm guessing the 'trigger feel' would only be noticed if pulling it didn't make the gun go bang..Might be an issue on a slow, deliberate, range day or in competition BUT...

I shoot my son's Beretta 92FS and my Glock 17 a LOT..I, too, like the consistent trigger pull..AND the trigger on the Glock 'feels' just like the trigger on my Glock 26, Glock 42, Glock 45(son's) and other son's Glock 43, other son's Glock 17....
 
FFGCOLORADO said:
For carry, EDC..when the fan gets hit..will the trigger goods or others really be noticed? I'm guessing the 'trigger feel' would only be noticed if pulling it didn't make the gun go bang..Might be an issue on a slow, deliberate, range day or in competition BUT...

I shoot my son's Beretta 92FS and my Glock 17 a LOT..I, too, like the consistent trigger pull..AND the trigger on the Glock 'feels' just like the trigger on my Glock 26, Glock 42, Glock 45(son's) and other son's Glock 43, other son's Glock 17....
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Well, yes. Yes it does, at least during drills and comp.

I do get tighter and slightly faster groups with a 9mm 1911 over a Glock 17 or 19. Enough to matter? Who knows.

But I also know that outside of 20 yards the difference is very marked.
 
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