light strikes w/ a PT-111

[SSN Vet]

I've enjoyed my DAO PT-111 Millennium Pro for 7 months now and have ~ 800 rounds through it. I've found it very reliable with no problems feeding JHP's of any flavor. In all this time, the only discrepancies have been two stove pipes....one I know was caused by me “limp wristing”, while experimenting with different single handed grip techniques.

So....

I go down to the Rod & Gun on Sat. to do my "proficiency thing” and get FOUR light strike FTFs!! The first two I ejected and inspected the primers. They showed a very light indent....much smaller than that on a fired casing.

I put 50 rounds of Winchester white box through and then put 50 rounds of Remmington MC. All four FTFs were on the white box....none on the Remmington.

All four properly fired with a second strike.

I was shooting slow for accuracy.........pulling very slowly until just before the release point....and then slowly taking in the rest.

After my previous two range session, I had problems removing the receiver when cleaning up afterwards. By trial and error, I found that if I cycled the trigger the slide came right off (which turns out is exactly what the owners manual tells you to do if the slide doesn't come off easily). But now I'm concerned that I may have damaged the gun by pushing hard on the slide prior to figuring this out, though a careful inspection shows no obvious damage.

OR....

Am I causing the problem by not using a continuous trigger pull?

Any feedback from someone with experience on the PT-111, or from someone with similar experience on DAO trigger would be much appreciated.

 

[made2cut]

I'd fault the WWB. I had FTF problems using them in my PT145 and my G30. I don't use the Winchester white box stuff anymore. It's also very dirty and paying a bit more for Federal American Eagle is well worth it to me.

 

[SSN Vet]

I wondered if it might be ammo. related, but.....

when I looked at the FTF primer, it was definately a much smaller indent than what I observed on the primers of the fired casings.

Any other input??

Loosley related....

I had been buying the 100 count white box from Wally World for $12......but my wife and I recently decided that we're no longer going to patronize them (a decision made much easier by the new Target accross the street) I'll go down the block to Dick's and pay $1 more for the Remmington (or buy case qty. for the same price)....and I agree that pretty much anything shoots cleaner than the white box.

 

[made2cut]

I've been told that the reason the successfully fired cases have deeper indents is due to the force of the round firing which pushes the case back into the firing pin. Made sense to me

 

[SSN Vet]

sounds reasonable.....

I'll have to run a few different brands through and try to recreate the conditions by doing the same trigger pull.

Any other insights out there?

 

[jkomp316]

White box

Ive been through 600rds of Winchester White Box, only in .40 All bought from walmart, never had a single failure yet. Shooting them out of a Beretta 96. I reload the casings and shoot them in my Taurus 24/7 DAO. The taurus has a habit of failing to feed, but i blame it on cheap magazines, and reloads that are slightly too long.

 

[camper]

I had the PT140 and 145 MilPros and I would get light strikes with my reloads using Winchester primers. Switched to remington primers and the problem went away. My thoughts, next to CCI, Winchester makes the second hardest primers. I later traded both pistols.

 

[SSN Vet]

looks like it's bye bye to.......

Winchester White Box

probably shot upwards of 500 rounds of WWB though it without any glitches....but I need to re-establish confidence in the pistol....then we'll see.

Would still like to hear if anyone has had issues with the newer Taurus DAO triggers.....aside from the usual "it's a long pull" story.

 

[Rotorflyr]

Just from reading what's been written in this thread, I'd chalk it up to the ammo not the gun.

 

[Lou22]

I'm getting a lot of light strikes using Wolf in my PT145. I have no problems shooting Double Taps, but they can get expensive for practice. What other brands should I then avoid besides CCI and Winchester? If Remington is good I guess I could go with UMC. I like their ammo in other calibers.

LOu

 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Just a quick thought that hasn't been mentioned here-

I've got a pair of pre- PRO PT111's. Have you ever completely disassembled the striker and spring from the slide, inspected and thoroughly cleaned them? I have experience that they can get gunked up by fouling, caked up lube, and even unburned powder in there and can lead to an incomplete stroke of the striker.

Make sure your dogs and cats are put up if you decide to disassemble the slide as there are infintesimally small springs in there that I can attest will get away from you.
A thorough degreasing followed by a swab, then a light lube will probably go a long way toward resolving that problem.

Regards,
Rabbit.

 

[Sisco]

I have a new PT145, shot it for the first time the other day. Had one light strike and it was with a Remington factory load. All my handloads with Winchester primers went bang every time. The round with the light strike went off on the second hit.

FWIW: When I changed springs in my Ruger revolvers I had numerous FTF's with CCI primers, when I switched to Winchesters the problem went away.

 

[jkomp316]

I was told to never oil the firing pin, so I don't. I would assume that would cause more buildup problems. I haven't had any light strike problems, I only use winchester primers, in the Taurus. I don't mind the DAO trigger, its long, and can be dangerous/suprising for new shooters who get too accustomed to it... (pick up a hair trigger single action, bang) I find it quite accurate for a 4" barrel however. Overall a nice gun for the price, the mags could be nicer. Something tells me that Taurus marketing would rather push out 15rd mags that are unreliable, then 12rd mags that are.

 

[SSN Vet]

striker assembly......

The first time I shot and cleaned my PT-111 Pro, I went overboard with the oil, and dripped some up in the striker assembly area. Upon reassembly, the DAO trigger immediately felt different......like mush! After a couple days and some dry firing, it went back to normal.

I'd like to take a crack at disassembling the striker mechanism, but I don't even have a clue where to begin.

Has anyone ever seen a "how to" guide out there, with step by step instructions and photos?

Primers aside....I couldn't believe how much less dirty the Remington UMC is compared to the WWB.

I've always cleaned the gun meticulously after every range session, but I haven't gone beyond the simple field strip.

 

[jkomp316]

there is a plastic cap on the rear of the slide, that just clips on. stick a fingernail under it and slide it back. The firing pin spring retainer is much like the 1911, you push the pin forward with a screwdriver or something, and slide the retainer down and out. you need to push up on the firing pin lock while pushing the pin forward. Then everything comes out of the rear. The firing pin spring is "captive" like the recoil spring, it may take a little fiddling to line up the flat spots and slide it out. I just looked over the schematic in the manual. This is for the 24/7 non pro, I would assume its very similar.

 

[SSN Vet]

any other Taurus users with light strikes?

or with pics showing striker disassembly?

 

[ikd2]

OK I usually just lurh here but on this one I have to reply. I have a pt-111 mil pro that had lots of light strikes with various ammo when I first got it. I cleaned & re-installed the firing pin with no avail. I should have shipped it back to Taurus but instead I put the firing pin on the lathe & shaved .010 off the stop shoulder. Finally 100% function without light strikes. I really like the gun, but I hesitate to recommend them to others based on this issue.

 

[bb21]

Second Strike?

Hey SNN Vet, I am just wondering did you try to utilize your second strike capability. Taurus claims to have the only pistols with the second "chance" but any DA/SA will also have the second try. My new DA/SA PT-111 has only had 200 rounds of white box thru it and 0 malfunctions along with 100 or so hand loaded JHP's. I have never had a problem with WWB, and I don't like shooting UMC or any Remington ammo indoors due to more muzzle flash. I don't know if the muzzle flash is just me, but indoors I only see it with Remington ammo. Anyone with similar experience? Hope you can figure out your light strike issue. Good luck and be safe!

 

[SSN Vet]

second strike...

on each of the first two FTF's I wanted to know what the heck was going on, so I ejected the rounds and inspected the primers....re-loaded them and they both went bang the second time around.

On both the third and fourth FTF, I tested the double strike capability and gave the trigger another squeeze ..... and each time they went bang.

I'm still hesitant to start prying the receiver apart to get at the firing pin without some pics or a step by step procedure.

Any comments out there about the "slow pull, pause, pull" trigger technique I described w/ DAO triggers. I realize their design purpose is "combat/self-defense" and not "marksman"......perhaps I should re-think my way of practicing.

I always shoot at an outdoor range....and haven't noticed any difference in muzzle flash between WWB and Rem UMC.

 

[jkomp316]

how you pull the trigger shouldn't matter. pulling back slowly might actually take longer for the trigger to "release" and should actually cause a harder primer hit. I noticed on my 24/7 that quick pulls on the trigger seemed like they released sooner. I have never had a light strike, slow fire or rapid fire. I do notice drag marks on all my primers though. I would study your schematic in the back of your book. I could take some pictures tonight after work. Its a very simple setup the DAO trigger. Theres a little metal "paddle" on the frame end that catches a little metal hook on the slide end. The metal hook is actually the back part of the firing pin. It just pulls this back untill the paddle drops down and releases it.