Range report 1940 42 code

nukem556 · 09-28-2010, 05:46 PM

you might want to try taking the sear spring out and putting a slight but definite bend into it, so it's slighly arched towards you...it'll put more positive pressure against the back of the sear bar so it'll better engage the sear notch into the firing pin notch...I've got a mismatched shooter that doubled on me, and it seems to have worked so far

OD#3 · 09-29-2010, 09:05 AM

Thanks for the advice. I worked on it for a couple of hours yesterday (before I read your post), and bending the sear spring was one of the first things I did. I think "Bubba" had been working on this pistol before me in an attempt to lighten the trigger pul. The sear spring wasn't very lively at all until I put the bend in there. I hate bending springs though; it usually weakens them in the long run.

The mating surfaces of the sear and the firing pin shelf were improperly angled I think--"negative"--I believe is the term to describe this type of sear angle. Anyway, the angle made the capture of the firing pin shelf more of a friction affair, encouraging the sear to pivot on its own. Further, the trigger spring was way too light, was bright shiney colored, and looked crudely cut. I think Bubba made it out of a spring from a ball-point pin.

I stoned the mating surfaces of the sear and firing pin shelf to about 90 degrees; I hope I didn't stone through any hardening layer to achieve this. The protrusion didn't seem to be quite enough either, so I stoned the receiver side of the sear leg (the part that bears against the receiver on one side and engages the spring on the other) a bit as well to improve engagement. And I replaced the ball-point pen spring with one I cut from a loading lever latch of a cap and ball revolver. The trigger pull compares very closely now to my friend's 1917 DWM Artillery. I'll test fire it again today and post the results.

OD#3 · 09-29-2010, 02:06 PM

The test fire went pretty well. I fired 100 rounds of Winchester White Box through it and never got any doubling; before, I'd had one about every magazine.

I only brought the military magazine with me today, since it had performed so well before. However, this time I did get quite a few nose-up jams--almost one every magazine full, accompanied by a few failures of the bolt to lock back. It was annoying. I'm betting it was the magazine, but I don't know yet the relationships involved that lead to this malfunction. Oddly, this happened more with slow-fire. Rapid fire emptying of the magazine was trouble-free.

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09-28-2010, 05:46 PM	#1
nukem556 User Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Irmo, SC Posts: 625 Thanks: 35 Thanked 168 Times in 107 Posts	you might want to try taking the sear spring out and putting a slight but definite bend into it, so it's slighly arched towards you...it'll put more positive pressure against the back of the sear bar so it'll better engage the sear notch into the firing pin notch...I've got a mismatched shooter that doubled on me, and it seems to have worked so far

09-29-2010, 09:05 AM	#2
OD#3 User Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Thanks for the advice. I worked on it for a couple of hours yesterday (before I read your post), and bending the sear spring was one of the first things I did. I think "Bubba" had been working on this pistol before me in an attempt to lighten the trigger pul. The sear spring wasn't very lively at all until I put the bend in there. I hate bending springs though; it usually weakens them in the long run. The mating surfaces of the sear and the firing pin shelf were improperly angled I think--"negative"--I believe is the term to describe this type of sear angle. Anyway, the angle made the capture of the firing pin shelf more of a friction affair, encouraging the sear to pivot on its own. Further, the trigger spring was way too light, was bright shiney colored, and looked crudely cut. I think Bubba made it out of a spring from a ball-point pin. I stoned the mating surfaces of the sear and firing pin shelf to about 90 degrees; I hope I didn't stone through any hardening layer to achieve this. The protrusion didn't seem to be quite enough either, so I stoned the receiver side of the sear leg (the part that bears against the receiver on one side and engages the spring on the other) a bit as well to improve engagement. And I replaced the ball-point pen spring with one I cut from a loading lever latch of a cap and ball revolver. The trigger pull compares very closely now to my friend's 1917 DWM Artillery. I'll test fire it again today and post the results.

09-29-2010, 02:06 PM	#3
OD#3 User Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	The test fire went pretty well. I fired 100 rounds of Winchester White Box through it and never got any doubling; before, I'd had one about every magazine. I only brought the military magazine with me today, since it had performed so well before. However, this time I did get quite a few nose-up jams--almost one every magazine full, accompanied by a few failures of the bolt to lock back. It was annoying. I'm betting it was the magazine, but I don't know yet the relationships involved that lead to this malfunction. Oddly, this happened more with slow-fire. Rapid fire emptying of the magazine was trouble-free.