Any experience w/ Clark 4-finger 1911 Sear Spring?

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  • backfire

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    Nov 6, 2011
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    Anyone have any experience with or use the Clark 4-finger Sear Spring they offer for the 1911? I'm thinking about picking one up for my GSG 1911-22 to preload the at-rest trigger slack the gun inherently has, but wanted to hear from others who may have used one before. They have positive reviews online it seems.

    http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/1911spring.html

    What say you? :dunno:
     

    Dewidmt

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    Mar 27, 2008
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    I had one put into one of my competition 1911's, a .45 Springfield Loaded. I was a little hesitant at first, but the gunsmith said he used them exclusively and has never had a problem. It actually made the trigger much "crisper" and shaved about a pound off the trigger pull. Clark has long been known for good quality custom guns, and now I think the parts are just as good!
    I don't know if one would work in a GSG, is the sear the exact same as a regular 1911?
     

    backfire

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    Nov 6, 2011
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    I had one put into one of my competition 1911's, a .45 Springfield Loaded. I was a little hesitant at first, but the gunsmith said he used them exclusively and has never had a problem. It actually made the trigger much "crisper" and shaved about a pound off the trigger pull. Clark has long been known for good quality custom guns, and now I think the parts are just as good!
    I don't know if one would work in a GSG, is the sear the exact same as a regular 1911?
    Yes it is.

    In fact, the entire trigger group is of the same design as a Colt .45 1911. The factory sear and disconnector appear to be manufactured of good quality hardened steel, where they polish out nicely, but the factory hammer sear-step is pretty wide compared to, say, a Wilson Combat piece, so the GSG does have a bit of creep to deal with. The break is pretty nice though, considering the gun is only $375.

    I can deal with the minor creep it has, since the polish job I did to it makes the creep feel like it's riding on ball bearings anyway. Very predictable, smooth 6.2 lb. trigger draw using the HD, un-modified, factory sear spring it came with.

    However, I JUST CANT STAND that sloppy, un-preloaded, at-rest trigger movement it has and that's what I'm trying to correct using this Clark piece within the price point of this "plinker" .22 handgun. If this was a Smith or Colt 1911-45, I'd spring for all the trick Wilson stuff, but it ain't, so I won't. :):

    To me, a gun...any gun I own has to have the best trigger it can within the price scope of the gun it's installed on, because I compare the trigger of a gun to an engine of a car. You can have a damn nice car, but if the engine is junky and performs like a turd, so then the car will always be that way to me.... A polished turd! If the trigger of a gun is smooth, predictable, moderate in weight and consistant (doesn't have to be trick) than the gun means that much more to me and it's really fun to shoot. :)

    I know....I'm probably OCD about it all, but I want my stuff to work nice if I can help it. My obligatory :twocents:.

    Thanks for the advice and recommendation. ;)
     

    Dewidmt

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    Mar 27, 2008
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    I was looking at the GSG, Chiappa's and finally got to put my hands on a Browning 1911-22...I passed on all of them. Even the Browning felt a little cheap for the price. I opted for option #4, which was to put my old .22 Colt Conversion unit I bought for the Gold Cup onto the aforementioned Springfield Loaded. I kinda dig the two tone look I got!

    Colt-Springfield22.jpg
     

    backfire

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    Nov 6, 2011
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    Update

    I received my Clark 4-finger sear spring from Brownell's- on time, with excellent service as usual from them. :yesway:

    It required only minor fitting to my gun to achieve proper fitment into the frame, accurate fit onto the trigger bow strut and re-tensioning of the fingers to get that "just right" feel on the trigger preload, the trigger pull weight and the grip safety tension.

    I've got the pull down to a consistant 4.8-5 lbs. everytime and the trigger slop is COMPLETELY eliminated! WoooHooo! All 1911's should come with this thing! Wow!! Definately a must-do upgrade IMO and I LOVE it!


    Picture below from left to right~ Stock GSG 3-finger sear spring / Clark 4-finger sear spring right from the package / Clark 4-finger sear spring I modified for use in my 80-series gun equipped with magazine and grip safety's.

    IMG_0820.jpg



    The as-delivered Clark Spring is designed for a 70-series 1911 that's not equipped with a magazine safety, so it wouldn't directly drop into my gun. Plus, it was too wide to drop into the frame too because of this, so some fitting was needed to make it "drop-in".

    I measured the stock GSG sear spring magazine safety release notch to be .440" long x .070" wide, so I clamped the Clark Spring edge down on the Bridgeport and milled that dimension away, (+.005 each way) from it to make it fit the gun properly.

    I chamfered the sharp edges of the fingers with a micro-file where they contact the trigger parts of the gun and then polished the filing marks with an Arkansas Stone to insure smooth operation. Walnut shell blasted it clean, test-fit the thing to the gun to get just the right feel, coated it with Rem Dri-Lube so it wouldn't rust and served it up hot to the gun. :):

    The only length adjustment I had to make to any of the fingers, was the one for the trigger bow strut, as it was a bit too long and interfered with the sear disconnector. Once that was done, she worked like a champ and made one heck of a positive difference in how the trigger feels.

    The gun no longer "rattles" now with the preloaded trigger like it did before as stock and the trigger pressure has been reduced, since the there is a finger for each of the four functions of the trigger group, instead of only 3 as stock.

    Works good and I can't wait to shoot it tomorrow! :)
     
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