The Unofficial P64 Resource Forum

Firing single-action at ten feet, the gun was extremely accurate. It ate up the Hornady and with the slide-on rubber Hogue grip I had lying around for years, was actually pleasant to shoot. When I switched to the Wolf 95 grain military classic, it was uncomfortable and began tearing the skin off a large boney knob on my trigger finger (the result of having had my right hand smashed a long, long time ago).

Side discussion here about Wolf ammo. When I got my first Makarov, there was still corrosive Russian milsurp ammo available, and since it was cheap, I bought and used it. It always seemed hotter than the CCI Blazer or other commercial ammo I could find, and was uncomfortable to shoot in both my Russian double-stack and East German single-stack guns. The Wolf Military Classic 95 grain seems loaded to the same specs, so I doubt it would hurt any Sov-Block gun since this ammo was standard for all the 9x18 handguns insofar as I know.

With an empty magazine, the DA trigger works fine. When I put in a snap cap in the magazine and racked the slide (a 9x19 which I cut the nose off of and then filled in with hot glue), it still worked fine. But when I put in a live round, the trigger acts as if it has been disconnected. Obviously, the rim of the cartridge must be pushing on something which disconnects the trigger. Moreover, I do not know if it were always like this or I caused it when I replaced the mainspring.

Since I've been carrying an SA revolver as my pocket gun for more than a decade, having an SA semi-auto carried in Condition Two isn't any biggie. But it is a puzzle I would like to solve. When I field strip it, I'll also remove the grips so I can see the trigger parts and try to figure out what is being pressed on and why.

Any ideas?

Just throwing stuff out there since you asked:
1. insufficient upward tension on trigger bar from trigger spring
2. cosmoline on disconnector or safety or both
3. slide not completely closed in battery 3a. due to cosmoline in chamber? 3b. due to bad or wrong ammunition?

Yeah, definitely take the grips off and watch what's happening. See if it happens with an empty 9x18 case chambered.

I now believe the new Wolff recoil spring is preventing the slide from fully closing by a tiny, tiny, amount. I checked the trigger disconnect and trigger bar, and they are working fine. Nor is there any way for a chambered cartridge to affect them. But I found that if the slide is moved just a little, little, bit, the chamber is still fully enclosed and the gun fill fire SA, but not DA.

Oh, ok. I see your post in mods & fixes. Does it occur even when you slingshot the slide hard?

Yep. I think the spring is so strong, the slide doesn't completely side closed by the tiniest fraction of an inch, even though the round and chamber are fully in battery.