[BeauBob]

Hi all,
Purchased
8/26/2018, fired 825 rounds so far and this has been happening.

First time out
150 rds fired,3 fails to go into battery, 4 firing pin reset fails, 3 double taps.

Second
150 rds, 1 fail to battery, 4 fp reset fails, 4 DT's

Third
150 rds, 0 fail to battery, 3 fp reset fails, 4 DT's

Fourth
200 rds, 0 fail to battery 3 fp reset fails, 2 DT's

Fifth,
175 rds, 1 fail to battery, 0 FP reset fails, 3 DT's

The sa trigger is fairly gritty the double taps, the trigger seems to fire sooner with little pressure.
Been shooting 30 years and many 1000 round weeks on end. Also 60,000 +
rds through my HK VP9.
Guess I'll call warranty.
Good shooting, Bob

 

[imaoldfart]

Hello Bob, YES, the P99 trigger in single action, with its short reset can be a little tricky to master sometimes. MANY people complain about unintended double taps when shooting a P99 or PPQ, the SA trigger pull and reset is almost identical on these two pistols. To overcome your unintended DT's, you need to concentrate on holding the trigger all the way to the rear when during recoil....once the muzzle has risen and then come back down to the target, THEN you can let the trigger come forward to reset the trigger...and that's only about 1/10". If you using too light a finger during the recoil, its very likely you'll have a DT.

As for not returning to battery, this is another problem that will sometimes arise when shooting the P99, especially a NEW pistol. The P99 HAS to be held firmly, as limp wristing will result in the slide not returning to battery, so hold it firmer. Also, this phenomenon will improve with usage.....or breakin'. I see you're already having fewer FTRTB.

I bought my daughter a new P99C AS a while back. She experienced some of the very things you've experienced. Funny thing is, I could shoot the pistol and it'd perform perfectly, hand it back to her and she'd have a FTRTB. I told her to hold the pistol firmer, specifically the wrist.....the problem went away immediately.

The answer to your woes is simply holding the pistol more firmly....specifically the wrist, and learn to hold the trigger all the way to the rear during recoil, ONLY letting it come forward to reset after the muzzle has come back down to the target.

I don't have a clue what you mean by 'firing pin resets'.

 

[BeauBob]

P99

Yes I understand what you are saying. the grip is small in diameter so my trigger finger is at the crease. Grip is good.
What I mean on the reset is does not reset the striker and of course will not fire.
The one thing I have been doing is firing and let the trigger go all the way forward to reset trying to find if reset or was a lite no strike.
Man, I've never had problems before.
Bob
PS , the gritty trigger makes it hard to find the wall and the double tap is more of a sooner no feel trigger

 

[imaoldfart]

Bob, been there, done that. I've had many P99's and PPQ's....still have many....probably too many....but who's counting.

Firing pin not reset. I'm still not sure about that one. Are you getting a 'click' and no bang, or are you pulling the trigger and absolutely NOTHING happens?

 

[imaoldfart]

As for the gritty trigger, a little lube in the right place pay help. Or, it may require a little light sanding followed by a drop of oil. I'm talking about the area of the trigger bar where the trigger bar guide rubs. This area of the trigger bar HAS to be smooth...not mirror smooth, just smooth with no burrs. And it MUST have some lube....just a tiny drop of oil.

Here's where I talking about.

The area in the blue circle MUST be smooth.

The bottom part of the half circle in the red circle is what rubs on and guides the trigger bar.

That's got to be smooth and lubed.

I'm thinking yours is not smooth and is probably dry.

 

[BeauBob]

Hey old fart
I'm still trying to determine if it clicks or not.Still workin on that .

 

[imaoldfart]

In all honesty, I'm thinking you're getting a click and no bang. AND what's causing that is you're pulling the trigger while the slide is about 1/8" out of battery. You're firing away, boom, boom, boom and somewhere along the line the slide doesn't make it into full battery, and you don't notice it, you pull the trigger, which releases the striker, which Zooms forward, but it can't impact the primer cuz the slide isn't in battery, BUT the act of releasing the striker, also allows the slide to continue the rest of the way into battery. This all happens fast, and when you look at the pistol, following this click no bang, it looks normal, with the slide all the way forward, etc.

This scenario has happened to more than one person posting on this forum....and I've observed it first hand, again with my daughter. Once again, when I shot the pistol it'd perform flawlessly. A firm grip/wrist will go a long way to alleviating this problem. BUT so will many rounds .... meaning just put some more rounds thru it.

Don't forget the lube.

 

[BeauBob]

P99

Hi again old fart'
Might need a little polishing, but nobody ever accused me of not lubing enough
. Trigger bar is smooth as silk with the slide off.
Been taking finger off trigger each shot to see what's going on.
Maybe a chance I might somehow short stroke the trigger since trying to concentrate on a lot of things. Shooting is fun and for me it's about the front sight and the trigger.

 

[imaoldfart]

Of course it is....there's NO resistance with the slide off. In all honesty, that means nada. And MANY people don't realize they need to put a little lube on the trigger bar in the area in the blue circle.

Checking that area for burrs, smoothing (a 2 minute job) and lube has turned many a PPQ/P99 trigger from crappy to holy sheet, this is nice.

The other area that sometimes can lend itself to contributing to a gritty feel is the 'firing pin block/safety'. With the slide off, the FPB should move freely up and down in the slide. In addition, you can check the lobe or some refer to as a 'shark fin' on the FPB, this should also be smooth with no burrs. Also the tab on the trigger bar that engages the FPB needs to be free from burrs and smooth....and don't forget the lube.

 

[balance]

Been taking finger off trigger each shot to see what's going on.

Well then this one is confusing to me.

This isn't an H&K VP9, where if the striker drops with no bang, it results in a dead trigger. The P99c AS is a DA/SA pistol. If you are releasing the trigger all the way forward as you are saying, with your finger off the trigger when the trigger is in the fully forward position, then the pistol should still fire with the DA trigger pull.

With what you are describing, then your pistol must have a mechanical issue that the vast majority of other P99 pistols don't have, your slide is simply not going into battery causing the trigger/trigger bar to be disconnected from the sear, or both. This is the only explanation for a "no click/no reset" issue on a DA/SA pistol.

This one should be very easy to test. Take the pistol out one more time. If after firing the pistol, the trigger does not reset, then look at the slide. If it is out of battery, it should be very obvious. I'm looking forward to reading your reply here.

 

[imaoldfart]

Bob, if you get tired of messing around.....waiting for this pistol to break in, there's a way to get there much faster and will cost a lot less than an additional case of ammo. Two things: 1) You can replace the striker spring with a Glock 6 lb. spring (gunsprings.com). 2) You can also replace the extractor spring with a P99 40 caliber extractor spring....the 40 spring is weaker than the 9mm.

Yes, I've done both....at the same time. THIS is what got my daughters P99C to function properly (in her hands). It's been like that for 3 years now. NO FTRTB and NO light primer strikes.

Cheap fixes.

https://www.gunsprings.com/GLOCK ®/cID1/mID5/dID116#131 sku 32247

Walther P99 40 extractor spring: part number 2679221

 

[BeauBob]

p99c

Thanks all,
This is all really good information and relevant. What I'm going to do is pick on one thing next time out. Keeping the trigger pulled and waiting a second, then feel for the reset. This way I can concentrate on just fun, front sight and trigger. If this cures what ails me the rest will come.

Thanks so much for all the help. Looking forward to more shooting.
Bob

 

[balance]

Any updates? I'd really like to know how you're getting a dead trigger on a DA/SA pistol.

 

[BeauBob]

P99

Hi Balance,
Post #7 by Old Fart pretty much hits the nail on the head.
Bob

 

[BeauBob]

P99

Went shooting again Friday, 100 rds. Thanks to Old Fart I think I'm cured. Simply holding the trigger back and waiting a second, then feel for the short reset solved my problems.
Shooting tuesday and see how it goes.
Bob

 

[imaoldfart]

Way to go Bob. The short reset on the P99 and PPQ can be troublesome for some people....it just takes understanding the trigger and, if necessary, modifying your trigger pull to match these pistols. Its such a little change....

In addition, in between shots, refocus your vision on the rear of the frame/slide to see if they're lined up, meaning slide is in battery......and if not, give the rear of the slide a little bump. This really should go away with a few more rounds and a good grip.

 

[BeauBob]

Hey Old Fart,
The other bonus is follow through, not pulling off the target.
Bob

 

[BeauBob]

Well another 150 rounds and 3 double taps all my fault, taking finger off trigger and rapid reconnect. Correcting my shooting will take a little bit of time. No big deal.

Good shooting, Bob

 

[BeauBob]

Update

Hi all,
Well, I bought the gun in august, it now has 3,000 rounds through it and no issues. The trigger wall is now perfect,
broken in nicely. Thanks all.

 

[balance]

Hi Balance,
Post #7 by Old Fart pretty much hits the nail on the head.

I'm happy to hear that the issue has been resolved, but that still doesn't explain why your trigger wasn't resetting.

Unlike a PPQ or a VP9, the P99 is a DA/SA pistol. If the SA trigger pull didn't manage to fire a round, the trigger should have reset to DA.