[SBLars]

What exactly does the 'smith do when you get a trigger job? What parts does it involve? What result should you expect, i.e., The trigger will go from feeling like " " to feeling like " ".

If this is something I can accomplish with a drop in trigger group than I can do that myself given some advice from this forum and some reading on my part. Otherwise I will start planning on sending it to a 'smith.

I don't know if it is 1911's in general or just because I need a trigger job, but I feel like there should be a touch of tensioned travel before the hammer is activated and my Colt XS does not feel like this, it just feels like the hammer is activated almost immediately after I get through the pre-engagement slack.

I haven't shot any other 1911 pistols so I need some experienced input from you guys and gals.

Thanks

 

[Howardk]

I'm not sure what problem you're describing, but a good 1911 trigger should break immediately after taking up the trigger slack. Before you invest money in a trigger job or drop-in trigger kit, rent out (or ask someone to let you try their gun) a few 1911s. You sometimes have to shoot a few 1911s to know what a good trigger feels like. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

 

[SBLars]

I will try to be more detailed, sorry.

Ok...the pre-engagement slack that I am referring is the loose travel in the trigger that would be akin to pushing one of the memory buttons on an old style automobile radio (read early 70's Chevy radios). You get some no resistance travel, and then start into travel with resistance, and then bang the station changes.

Someone else informed me that to get rid of the no resistance travel you can bend the tabs on the front of the bow forward or something like that. I am not too clear on that because I have never taken my pistol down that far.

My trigger pull doesnt feel gritty, I would just like to get rid of that no resistance travel.

Learning bunches of information, now I am trying to apply it, thanks.

 

[harley45]

I think you are talking about the slack or takeup on the first few thousandts(sp) before the trigger bow engages the sear. this is fairly normal but it cn be taken out by bending the tabs on some triggers. My suggestion is shoot the gun for about a year and keep reading these boards, also try to shoot some other 1911s
to get a better feel for what you want.

 

[Sean Smith]

I'm not hugely experienced or anything, but I have had the good fortune of handling alot of good 1911 pistols including various high-zoot custom Colts, and all the triggers went something like this:

1. An initial bit of "takeup" or trigger travel back with negligible resistance.

2. From there, as you increase pressure the trigger doesn't move back (or "creep") until you cross a certain pressure threshold (~5 lbs for a typical carry trigger, less for target guns) and then it breaks cleanly and crisply.

3. A "crisp" trigger has been described to me best as like breaking a glass rod: you apply pressure up to a certain point, nothing moves, and then past that point it gives way (the trigger "breaks"). Good 1911 triggers can have virtually zero creep.

I think the only single-action trigger that I've used that had no takeup whatsoever was a Hk P7M8... super-light and very short travel. Actually, it was so short that it drove me nuts.

 

[Scooter]

My P7M8 has 1/8" of take up and 1/4" of creep before it breaks. Euros for some reason like mushy triggers with undefined break points. I just run it like a DA trigger.

 

[Sean Smith]

Wow, that's completely different from the one I shot a couple of weeks ago. Mabye it had a trigger job? Either way it was a freaky ultra-light trigger.

 

[Scooter]

Nope, it's stock. The date code is 1984. I got it in Dec, 2000. The previous guy had like 50 rounds through it. So far I shot about 2000 rounds through it. I felt a P7M13 trigger and it was similar.

 

[Hilton Yam]

In general, the takeup in the trigger is best left alone. For a strict competition gun, some guys like zero takeup and a sub-3lb break, but that's for games. For working guns, the takeup is a good safety margin to have. For multiple shots, you should only be letting the trigger out enough to reset, not all the way. Also, if you are not sure what a 1911 trigger is supposed to feel like, then leave it the heck alone for now. Do what everyone else has suggested and shoot the thing a lot before working it over. Moreover, buy some manuals and read up to learn how to detail strip the gun and whatnot.

 

[SBLars]

Well I guess I got nailed by an "expert" over here on this forum as I did on the "other" forum.

Why is it that people who research things are always assumed to be the type of people who just screw with things that they know nothing about. In my experience people who do things that screw up a mechanical item are the people who don't do the research or ask questions.

Oh yeah, I have 650 rounds through it. Double the amount usually recommended for break-in. And I am capable of detail stripping it.

Can't anyone ask a question without being told what not to do in a manner implying idiocy?

Lock this thread up please, no one has bothered to answer my question.

 

[Gerald McDonald]

Hello SB I do not think there was an implication of any idiocy ( hope I spelled that right ) in any of the post. I think that was their input you were reading. There is a lot of room for questions in what you describe.I would search a lot of pistolsmiths web sites for what constitutes a trigger job by different smiths. Could you do a trigger job yourself? I bet given time and a little training you could do a good one. But if you screw it up it could get dangerous and expensive. Again I really don't think any offense was intended in any of the post you read.

Thanks
Gerald

 

[SBLars]

My question was pretty simple:

What exactly does the 'smith do when you get a trigger job? What parts does it involve? What result should you expect, i.e., The trigger will go from feeling like " " to feeling like " ".

 

[MuzzleBlast]

I'll take a stab at this:
The parts that MIGHT be replaced are all the parts that make the gun go bang: the trigger, sear, hammer, hammer strut and mainspring. If the trigger did not come from the factory with an overtravel screw, it is replaced. The sear will most likely be replaced. If the gun already has an acceptable hammer, the smith might just stone the hooks rather than replacing the hammer. Most times the mainspring and hammer strut are fine as is. The trigger should go from sloppy, heavy and creepy to light (5lbs for a carry piece, as light as you want for a target-only gun)with no slop and a perfectly clean break with no creep or overtravel.

 

[Sean Smith]

On 2001-05-28 01:20, Scooter wrote:
Nope, it's stock. The date code is 1984. I got it in Dec, 2000. The previous guy had like 50 rounds through it. So far I shot about 2000 rounds through it. I felt a P7M13 trigger and it was similar.

I was talking about the one *I* shot maybe having a trigger job, not yours. :smile:

 

[Hilton Yam]

The hammer hooks are cut to about .020", squared, and polished. The sear nose has its primary angle adjusted, polished, and squared, with a relief/secondary angle cut/recut. The sear spring and mainspring are adjusted or replaced, respectively to address pull weight. The hammer/sear engagement will address the feel of the trigger break. Improper, uneven, or excessive sear engagement on the hammer hooks will result in friction that can be felt after the trigger slack has been taken up and the sear is moving on the hammer hooks. A properly adjusted trigger will break consistently at the set weight without additional friction before the sear breaks free from the hammer hooks. The mainspring cap, hammer strut, and mainspring tunnel (in the housing) can have impact on the pull, but are not usually the primary culprits of a lousy trigger pull.

Jerry Kuhnhausen's two books nicely address the mechanics of trigger pulls, as does the AGI video, volume II with Gene Shuey.

 

[Shay]

everyone adressed the trigger pull and break but what about the way a trigger resets?

 

[rex]

It resets by the middle leaf of the sear spring pushing on the disconnector,in turn pushing the trigger foward.

 

[Shay]

I asked because my wilson CQB has a nice trigger pull and breaks clean but the reset is "clunky". I shot a friends 1911 that had a real smooth reset, it felt like it had spring tension pushing it forward. is that something that can be tuned easy?

 

[SBLars]

Thanks for the answers guys, exactly what I was looking for. I tried looking at some 'smiths sites, but couldn't find anything as detailed as what was posted here lately.

Please excuse me if I came off badly before, I wasn't trying to yell, I was just trying to get the information I was looking for.

 

[Matt VDW]

Don't forget that on a Colt XS you'll also have to deal with the parts of the firing pin safety.