trigger job

[Mike21STI]

I took my STI down to a local 'smith to have a trigger job done on it. I was surprised because this STI was from the factory and had a 5.5# pull which I was surprised about. He said that he would only take it down to 3# because anything lower would run into safety issues. He also told me that taking out too much of the "creep" could cause AD's. Are these two scenarios true? Or is the gunsmith just being conservative?

[Loves2Shoot]

I would venture to guess that is the limits of his skill or all he is willing to give to a customer for business reasons. Taking too much creep out can cause problems if you go too far and you could make a gun unsafe taking it lower than 3#'s if you don't know how to do it properly, so he isn't lying.

[CSEMARTIN]

I agree with the "creep" statement.

You can still go below 3#'s and have a perfectly safe trigger. My guess is he doesn't know how to do it.

You should stick with one of the gunsmiths on this forum. Once you step outside this world, you're going to run into all kinds of goofy shit.

[Mike21STI]

I originally tried to go through Brazos but they said they wouldn't do it because they only do the work at the time of purchase and since I did not purchase it from them they wouldn't touch it.

I've used this local gunsmith for blending a magwell and polishing a feed ramp in one of my other 1911's in years past and he did good work, so I decided to use him again for the trigger job. I didn't really want to go much below a 3# trigger anyway but when he said he wouldn't I was wondering if there was any validity.

Thanks for the comments. I'll follow up and let you know how it works out.

[bbbean]

I originally tried to go through Brazos but they said they wouldn't do it because they only do the work at the time of purchase and since I did not purchase it from them they wouldn't touch it.

I've used this local gunsmith for blending a magwell and polishing a feed ramp in one of my other 1911's in years past and he did good work, so I decided to use him again for the trigger job. I didn't really want to go much below a 3# trigger anyway but when he said he wouldn't I was wondering if there was any validity.

Thanks for the comments. I'll follow up and let you know how it works out.

There are a world of shooters running 1.25-2.5 lb triggers. Going below three lbs isn't a safety issue per se. However, if your smith hasn't done that sort of work and isn't working on competitive guns regularly, you might want to find a smith who has experience working on race guns. There are plenty of them out there.

[G-ManBart]

I'd give him a Brazos Pro Series Trigger kit ($150) and tell him to see what he can do...should only take mild tweaks to the sear spring. I bet it comes back under 3lbs.

[Mike21STI]

I'd give him a Brazos Pro Series Trigger kit ($150) and tell him to see what he can do...should only take mild tweaks to the sear spring. I bet it comes back under 3lbs.

Thanks, I'll have to check that out. Is the kit made for both the 1911 and 2011?

[anilson]

Skip the smith put the Brazo trigger kit in yourself and have a sweet 2 lbs trigger. I did and it works great and takes 10 min.

Adam

[Paul Burtchell]

If you are going to go below 3# and want a trigger job that is going to last I would suggest using Cylinder & Slide or EGW fire control parts. Standard STI parts are just that, standard production gun parts.

The skill of the pistolsmith certainly comes into play. I would suggest picking one from our forum and have them do the work or as other have suggested purchase a Brazos Custom, Dawson Precision or Cylinder & Slide drop in kit.

Realize that drop in kits due to variations in the frames of the pistol themselves are rarely, truly drop in.

There are hack jobs, trigger jobs and then there are trigger jobs.

Edited October 22, 2010 by Paul Burtchell

[ParaGunner]

Skip the smith put the Brazo trigger kit in yourself and have a sweet 2 lbs trigger. I did and it works great and takes 10 min.

Adam

+1 I used a C&S ultra light kit and a infinity titanium sear spring. I got a great 2.25lbs trigger pull. So far I have got 6000 rounds on it and it's just as good as the day I put it in.

[G-ManBart]

I'd give him a Brazos Pro Series Trigger kit ($150) and tell him to see what he can do...should only take mild tweaks to the sear spring. I bet it comes back under 3lbs.

Thanks, I'll have to check that out. Is the kit made for both the 1911 and 2011?

Yep, all the parts work for either model. Oh, the thumb safety will almost always either have to been peened or replaced to work with the new sear. That's actually not a bad thing as STI thumb safeties have a habit of cracking (go with something like an Ed Brown and it's much less likely to happen). R,

[rooster]

3.5 to 3# relatively easy, below 3 starts to get a little tricky, 2.5 to 2# you need to know what you are doing. some of the drop in kits will get you there, but if your frame holes are off or any other alignment issues you can easily have an unsafe gun. your half cock notch better work. the cylnder and slide and also the egw koneig kits are the best for sub 3# triggers. the koneig hammers are difficult to get the 1/2 cock to work but are excellent hammers. buy one of the kits and try yourself most of the parts are already prepped install and try, if hammer follows when dropping the slide on an empty chamber you can still take those excellent parts to a good smith and he should still be able to use them and get you a reliable trigger pull.

[xpertz]

EGW also makes an Ultimate Trigger Kit, and it along with their Ball Head Disconnector have allowed me to set up 4 1911's ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 lbs trigger pull. After checking parts for perfect fit and stoning outside edges for micro burrs and adjusting left and center legs on spring.