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Need help with 1911 trigger


jdknotts1

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I have a Kimber Gold Combat. A few weeks ago, I polished the trigger bows, took out most of the pretravel, and polished the trigger where there was signs of friction.

The trigger was sweet. No creep and very little pretravel.

I took it apart after a shoot to clean and figured I would polish it up a bit more. Can't have a trigger that it too smooth right? Well, seems that now I have some creep in the trigger before it breaks. Very small but its there.

My question is, everytime you take apart a 1911 and put it back together, do the sear and disconnect somehow change their contact points? Is there something I did wrong? Can you polish a trigger too much?

I haven't touched the sear or disconnect at all. Just really want my trigger back the way it was. Thanks.

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Did you change anything on the sear or hammer?

Unless you have a secondary grind on the sear, your going to have some creep.

In my experience, the smoother the trigger pull is, the easier it is to notice the creep.

My guess is, its just clean and feels smoother.

One thing I do, is assemble the hammer and sear on the outside of the frame using the hammer and sear pin. That way I can see how the sear is engaging the hammer.

I'm no smith, but IMHO unless you changed the sear or hammer, there should be nothing to worry about.

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Try "boosting" the trigger... Simply cock the hammer, push against the hammer with your thumb, then pull the trigger (your thumb will "follow" the hammer)...

Do that 4 times if the creep is still there, change the mainspring to a new one.

IMPORTANT: you may have polished the hammer hooks to the point that it's smoother and you can feel the "creep"... Changing the mainspring to a rating 1lb higher will remove the issue. There is a BIG difference between polishing and removing metal though... If you have removed metal then it's to a gunsmith for redoing the hammer hooks, maybe recutting the sear... And a new safety...

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I havent touched the sear or the hammer.

The trigger is very inconsistent. One pull will be very crisp with no creep. The next will have creep before the break. What would cause it to be inconsistent?

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If you have ONLY polished the trigger bow and trigger, then it is almost impossible to change the hammer hook/sear geometry by pulling apart and reassembling.

Generally when you do a trigger job:

Ensure the trigger bow/trigger are smooth in the frame...

Stone the sear face...

Stone/polish the hammer hooks...

Set up the sear spring...

Check that the safety still engages the sear and then recut or replace.

Its almost impossible to say why you now have an inconsistent trigger pull after you have only polished the trigger bow... Did you remove any material from the rear (where the sear "legs" and disconector flat sit)? That face needs to be square...

Honestly take it to a local gunsmith that knows 1911 for a look

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I havent touched the sear or the hammer.

The trigger is very inconsistent. One pull will be very crisp with no creep. The next will have creep before the break. What would cause it to be inconsistent?

Does the trigger feel the same with a mag as it does with no mag inserted? Since you were messin' with the trigger bow, it could of been bent slightly. The bow dragging on a magazine can cause that intermittent feel. Trust me, I know :angry:

Later,

Chuck

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You'll need at least .030 take up before the trigger breaks, that's not creep just take up. You need to have enough over travel for the sear to reset, to tight and the trigger won't reset properly.

Polish the bow till it will drop in the back of the pistol with no resistance then pop it with your finger a couple of times, should move free, anymore that that is wasted effort.

Much more than that, you might drop it off to the local smith to stone the sear and adjust the sear spring.

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My over travel is on the money. There is a bit of pretravel (slack) before there is resistance. I took most of it out but there is still enough there.

No mag in the well. This is just really strange. I should've left well enough alone. I dont perceive this will make much difference in my shooting but its just a bit unnerving

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Are your pins uniform? Mine had an inconsistent trigger pull, anywhere from 3 1/2 lbs to 4 1/4 lbs. Turns out a pin had a slight taper to it that changed the geometry of the hammer and sear engagement. Had new pins installed that were uniform across their entire length and the trigger stayed at 3 1/2 lbs.

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  • 1 month later...

1911's need pre-travel to work properly. If you tightened the over-travel spring too much that could also be a factor. Make sure that you polished the legs of the sear spring where it contacts the sear and disconnecter. In other words polish everything that touches when the trigger is activated EXCEPT the sear and hammer engagement. That is best left to the pros.

Google "Blind Hog" for valuable clues to your problems.

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