Ssanders224 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Guys, I would like to put an SVI "insert" type trigger in my STI gripped limited gun, but I have heard from a few people that it takes A LOT of fitting and grip modification? However, there sure are a bunch of STIs out there with SV triggers.... So whats the scoop? Will the channels in the STI grip have to be changed? Trigger bow changed? Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 They can be an absolute PIA to fit into the STI grip. My experience is that the bow (in the grip itself) is too long) leaving the sear not able to settle into the hammer hooks. You can reshape the bow so it is shorter front to back which can be very time consuming as the bow grows side to side when you try this. If you have access to a milling machine you can mill the sear to gain clearance or you can buy a "gunsmith fit" trigger from STI and reshape the shoe to the length and shape you want. If you just want the "cool factor" you are going to have to work for it. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extremo Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Compared to a SPS (believe that they are identical to STI but not 100% sure) the SVI trigger bow is thinner and a little longer. Also the "blade" is lower compared to the channel in the grip. The SVI bow will be sloppy and in worst case the corners can fall out of the channel and jaming the trigger. I prefer to install the SVI trigger on stock trigger bow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mshotwell Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Just getting it in my grip was PIA. I have to take some off the sear to get it to rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Hmm, I admittedly did want the cool factor.... But it's looking like an STI blank is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake32 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 i put an old style sv trigger in my sti and only took about an hour or so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaosshooter00 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 +1 to snake32, the catch being that it is the "old" SV style. I bought a new SVI insert at Nats last year, what a waste of money. Smoked it trying to reshape the bow. It now sits in the bottom of the parts drawer as a reminder of what not to do. Buy a blank and shape it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvsmith Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I have most of my STI's with SV triggers, but always let it to the professional gunsmith do the work so it's done right the first time - really not that all expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambo Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Both my STI 2011s have SVI triggers...but I had my gunsmith do it for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Hello: The old SVI trigger will fit the STI grip with a little work. The new style ones are a little thick and need to be machined down. But a STI gunsmith blank and cut it to fit you or shape it like you want. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpl Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 (edited) You need to widen the trigger shoe channel in STI frames to get the trigger in. Takes a fair amount of time with a file, but you can do it. The length of the bow is another issue. Do a search on here for the thread by Dan Bedell on using the STI bow on the SV base. It's not that hard of a change to make. As mentioned above, you can also reshape the SV bow to shorten it to give you adequate take-up. I modified a trigger anvil and made a punch to move the center of the back of the bow forward, but as Pat Miles said above, it will take some time fitting the width of the bow to the grip. I think the easiest fix is to just swap the bows. Edited August 28, 2012 by jpl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunfixer Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 It's a PIA for certain, the channels need to be widened and they are a tad long, all as stated above.. It's max cool and I've done it on all my Double Stacks, but if you're not well versed I would definitely hire a 'smith that knows how to do this particular mod... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z40acp Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 It's not just the STI plastic grip, I have a trigger that came with my SVI frame kit and it won't go in a SV plastic grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooster Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 One way to do it but kinda pricey is to unstake both bows and put the SVI shoe on the STI bow. I have done it and it is not that hard to do. You just have to make sure everything is square and true. After you are sure it fits restake and fill all the spaces with a good 2 part epoxy and you are all set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWLAZS Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Could you use the SVI 1911 shoe and put it on the STI bow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzYooper Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 One way to do it but kinda pricey is to unstake both bows and put the SVI shoe on the STI bow. I have done it and it is not that hard to do. You just have to make sure everything is square and true. After you are sure it fits restake and fill all the spaces with a good 2 part epoxy and you are all set. I tried to modify the SVI bow, but it did not work for me either. I did swap the bows and it has worked well for me for over a year now. I did not use the epoxy, but I like the idea and next time I have it out I will add some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssanders224 Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 Swapping the bows seems like a pretty good solution. Wish I would have gone that route now. Of course, Ive already ordered an STI gunsmith blank, darn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammar Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 My gunsmith does mine for me. Trigger is more expensive than the smith work. You can modify the grip or modify the trigger. I didn't want my grip modified in case I went back to STI triggers so we narrowed the SVI trigger. Works great., but like I said I let the professional do it instead of my neadthal self grinding on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef J Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 funny I was just about to search this and low & behold just a few posts down. So obviously the best method seems to replace the SV shoe on a STI bow, I couldn't find a procedure for doing that however. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzYooper Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 funny I was just about to search this and low & behold just a few posts down. So obviously the best method seems to replace the SV shoe on a STI bow, I couldn't find a procedure for doing that however. Any thoughts? On the back of the SV shoe the bow is held on by two pieces of aluminum that are part of the shoe. I carefully bent those back to release the SV bow. I used a Dremel to remove the plastic STI trigger shoe from the STI bow. The STI bow had a bit more metal where the trigger shoe was so I had to remove some of the metal to get it to fit into the SV shoe. This was not hard to fit. I then put the SV shoe on the bow and pushed the tabs back in place making sure the shoe was straight. I did not put epoxy in the joint and it has been ok for over a year, but I think that is a good idea. The top and bottom of the trigger shoe is also A bit too tall so some material was removed there for fitting. For smaller things like this I usually do it myself because of the time it would take to get the work done by my smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trp Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 funny I was just about to search this and low & behold just a few posts down. So obviously the best method seems to replace the SV shoe on a STI bow, I couldn't find a procedure for doing that however. Any thoughts?On the back of the SV shoe the bow is held on by two pieces of aluminum that are part of the shoe. I carefully bent those back to release the SV bow.I used a Dremel to remove the plastic STI trigger shoe from the STI bow. The STI bow had a bit more metal where the trigger shoe was so I had to remove some of the metal to get it to fit into the SV shoe. This was not hard to fit. I then put the SV shoe on the bow and pushed the tabs back in place making sure the shoe was straight. I did not put epoxy in the joint and it has been ok for over a year, but I think that is a good idea. The top and bottom of the trigger shoe is also A bit too tall so some material was removed there for fitting.For smaller things like this I usually do it myself because of the time it would take to get the work done by my smith. I know this is an old post but does anyone have pics to what this all looks like, I would like to do this to my sti and have heard its easy but I'm kinda a visual learner?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trp Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Maybe what tools used to bend the peices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spraynpray Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 If you look around the classifieds, its not hard to find old-style SVI triggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsampson Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 (edited) I just fit an SVI trigger into an STI frame. A tad of filing on the top and bottom of the trigger and sides of the grip. Bought an extreme grip especially for this purpose. Then used markers as an indicator of the high spots to file out the grips where it was tight on the bow and the sides of the trigger. Came out absolutely perfect. Very patient use of a small flat file and you will be very happy. Adjusted the trigger for no pre travel and then used the screw to adjust out the over travel.. 2.5 lbs and a great feel. I think it looks great too. Two matches through it with perfect function Edited May 14, 2015 by Bigsampson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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