Ruger MKII Trigger Job

[Eric Shonts]

I have a Power Custom Series One jig, the MKII adapter, a set of Brownell's ceramic stones, and I've read until my eyeballs bled about guns and gunsmithing.  Also, if it matters I am using Tetra grease on the sear/hammer interface, as it is the only good gun grease I have at the moment.  I only mention that in case that is particularly inappropriate for a sear application.  I will to try the Brownells or McCormick stuff later if it will make a difference.  The one thing I'm missing is HOW do I get the "creep" out of my MKII?  I've stoned the surfaces flat, true and smooth, and for sure it is smoother now than it was stock.  But the trigger pull and letoff feels in many ways like my glock.  In other words, I don't have that glass rod breaking feeling like a good single action should.  Instead, I can feel the sear sliding past the hammer until it lets go.  With a smooth controlled pull, I feel it everytime.

The only thing I can think to do is to reduce the hammer notch.  The setup for doing so is shown right in the instructions for my jig so I can't be too far from wrong.  I want to KNOW this is the only way to fix my problem before I do that, as obviously if I take too much off the gun can become dangerous.  I will say that with the amount of engagement that now exists, I must be a long way off from "dangerous"!

Can anyone tell me what amount of hammer notch depth is typical for a Ruger MKII trigger job?  I know some .45's go as little as .020".  I have not measured my stock hammer for the MKII must be about triple that.

Thanks in advance.

[Flexmoney]

You might get better mileage if you also posted this question on Pistolsmith.com and in the gunsmithing section on 1911forum.com

(Edited by Flexmoney at 4:06 pm on April 10, 2002)

[Flexmoney]

I just did a Google search.  There is also RugerForum.com.  I've never been there...seems to have plenty of traffic.

(Edited by Flexmoney at 4:06 pm on April 10, 2002)

[Eric Shonts]

I've looked at and posted on some of the other forums.  No luck yet.  

I need to amend my above statement about the stock Ruger hammer notch dimension.  After measuring mine last night, I measured .028".  I was surprised!  I also measured my Volquartsen hammer which measured only .024".  Oddly enough, they both feel the same in the gun, which is not good enough.  I'm starting to think either this dimension isn't the one causing "problems", or the Ruger design is much more tolerant of a smaller hammer notch than a 1911.

If anyone was curious, yes I'm CERTAIN it is creep I'm feeling.  Last night I did the "tink" test and I can hear the sear "tinking" back in to place when I pull the slide back to engage the face of the hammer slightly.

I just can't believe that's as good as it gets while still being safe to handle, but maybe I'm wrong.  In fact I know I am.  I haven't had the opportunity to peek into my buddy's BOX STOCK Ruger MKII, but his breaks perfectly.  If my trigger felt like his, I'd be done.

All I can say is, I can't wait to look into his gun and see what is different from mine.  I doubt it's hammer notch depth, but maybe it is.

If you're in the market for a new MKII, try the trigger on as many as you can at the gunshop.  Maybe you can get a good one right out of the box too.  Pull nice and slow.  After the initial take-up in the mechanism, there should be no sliding/grinding felt in the trigger before it lets go.  I wish someone had told be that before I bought mine 3 years ago.

(Edited by Eric Shonts at 1:49 am on April 11, 2002)

[Eric Shonts]

Here is at least one good reply to this question.

http://www.pistolsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t...;forum=12&2