Reducing 2011 Trigger pull weight

[yellowthunder]

Sorry ahead of time if this is in the wrong area.

I've got a couple of questions. The first is what pull weight are most people running on their open/limited guns? In addition to that, what did you do to achieve your current pull weight? Right now, I'm averaging around 3 to 3.5 lbs. It's not bad, but if I can lighten it and still feel comfortable with it I'd like to.

I've got an adjusted Nowlin sear spring, 15 lb mainspring, EGW hammer and C&S tactical match sear. I haven't touched the hammer/sear.

[bigboy69]

I would get the EGW sear, best in the industry, and go get a trigger job.

[race1911]

...although a lighter mainspring makes for a lighter trigger there two negatives to it: 1) too slow hammer speed which COULD lead to 2) possible lack of primer ignition............considering the fact there are lots of other ways to lighten the trigger with performance trigger, hammer etc parts plus tweaking the sear spring you would probably be much happier with a faster hammer speed of at least a 17lb mainspring (I think 19lb is optimal ) and never worrying about primer ignition

[Pat Miles]

I've got an adjusted Nowlin sear spring, 15 lb mainspring, EGW hammer and C&S tactical match sear. I haven't touched the hammer/sear.

A 15 pound mainspring will probably cause sporadic light strikes on primers and cost you time. As mentioned above you will be waiting for the hammer to do it's thing when you press the trigger. A heavier mainspring will add a few ounces to the pull weight of a good, crisp trigger job.

[Absocold]

Paying big money for a match grade sear is a giant waste. I've never seen a single one that didn't need more work. If you have to work on it anyway, why pay a premium for a job half done?

Lowering the weight of the mainspring can be problematic in some finicky race guns. Not only does it reduce trigger pull weight but it also lets the slide start its rearward travel faster than normal - which can cause problems in some cases. Tweaking the sear spring and polishing the snot out of everything is much preferred.

Buy some outside pins so you can easily view the angles involved, a few small stones (india medium, arkansas fine, ultrafine polishing), and do your own trigger jobs. It's not rocket surgery. If you're bad at shade tree work, they make jigs for the job that make it super easy.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/trigger-job-tools/trigger-job-hand-tools/trigger-adjustment-pins-prod677.aspx

[Pat Miles]

Buying a good sear from a known good manufacturer is not a waste. When you take the time to do a very good trigger job you want the angles and faces you have stoned and polished to last a long time. A good sear and hammer will do just that. I want a sear and hammer of the same material and hardness so they both wear evenly, one does not go south prematurely.

If you want to do a great trigger job invest in an adjustable sear/ trigger pin block. Loctite (271) the pins in their respective blocks then adjust it to fit the frame you are working on. Buy a USB 200 x microscope so you know the mating angle of the sear can be stoned to fit the angle (90 degrees) of the hammer hooks then polish the faces with a ceramic ground stone to a mirror finish.

Yes you will need to buy a hammer/sear jig also.

Want to take a giant step in the right direction, buy a surface grinder and the necessary tooling so you can take .0005" off the hammer hooks at a time to eliminate all creep. Don't worry, you'll find other uses for the surface grinder.

If you ever get a chance, fondle a trigger done by Don Golembieski ( Kodiak Precision). You will need a cigarette afterwards. It IS that good.

[Absocold]

Eh, I've done trigger jobs using surplus government parts and with big name match parts. As long as the pin holes are snug, once you get to the point that smoothing is done and you're doing final polish with 2000 grit, you just can't tell a difference between who made the parts or how much they cost.

Longevity is a crapshoot. Even Vegas oddsmakers won't bet on whose magically awesome trigger group will last the longest.

My point is that so-called "match grade" hammers and sears aren't what I would consider match grade. They're improved over stock but not good enough for serious competition, they need more work to reach that level. And if you're going to have to work on it anyway, why pay a premium for the privilege? Don't even get me started on "drop-in match grade" labels

Here's the hooks on a hammer advertised as match grade at 20x magnification. Why would anyone pay a HUGE markup over non-match for this?

Match grade should mean "oversized item, hand fitting required", not "it's slightly better and although our gunsmith didn't breathe on it, he did look in its general direction once".

For most parts, match grade is the much preferred item. But for hammers and sears, not so much in my experience.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Absocold

[Pat Miles]

If you would, PM me with the name of the maker of that hammer. It's absolute $hit. That would go back to the seller in a heartbeat. I've worked withe a lot of hammers and NEVER seen one near that ugly.