Tanfoglio Limited trigger pull issue after lots of upgrading -- Pictures inside

[kwelhand]

New to Tanfoglio but love the Tanfo more than my CZ already :)

 

I'm in the process of tuning my Tanfoglio Limited 9mm for upcoming matches.

My goal is to achieve the light trigger pull of CZ TSO or TS.

Unfortunately, after a lots of upgrading and polishing, my trigger feels very heavy & breaks heavy.

Every time I pull the trigger, the trigger feels a little travel then feels like hitting a brick before it breaks.

It almost feels like pulling my Glock 3.5lb trigger.

How can I achieve 2lb or below trigger pull with smooth break?

I think I've changed pretty much everything expect the sear cage & the hammer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Here's the list of current upgrades:  

Polished firing pin, plunger & trigger bar  

Henning flat trigger - replaced both trigger return & plunger spring w/ included Henning springs

Henning guide rod

Henning X-Long Firing Pin 

Wolff Recoil Spring - 8 Lb  

Henning Grams Format Follower Kit 

Henning Magazine release plunger

Wolff Hammer Spring - 14lb

Brass Shock Buffer

 

 

Here's my average trigger pull weight after about 10 pulls.

 

 

 

[Mlussoro]

A lot has to do with sear and hammer engagement, the hooks especially. If you know what your looking for and what to polish it can be achieved. Look here and search for threads or you tube videos, honestly if you wanted that perfect trigger I would send to Joe at Patriot Defense !!  He’s a master

[CHA-LEE]

Did you shorten the roll pin that connects the trigger bar to the trigger shoe? Its hard to see in the pics you provided but it looks like that roll pin is hanging out past the side of the trigger shoe. If that is hanging out it can hit the frame before the trigger is pulled back far enough to break the shot.

 

The other thing to consider is that the stock sear and hammer are usually replaced with EGW parts for the best possible and long lasting trigger job. The EGW parts are also not "Drop In" and require precision fitting. If you are not up to that task then leave it up to a professional.

[dhdeal]

I can't help with what needs to be done (the experts are here though), but Patriot Defense did my trigger when I bought the pistol from them. 

 

What was done:

Titan hammer

Bolo

PD springs

Polish everything (parts look like a mirror)

Stock trigger (their suggestion)

CGW trigger pin

 

My trigger pull is no more than 2 lbs and has minimal pre travel and over travel. Coming from custom 2011's, this trigger is lighter and smoother, but I had better be paying attention as there is no will be no easing up on this trigger. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by dhdeal
Added stuff

[HesedTech]

I purchased the 40SW version of the Limited and added all the parts you mentioned with the addition of the EGW sear and hammer (also from Henning). Yes the hammer has to be fit to the pistol for it to work properly. Even with that I wasn't completely satisfied and purchased a SA Unica hammer from PD and with zero fitting it works perfectly with the EGW sear. The trigger pull is approx 2 lbs, crisp and short reset. Additionally, the safety required zero mods with the sear and hammer combo.

 

Of course had I purchased a CZ TSO in 40 SW I would have missed out on all that tuning, and yes that to me is part of the hobby.

[kwelhand]

I would love to send my gun to a smith but after I got a quick quote from PD, it's a bit more than what I could afford at the moment.

I'm going to try the hammer and perhaps the sear w/ PD or EGW parts... hope that works.

 

Mlussoro, I've pretty much watched all videos related to Tanfo Limited tune up or polishing.

Will try to watch some more and see if I missed anything.

 

CHA-LEE, the pin is extended but does not touch the frame.

One thing to consider is the the trigger feels steep even the hammer is not cocked.

It feels like the plunger has a lot of force and perhaps contributes the stiff trigger break.

 

dhdeal, would love to send the gun to PD but the price was out of my budget... will try to tune in before I give up and send it to PD.

 

HesedTech, I will try the EGW sear and hammer or perhaps SA hammer from PD.

thanks for your suggestion.

 

 

 

 

[kwelhand]

I think Cha-Lee had a great point.

One side of trigger pin was tiny tiny bit hitting the frame.

I couldn't tell until I reposition the pin slightly and trigger feels a little better but not whole lot.

With my Lyman gauge, now it's reading 3.8 LB average instead of 4.24LB.

Slight improvement but I need to achieve 2~2.5 LB trigger pull.

Is there any aftermarket pin for this?

 

So far, I'm thinking about changing out the PD hammer and sear related part (not sure what part) in attempt to improve my trigger pull.

Any other suggestions? 

You guys helped me a lot so far and I really appreciate it...

 

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by kwelhand

[ninjaboot]

Im getting a consistent  2.5lb out of my Limited with just springs from PD and polishing. Still have the stock sear and hammer. I am using the Extreme semi flat trigger but I didn't think that lends anything to a reduced pull. What was the trigger weight before you did the work? I thought they came around a 3.5lb wish trigger stock? 

[kwelhand]

16 hours ago, dhdeal said:

from

 

I didn’t measured the trigger weight before but definitely lighter than the current setup. 

 

 

[ATLDave]

The hammer/sear engagement seems to be highly variable from the factory.  Some have a ton of creep and some come pretty good.  If you happened to draw one with a sub-optimal sear/hammer engagement, you pretty much have to get that addressed to end up with a good trigger.  No amount of fooling with other parts will overcome or fix a bad sear/hammer interface.  

[MemphisMechanic]

Put the factory trigger back into the gun and see what happens.

 

Swap back to factory parts one by one until you find the culprit.

[motherFNbrandon]

winning combo right there ^^.

 

even stock it should be lighter that what you're experiencing now.

[CHA-LEE]

Ok, this is where I need to bring logic into the conversation. Doing trigger jobs on guns isn't a "Snap lego pieces together and they magically work" situation. If you are not mechanically inclined enough to assess the situation and resolve the problem with basic mechanical troubleshooting processes, then you need to STOP and get it to a competent gunsmith who can. I understand that sending your gun to a competent gunsmith costs money and takes time. But that time and money is usually far less of an "Evil" to deal with verses screwing up a home brew trigger job and ending up with an unsafe gun. Everyone likes saving money on home brew trigger jobs until they turn their gun into a full auto death machine or end up with a bullet in the leg because its no longer safe. Put this stuff into perspective with the big picture. Do you really want to risk having an unsafe or unreliable trigger job by doing it yourself? Or leave it to the professionals to do properly?

 

For most of the people who can't figure these trigger issues out themselves without trying to lean on the Forums to do it for them, SHOULDN'T be doing their own gun work. This is why I refrain from trying to help people do trigger jobs on the forums these days. I understand that some people are competent enough to figure it out eventually. But I don't want the potential liability of helping them make something unsafe before they figure out how to do it properly. Leaning how to work on guns is no different than learning any other trade. You are best served with paying for proper training from professionals.  

Edited November 6, 2018 by CHA-LEE

[ninjaboot]

3 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

Put the factory trigger back into the gun and see what happens.

 

Swap back to factory parts one by one until you find the culprit.

This ^^^. Thats what I was kinda leaning to as just a sear spring and trigger spring with a polish job will give you great results on a Limited.  

[MemphisMechanic]

5 minutes ago, ninjaboot said:

This ^^^. Thats what I was kinda leaning to as just a sear spring and trigger spring with a polish job will give you great results on a Limited.  

 

Exactly.

 

Polish it like crazy and change springs and a limited has a fairly good trigger. He’s got something binding or the like.

[MemphisMechanic]

Also: you do have the pretravel and overtravel screws removed from the Henning until the triggerjob is otherwise finished and running 100%, right?

[johnbu]

The trigger bar and lifter can be out of sync and cause a bind.

 

But Cha-Lee is correct.  at some point a trip to the tanfo doctor is required.

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by johnbu

[kwelhand]

I agree CHA-LEE has a good point.

My goal is to learn the inside & out of Tanfo while I'm working on the gun...

I did a few CZ trigger job with Cajun parts, and they all turned out great at the end.

 

I'm going to put the factory parts back and troubleshoot from one part to another until I figure out the problem.

MemphisMechanic, love your Tanfo videos... it helped me tremendously.

Yes, I'm aware of the pre & over-travel removal while tuning the trigger.

 

Thanks again for everyone's contribution and help!

I will keep you guys updated with the progress. 

 

 

 

[jdk129]

If you continue to have difficulties, I can recommend a very competent Tanfo gunsmith.  You can PM me, if you like.

 

-Jeff