trigger job "tricks"?

[ironb]

Is there a trick to trigger jobs? I got the pre-travel/over travel thing nailed down pretty good. Nice smooth pull, low lbs, etc, but man it takes a while. To get the pre-travel down, i had to pretty much put the gun together (almost complete), test it, and then tear the whole thing apart (grip and all). Took me a few hours tonight to get it pretty good on my grandmaster (still a little pre-travel, but I'm pooped). Is there a better way to adjust the pre-travel without putting the whole thing together/tearing it apart?

[HSMITH]

You need pre-travel. IMO you need at least .030" and that is when everything is perfect. Study how the hammer, sear, disconnector and trigger work together, you will see why.

[ironb]

You need pre-travel. IMO you need at least .030" and that is when everything is perfect. Study how the hammer, sear, disconnector and trigger work together, you will see why.

yeah, I know you need a little bit, or you'll have hammer follow! (been there, done that) I know I just have a little too much pre-travel.

[CSEMARTIN]

or you'll have hammer follow!

You'll get slamfires too.

[Dan Sierpina]

The only trick to trigger jobs is doing a couple hundred! It's all about experience and feel.

[Ross Carter]

Putting the gun back together and apart a zillion times is how trigger jobs are done unless you have a lucky day.

I will give you my super secret way of getting the take up or pre travel as you call it correct. This method assumes you will be using the trigger bow adjustment tabs to adjust the take up.

Part 1: First with the gun together and unloaded cock the hammer and put the jaws of your digital calipers between middle of the front inside of the trigger guard and the middle of the trigger right at the deepest part of the bow.

Do this without and pressure on the trigger to make it move, zero your caliper if you can or if not note the number. Carefully move the trigger back without dropping the hammer untill all the take up is gone and note the measurement on the digital caliper, if you couldn't zero it you'll have some math to do but come up with a number that represents how much take up you have now. Write that number down.

Part 2: Now take the pistol apart leaving the trigger in, make sure it is fully forward. Looking from the rear at the back of the trigger bow find a repeatable spot you can measure the trigger bow compared to the ledge or some part of the frame. Record that number.

If your first number was say .010 and you want .030 take up, adjust the trigger bow tabs, reinstall just the trigger, and measure again until that number from part 2 is plus .020 and you will be in the ball park if you did your measuring correctly.

This method came to me while I was in morphine coma.LOL It sure beats taking the whole gun down.