Gunsmith: need help with a trigger job!!!!

[45lcrevolver]

Hey guys, I'm picking up my s&w m&p 340 on august 3. Now I have heard the the trigger is very heavy. Is it possible for a gunsmith to smoothen and lighten the trigger to match the Lcrs' trigger?

 

[NHT3]

Keep in mind that the only "safety" on these pistols is the long trigger pull. Possibly it's by design that they are a bit heavy and it may not be feasible to lighten it to any great extent. Also considering the mechanism of a revolver it's probably going to be heavier than the LCR.
Just my .02
[FONT=&quot]NRA Life member [/FONT][FONT=&quot]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
Gunsite graduate Certified Glock armorer[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] 1911 Mechanic[/FONT]

 

[45lcrevolver]

Lots of pistols and revolvers do not have safeties. And many have a lighter trigger pull like the Lcr at about 8 pounds while the smith sports a 12+ pound trigger. I don't see how a smith j frame would be any more unsafe. But thanks for your input. Also the Lcr is also a revolver.

 

[netsecurity]

I wouldn't mess with a revolver trigger, but maybe a gunsmith like you said.

 

[davedolli]

Like other people have said, the long trigger pull is the safety, I would leave it be. If you can't get use to the trigger pull, try something else. There are so many great choices now.

Dave

 

[cityartisan]

I've been debating the same thing(lighten the trigger pull on my Kel-tec.) It would make quite a difference in speed and accuracy i would think however, as others mentioned- the heavy trigger pull is what takes the place of an additional safety. Personally, it would suit me fine with a lighter trigger pull. My concern would be if, God forbid, i where in a life threatening situation and ended up having to shoot someone-how would it then play out in court having altered the gun safety and discharging the firearm where with the factory set trigger pull might not have let the gun fire as easily i will be seeking an answer on this and if anyone is interested will be glad to follow up on what is discovered

 

[Tombs]

Instead of getting all silly with it, lets be honest.

If you want a lighter trigger in your gun, that's your business. I don't find factory S&W triggers to be that great anyway, and spent a lot of time honing mine in the way I wanted it.

The first thing I would recommend to you is to buy trigger and hammer shims to take as much side to side play out of the action as possible.

The next thing is to lighten the trigger rebound spring. You can clip 1 coil off without much concern but if you still want to go lighter you really need to just buy a lighter spring. If you go wild with clipping coils, you'll wind up with a trigger that won't reset all the way forward, or will be sluggish to reset. You'd have to clip more than a couple coils though. Keep in mind how cheap of a part this spring is, if you screw it up, a local gun shop will likely have a replacement for less than a dollar.

If it's a self defense gun, I would not recommend playing with the hammer spring. Not for a safety issue, but because you don't want to compromise the primer striking force. That would not be good if you needed to use the gun in self defense.

Do Not play with the angles on the sear or on the hammer, I'd even recommend against touching them at all besides cleaning them off. A fair amount of dry fire will smooth up the trigger just fine, especially if you do it AFTER you install the shims, so everything wears in nice and even. The only playing around with engagement surfaces I did was to actually make the single action shelf on my gun a bit larger so that the drastically reduced pull weight wouldn't make the trigger excessively sensitive, and still feel positive.

Also remember, when oiling it for reassembly, to use a very small amount of something fairly thin. If you gunk it up, you'll just get a bunch of crud stuck down in the action.

Don't fear it! Have fun. To save yourself some heart ache, make sure to get some flat ground screw driver bits so you don't mess up your screws, and watch some videos on youtube to see how things come apart, and some tips on removing the side plate as cleanly as possible. In all honesty, if it's a gun I'm ever planning on using for self defense, I wouldn't trust someone else to do the work. Even if I screw up doing it, I'll know what I did and what needs fixed instead of having the gun returned to me without knowing every detail about what was done.

 

[davedolli]

As far as the courts go in a self defense case, it shouldn't make any difference, depending on circumstances, how ever I wouldn't want to bet my life on it. The bottom line is anything can happen in a court room. Again, I would train with the pistol and get use to it, and the trigger pull, or try something different.

Dave

 

[sloughfoot]

Getting a trigger job is your business. Any reputable gunsmith will give your gun a smooth and reliably light trigger.

HOWEVER.....

I would never consider a trigger job until you have dry fired the piece like a gazillion times. Dry firing does three things,

1. It develops strength in your trigger finger and grip.

2. It can smooth the internal contact points in the gun.

3. It points out to the gunsmith the exact points that are making contact.

 

[Hookeye]

Spring kit and rebound slide polish, helps a bit but isn't a dramatic change.

 

[Hookeye]

Scandium .357 J frame. Fun little gun!
I want one as well (bud has one, with Corbons it is freakin' nasty!)

 

[45lcrevolver]

Instead of getting all silly with it, lets be honest.

If you want a lighter trigger in your gun, that's your business. I don't find factory S&W triggers to be that great anyway, and spent a lot of time honing mine in the way I wanted it.

The first thing I would recommend to you is to buy trigger and hammer shims to take as much side to side play out of the action as possible.

The next thing is to lighten the trigger rebound spring. You can clip 1 coil off without much concern but if you still want to go lighter you really need to just buy a lighter spring. If you go wild with clipping coils, you'll wind up with a trigger that won't reset all the way forward, or will be sluggish to reset. You'd have to clip more than a couple coils though. Keep in mind how cheap of a part this spring is, if you screw it up, a local gun shop will likely have a replacement for less than a dollar.

If it's a self defense gun, I would not recommend playing with the hammer spring. Not for a safety issue, but because you don't want to compromise the primer striking force. That would not be good if you needed to use the gun in self defense.

Do Not play with the angles on the sear or on the hammer, I'd even recommend against touching them at all besides cleaning them off. A fair amount of dry fire will smooth up the trigger just fine, especially if you do it AFTER you install the shims, so everything wears in nice and even. The only playing around with engagement surfaces I did was to actually make the single action shelf on my gun a bit larger so that the drastically reduced pull weight wouldn't make the trigger excessively sensitive, and still feel positive.

Also remember, when oiling it for reassembly, to use a very small amount of something fairly thin. If you gunk it up, you'll just get a bunch of crud stuck down in the action.

Don't fear it! Have fun. To save yourself some heart ache, make sure to get some flat ground screw driver bits so you don't mess up your screws, and watch some videos on youtube to see how things come apart, and some tips on removing the side plate as cleanly as possible. In all honesty, if it's a gun I'm ever planning on using for self defense, I wouldn't trust someone else to do the work. Even if I screw up doing it, I'll know what I did and what needs fixed instead of having the gun returned to me without knowing every detail about what was done.

You have answered my question. Thanks +1