Author Topic: How light is your trigger? (Read 638 times)

HappyHunter · « **on:** February 04, 2004, 01:46:17 AM »

Recently I horse traded for a S & W 1950 pre model 14 K-38 masterpiece in 38 special. I ordered springs for it from Wolff, and with a minor honing and good cleaning have the trigger pull down to 2-1/4 pounds.

This trigger is really nice and crisp, but very light. This gun is for target shooting only and will not be a carry of self defense gun.

I have other Smiths that are soon for trigger jobs (model: 10, 15, 686, 57) and was looking for opinions on the trigger pull weight for a carry gun, dresser drawer gun, or a hunting gun. What is a good trigger pull?

Thanks for input.

Fred

Mikey · « **Reply #1 on:** February 04, 2004, 04:01:35 AM »

HappyHunter - they say that 3 pounds single action for an auto and probably the same is about right. Some gunsmiths level off at 4 pounds for liability purposes and some go even heavier than that for a carry gun.

For a while, the Colt factory bragged that they wouldn't let an auto out of their shop with anything less than a 13 pound pull, for liability.

For a target piece, 2.5-3 lbs is great. For a defensive piece, I wouldn't go below 3 lbs. For a hunting piece, the choice should be yours but you run the risk of tripping off an early shot that might miss your target if your pull is too light.

This is just my 2 cents worth HappyHunter and if anyone has some better advice it is worth listening to in order to cya in a bad situation. Mikey.

44 Man · « **Reply #2 on:** February 04, 2004, 07:50:17 AM »

In my younger days, I pursued the perfect 2# trigger on all my guns. Now that I am older (and hopefully wiser) I have a couple of guns with 2 1/2# triggers. BUT I have learned that trigger pull weight is not the ultimate goal. IF you have a quality trigger on a gun, it can have a 4# trigger pull and still be wonderful to shoot. So I like: defense gun - 4#, target gun 2 1/2#, hunting gun- usually 3+# and I am happy. I recently aquirred a colt clone with a terrible trigger. Took it to my 'smith and told him to fix the trigger for me. He measured it and it was only 3# but I would have swore it was 7 or 8 pounds! So a good smooth trigger is much more important than light weight. 44 Man

Savage · « **Reply #3 on:** February 04, 2004, 10:22:26 AM »

I like a 3-4# trigger on all my handgus, with the exception of my rimfire plate guns. Those I like short and crisp at about 2#. My duty Glocks have about a 5# trigger due to the use of a 3.5# disconnector and a 6.5# striker spring.
Savage

Bullseye · « **Reply #4 on:** February 04, 2004, 01:52:53 PM »

I have most of mine down around 3 lbs, long guns and hand guns. I do not use a gun for protection, only for hunting and target shooting. I was shooting last weekend with a Contender Carbine that had a 3 lb pull and my Contender Pistols that had a 4 1/2 lb pull. It was like night and day difference when going from one to the other. The pistols now have a 3 lb pull also!

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2004, 10:54:16 AM »

I like em about 2 1/2 lbs but like 44 man said a good 4 pounder with no creap is much better then a 2 lb with creap

Iowegan · « **Reply #6 on:** February 08, 2004, 02:13:49 PM »

44 Man is on the right track. Smooth is more important than light. A lot of people think manufacturers put heavy pull in their guns to satisfy the lawyers. Not so, it's to insure primer detonation. When you lighten the pull dramatically, you must replace springs. Then the gun goes click instead of bang. I find this unacceptable. I don't want to have to use brand X primers because my hammer won't hit hard enough to detonate another brand.

Arc Angel · « **Reply #7 on:** February 08, 2004, 02:32:12 PM »

Wow! These are some of the lightest revolver trigger pulls I have, ever, heard of! Does anyone, here, know how to say; 'Push-down hammer'?

Polish the internal parts, all you want; but leave the sear alone. 2 1/4# trigger pull is NOT safe. Wait a minute! Are we talking about trigger pull, or let-off? Let-off - correct! Still, you might want to ask S&W about what they think. I have to ask myself; 'Self, what happens if you loan this gun to someone, or decide, someday, to sell it?'

3# let-off is plenty sharp. At 2 1/4# I have to imagine that you can push that hammer off by hand; and that's definitely not a good thing. :?

HappyHunter · « **Reply #8 on:** February 08, 2004, 02:57:52 PM »

Arc Angle,

When I got this gun the hammer could be pushed off...I found that someone had done a "trigger job" by trimming the trigger return spring 1/4 inch. I replaced the return spring and the main spring with wolff parts. then cleaned the parts and lightly honed parts to remove burrs only. The trigger is 2-1/4 pounds (let off) and is crisp and hammer will not push off.

This gun is only for target shooting at gun range. If I ever sell this gun it will be changed to the original main spring and the return spring will see a heavier wolff to give the gun a more "normal" let off.

I have shot nearly 300 rounds thru this gun now and have not had any trouble.

Fred

Arc Angel · « **Reply #9 on:** February 08, 2004, 05:44:47 PM »

Well, OK then, Fred! I was starting to worry. :grin:

- David
(aka, Arc Angel)

Buckskinner · « **Reply #10 on:** February 09, 2004, 03:27:40 PM »

I like my triggers anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds on hunting and field handguns. My self defense handguns are double action revolvers and left at full power, being used D/A, the single action pull on these guns is left at factory configuration to wear-in through use.

I'm the "Buckskinner" from MT. Hope to enjoy some quality time here as time alows.