Increasing Trigger Pull

Unless the piece is broken, when a firearm comes into the shop the customer has some improvement in mind. Often the improvement centers upon the trigger and its smoothness and trigger pull weight. While the majority of shooters will be looking for a clean and relatively lighter trigger, not all do. Some have butchered the firearm or purchased a handgun with an existing problem and need the firearm adjusted for a heavier trigger action. Others need it returned to original specifications.

This is where knowledge and study comes in. I cannot cover every handgun here but there are a number that consistently come into the shop. Some of the knowledge is common, some more arcane, and it all is proven in years of work. Colt Revolvers I sometimes wonder if the gunsmiths today have it easier with the majority of modern handguns. After all, most modern automatics feature drop-in parts and easy fitting.

Even the 1911, which typically demands some type of custom fitting, isn’t that difficult once you have mastered the basics and have a bit of experience with it. This is mostly because of quality aftermarket parts. Of course, this applies primarily to parts replacement. The custom gunsmith is in a strata well above what I am able to do and earns his pay. For those that remember or still work with them, the revolver is a bit more trouble. The revolvers of the previous century were more complex.

This is especially true when it comes to older Colt revolvers. Every part was hand fitted, resulting in a very smooth action. It was also quite expensive even in the days when skilled labor was less costly. This is ultimately the reason Colt lost ground in the market. The reliable Smith & Wesson was less expensive and Colt’s simplified actions came too late to be competitive. A thing that wins the low bid isn’t always a cheaper option but often a workman-like and economical part or firearm.

As the great gunsmith Jimson Dunbar told me more than once, most revolver parts have dual function. This is especially true with the Colt Python. You may tune one trigger pull—the double action or the single action—and the result is often that the other trigger press suffers. Colts sometimes came into his shop and folks wanted a lighter trigger action. They might be shooting competitively in PPC or, as Jim noted, they may not be good shots at all.

A once common modification of the Colt was to insert a block or rod in between the action arms of the V-shaped Colt mainspring. With the mainspring thus blocked, cock the hammer. This bent the Vspring and as a result decreased trigger pull weight. This is much neater than re- Be careful with the parts. moving and attempting to bend the that spring. The results of the spring contacting the rod is a Vspring bent near the top.

Back in the day—and I mean back as far as 1920 according to my research—gunsmiths began using a 1/16th rod for this and most often the result was a smoother trigger action. But I have worked with revolvers in which the technique was taken too far. One such problem was found when I examined a fourinch barrel nickel-plated Python that did not consistently break the primers. Someone went too far in lightening the action.

Predictably, the revolver had been traded into a pawn shop rather than the customer attempting to repair the revolver. My job was to make the revolver reliable. This was back when a decent Python was about $500, so the sky wasn’t the limit on expense.

As with many things, the right thing is often harder than the wrong thing. The previous action job, if you’re generous enough to call it that, had been accomplished without any real work save for removing the grips. To increase the strength of the mainspring, start by removing the side plate with a proper hollow ground screwdriver. Remove the grips, then the sideplate, and carefully separate the sideplate screws.

Note, these screws are not all the same and I usually lay them in order as they come out beside the sideplate. Be careful not to let the cylinder release fall off of the sideplate. Get a good look at it just in case. Use padded needle nose pliers to grip the two arms of the Vspring and then press them together. Take the tip of the upper section of the Vspring from the hammer stirrup. This is all that is needed to remove the Colt V Spring.

The spring is padded and placed in a vise to work it, being bent upward very little. For comparison, look at how the spring is bent with the rod in place to lighten the action by bending the Vspring. The motion to tighten the spring is the opposite. That’s it. Reinstall the sideplate and be certain the most rearward latch pin is straight and up. This part fits into a small hole in the back of the revolver cylinder release. This is more or less an expedient to return the spring to proper function and it works well.

If the mainspring is worked too much it will be weakened and break. I have not had this happen. At last check, Numrich has both new and used Colt mainsprings of most types in stock for around $15 to $24. Just the same, the labor involved in changing the spring is the biggest expense and if the Vspring may be restored to its previous strength that is the most economical way to accomplish restoring reliability.

Smith & Wesson Revolvers While Smith & Wesson revolvers are usually very reliable handguns, the revolver comes in often for repair after an enthusiastic over lightening of the handgun’s action. With the Colt a simple re-bending of the spring may restore the action. With the Smith Far & Wesson mainspring, simply bending the spring does not work to lower the action weight; it must be thinned or modified. As a result, the modified spring must be replaced to restore function. An elementary check should be done first.

If a Smith & Wesson revolver comes into the shop failing to strike primers hard enough for reliable ignition, first check the mainspring tension screw. This screw maintains pressure on the mainspring. Some will back the screw out to make for a lighter trigger pull. Gone too far, the result may be a failure to fire. Return the screw to a tight fit before you examine the mainspring.

The trigger return spring may need to be replaced as well as the mainspring. 1911 Adjustments The 1911 is a rewarding handgun to work with but may be frustrating when someone has butchered the springs. In this case the recoil spring and hammer spring must be matched. Many amateurs do not realize the effect that the hammer spring has on cycling. A light hammer spring and a light recoil spring may be OK if light loads are used but may well result in battering with standard loads.

One of the most common means of adjusting the trigger is by bending the mainspring. Not long ago a fellow brought a nice Citadel 1911 to my desk. The pistol was generally reliable but the trigger action was so light the user actually suffered a kind of spring back on firing and often doubled, Far

discharging two rounds when only one shot was desired. I checked the trigger pull on a Lyman trigger pull gauge and found the trigger compression at 2.9 pounds, which is too light for most shooters in a general purpose firearm. The owner wasn’t forthcoming with much information on any modifications, although I got the impression modifications had been made by a young fellow in a gun shop that tried his best. That’s OK, and I simply fixed the problem.

As best as I could determine, the pistol had a standard #23 hammer spring. Move to the mainspring and trigger compression may be adjusted by bending the far left lever toward the shooter away from the muzzle. Be careful with this as the middle lever affects the disconnect. Most of the time when a 1911 trigger is butchered you cannot repair the job but must chuck the parts and start with new ones. If the primary angle on the sear is ruined there is no other choice.

A shiny sear is a clue someone of unknown skill has worked on it. The only way to get the pistol back in spec is to dump those parts and start again. If the action is too light and the hammer does not fall when the slide is dropped on an empty chamber, simple adjustment may work. If the hammer falls the internals need to be junked or the job turned away. Safety is too important. Glock Adjustments Glocks are generally delivered with a 5.5 pound trigger. However, this isn’t a constant.

I have examined a number of Glock handguns with triggers closer to or just over six pounds. The easiest way to modify the Glock trigger is to purchase a proper coil spring and snap it in. It doesn’t get any easier. I have had a few Glock pistols come across the desk with 3.5 pound triggers. The Chief or an administrator would not allow the light trigger and for very good reasons most agencies do not allow aftermarket triggers. I don’t allow them on my own carry Glock handguns, either.

There are very good reasons for this. The factory trigger spring is balanced with the firing pin spring. The situation to be avoided is when the trigger spring is 50% stronger than the firing pin spring, which can result in light trigger strikes. This is a bad thing in competition and has even more finality attached in personal defense. Reset issues may also occur.

It isn’t well understood but the 4.5# Wolff firing pin spring will actually reduce the felt trigger action more so than reducing the trigger spring while also being more reliable. In my opinion there is absolutely no margin for error in handling the Glock with its factory 5.5 pound trigger action and no manual safety. Folks leave their keys in the car, lock themselves out of the house, and forget to zip their trousers. This isn’t