Razoreye
01-18-08, 20:22
:D
So I loaded up the instructions that someone offers (can't remember who) and stripped my M&P. I detail stripped the slide first just to look it over... pretty much like a Glock so good stuff. One thing I could not get out was the safety plunger... I can't get my damn rear sight off. I took a hammer and tapped, tried using a punch, and a screw driver head and the thing wouldn't budge. I didn't want to whack the heck out of it since it already had some nice scratching from my attempts... maybe later.
I then popped the rear pin and removed the sear housing block. His (Was it Burwell's??) instructions differed slightly in that the ejector didn't just pop off, I had to remove the pin (from one side, again a little difference) and slide the ejector out. Why? I don't know, I didn't touch it. But I removed (dropped) the sear along with the plunger and spring. Damn. I found them all and he warns not to remove the plunger because it is a PITA to get back in but I found the plunger/spring were easy to get back in with needle nose pliers.
Now... what'd I touch? I polished the base of the striker where the sear connects, I want to slightly bevel and polish the plunger but I can't remove it as of yet. That will come later. I reassembled the slide and left it alone. Next I polished the trigger bar, specifically the knob that depresses the plunger on the slide and the bar that activates the sear.
As for the sear... I polished the angle that touches the striker, I polished the area back of it because there was slight wear where the striker/slide probably rubs it going back and forth... doesn't hurt to polish where metal touches metal is my theory. Then I used a dremel to cut away at the hump where the trigger bar meets the sear. Well, now I understand why not to use a dremel for anything other than polishing (which it does wonderfully) because you just can't have steady enough hands to cut a small area with a 16k RPM sander. The cut was wavy and I quickly saw I'll cut too deep if I'm not careful. Luckily, I shaved off about as much as I wanted but it wasn't even and the top and bottom were not smooth. So I need a file but... I don't have one.
Moving to today, I bought a file and returned to working on said sear. I easily leveled the previous cut and then beveled at the top and bottom for a smooth curve. I decided to take some more metal off since I had control. Once I was done, I reassembled and dry fired.
Whoops! Took off barely too much metal and now the sear needs a few thousands of an inch lower to disengage the striker and fire. Well, this was an easy fix - I stuck a screw driver into the trigger bar where it loops and gently pried. This barely moved the trigger bar up allowing for full engagement of the sear and allowed it to disengage the striker to fire. Also, the tip that engages the striker I took the file to a few goes, taking off barely any metal. I mean a small layer and then repolished. I'm not sure if that helped any but it was a main contact point and since it was in direct contact with the striker I took care to not mess up that part.
Now the trigger is significantly better... less creep and definitely less poundage. It's probably to 4.5 (about the same as my Glock) with a crisp clean break. I still want to slightly modify the plunger as it should make for a smoother pull and possibly a slight weight reduction.
Lessons learned: stick the trigger bar into the sear housing and observer where the trigger bar touches the sear in full engagement so you can see what metal NOT to touch. Go a tiny bit forward and that's where you'll smooth when you make the lower cut. Also, always use a file for steady control, even cuts, and no screwups. Finally, dremels make great polishers.
I highly recommend doing this easy trigger job. You can get a 100% improvement with a tiny bit of filing and polishing. I don't see why S&W doesn't ramp down the sear when they make them. For those that believe stock is good and "learn to shoot" is an option - well I can shoot fairly decent but I'll take any advantage I can get... that means a smooth trigger. What it does for me mentally makes up for negatives. If anyone has tips on how to remove the rear sight, let me know. (Besides left to right... ;))
The pic could be better as I like Corel but all I had was this crappy Photoshop.
http://razoreye.net/forum_files/MPtj.jpg
So I loaded up the instructions that someone offers (can't remember who) and stripped my M&P. I detail stripped the slide first just to look it over... pretty much like a Glock so good stuff. One thing I could not get out was the safety plunger... I can't get my damn rear sight off. I took a hammer and tapped, tried using a punch, and a screw driver head and the thing wouldn't budge. I didn't want to whack the heck out of it since it already had some nice scratching from my attempts... maybe later.
I then popped the rear pin and removed the sear housing block. His (Was it Burwell's??) instructions differed slightly in that the ejector didn't just pop off, I had to remove the pin (from one side, again a little difference) and slide the ejector out. Why? I don't know, I didn't touch it. But I removed (dropped) the sear along with the plunger and spring. Damn. I found them all and he warns not to remove the plunger because it is a PITA to get back in but I found the plunger/spring were easy to get back in with needle nose pliers.
Now... what'd I touch? I polished the base of the striker where the sear connects, I want to slightly bevel and polish the plunger but I can't remove it as of yet. That will come later. I reassembled the slide and left it alone. Next I polished the trigger bar, specifically the knob that depresses the plunger on the slide and the bar that activates the sear.
As for the sear... I polished the angle that touches the striker, I polished the area back of it because there was slight wear where the striker/slide probably rubs it going back and forth... doesn't hurt to polish where metal touches metal is my theory. Then I used a dremel to cut away at the hump where the trigger bar meets the sear. Well, now I understand why not to use a dremel for anything other than polishing (which it does wonderfully) because you just can't have steady enough hands to cut a small area with a 16k RPM sander. The cut was wavy and I quickly saw I'll cut too deep if I'm not careful. Luckily, I shaved off about as much as I wanted but it wasn't even and the top and bottom were not smooth. So I need a file but... I don't have one.
Moving to today, I bought a file and returned to working on said sear. I easily leveled the previous cut and then beveled at the top and bottom for a smooth curve. I decided to take some more metal off since I had control. Once I was done, I reassembled and dry fired.
Whoops! Took off barely too much metal and now the sear needs a few thousands of an inch lower to disengage the striker and fire. Well, this was an easy fix - I stuck a screw driver into the trigger bar where it loops and gently pried. This barely moved the trigger bar up allowing for full engagement of the sear and allowed it to disengage the striker to fire. Also, the tip that engages the striker I took the file to a few goes, taking off barely any metal. I mean a small layer and then repolished. I'm not sure if that helped any but it was a main contact point and since it was in direct contact with the striker I took care to not mess up that part.
Now the trigger is significantly better... less creep and definitely less poundage. It's probably to 4.5 (about the same as my Glock) with a crisp clean break. I still want to slightly modify the plunger as it should make for a smoother pull and possibly a slight weight reduction.
Lessons learned: stick the trigger bar into the sear housing and observer where the trigger bar touches the sear in full engagement so you can see what metal NOT to touch. Go a tiny bit forward and that's where you'll smooth when you make the lower cut. Also, always use a file for steady control, even cuts, and no screwups. Finally, dremels make great polishers.
I highly recommend doing this easy trigger job. You can get a 100% improvement with a tiny bit of filing and polishing. I don't see why S&W doesn't ramp down the sear when they make them. For those that believe stock is good and "learn to shoot" is an option - well I can shoot fairly decent but I'll take any advantage I can get... that means a smooth trigger. What it does for me mentally makes up for negatives. If anyone has tips on how to remove the rear sight, let me know. (Besides left to right... ;))
The pic could be better as I like Corel but all I had was this crappy Photoshop.
http://razoreye.net/forum_files/MPtj.jpg