"Trigger slap" on an M9?

[120mm]

I shot my issue M9 for the first time on Saturday, and while it operates pretty good, shoots to point of aim and looks new, it has some pretty severe "trigger slap". WTF??? It feels like one of those cheap-ass WASR AKs.

Is this just an annoyance? If so, it's an issue gun, and our armorer sucks ass, so I'll just put up with it....

[This Guy]

I've worked on a lot of M9's, but I haven't heard any complaints about this problem.

The definition I found when I looked up trigger slap is that the trigger resets hard enough that it slaps the finger.

If this is the case, the first thing I would do is remove the slide and check the trigger bar, where it protrudes through the handgrip on the upper right side of the receiver. If it moves up and down freely and there are no signs of excessive wear on the trigger bar itself, I'd look at the trigger bar detent, which is located on the underside of the slide on the rear right side. If there is enough wear on these parts, the trigger bar wont be forced down as the slide cocks reward, and could allow the hammer to make contact with it as it's being recocked, in turn pushing the trigger forward.

ETA: I would also check for spring tension on the trigger bar detent. It should be enough to overide the trigger bar spring.

I'll be able to look into this more when I go into work tomorrow. Being an amorer myself, I can tell you from experience that the more detailed you are when explaining a malfunction the easier it is to find and fix.

If you're armorer isn't familiar with the nomenclature of these parts, he should easily be able to look it up in the TM.

S/F

[120mm]

I've worked on a lot of M9's, but I haven't heard any complaints about this problem.

The definition I found when I looked up trigger slap is that the trigger resets hard enough that it slaps the finger.

If this is the case, the first thing I would do is remove the slide and check the trigger bar, where it protrudes through the handgrip on the upper right side of the receiver. If it moves up and down freely and there are no signs of excessive wear on the trigger bar itself, I'd look at the trigger bar detent, which is located on the underside of the slide on the rear right side. If there is enough wear on these parts, the trigger bar wont be forced down as the slide cocks reward, and could allow the hammer to make contact with it as it's being recocked, in turn pushing the trigger forward.

ETA: I would also check for spring tension on the trigger bar detent. It should be enough to overide the trigger bar spring.

I'll be able to look into this more when I go into work tomorrow. Being an amorer myself, I can tell you from experience that the more detailed you are when explaining a malfunction the easier it is to find and fix.

If you're armorer isn't familiar with the nomenclature of these parts, he should easily be able to look it up in the TM.

S/F

This is at my Army Reserve job, and my armorer isn't very good. What you describe sounds EXACTLY like what is happening. the trigger is resetting hard enough to sting the first pad on my trigger finger pret darned hard.

Never heard of this on an M9, either. It won't be until December that I can see the piece again. Will do a detailed strip, then, and try to edumacate my armorer a little more.

[This Guy]

Ok, I was able to look at some our M9's here and was able to duplicate the trigger slap only by pushing up pretty hard on the trigger bar, while pushing the slide to the rear. In my previous post I told you that it might be the hammer hitting the trigger bar, but now I'm pretty sure that isn't what's happening.

I would look for burs or rough spots on: the surfaces where the sear and trigger bar make contact, and anyplace where the trigger bar touches the receiver. I would also check for debris around the trigger bar, and make sure that the handgrip doesn't make contact with it throughout it's range of motion.

I told you wrong about the trigger bar detent & spring. That detent should only touch the trigger bar when the pistol is on "safe", and the spring only helps keep tension on the safety lever.

If these parts don't appear to be defective, the next thing to have your armorer do is swap out these parts one at a time with a pistol that doesn't have this problem. That usually helps find the culprit.

Hopefully it's one of these parts, 'cause they're easy to fix, but I guess it'll be a while before we find out.

S/F

[120mm]

Roger - I'll get back to you on what I find.