wheelgun
NES Member
I got an S&W1911 a couple years ago. It came with a loose fitting trigger that rattled etc. That was easy enough to fix - bought a Greider oversize trigger from Brownells and it fit perfectly.
However there was still creep in the trigger, so I did some reading and bought an Ed Brown sear jig (also from Brownells). It's pretty easy to use, not too expensive ($40) and is adjustable for angle of "cut". I decided to use it at the preset primary angle since I had no experience at this. I worked on that sear for hours on several different days over a period of a year. But I could not eliminate the creep. The jig did a great job of producing accurate sear surfaces, and I checked and re-checked the rest of the trigger mechanism for binding, but the creep remained.
Today I decided to go at it once more. This time I took a suggestion I heard about, and mounted the sear and trigger on the outside of the gun, using proper size drill bits in place of the normal pins. It was immediately obvious that the primary sear angle I was using did not match the trigger hooks, which was causing extra friction. I went back to the sear jig, backed out the adjusting screw a couple turns, hit the sear with the stone a few times, and looked at the sear/trigger fit again.
It was a MUCH better match. I finished cutting the primary angle, polished the face and smoothed the edges, and reassembled the gun. SUCCESS. No creep whatsoever. It breaks like the proverbial piece of glass! The trigger weight is still stock, I'd guess maybe 5 lbs, but when there's no creep that really doesn't bother me. I like a decent safety margin anyway.
I guess perhaps S&W trigger hooks engage at a slightly different angle than standard Colts. If only I had realized that sooner......
However there was still creep in the trigger, so I did some reading and bought an Ed Brown sear jig (also from Brownells). It's pretty easy to use, not too expensive ($40) and is adjustable for angle of "cut". I decided to use it at the preset primary angle since I had no experience at this. I worked on that sear for hours on several different days over a period of a year. But I could not eliminate the creep. The jig did a great job of producing accurate sear surfaces, and I checked and re-checked the rest of the trigger mechanism for binding, but the creep remained.
Today I decided to go at it once more. This time I took a suggestion I heard about, and mounted the sear and trigger on the outside of the gun, using proper size drill bits in place of the normal pins. It was immediately obvious that the primary sear angle I was using did not match the trigger hooks, which was causing extra friction. I went back to the sear jig, backed out the adjusting screw a couple turns, hit the sear with the stone a few times, and looked at the sear/trigger fit again.
It was a MUCH better match. I finished cutting the primary angle, polished the face and smoothed the edges, and reassembled the gun. SUCCESS. No creep whatsoever. It breaks like the proverbial piece of glass! The trigger weight is still stock, I'd guess maybe 5 lbs, but when there's no creep that really doesn't bother me. I like a decent safety margin anyway.
I guess perhaps S&W trigger hooks engage at a slightly different angle than standard Colts. If only I had realized that sooner......