Question on Apex upgrade kit for M&P

[mannydog]

I have a new M&P 9mm (not a 2.0) that's been sitting in the safe for a year or so, never fired it. I want to upgrade with an Apex trigger kit, I'll buy the kit, a smith will install. I've been on the Apex web site and there are a lot of options and I have no idea what the hell to buy.

Any thoughts on this are appreciated.

mannydog

 

[Al-Jim19]

There should be one called the duty and carry action enhancement kit or dcaek. It’ll be a bag of small parts without the actual trigger. If you’re going that route it’s the one I’d recommend.

If you understand the guts of the pistol I would recommend ordering the MP free state parts from brownells as it will be like 20% of the cost and give you a trigger that’s 80% as good as the apex.

 

[shootermike508]

Think about an Apex barrel too. The 1.0 mod barrel comes out of battery before the bullet leaves the muzzle. I benched my full size 9mm and no projectiles touched. In fact i was like a 3-4" group where as the new barrel I fitted
every round touched. These are reloads 3.5 bullseye with a 147 gr plated xtreme. Oh I also have the DCAK and the trigger mod too.

 

[mannydog]

Great. Thanks, guys.

 

[Redbeard22]

I picked up the duty action enhancement kit with the flat faced trigger for my Shield 9mm. Absolutely love it. Such an improvement over the Mass-ified stock trigger.

For what it's worth I did the install myself and it was a breeze... besides getting the dang rear sight off. But that is more of a M&P thing, not Apex. That would be the reason to have a Smith do it if you dont feel comfortable taking a hammer to your pistol. I bought a sight pusher just for the job and it still couldnt break it free. Had to ultimately use the vice, a punch, and a hammer.

 

[Jbarila]

If you want it fast 4 Seasons will sell you the kit and install it while you wait. But call first!

 

[10thSFFD]

If you want it fast 4 Seasons will sell you the kit and install it while you wait. But call first!

That is what I did and I am very happy with their work and with the Shield.

 

[mannydog]

That is what I did and I am very happy with their work and with the Shield.

That is good to know but the gun is out of state down south.

Thanks.

 

[jkelly1229]

Get the flat faced kit. 3 pound trigger crisp break. I just don't like m&ps but that trigger is nice

 

[SgtHal75]

I got the $99 apex duty kit installed at 4 Seasons a few years ago. It helps but is still a little rough. If there are better triggers other than duty or carry I would go that route. The original MA trigger in that gun was ridiculously bad.

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

I picked up the duty action enhancement kit with the flat faced trigger for my Shield 9mm. Absolutely love it. Such an improvement over the Mass-ified stock trigger.

For what it's worth I did the install myself and it was a breeze... besides getting the dang rear sight off. But that is more of a M&P thing, not Apex. That would be the reason to have a Smith do it if you dont feel comfortable taking a hammer to your pistol. I bought a sight pusher just for the job and it still couldnt break it free. Had to ultimately use the vice, a punch, and a hammer.

That was seriously no joke getting the rear sight off. I actually dinged up my slide removing it. For me, it was the set screw that was messing me up. To OP: If you do attempt yourself, two things will help out a lot. 1) Read up on removing/breaking red loctite, and 2) make sure you have a crisp head on your appropriately sized allen wrench. Any signs of wear on the allen could lead to a stripped set screw.

After the sight is off though, the rest is pretty easy. You'll need a punch set and a mallet/hammer for the frame pins. Careful on the striker block and spring when pushing out the rear sight. That will shoot out across your room if you're not careful (not that I know first hand or anything....) and you'll spend a half hour looking for the spring. Watch the Apex install video a few times before giving it a go.

 

[mannydog]

That was seriously no joke getting the rear sight off. I actually dinged up my slide removing it. For me, it was the set screw that was messing me up. To OP: If you do attempt yourself, two things will help out a lot. 1) Read up on removing/breaking red loctite, and 2) make sure you have a crisp head on your appropriately sized allen wrench. Any signs of wear on the allen could lead to a stripped set screw.

After the sight is off though, the rest is pretty easy. You'll need a punch set and a mallet/hammer for the frame pins. Careful on the striker block and spring when pushing out the rear sight. That will shoot out across your room if you're not careful (not that I know first hand or anything....) and you'll spend a half hour looking for the spring. Watch the Apex install video a few times before giving it a go.

I've got three other M&Ps up here in MA. One is a Pro series so I didn't mess with the trigger or sights. Replaced the sights on the other two using a sight pusher, first one was easy, second one was difficult for some reason. Had a smith obtain and install the apex kits, his prices were very reasonable.

Thanks.

 

[Scotia902]

I had this kit installed Details

overall I am happy with the kit and I use the 4 pound spring. There is very little take up and a clean break.

 

[shootermike508]

Sgthal75 After that kit installed it should be as smooth as a bleep on a bleeping bleep! Just being curious can you describe the un-smoothness?

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

Sgthal75 After that kit installed it should be as smooth as a bleep on a bleeping bleep! Just being curious can you describe the un-smoothness?

I agree. The kit should be smooth and provide far superior pre-travel, wall, break, and reset over factory. There is an issue though that can happen if you inadvertently kink your striker block spring when putting it back together. I noticed a little crunchiness in the trigger before I put the set pin in the rear sight. Turned out the spring cap moved when the rear sight was pushed in, causing the spring to no longer sit vertically. The only other thing I can think of is if the sear has any aberrations on it from machining, but that would be rare issue.

 

[SgtHal75]

Sgthal75 After that kit installed it should be as smooth as a bleep on a bleeping bleep! Just being curious can you describe the un-smoothness?

Don’t get me wrong, The Apex duty kit is a night and day difference and I don’t think it’s a shoddy install. At least with mine it’s still a little bit grainy of a pull. And I train a ton with it even though subcompacts suck to shoot. I hate to sound to picky about it, but I think I have seen different triggers on the web that might be better than the Apex Duty. I’ll be honest, I haven’t actually researched better triggers for the shield. I am sticking with what I got, it’s my carry piece everyday and I’ve got thousands of rounds through it.

 

[SgtHal75]

I agree. The kit should be smooth and provide far superior pre-travel, wall, break, and reset over factory. There is an issue though that can happen if you inadvertently kink your striker block spring when putting it back together. I noticed a little crunchiness in the trigger before I put the set pin in the rear sight. Turned out the spring cap moved when the rear sight was pushed in, causing the spring to no longer sit vertically. The only other thing I can think of is if the sear has any aberrations on it from machining, but that would be rare issue.

I had a smith do mine, I wonder if I have something like this.....

 

[SgtHal75]

If you want it fast 4 Seasons will sell you the kit and install it while you wait. But call first!

This is what I did

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

I had a smith do mine, I wonder if I have something like this.....

One way of telling the spring issues is: If you ever have to remove your rear sight for any reason, check the spring cap (little plastic disc with a center nipple that points down into spring) for any deformation around the edges. If an edge of the plastic disc is flattened, then it was not centered over the striker block hole properly or moved upon rear sight installation. The rear sight being pressed in can flatten the flange of the disc and lock the disc in misalignment (sandwiched between the sight and the slide), making the spring bend instead of compress. The crunchy/gritty feeling could be the spring bending and its coils hitting each other. It would be pretty noticeable though (like, awful feeling). Minor grit might be something else.