Series 80 1911 trigger pre-travel, whats acceptable?

[SnakeEye]

i have between a 1/16th and an 1/8th inch of pretravel in my series 80 1911's trigger.
i notice when i try and pull through that i shoot poorly, but when i take up the slack with my trigger finger and then squeeze my groupings are considerably better.
does this slop or pretravel serve a purpose? how much is acceptable? and what can i do to eliminate it?

 

[TY43215]

I don't know if the slop serves a purpose but I do know you do not have to keep it that way.

My S&W 1911 has a STI trigger and the take up is minimal. It has a 3# pull and is a joy to shoot.

All done by PIPER CUSTOM GUNSMITHING

Regards,

 

[Cuz]

I don't know if the slop serves a purpose but I do know you do not have to keep it that way.

My S&W 1911 has a STI trigger and the take up is minimal. It has a 3# pull and is a joy to shoot.

All done by PIPER CUSTOM GUNSMITHING

Regards,

RGS,
I have a Series 80 Colt Gold Cup, do you know if the STI trigger will fit? I've been told that Colt Gold Cup triggers are slightly larger size so standard 1911 triggers won't fit nicely. I've never actually verified that tho.
-Cuz.

 

[RKG]

Unless I miss something here, the purpose of the "first stage" on a Series 80 trigger is to actuate the firing pin safety out of the "safe" position. It cannot be eliminated. However, your technique is the same as is recommended for any two-stange military trigger.

 

[M1911]

1911s typically have a fair bit of free-play before you get any resistance. Then there is little movement before the trigger breaks.

While I have whined about Series 80 triggers in the past, I have to admit that David Santurri did an excellent trigger job on my Delta Elite. I have to eat humble pie and admit that I can't tell the difference between that trigger pull and my Series 70 triggers.

 

[howie]

IT all about the reset. my friend. press the trigger then let out slowley until to here the sear reset the press the trigger again and repeat as needed.
howie

see www.neshooters.com for training it the best that money can buy. in our neck of the woods. uncle jim and the guys will treat you wright.
howie

 

[TY43215]

RGS,
I have a Series 80 Colt Gold Cup, do you know if the STI trigger will fit? I've been told that Colt Gold Cup triggers are slightly larger size so standard 1911 triggers won't fit nicely. I've never actually verified that tho.
-Cuz.

I can not answer that question. Maybe Greg Derr can?????

 

[TY43215]

While I have whined about Series 80 triggers in the past, I have to admit that David Santurri did an excellent trigger job on my Delta Elite. I have to eat humble pie and admit that I can't tell the difference between that trigger pull and my Series 70 triggers.

No disrespect to anyone, but I have purchased 2 1911s from the same person that had been worked on by the above mentioned person. Both had to be fixed by someone else. YMMV BUT, I have also worked on 2 revolvers he played with. It took some time to correct those mistakes also.

I guess you were lucky.

Regards,

 

[SnakeEye]

i figured there has to be "some" play, as with any mechanical assembly there must be some acceptable tolerance or you risk lockup or failure over time.
So what im getting is that a trigger job may indeed help to some extent,
the long term solution is better trigger discipline over seeking a quick mechanical fix.

 

[M1911]

I don't believe that a trigger job does not reduce the amount of slack. A trigger job does make the break cleaner.

 

[adweisbe]

I don't believe that a trigger job does not reduce the amount of slack. A trigger job does make the break cleaner.

A trigger job can eliminate slack, try a S&W PC1911 a trigger. You basically adjust the pretravel and overtravel settings on the trigger so there is almost no latitude either way and then jigger the disconnector to allow for an extremely short reset. The reset on the 1911 is the disconnector moving back up to allow the trigger bow to engage the sear.

My impression of the PC1911 was that I was touching an immovable rod even after the break (very little overtravel), sure it moved a tiny bit forward for the reset, but it wasn't really worth mentioning, and it was again immovable after the reset. The only travel you ever feel happens when you are moving the trigger forward to reset it. Heck, I don't even know if they adjust for pretravel on the PC1911's, it may just be my imagination and they may not have pretravel adjustment on those triggers.

The difficulty with performing a good trigger job on a series 80 is that you have to ensure the trigger is moving far enough forward after you let go of the trigger for the firing pin safety to reliably engage. There is another set of dimensions that end up determining how much travel that is and it's another layer of complexity for a gunsmith to learn.

I adjust for pretravel the ghetto smith way. When I file the trigger to fit the gun I leave as much material on as possible to prevent the trigger from moving farther forward then it could otherwise. Because the trigger is already between 5 and 6 lbs this doesn't have much of an effect on the weight of pull.

I am not a gunsmith, though I do play one on TV.

 

[drgrant]

IMO 1911 triggers don't travel all that far to begin with. Pretravel is a
"windshield wiper on headlights" kind of issue. I don't shoot my Kimber
that has a bit of "slop" any better/worse than I do the other two 1911s that
have a bit less.

The entire trigger travel on a 1911 is often shorter than the SLOP on
some other guns in SA, so I don't see whats to complain
about. I'd be more concerned about the weight of the pull and how
cleanly it breaks before I even paid attention to slop.



-Mike