Trigger job before or after

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With a alot of shops doing the apex kit installation on M&P's it got me thinking. What has been your experience with pistols that you know you are going to get trigger work done on? Do you break it in and run a couple hundred rounds to ensure functionality first or do you go straight to having the trigger job and wait to shoot it after?

If the pistol ever needed to go back to the manufacturer for work, would the trigger job affect the process or warranty in any way?

With my Shield 40 I waited a while to get the trigger done, but with my wife in the market for one in 9MM, she will probably want it done sooner.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
For an M&P, you'd just be wasting the ammo. They're deplorable out of the box.

I actually don't mind the trigger on my M&P at all. I was planning on getting an Apex kit, but after taking it out and shooting it, I like it just fine. I might lighten the springs eventually, but it really doesn't bother me like I thought it would.

edit: Mine is an M&P compact built this year - I've heard they may have slightly improved the trigger?
 
I actually don't mind the trigger on my M&P at all. I was planning on getting an Apex kit, but after taking it out and shooting it, I like it just fine. I might lighten the springs eventually, but it really doesn't bother me like I thought it would.

That's good to hear (seriously), but I suspect you may be the exception...
 
Unless you're just itching to get a feel for 'before and after', why bother with that stock trigger POS? Nearly all new MA handguns needs to go to finishing school before they can be properly fired thanks to their 300lb triggers...

-chris
 
Yeah, my main concern is not IF it needs a trigger job, that much is clear, it's getting one.

My main concern is what happens if it turns out to be one of those lemon guns that needs to go back to Smith? Will having a trigger job done, before I discover that it's a lemon invalidate my warranty or something, leaving me with a lemon with a nice trigger?
 
Buy some snap caps with your M&P and use it to practice trigger squeeze. Then get the trigger job and be impressed with yourself at the range. [smile]
 
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Shot about 100 rounds when I had my m&p on the stock trigger. Did the apex and was happy. IMO it requires too much work & money to get a trigger close to what other company's provide out of the box.
 
I have owned two M&P 9mm's one without then one with a trigger job. Guess what. I sold them both. And I don't like to sell guns... I replaced the last one with a Glock. And I had gave up on glocks.

Without a trigger job i could not hit the paper... With I could, but never fell for the gun...
 
I would run at least 100 rounds through it to assure reliable function before doing a trigger job. I have several M&P's including full size, compact and Shield - all have either an Apex kit or Burwell trigger job. The Apex kits are an excellent improvement, but in my opinion do not compare to the Burwell custom trigger jobs. The downside to custom work is the shipping costs and lead time. Yes, you do run the risk of voiding the warranty, but S&W has repaired one of my Burwell guns without question.
 
I have owned two M&P 9mm's one without then one with a trigger job. Guess what. I sold them both. And I don't like to sell guns... I replaced the last one with a Glock. And I had gave up on glocks.

Without a trigger job i could not hit the paper... With I could, but never fell for the gun...

How far were you shooting from? With my M&P40c, my wife (second time shooting a hand gun) put her first shot through the X at 10 yards, and kept all but two out of 20 or so shots on paper (she kept flinching worse over time so her accuracy got worse).
 
[video=youtube_share;qq4yiZTDfvY]http://youtu.be/qq4yiZTDfvY[/video]

A quick function test shooting might be good. Lou from Business End Customs does a good job on M&Ps - right here in MA.
 
How far were you shooting from? With my M&P40c, my wife (second time shooting a hand gun) put her first shot through the X at 10 yards, and kept all but two out of 20 or so shots on paper (she kept flinching worse over time so her accuracy got worse).

Roughly the same 10 yards. Maybe even a bit less.

When I got the one with a trigger job, I shot it well. But I hated the "cough" 9 round mags and just overall was not too impressed. The other issue is I had two light strikes (cheap ammo). But still... I was going to use it for IDPA, but now my go to for IDPA is a G19. I'm happy (for now).
 
I have 2 M&Ps, both with trigger jobs from Greg Derr. One I put 200 rounds through, the other I had not fired. Next time I would honestly just bring it to Greg with out breaking it in first.

The M&P triggers have got a bit better over time, but they are still far from great.
 
A quick function test shooting might be good. Lou from Business End Customs does a good job on M&Ps - right here in MA.

+1. Lou does excellent work. Had him work the trigger over on my wifes M&P as an anniversary present (Her idea) and it came back a different gun. He doesn't just lighten the pull, he does a complete overhaul and it costs about the same as a drop in kit.
 
I don't think there as bad as some make them out to be either. There heavy but thats MA.'s trigger BS

But anyhow personally id break it in first


They are very heavy yes. They also arent very and have a lot of travel. Also no reset to speak of, and although some M&P triggers I've felt, do have a slight click, its not the reset and must be let out further. Now thats not to say some DIY trigger work cant help this. I filed down my sear and polished the internals and have a noticeably lighter, smoother trigger, though it still isnt great, its better.
 
I don't think there as bad as some make them out to be either. There heavy but thats MA.'s trigger BS

But anyhow personally id break it in first

The reset and over travel are terribad, add the 10lb+ pull and i'd say it's probably exactly as bad as people make them out to be. Once the trigger has been properly worked it is a wonderful gun.
 
For an M&P, you'd just be wasting the ammo. They're deplorable out of the box.

This. Guns are ****ing completely ****ing unusable. I would not fire a single shot out of an M&P MA version without getting it repaired. Unless you are an expert, running a shit trigger will probably induce bad habits. The trigger is so bad I consider it broken. The non MA trigger is much better but still kinda shitty.

-Mike
 
This. Guns are ****ing completely ****ing unusable. I would not fire a single shot out of an M&P MA version without getting it repaired. Unless you are an expert, running a shit trigger will probably induce bad habits. The trigger is so bad I consider it broken. The non MA trigger is much better but still kinda shitty.

-Mike

Knew this was coming! [wink]

ETA: FWIW, I had a trigger kit in my Springfield XDS when it went back for that recall. They didn't seem to care. They even returned the aftermarket grip safety that was installed (it had to be replaced with a non-potentially-malfunctioning OEM part)
 
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[video=youtube_share;qq4yiZTDfvY]http://youtu.be/qq4yiZTDfvY[/video]

A quick function test shooting might be good. Lou from Business End Customs does a good job on M&Ps - right here in MA.

This is a good video but the only problem I have with it is there is no ****ing way an MA M&P trigger is -ONLY- 10 pounds. It's more like 12-15 pounds of gritty, spongy, pure filth. [laugh]

-Mike
 
When I had my Apex kit installed, I got back a little baggie of the original parts. If you needed to send it in, you could have the stock parts put back in if you were concerned. Just make sure whoever does it knows you want them back.
 
I had Four Seasons ship a 640 back to S&W for a problem caused by a hack smith, that made the gun almost unusable. It came back smooth as ever, with the reduced trigger pull that was installed previously. YMMV!

No guarantees!

They did warn me ahead of time, it may be returned with "stock" parts.
 
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