1911 short triggers

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Fri May 22, 2009 6:38 pm

Recently I changed my bullseye grip to hold pistols a bit deeper in the web of my hand, so the pistol is more pushed towards my palm by the meaty thumb side of my hand. The new grip seems to be working well for me, it seems to have shaved a good amount of recoil recovery time off. Also with this grip I find it easier to keep my wrist in a fixed position.

The downside I've found is that when I use long trigger 1911s with this grip my trigger finger barely touches the stock (when using the tip of the finger to apply trigger pressure), it's evident this is disturbing sight alignment when the trigger breaks. I'd like to try a short trigger and see if it remedies this problem.

Any recommendations on a short trigger for a 1911 hardball would be appreciated. Or if perhaps you think my new grip is flawed any explanation would be appreciated.

Post by **Bullseye** » Fri May 22, 2009 8:51 pm

Quite a while ago I answered a question about trigger positioning, here's a link. http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=179 If you're more comfortable with a short trigger than they are out there. Using the tip of the finger is far less sensitive but isn't necessarily ineffective.

Cylinder and Slide make a good one, available at Midway http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... t=11082005

STI makes a polymer one http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=844387

It's not unusual for some one with a smaller hand to feel more comfortable with the short trigger. The main thing is the pull must not deflect the barrel to one side or the other throughout the entire trigger travel distance.

R,
Bullseye

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Sat May 23, 2009 1:32 am

Thank you very much, Bullseye. The thread you linked was very informative. My hands are on the small side. I have noticed what you mentioned about sensitivity when using the tip as opposed to the pad of your finger.

I noticed you linked the 'solid' trigger, does that stand up to recoil better or is there another reason? I also noticed there is no checkering on that trigger, does the checkering make a difference? I figured it would prevent your trigger finger from slipping around during recoil. If it boils down to personal preference is Night Hawk a quality brand (was looking at this one http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?p ... ber=436179 )?

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat May 23, 2009 9:15 am

The solid trigger or relieved trigger makes no difference. The manufacturers relieve them to lighten the trigger's weight and reduce the chance of hammer follow by the weight of the trigger getting pushed rearward from inertial of recoil. A short trigger has less mass and does not suffer from this effect, therefore it has no need to be relieved.

R,
Bullseye

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Sat May 23, 2009 4:24 pm

Bullseye, now that you mention that I remember reading about that condition early last year.

I've done some reading on smooth trigger faces VS serrated ones. Most info on the subject seems to be about revolver action shooting.

Can anyone shed any light on the subject as far as 1911 bullseye shooting goes? I've only ever used a smoother trigger 1911 twice, I don't remember noticing a difference -- however I just want to know all the facts before I spend the green.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat May 23, 2009 7:21 pm

The truth about trigger face serrations are they're just superficial additions. The serrated lines can help keep one's finger from slipping on the trigger face. But these are not necessary, in fact some folks prefer their triggers without them and grind the lines off to make a smooth trigger face. Stick with your preference.

R,
Bullseye

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Tue May 26, 2009 2:44 pm

I decided to go with smooth. I've been shooting with the serrated pretty much exclusively for 10 months, so I figured I need to shoot smooth to develop a preference towards either one.

I talked with a bullseye shooter at the range I go to (I was shocked to finally see one there) about the triggers. He was a pretty good shot and seemed knowledgeable. He told me some shooters get the sensation of a lighter pull when shooting the smooth, even when both guns are the same weight. He also said that some shooters say they can "feel out" their initial trigger pressure better on smooth. He told me that he did not experience either of those things and thought it might be more mental, and that serrated or smooth didn't matter to him as long as the pistol had a good trigger pull.

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:08 pm

I just installed the Cylinder and Slide short trigger. Had to take a decent amount of metal off to get it to fit.

How does one tell if the over-travel screw is set to the appropriate depth? I checked the depth without the safety/grip safety installed, I put the mainspring in the frame just enough to allow the sear spring to operate and used my hands to operate the trigger/hammer. I just kept backing it out until I couldn't feel the hammer rubbing the sear, then I did one final tiny turn. Unfortunately you cant see the actual engagement of the hammer and sear like with Ruger rimfires. Is there anyway to reduce pre-travel on a 1911 trigger?

For me, the shorter trigger is a major improvement. Also, I do prefer the smooth trigger face over the serrated.

Post by **Bullseye** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:39 am

There is a lot of material removal to fitting a trigger to the frame, this is not unusual. The key is no binding by the trigger throughout the trigger's travel. To set the overtravel screw you have to do it by feel. You don't want the sear face getting clipped by the hammer and ruining the break-away angle or hook engagement. Basically, the same procedure you used is the method for setting the 1911's overtravel stop.

The pretravel on a 1911 is very small, generally it is known as 'take-up' or 'slack'. 1911 pistol's don't have that huge amount of trigger travel, like Ruger 22 Autos do, and do not have an adjustment for this movement.

R,
Bullseye

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:54 pm

I notice that after the trigger breaks the meaty part of the last digit of my trigger finger is touching the frame of the pistol. It doesn't seem to disturb the sight alignment when dry-firing.
When I put my finger on certain places and am very specific about what angle I apply trigger pressure this doesn't happen.

Should I try the medium length trigger? or does it not matter if it doesn't affect my sight alignment?

I checked over some reading material I had on grip/trigger control, I didn't find anything that talks about what I describe above.

Post by **Bullseye** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:33 pm

If your finger touches the frame it doesn't really matter if the hammer has already fallen. If you can squeeze the trigger and the sights are not disturbed then you're good. I would shoot it like that rather than fitting another trigger that you're not sure you will like.

R,
Bullseye