Boy did I get an education in a hurry

[Griff56]

I have long been a fan of the 1911 pistol. Uncle Sam let me borrow one for use in his Army, in a land far, far away, many, many, years ago.

I had an opportunity to purchase a 1911 A1 Mil Spec from Springfield Armory.
New gun, Great looker. So, like any red blooded american boy, I took it out to the range. It had only one surprise. The trigger pull. That thing must have a fifty pound
trigger pull on it. I know it is a new gun and needs some wear but gee whiz.
Anyway I guess POLISHING the sear is the best way to relieve that problem.
Since I am not a very talented gunsmith, has anybody got any suggestions on how to smooth it out.
Thanks for looking.

 

[rbernie]

I would recommend that you not polish for a while; it's very easy to get the angles wrong and render the pistol unsafe. Dry fire (use a snap cap!) is always a good option.

 

[AK103K]

Call Springfield and tell them its not right and you want it fixed.

 

[Steve C]

Best thing is just to pay a professional for the trigger job. It should run anywhere from around $65 to $100. Would also be a good time to add a long trigger with over travel adjustment if you would like. If you mess with it yourself you can easily ruin $100 worth of parts and not have a decent trigger job in the end. Worst case is you wind up with an unsafe pistol and shoot yourself or someone else accidentally.

Have them put a 4lb pull on it (minimum allowable in NRA matches with .45 cal). Best value improvement you can do on a 1911.

 

[Oro]

I would recommend that you not polish for a while; it's very easy to get the angles wrong and render the pistol unsafe.

+1. I really think without a jig or impromptu one - and experience - you shouldn't touch sear angles on almost any gun.

Call Springfield and tell them its not right and you want it fixed.

That would be the best thing.

If you want to do it yourself, I recommend limiting it to polishing and tweaking non-critical areas. Here's a great primer on how to do some improvement without doing anything dangerous. However, if you are new to the 1911 and not familiar with how it works and disassembly, sending it to SA might be the best move, and if it's that far out of spec they likely won't charge you.:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55938

 

[JDGray]

Lighten up the mainspring will help. To do it you must install old style pins and lighter spring in your MSH. SA installs a short heavy spring in their locking MSH. You could have a smith lighten up the sear spring, either by bending the leaf, or my installing a new lighter sear spring. My loaded fullsize, had a very heavy trigger pull, and I lighten mine up this way to a very nice 3.75#

 

[2RCO]

Unless you really know what the heck you are doing or like buying and throwing away Sears, Hammers and Disconnectors pay a Pro to do the trigger job.

When I started tinkering with 1911's I ruined several sears and Hammers with my bubbaed jobs after trashing several sets I can do a decent job without a jig. A jig helps alot though.

Also for me trashing a few sears and hammers isn't a huge deal --I just call it R&D and throw it in the 2RCo budget.

 

[MCgunner]

Gunsmithing is just about a requirement with any new 1911 in my experience. Get a smith to slick the trigger up for you. He won't charge all THAT much. The good thing about 1911s, there's no shortage of good pistol smiths that work on 'em. Sorta need one on retainer if you own one. LOL!

 

[AK103K]

Its a new gun, and never should have left the factory like that. Springfield should fix it for free, and pay the shipping both ways to boot. You shouldnt have to spend any money.

Unfortunately, MCgunner basically summed it up nicely when it comes to the clones these days.

 

[Jim K]

I have to modify the above. There is no shortage of pistolsmiths, but there is a shortage of GOOD pistolsmiths. Too many are bubbas who learned just enough to ruin their own guns, so they got an FFL and a file and set out to ruin other peoples' guns.

There is also a shortage of good quality parts. At one time, 1911 GI surplus parts were abundant and cheap. Alas, that is no longer true and most of the available parts seem to be cast junk. To make things even worse, many of today's makers have chosen to consider specs an impertinent suggestion, so not even their own parts will "drop in", let alone GI parts or those of other makers.

Jim

 

[MCgunner]

Well, Jim, I expect you're right about the good part. I had a good one local. He passed away with cancer about a dozen years ago. I wouldn't take a gun to the two smiths I know local here for hell or high water, would have to travel to Houston.

Once you find a decent smith, don't loose his address and phone number. LOL

 

[mec]

If it's like the one I had, the trigger pull was probably about seven pounds-it just feels like fifty. I took mine by Ten Ring Precision and had Alex Hamilton do it right. After he did that, and welded the barrel up so that it was in line with the haphazardly bored frame and replaced the loose fitting bushing, it was a good shooter.