Gift For Dad: 1911 Trigger Job In Bay Area?

[Sprout]

Christmas is coming up and I'd like to improve the trigger on my Dad's Springfield Milspec. I cleaned up the creep by spending an evening dryfiring the thing--and I've got the blister to prove it--but the trigger is still very heavy. So, I was wondering, in the S.F. Bay Area, preferably on the Peninsula, where is the best place to have a smith look it over, and how much would this cost?

Thanks everybody.

 

[4v50 Gary]

If you've got rid of the creep and want to lighten the trigger, you bend the spring. Before you give it to dad, take it to the range with the brand that he uses to ensure that it still fires. Too light and it's a no-banger.

 

[bountyhunter]

If you've got rid of the creep and want to lighten the trigger, you bend the spring.

Are you referring to the hammer mainspring or the sear spring? I've never heard of anyone trying to reduce trigger pull by bending a mainspring, although installing a reduced power mainspring does lighten trigger pull a bit.

If you are referring to bending one or more of the sear spring leafs to reduce trigger pull, that can be flat out dangerous and cause hammer follow/multiple fire if not done correctly.



As for a gunsmith: you might call Reed's in San Jose. I was told they have a very good gunsmith. Sportsmen's Supply in San Jose used to have a smith that worked a couple of days a week, not sure about him. Targetmasters in Milpitas might be able to point you in the direction of a smith. Kerley's in Cupertino has a smith attached also but I am afraid his fondness for spirits may offset his smithing skills somewhat.

 

[romulus]

Scott / McDougall in Rohnert Park (Cotati?). They have an excellent rep. I think you can contact them through Montana Hawk...

 

[Sprout]

Thanks 4v50 Gary, bountyhunter, and romulus!

Gary: Thanks. That spring bend sounds interesting, if safe. Could you elaborate a bit on what, specifically, how, and how much? I'm not the most mechanically inclined person, so if there is an idiot's guide on the web somewhere, that woudl be great.

bountyhunter: Thanks. Reeds is nearby, and I bought the gun from them, so they sound like a good place to start. Very god to know their smith knows what he's doing.

romulus: Thanks. Unfortunately, Rohnert park is about 1/2 - 2 hours away, so if I can find a good place that's closer, that would be better.

Anybody know how Reed's smith compares to the smith at Imbert and Smithers or at Jackson Arms?

Thanks again everybody for the help. He really likes the gun, and it was a gift from me to him so it's kind of a father-son thing.

 

[Shmackey]

The sear spring is exactly the thing that determines (the majority of) the trigger pull weight. To a large extent, all the stoning and angling in a trigger job is for the feel, not the weight. Thing is, you need to know what you're doing when you bend a sear spring. I know enough to know that I don't know. I want my 1911 to shoot one bullet at a time.

 

[bountyhunter]

Thing is, you need to know what you're doing when you bend a sear spring.

Amen. You also have to be able to balance the pressure applied from the left (sear) leaf and the center (disconnector) leaf. You have to have an RCBS trigger gauge to do this and you have to know how.

As for the sear and hammer face angle: not all trigger jobs are created equal and especially with the parts found in production guns. A light pull (under 3#) which is safe and doesn't double fire requires a very precisely cut set of parts.

 

[romulus]

Sprout, I don't know if Napa is more convenient from where you are (South Bay?), but I've also had good luck with R&D Guns and Gunmithing. Dan Orchid has been great to me, but it was shotgun work...

 

[larryw]

You can do wonders for the SA trigger pull by disabling the ILS (locking system) and using standard 1911 parts. I did this to my TRP and the improvement was dramatic.

Here's a Brownells shopping list:

969-262-180 WOLFF 18 LB., HAMMER SPRING $4.29
965-011-162 R16BS MAINSPRING CAP STAINLESS STEEL 2.35
965-011-164 R16CS MAINSPRING PIN RETAINER S/S 2.35
965-011-166 R16DS MAINSPRING CAP PIN S/S 2.35

You don't need to replace the mainspring housing, just the guts.

 

[CZPreB]

Jackson Arms smith

Hi,

I don't have a 1911, but Pablo, the smith associated with Jackson Arms has worked on several of my pistols and always done fast, effective, accurate work. He's friendly, honest, and inexpensive (heck, he wouldn't take anything for a couple of the little projects -- I invited him to run a couple mags "to test the fix"). He also makes the reloads the range uses and sells them in bulk at great prices.

Another source worth checking is HighBridge Arms in San Francisco. Don't know about the smith work there from personal experience, but Philip (the owner) is so upfront and easy to deal with on the sales side I can't imagine him tolerating sloppy work or poor treatment on the service side.

Hope the feedback's useful -- best of luck on the project!

 

[Sprout]

Thanks everybody! I really appreciate the help.

Thanks for the parts list larryw, but as it's a gift, so I need it to work for sure, and I don't quite trust my abilities at this point, I'd probably leave it to the professionals. Thanks.

Since Reed's and Jackson's Arms both get good reviews, and are both close, I'll probably go to one of those. Anybody have work done by both and have an opinion which is better?

CZPre B: Did Pablo do any post-B CZ's for you, and if so, how much of the creep did he remove?

 

[Standing Wolf]

Assuming he's still there, you might want to talk to Ed at Kerley's in Cupertino.

 

[CZPreB]

I'm no help on that one, Sprout -- my 75 is a 1991 with rounded triggerguard/no firing pin block, and I'm pretty happy with the trigger as-is. Though if I weren't, I'd happily give him first crack at it!

Mike Eagleshield at CZ-USA apparently does great trigger jobs on 'em. I've only ordered parts from him personally, but the sages on the CZ Forum speak well of him.