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Taurus PT99 trigger upgrade
saserby
Member Posts: 1,873 ✭✭✭✭✭
Hi guys,
I bought a new to me PT99 a while back here on GB. Since I can't find any ammo, I may as well take it all apart and see what I can do. Seriously, it will be going in for a Cerakote finish, which was always my plan for this gun. So I need to completely disassemble it. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but this will be my first complete disassembly on a gun. Can't wait.
I'm not overly impressed with the factory trigger pull, and I know I can make some improvements.
So my question is this, it will be completely apart, so what would you do? I'm going to polish up the trigger/hammer/sear parts. I found a tutorial on another site. Would you replace all the springs, or just some of them? Any ones in particular?
I want to make this thing run like a swiss watch.
I bought a new to me PT99 a while back here on GB. Since I can't find any ammo, I may as well take it all apart and see what I can do. Seriously, it will be going in for a Cerakote finish, which was always my plan for this gun. So I need to completely disassemble it. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but this will be my first complete disassembly on a gun. Can't wait.
I'm not overly impressed with the factory trigger pull, and I know I can make some improvements.
So my question is this, it will be completely apart, so what would you do? I'm going to polish up the trigger/hammer/sear parts. I found a tutorial on another site. Would you replace all the springs, or just some of them? Any ones in particular?
I want to make this thing run like a swiss watch.
Comments
I don't know if any parts exchange between the 92 and the Taurus. On the Beretta 92 you can change the hammer spring to a "D" spring to vastly improve trigger pull.
Polish the sides of the hammer, the inside of the trigger bar and the pin on the trigger bar. You don't want to remove material, just polish what is there.
These improvements will result in a much improved trigger.
Hi guys,
I bought a new to me PT99 a while back here on GB. Since I can't find any ammo, I may as well take it all apart and see what I can do.
If you have no ammo to test the gun with, then how are you going to "see what it can do"?
If you want ammo, there is plenty of it available (see GunBroker.com auction site), you'll just have to pay a lot for it right now while demand is high and supplies low.
quote:Seriously, it will be going in for a Cerakote finish, which was always my plan for this gun. So I need to completely disassemble it.
Presumably the outfit that is coating your gun should also be able to disassemble it for you prior to the finish (or at least do so enough to complete the job in question). If they can't do that, I'd question why they are in the business of refinishing firearms, but OK. . .lets just say you want to do it for the learning experience.
quote:I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but this will be my first complete disassembly on a gun. Can't wait.
I've never detail-stripped either a Beretta or a Taurus, so I can't tell you what's involved here.
But in GENERAL, as a tip, some guns have small parts (or worse, spring-loaded small parts) that are easily lost. Doing your detail stripping inside of a plastic bag can be helpful to prevent springs from shooting across the room, getting lost, etc.
quote:So my question is this, it will be completely apart, so what would you do? I'm going to polish up the trigger/hammer/sear parts. I found a tutorial on another site. Would you replace all the springs, or just some of them? Any ones in particular?
Personally, I wouldn't do what you're suggesting (see below), but to answer the question the way you've asked it, it never hurts to polish trigger group contact surfaces, so long as you are CAREFUL not to remove metal or change contact angle.
Trigger spring replacement is usually OK to reduce pull weight, but in some cases reliability can be compromised, so you'll need to test thoroughly to make sure this isn't the case after you're done.
Note that this kind of work may void the warranty on your Taurus gun, so if you screw it or have any sort of problem afterwards, you're probably on your own.
quote:
I want to make this thing run like a swiss watch.
Sow's ear. . .silk purse.
If you want a Swiss watch, you start with a Rolex, not a Timex.
In this case, while I'm sure there are some things you can do to improve the trigger pull, if you really "swiss watch" type performance, perhaps you should trade your Taurus for a SIG (which is probably the gun world equivalent of a Swiss watch).
Is this gun not already reliable? It "should" be. If not, you'll have to address specific deficiencies. If it is reliable, then it "aint broke" and don't fix it!
The issue I see with what you're proposing is that in most cases upgrades on guns don't pay for themselves. Take a $400 Taurus, add in $200(+) worth of new finish, parts, and labor, and you'll have yourself a beautiful $450 Taurus that likely isn't even under warranty anymore, and that isn't going to attract a lot of resale interest.
If, for whatever reason, that's the only gun you have or can have (eg you're in a place where its hard/impossible to get guns), or you have some other special attachment to this particular gun, then doing the upgrades you propose might make sense.
But if you have the ability to buy other guns, you might consider just selling the Taurus and buying one that comes out of the box exactly the way you want it, that way you won't have to do any monkeying with it, and it will hold its value better.
quote:Originally posted by saserby
Hi guys,
I bought a new to me PT99 a while back here on GB. Since I can't find any ammo, I may as well take it all apart and see what I can do.
If you have no ammo to test the gun with, then how are you going to "see what it can do"?
If you want ammo, there is plenty of it available (see GunBroker.com auction site), you'll just have to pay a lot for it right now while demand is high and supplies low.
quote:Seriously, it will be going in for a Cerakote finish, which was always my plan for this gun. So I need to completely disassemble it.
Presumably the outfit that is coating your gun should also be able to disassemble it for you prior to the finish (or at least do so enough to complete the job in question). If they can't do that, I'd question why they are in the business of refinishing firearms, but OK. . .lets just say you want to do it for the learning experience.
quote:I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but this will be my first complete disassembly on a gun. Can't wait.
I've never detail-stripped either a Beretta or a Taurus, so I can't tell you what's involved here.
But in GENERAL, as a tip, some guns have small parts (or worse, spring-loaded small parts) that are easily lost. Doing your detail stripping inside of a plastic bag can be helpful to prevent springs from shooting across the room, getting lost, etc.
quote:So my question is this, it will be completely apart, so what would you do? I'm going to polish up the trigger/hammer/sear parts. I found a tutorial on another site. Would you replace all the springs, or just some of them? Any ones in particular?
Personally, I wouldn't do what you're suggesting (see below), but to answer the question the way you've asked it, it never hurts to polish trigger group contact surfaces, so long as you are CAREFUL not to remove metal or change contact angle.
Trigger spring replacement is usually OK to reduce pull weight, but in some cases reliability can be compromised, so you'll need to test thoroughly to make sure this isn't the case after you're done.
Note that this kind of work may void the warranty on your Taurus gun, so if you screw it or have any sort of problem afterwards, you're probably on your own.
quote:
I want to make this thing run like a swiss watch.
Sow's ear. . .silk purse.
If you want a Swiss watch, you start with a Rolex, not a Timex.
In this case, while I'm sure there are some things you can do to improve the trigger pull, if you really "swiss watch" type performance, perhaps you should trade your Taurus for a SIG (which is probably the gun world equivalent of a Swiss watch).
Is this gun not already reliable? It "should" be. If not, you'll have to address specific deficiencies. If it is reliable, then it "aint broke" and don't fix it!
The issue I see with what you're proposing is that in most cases upgrades on guns don't pay for themselves. Take a $400 Taurus, add in $200(+) worth of new finish, parts, and labor, and you'll have yourself a beautiful $450 Taurus that likely isn't even under warranty anymore, and that isn't going to attract a lot of resale interest.
If, for whatever reason, that's the only gun you have or can have (eg you're in a place where its hard/impossible to get guns), or you have some other special attachment to this particular gun, then doing the upgrades you propose might make sense.
But if you have the ability to buy other guns, you might consider just selling the Taurus and buying one that comes out of the box exactly the way you want it, that way you won't have to do any monkeying with it, and it will hold its value better.
Thanks for all your many concerns. Like most guns, this is a toy. I just bought it here on GB for the purpose of playing with it. It's not an investment. I fully expect to lose money on it if I sell it, but why sell it?
The guy painting it is a painter. He's not a gunsmith and doesn't want to be one. On the other hand, I have some interest in the subject. I could pay my gunsmith $45 to do the work, but buying a toy to let someone else play with was not my idea. I purposely bought a gun that I can afford to break, then fix, then maybe break and fix again.
I understand the Beretta is very similar and has a better reputation and resale value. I think the Taurus is a better design with the frame mounted safety. It's more like my 1911 in that regard, which I like and am used to. I also happen to think the Taurus is underrated.
You can't get what I want "out of the box". To get what I want, I have to take it all apart. I may as well beef up any weak links and improve any weaknesses while I'm at it.
Wolff makes a replacement trigger spring kit. It changes the trigger spring to a coil spring. I did this mod on a Beretta 92fs, it worked great. On the Beretta's the trigger spring has been repoted to have a life of 5000 rounds. The coil spring will last indefinetly.
Thanks for the info. That's kind of what I was wondering about. I don't know how many rounds are through this gun, but it looks like springs are inexpensive, so I'm thinking of replacing them since they'll be out anyway.