S&W .40 Trigger Pull

linuxsystemguy

Hello, I got a few questions on my S&W .40 GVE(Nothing to fancy here/Just a weekend shooter). I like this gun. But dam, does it have a hard trigger. Is there any way that I can make to the trigger pull a bit softer? What would I need to change? (HAMMER SPRING, TRIGGER SPRINGS, FIRING PIN SPRINGS, Ect.)

Model: SW40VE
Caliber: .40S&W
Barrel Length: 4"
Front Sight: Dot Front Sight
Rear Sight: Fixed
Firing System: Striker
Action: Double Action

NOTPARS

I have one and it has at least a 12 pound trigger pull. I talked with a gun smith and he said it can be lightened and smoothed out. Some will lighten the hammer spring but stiffen the recoil/guide rod spring in order to avoid jams. I have also read somewhere that certain parts in the trigger assembly can be polished as well. It would possible run about $45 bucks for mine. I paid $270, got the $50 dollar check and two magazines so this might make it worthwhile. If I am not mistaken, somebody posted a solution to this on this forum or the Smith and Wesson Forum. I am on so many that I forget.

linuxsystemguy

Thanks for the info.

5mmgunguy

12 pounds is not unreasonable for a double action only pistol.

leeblackman

Just keep pulling the trigger. The Sigma's are known to wear smoother and loose a bit of weight after a bit of use. If you really want, you can do an old school "toothpaste" job on the surface points that wear.

I don't know if anyone sells aftermarket replacements spring kits for Sigma's, but you might start with brownell's or maybe wolff springs. But be careful changing stuff like that around, as any gunsmith or connoisseur knows, the factory engineered the gun to operate with what it came out of the box with and to change that will risk failure of operation and or damage.

Have fun

bugmantraap

12 lbs is totally UNACCEPTABLE for any pistol S&W or any other.The object of any firearm is to strike a target. That type of pull prevents this. Pull that sucker as if in a hurry and fire it one handed as if in a fight and see where the bullets go. I taught firearm combat shooting when I was a cop and believe me it aint gonna go where you want it. Smith and Wesson caved in to their liability lawyers for two reasons. #1, oF course is liability. the cities were sueing the manufacturers for anything they could to put them out of buisness.#2, The company is in Springfield, massachusettes and the came up with a state law called Mass compliancy. Basically stateing that a pistol or double action revolver must have at least a 10 lb trigger pull to prevent a child from activating the trigger. I haven't bought a NEW smith since and do not reccomend any body else buy one either unless you are prepare to spend the bucks to fix the trigger. The 40. Smith in this thread is the worst of the worst.

gsmyth64

I get these pulls down to about 9.5 pounds and quite a bit smoother all the time. It's not a great pull when I'm done, but all my customers have been very happy with the results. You do need to start with a reducd power striker spring though, but I've done dozens the last few years and it hasn't been a problem so far.

NOTPARS

bugmantraap is correct. This is one really stiff 12 pounds. It can cause the operator to change his grip, grip angle, and apply more finger than they want which can torque the pistol ever so slightly to one side or the other and that can damage accuracy. My first concern is reliability but this trigger is too much. A friend said, "Oh yeah, wait to you try this horrible trigger on my Kel Tec and then you can complain." I handed him my Sigma and he said "Oh man, you weren't kidding...and took the Kel Tec back.

bugmantraap

any trigger pull on a double action pistol or revolver that is over 5 lbs is unacceptable. Just for kicks, go to your dealers and try the pull on the glock.5lbs from the factory witha trigger kit available to take it to three safely. They can't sell them and I can't buy them in mass.The secret to good handgunning is trigger control, first last and always. If you can't control the trigger you aint gonna control where the barrel is pointing at the time the hammer drops.There is a classic real life situation that took place between two supposedly trained cops shooting smiths, and two perps. A shootout occured when they made a stop and one of the perps jumped out and fired 5 times at a distance of ten feet and missed all five. thses guy were driving a suburban. The two officers returned fire as the bad guys were getting into the van and speeding away. 19 shots were fired. They didn't even hit the suburban. Nice shooting.

beantownshootah

quote:Originally posted by bugmantraap
12 lbs is totally UNACCEPTABLE for any pistol S&W or any other. . .etc

Speak for yourself, sir.

10+ pounds has been standard revolver double action pull for decades, and in that time has proven perfectly fine for the vast majority of defensive shooting, where stress and startle responses are major factors and pin-point accuracy is not.

Ten shots fired at ten feet with ten misses is actually depressingly common, unfortunately, and the fact is MOST police shots fired are misses, even at close range! We know this. . .

This has little to do with trigger pull weight, but more to do with the nature of shootings, which occur under extreme stress on a moment's notice, often with moving targets and shooters, and under poor light conditions.

http://www.virginiacops.org/Articles/Shooting/Combat.htm


Edit: excerpt here:

quote:The police officer's potential for hitting his adversary during armed confrontation has increased over the years and stands at slightly over 25% of the rounds fired. An assailant's skill was 11% in 1979...

In 1992 the overall police hit potential was 17%. Where distances could be determined, the hit percentages at distances under 15 yards were:



Less than 3 yards ..... 28%
3 yards to 7 yards .... 11%
7 yards to 15 yards . 4.2%


It has been assumed that if a man can hit a target at 50 yards he can certainly do the same at three feet. That assumption is not borne out by the reports.

An attempt was made to relate an officer's ability to strike a target in a combat situation to his range qualification scores. After making over 200 such comparisons, no firm conclusion was reached.

Now, I've shot this S&W .40 and I think it actually has a GREATER than 12 pound trigger pull! Plus on top of that, the QUALITY of the trigger pull is poor. . its kind of uneven, and its hard to know when the gun is going to go off. I think its fair to say that its the worst trigger pull of any handgun I've ever fired, and its probably the worst in any current production gun from a major manufacturer.

You're certainly not going to win any marksmanship contests with it. But is it adequate for defense? I'd say so.

I can't give any gunsmithing tips on this but, supposedly the trigger will wear in a good bit with constant use becoming both smoother and a bit lighter.

bugmantraap

well sir. I have owned this pistol too and you are right,as I previously stated it is the worst of the worst. It will not break in. I don't know what part of the world you are refering to when you state that 10 lbs is the normal trigger pull. Maybe in the last 5 yrs since the lawyers have started to feed on liability but in my world, the shooters world, you hand me a revolver with a double action trigger pull of ten pounds, you will get it back. And I certainly disagree with you idea that any old pull is fine in a defensive weapon. Many a gun smith has made money reworking a 10 lb trigger to 5 lbs where it belongs. I would ask you to take your 40 smith to the range holster it and at 7 feet pull it with one hand and fire it at a target 18 inch high by 14 inches wide and fire it at a rate of one every second from the hip or in a position you think it might be in if you were in a life or death situation and tell me how many went into the target and remember it don't shoot back. I do however agree with your premise that poor shooting from a poor shooter is neither helped nor hindered by trigger. I thought I said that earlier.