S&W revolver: alter trigger or replace?

[Sevens]

Maybe this is more suited to the Gunsmith section of TFL, but I like the usual gang of wheelgun guys we have here.

Smith & Wesson offers the wide, target, grooved trigger on a number of their guns and I have a couple examples of them on different guns and though I can certainly shoot them and deal with them, I absolutely do not prefer them. My most recent pick up was a workhorse Model 28-2 and it has the wide, grooved trigger.

All my shooting is double action, I just much prefer the thinner, rounded "combat" trigger. It's far more kind to my trigger finger.

So the question is, physically alter a wide target trigger or replace it instead?
And before you answer, strip out ANY AND ALL emotion with regards to "value", history, originality and all the other touchy-feely stuff. All that stuff has it's place, but my 28-2 has already been hacked on by a previous owner and if a skilled guy with a Dremel can make me a combat trigger out of a wide target trigger, I care -ZERO- about the touchy-feely stuff on this gun.

My 17-6 has the target trigger and I would never even consider altering it. That revolver is extremely special to me. But this 28-2 is a hard workin' ugly duck.

I'm under the impression that you can't simply get a combat trigger and swap out the parts -- the trigger and hammer interact with each other and ya can't just stuff a different part inside and expect perfect results. So it kind of seems like shaping the trigger to meet my desire is an option?

Has anyone done this or have some thoughts to share?

 

[feets]

I don't see why you can't drop in another trigger and tune it to your liking.

I dropped a new hammer in my 25-2 when the spur broke. It worked fine as it was but I've gone in there and slicked things up again.


personally, I'd grab a different trigger and drop it in there. Put the other one away in case you'd like to play with it again some day. It won't eat much and doesn't take up much room. If nothing else, you can sell it to someone else.


I put one of these in my 15-2: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=394708394

It's great.

 

[old bear]

And before you answer, strip out ANY AND ALL emotion with regards to "value", history, originality and all the other touchy-feely stuff.[/QUOTE

Sevens, come on man don't hold back let us know how you really feel about Modifying a gun.

Unless you have some level of metal working experience I would look for the “combat” style of trigger you wanted. If you believe you can do the job yourself, by all means go for it. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Sevens]

Sevens, come on man don't hold back let us know how you really feel about Modifying a gun

Heh, alls I'm saying is that I get the "touchy feely" stuff, I really do, but the gun in question doesn't fit that mold. It was already bubba'd by a previous owner and I got it for a solid price and I'm already executing my initial plan of shooting the heck out of it, and with some stout loads to boot. So there's no tangible reason I could ever be convinced to leave it alone, as so many folks would typically try to suggest when anyone brings up the idea of "hacking" on a S&W revolver.

I dropped a new hammer in my 25-2 when the spur broke.

So if I'm following you, you dropped in a new hammer and you didn't replace the trigger at the same time -- so the new hammer and the original trigger interacted nicely without any help? I had been under the assumption that the two parts are built to work in harmony, and a simple swap out of ONE of the two parts doesn't always go as well as hoped. But I'm obviously in a position to learn things here.

 

[feets]

You should be able to drop in the trigger and have it work.
Both my 25-2 hammer and my 15-2 trigger dropped in and ran without any fuss.

I have gone back into the guns to tune them up but that's because I can't leave mechanical devices alone. Besides, they're now truly impressive actions.

 

[AK103K]

I had a 4" Model 29 that had both the target hammer and trigger. I converted the gun to DAO, bobbed the hammer, and reprofiled the trigger by taking the "wings" off, and smoothing it into a profile like in feets pic.

The factory trigger the gun came with was REALLY nice, especially the DA trigger, and I didnt see the point in getting another trigger that probably wouldnt be as nice as what was already there.

Both the hammer and trigger were case hardened, and I had to "break" that with a file before a hacksaw would cut them. Once that was done, it was just a matter of slow and easy file and emery work. I was happy with the result, and never regretted doing it. I ended up parkerizing the gun later, and then in a moment of stupidity, traded it off for something else I just had to have at the moment, and something so memorable, I cant even remeber what it was now.

Ive often considered trying to find a beater 25 in .45Colt and doing it over.

If youre comfortable taking the gun apart, and are the least bit handy, its not a hard project.

 

[Sevens]

feets, that GB link you dropped looks like my ticket to NIRVANA! It's pretty much exactly what I seek. I also did not realize that K/L/N's used same trigger. I really didn't think it was that easy, but I suppose it sure makes things easier for manufacturing -- so it makes a lot of sense.

On the trigger in the auction...
Is there anything I need to do other than remove my 28-2 trigger and drop this one inside? I mean... and I'm trying get real technical here... Any doo-dads hanging off it? The pictured trigger has FIVE holes in it and three of them are occupied by pins.

I'm a million miles from a gunsmith. I'm not even much of a gun tinkerer. I'm sure I can swap a trigger out with some sweat equity, but I'd like to know all that I'm setting myself up for beforehand.

But yeah, that trigger you pictured is EXACTLY what I'm after.

 

[Sevens]

Oh, the "bubba'd hacking" that I eluded to on my recent 28-2 pickup is a hammer spur that was filed, cut or dremeled so that it would have a slimmer profile. Thankfully, only the spur was messed with, but it looks like the job of a moron who was trying to further his career and add "idiot" to his resume. The end result is absolutely worth a picture, but I'm not setup to deal with that hassle. Bottom line is that it's out of shape and, well, it's a real <facepalm> when you see it.

Gun is a runner, though. A joy on the range. And it loves the heavy stuff.

 

[Venom1956]

mmmm model 28s.

My favorite wheel gun is a beat up hacked up m28. Who ever carried this ugly duck was certainly some sort of gunslinger.

Have you thought about getting rid of the spur and SA notch and going totally DAO? I'd say get another trigger to modify and drop in. Mainly because you're gonna need to take the regular trigger out regardless and you can keep it/ sell it to probably recoup the costs of the new one.

I love seeing mdl 28s all souped up

 

[feets]

Take a looksie here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/HJ6Hb89lVXw

Midway has a good series of videos on guns. This one will show you how to work the trigger should it need to be fitted.

When polishing components you do NOT want to remove a bunch of metal. The idea is to smooth it, not grind it down.


Jerry Miculek shows the easiest way of getting the rebound slide in and out of the revolver.

http://www.youtube.com/v/H9gn7zE5b3g

 

[MrBorland]

I'm a fan of narrow and polished trigger faces for DA shooting. Honestly, the easiest route would be to take a dremel to the existing trigger face.

That GB trigger is likely a drop-in. But it may or may not play nice with the DA sear that's currently on the hammer, so you'll very possibly have to stone a pinned-in sear to fit, or fit a new one entirely. It's certainly do-able, but it'd be a lot easier to simply modify your current trigger.

 

[gyvel]

So if I'm following you, you dropped in a new hammer and you didn't replace the trigger at the same time -- so the new hammer and the original trigger interacted nicely without any help? I had been under the assumption that the two parts are built to work in harmony, and a simple swap out of ONE of the two parts doesn't always go as well as hoped. But I'm obviously in a position to learn things here.

The majority of times, replacing a trigger or hammer in an older Smith will work just fine. I've done it many times.

 

[DPris]

You can't count on ANY hammer or trigger to be a drop-in with no fitting on that gun.

Years ago I filed the sides off on the target trigger on my duty 25-5 to get 'em down to where I wanted 'em, then took it to my gunsmith to have the face serrations removed & the face highly polished.
Much better.

I've had the same thing done on a later 25-9.

Much easier than tracking down a "new" unfitted part.
A used part may or may not fit & I won't even bother with one.
Denis

 

[243winxb]

Are the parts available from S&W? If they are, hammer & trigger may be restricted. In the 70's , seen a M27 have the target hammer/trigger dropped in at the range, no problems.

 

[4V50 Gary]

Replace the trigger and don't trim down the target trigger.

Why? Because they are color case hardened. Remove the .005 to .007 (or whatever the depth of the hardening) and you've got soft steel underneath. True there's no wear, but you're messing up a fine trigger. Unless you're on a budget, just buy a new trigger.

 

[James K]

If only the finger part of the trigger is smoothed or altered, there is no problem with cutting through that part of the case hardening. I see no problem at all in removing those serrations on the trigger and rounding it off, but I have one suggestion.

Smooth it up first, without narrowing it, and try it. You might find the wide, smooth trigger better than the narrow one. If you want it narrower, you can cut the sides down later.

Jim

 

[Slopemeno]

Our standard treatment with the wide triggers was to remove the serrations, alter it into a rounded diamond, and break all the sharp edges.

 

[DPris]

Getting down through the surface case hardening is only a problem in key engagement areas.
Elsewhere, like the sides or face, it makes no difference whatever to the strength of the part.

And, I doubt you'll be able to order new Model 28 triggers from S&W.
I tried some years back, sorry Charlie.
Denis

 

[Sevens]

Okay, seems like I am getting both far ends of the spectrum. I see a handful of "heck, just pop a new one in there!" and I see a number of "it doesn't always work, grind on the one you have!"



Here's a question where maybe we can all get in the same boat:

who likes these blasted ultra-WIDE and deep-grooved triggers?

I shoot double action and these things are abrasive on my trigger finger. I don't understand who would like them. It's not like any shooter that I know of is going to "lose traction" on a trigger so it needs to have all this fancy line-work on it.

The trigger on my Model 28 is so large and bloated that it's comical.

 

[feets]

I absolutely love the wide serrated target trigger and target hammer on my 25-2.
The serrated trigger was killing me on my 15-2 so it was replaced with the rounded one shown above.


Clear as mud?