Trigger (pull) question

[Aguila Blanca]

Is there any standard as to what the trigger pull weight "should" be on a cowboy-style revolver? As I've gotten more interested in that type of firearm, I've handled a number of Pietta and Uberti clones (can't afford a real Colt, so I've never even laid hands on one). What I've noticed:

• Two different Pietta 1858 Remington clones had VERY heavy triggers -- one so heavy that firing more than six shots would hurt my trigger finger
• A Uberti 1873 SAA clone had a trigger pull that was almost too light. I didn't have a scale to check it, but I shoot 1911s with triggers around 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 pound, and this felt perceptibly lighter
• Out of three Pietta 1873 SAA clones, two felt similar to my 1911s, and one (a few years older) felt more like the Remingtons (i.e. "too" heavy by far)
• An 1851 Navy clone (Pietta, I believe) had a light, crisp trigger much like the Uberti 1873

So what should it be? If a SAA has a trigger that's too heavy, what's the best way to tune it up? I know Wolff sells a light hammer spring for the SAA. Is that the solution, or does that just result in misfires due to light hammer strikes?

 

[pete2]

Trigger pull depends on the shooter. I prefer 3-1/2#, someone else may prefer 2# or 4#.
Some new guns have 7#, some have 3# and everywhere in between. You may have to take a gun to a gun smith for a trigger job.

 

[JohnKSa]

IMO, a single-action trigger on an off-the-shelf firearm of decent quality should be 3-6lbs.

Probably worthwhile to get a trigger scale. Midway sells a Wheeler Engineering scale for under $20 that will measure up to 8lbs.

They also sell some Timney models that run $30-35 and will measure heavier weights if you need to measure a lot of DA triggers.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

I have two trigger scales, an RCBS that goes up to 8 pounds, and a Feather River that goes to 20 pounds. But I don't usually carry them around with me on a daily basis.

 

[tangolima]

To me, a SA trigger should be between 3 to 4lb in weight. It must be slightly positive and with no creep. Lighter main spring is one way to achieve that, but it shouldn't be the first.

-TL

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[T. O'Heir]

Other than for the assorted shooting game rules there are no standards for anything.
Factory triggers don't count either. They all require work.
"...best way to tune it up..." A trigger job done by a competent gunsmith. Just changing the springs can help though. Smooth is far more important than the actual pull weight too.

 

[RickB]

For any single action gun - pistol, rifle, revolver - I prefer a trigger in the 3.25# - 3.75# range.

My Frontier Six Shooter, rebuilt by Colt in late '50s or early '60s, has a trigger in that range.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Over the years, I have handled and shot a number of Colt 1851 and 1873 clones, and two Remington 1858 clones. My experience is that the Remingtons had significantly higher trigger pull than any of the Colt clones.

The question isn't what do you prefer. The question is, is this characteristic of Remington 1858 clones? If I get one that's "too heavy," what the best way to remediate that? Is the method the same for a Remington clone as it is for a Colt clone?

 

[DPris]

A good single-action trigger should be around 3-6 pounds, and closer to 4 for most people.
The recommended standard in single-action revolvers and pistols used to be 3 pounds, but in recent years it's been moved heavier.

If you are experienced, a 3-pound trigger is probably the lowest practical weight.
If not, 4-5 pounds may be a better idea.
One Colt Peacemaker I've got at the gunsmith now for a screw issue weighs its pull at 2.5 pounds, which I think is a little light for a field gun.

I've worked with many single-actions that include Colt, Ruger, USFA, Uberti, Pietta, ASM; cartridge and percussion.
They've varied widely.

To get a factory pull down to a lighter weight, the commonly-held idea that replacing springs equates to an action job is totally erroneous.

A GOOD action job which includes trigger work, involves addressing internal parts & how they "play with each other".
Smoothing, reducing friction, altering angles, ALL contribute to lightening a trigger, and if you're asking this question it means you don't have the skills or knowledge to do the work yourself.

As to specifically Remington clones, I have a '58 Uberti here at the moment, and its trigger is within the range I typically find on factory new repros of Colt patterns.
They can ALL use work.

If you want to remediate a heavy Remington pull, it's the same general principle as a Colt repro.
Hone & stone, smooth up contact surfaces, eliminate burrs, alter angles if indicated, reduce friction.
Possibly replace springs.

And you find a competent gunsmith to do the work.

Without you taking one of your gauges along when you're shopping, there's no way to definitively discuss how MUCH heavier you're finding Remington triggers to be.

And- hopefully you're not dropping hammers fully onto nipples when you do your informal trigger pull comparisons.
Denis

 

[Aguila Blanca]

A GOOD action job which includes trigger work, involves addressing internal parts & how they "play with each other".
Smoothing, reducing friction, altering angles, ALL contribute to lightening a trigger, and if you're asking this question it means you don't have the skills or knowledge to do the work yourself.

Spare the condescension, please. I do all my own trigger work on my 1911s and I think I'm capable of doing the same on a single action revolver. However, I don't have enough experience shooting the Italian clones to know what "normal" is for them, or whether Remington clones inherently have heavier triggers than Colt clones.

I asked for information, not put-downs.

 

[gwpercle]

To answer your question.....There is no "standard" , they seem to be all over the map .

Some old timers tied the trigger back with rawhide , the gun was fired by "slipping ", thumbing the hammer back and just letting it slip off the thumb and fire or when using two hands "fanning", therefore these methods have 0 trigger pull.

For SA shooting I like a 3 # to 3 1/2 # pull but I've been shooting SA's since 1968 but have never done any action type shooting .

A heavier pull is a safer than a light one when action shooting and a heavier pull can always be lightened once you get some experience as to what works for you .
Start out in the 4# to 5# pound range to get going .
Gary

 

[DPris]

Ag,
It was a genuine attempt to answer something of a vague question.
You very simply DON'T know what to do, or you wouldn't be asking, and since you don't, it would not be advisable for you to wander through an SA revolver on your own.

No condescension involved, just a statement of fact.

People are trying to answer your questions & you don't seem to want those answers.
There was no put-down intended.

Trigger pulls, as stated, are all over the map among domestic and foreign single-actions.

Aside from giving you step-by-step instructions on how to do an action job on both a Colt repro and a Remington repro, I told you the same basic principles apply to both: honing & stoning, removing burrs if necessary, altering angles, reducing friction.

The actions are similar, and the same processes are used on both action types, adapted as necessary.

As far as Remington repro triggers being heavier than Colt repro triggers goes, I told you from firsthand experience that I've never noticed that, including the Uberti Remington currently here.

Again- Italian AND domestic triggers vary widely
Again- a good SA trigger should run 3-4 pounds.
Again- if you asked, you DON'T have the skills or the knowledge to tackle it yourself, and also again- it takes more than just swapping springs to create a good trigger/action.

What exactly did you want to hear?
Denis

 

[Aguila Blanca]

What exactly did you want to hear?

Maybe a simple statement such as

Trigger pulls, as stated, are all over the map among domestic and foreign single-actions.

 

[DPris]

You asked several questions, I gave you several answers.
You also, among them, asked for the best way to tune these guns up.
There was no simple one-sentence answer to what you were asking.
Denis

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

These 2nd Gen Colts are my main match cowboy pistols. The one at the top was made in 1973. When I bought it about ten years ago the hammer spring was strong enough to be used in the suspension of a Mack truck. A heavy hammer spring contributes to a heavy trigger pull because the trigger has to overcome extra friction to slide the sear out of the full cock notch. To make a long story short, an expert cowboy gunsmith worked it over, including welding up and recutting the full cock notch. He smoothed out all the extra friction, and when he was done the trigger pull was right at 2 1/2 pounds with no creep, which is right where I like it.

I don't honestly remember how much work was done to the other one, which was made in 1968. I do know that it too has a 2 1/2 pound trigger pull, so even though they have different length barrels, the trigger pull is the same on both of them.




This Colt Bisley was made in 1907. I have not done anything to the springs or the action. The hammer spring is quite stiff, and so is the trigger pull. I would guess it is around 4 or 5 pounds.

 

[rclark]

I have my shooters set to 2# to 2.5# no creep. That's where I like it. As said above, once you figure out what you like, then have a gunsmith set it to 'your' specs. There really is no standard. I know 3# is used a lot, and maybe that is the sweet spot for most shooters. That said, I have found one scenario I don't like light triggers.... That is cold winter time shooting when you can barely have feeling in your fingers in the first place!

 

[44 AMP]

I think the point of having a gunsmith do the work isn't so much that you can't, or don't know what to do (one can learn, its not rocket science), but the fact that by having a professional do it, if they botch the job, you have legal recourse to "be made whole".

You an fix your car, yourself (or you could before everything ran off computers), but by paying a mechanic, he's obligated to do it right, and if he doesn't, you can go to court (as a last resort).

Do it yourself, and you're stuck with whatever you do.

I don't do Colt's or clones, all my SA's are Rugers, no advice on HOW to do trigger work on other SA's from me.

But I do know a bit about how they work, and yes, there is no "industry standard" trigger pull weight.

One word about trigger pull scales (ok two words)..First, some practice is usually needed to get accurate, repeatable readings. Second, check out "fish scales" the spring kind to weigh fish when caught (not the scale used at the market). Some are really cheap and not accurate enough, but some will do the job measuring 3+lbs and up accurately enough, and generally are cheaper than trigger scales.

 

[walnut1704]

Anything 3#-4# is OK by me. With autos it depends on the re-set. I actually prefer it on the heavier side if there's a very short re-set. Otherwise I tend to "double". But for revolvers I ask for 3 1/2#. I usually get closer to 3# because they don't want a complaint about "too heavy". They tend to err to the lower side.

I find 2# too low most of the time. But if there's a little bit of "creep" 2# is good. I had a S&W 586 that had a 2# (maybe a little less) trigger pull that broke clean and the damn thing was always going off unexpectedly.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

One word about trigger pull scales (ok two words)..First, some practice is usually needed to get accurate, repeatable readings. Second, check out "fish scales" the spring kind to weigh fish when caught (not the scale used at the market). Some are really cheap and not accurate enough, but some will do the job measuring 3+lbs and up accurately enough, and generally are cheaper than trigger scales.

I have a fish scale, but it doesn't have any way to mark the maximum reading so it's not very accurate on triggers. I also have (as I think I already mentioned) two trigger scales. One is the RCBS analog that measures to 8 pounds. The other looks just like the RCBS but it measures to 25 pounds, so it's more suitable for DA handguns. That one is made by Feather River (who, as it turns out, actually make the RCBS scale).

http://featherriversports.com/triggerscale_025hr.htm

 

[rebs]

I just bought a Lyman digital trigger scale from Budsgunshop for $38.00 and its the newest one that take 2 AAA batteries and the arm is built in.