Buttery Smooth Triggers

[Hondo 60]

Just an observation from the range yesterday.

I have a S&W Model 10-5 (1966-67) & a S&W Model 65-2 (1981)
Those two have the smoothest triggers imaginable.
Never had 'em worked on, but I'm not the original owner of either.
Both have seen lotsa action.

I was also shooting a Ruger SP101.
No disrespect to Ruger or their fine products, but it was no comparison.
It was while shooting the Ruger, that I realized the difference.

Those 2 S&Ws have me spoiled.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I thought with the given title of the thread, the topic would be Pythons....but, yeah, I guess a Smith probably has a better trigger than a Ruger.

 

[Rexster]

One of my SP101 snubbies has had a very smooth trigger from the time I bought it, new. My 3" SP101, which I also bought new, had a very smooth a trigger stroke except for one minor hitch, at one point. When I installed a pre-owned take-out spurless hammer in it, the hitch was gone, and the DA pull quite smooth. Of course, I did handle quite a few of these little Rugers to find the smooth ones. I have done the same with GP100 sixguns, to find smooth ones. I should note that Rugers often become dramatically smoother within a few hundred trigger pulls, if one starts with an action that has no grittiness or burrs.

My standard for a good DA trigger pull is fairly high, as I have two SP101 snubbies that were given Jack Weigand's Tame the Beast package, back when Jack Weigand was still
doing custom 'smithing.

Nothing against S&W; I love them, too. I just felt the need to sound off in support of Ruger.

 

[bannockburn]

Smoothest DA trigger of my revolvers belongs to a S&W Model 686 no dash. It was that way right out of the box and has only gotten better over the years.

 

[snooperman]

I have a pre model 10 M&P made with the long action and it has a much lighter trigger pull and smoother action than most of the newer guns. Those made before 1948 are the ones having the best triggers. My old model 27 also is that way too. When people shoot them they say "WOW", who did your trigger job? I say no one it came that way. Buy the older guns and enjoy. Snoop

 

[huntershooter]

The "best" double action trigger obtainable will be on a S&W "K" frame.
Subjective, yes.
I have managed pretty great trigger jobs on "N" and "L" frames, but none match a good "K" frame.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Vintage Smiths and Pythons set the standard for buttery smoothness.
However my GP100's DA pull is super sweet and I'm shooting my best DA groups with it.
My SP101's DA pull stinks.

 

[Walkalong]

One of the best DA triggers I have is a 696-1. Very, very nice. Don't tell anyone it uses a MIM trigger and hammer.

Another is my Astra in .44 Mag.

Of course my two very old Smiths have superb DA triggers.

My Redhawks and Security Six all have great DA triggers. They just need some polishing in the right places and/or lots of trigger time, but the mechanical design is excellent.

I'll bet that SP101 could be slicked up real nice if it is designed similarly to the other Ruger actions.

 

[MrBorland]

The best factory action I've ever felt is my 3" 65:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nES4A0rd1ak

The action on my new-ish 686 responded nicely to some tuning:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lmy5mkjpUNI

 

[Guillermo]

Those who know me might expect me to talk about my Diamondbacks, Python or K Frames, and they all have outstanding trigger actions.

The two that stand out, however, as the most amazing that I have ever felt, are the Officer's Model Special (.22) and the Hand Ejector (3rd Change).

The Colt (known at my house as "the Queen") has a silky smoothness that has no stack and but a difficult to describe mechanical intricacy that is just amazing.

The hand ejector (which you could argue is an "early k-frame") is also outstanding. What makes it even more impressive is that it was not a target gun that was doted over by a skilled craftsman, but rather an "everyman's gun".

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

If you want smooth, you just can't touch an old S&W.

I picked up this little round butt M&P that was made in 1938 a few months ago. It has some scratches on the outside, but it has one of the smoothest triggers of all the Smiths that I own.



When I buy an old gun like this I like to take it apart and clean out any old oil that may have polymerized over the years and then re-lubricate every thing. I took a few photos while it was apart.








Here are a few more oldies with incredible factory triggers.

This M&P shipped in 1908.




This K22 shipped in 1932.




This 38/44 Heavy Duty shipped in 1930.





And while we're at it, the trigger pull on this Double Action 44 made in 1881 is pretty fantastic too.








The thing about all these old guns is they were assembled by highly skilled assemblers, who took the time to fit all the parts together so they functioned flawlessly.

 

[snooperman]

Nice guns Driftwood. I also like older S&W like those with the long action. They all have excellent triggers.The pre model 10 that Guillermo has there in his picture is an excellent one too. No trigger work necessary with them .

 

[Jaymo]

Ahhh, pre-ambulance chaser triggers.

My 1994 Taurus .44 mag has a very sweet trigger. Slick as snot on a doorknob.
The Taurus .44 mags were hand fitted, at that time.
My buddy has a mid 1990s 629 that can't touch my Taurus' trigger.
But, that's the great thing about hand fitting.

I wish guns had triggers as good as what colt and smith put on their prewar models.
I especially hate when a new rifle or shotgun has a heavier trigger than a box-stock SA autopistol.

 

[jeepnik]

I see I'm not alone on old S&W triggers. This is a 1917 Brazilian contract. These showed up back in the 80's, if memory serves. It has the best trigger of any handgun I own, including several that have been worked on by well known smith's. It just gobbles up any sort of standard pressure .45acp round and shoots much better than I do.

 

[Fotno]

The best trigger of any gun I own is the S&W 15-3 I inherited from my dad. It was his duty piece while he was on uniform patrol, and is a fantastic shooter.

 

[Hoppes Love Potion]

My 1943 Victory Model with the long action has a very good trigger, but is bested by a Model 60-4 J-frame if you can believe that. I guess I need a larger sample size...

 

[Walkalong]

Not only slick as a whistle in DA, but very accurate.

 

[788Ham]

PO2Hammer,

I have an SP 101 that had a horrible DA trigger, had an action job done for $65.00, totally different ball game now! DA is the only way I shoot it now.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Yeah, been thinking of that, not sure how much money I want to invest in it. I don't want it to become a money pit.
I traded into it cheap, I might use it as a trade on an older S&W in .32 long. Some of the pics in this thread have re-wetted my appetite for a vintage S&W.

 

[Jim Watson]

They (Rugers) just need some polishing in the right places

Is there any recieved wisdom as to the location of those "right places?"

The S&Ws are well studied and can be smoothed out by an intrepid DIY or any number of gunsmiths. Assuming you don't have an old one built smooth.
Colt tuning is more difficult but has been done, I have examples.

But I have never seen directions for working over a DA Ruger or a gunsmith advertising it as a service. Too hard or too easy to bother with?

 

[RugRev]

Directions on working on Ruger Revolvers

At one time on the Ruger Forums a gunsmith going by the handle of Iowegan posted directions on doing them but he took them down at some point over possible copyright infringements. Currently, there is a set of directions by Kevin Wilson at:

http://www.teslamap.com/public/sp101_trigger_job/index.html

In addition to this there are a number of other strings on topics such as lightening hammers to allow lighter mainsprings and/or quicker locktime and other ancillary topics on the Ruger Forums.

As to gunsmiths working on Rugers there are:

Gemini Custom https://www.geminicustoms.com/
Ham. Bowen http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/
Dave Clements http://www.clementscustomguns.com/rugerdarevolvers.html
Grant Cunningham http://www.grantcunningham.com/
Teddy Jacobson http://www.actionsbyt.com/
TJ Custom http://www.tjscustomgunworks.com/
The Action Works http://www.theactionworks.com/

and a number of others such as Apex Tactical. A lot can be done to them as I have a GP100 with a double action at about 7.4 lbs and single at 2.75 as an example.

 

[Guillermo]

I know the grips are not correct...but I think an improvement

before

after

 

[Ky Larry]

I have an old Colt .38 spl Police Positive made in 1932 that is very slick. I also have a S&W Model-19 that is smooth as butter. My Python is also very nice. I had a Model-28 that just might have had the best trigger I've ever shot. I don't want to hurt any feelings but, IMHO,the fit, finish, lock up, and trigger on old S&Ws is better than anything coming out of their Performance Center. YMMV.

 

[Guillermo]

the fit, finish, lock up, and trigger on old S&Ws is better than anything coming out of their Performance Center

few will argue

 

[Walkalong]

They (Rugers) just need some polishing in the right places
Is there any recieved wisdom as to the location of those "right places?"

If I can figure it out, surely any competent gunsmith can. I wish you could try the DA on my Redhawks. The cylinder opens and closes as slick as goose grease and the DA is smooth and consistent. Just polishing, no real removal of metal or changes in geometry.