Improving the trigger on Smith Model 10

[Ryu]

picked up a model 10 snubbie today. Great little gun. Don't care for the grips but that is easily fixed. I got it for my Mother because she simply needs a quality gun for long trips. She has a little trouble clacking off the Double Action trigger and cocking for every shot isn't realistic. Thought I might have my gunsmith smooth out the trigger a little bit and was thinking of lightening the hammer spring. Anyone know what weight is light enough to produce a nice trigger but still heavy enough to give consistant primer strikes. I don't want something so light it's a gamble if it touches a cartridge off. Also any other trigger improving techniques would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advanced.

 

[Jubjub]

I had a trigger job done on an M10 by Cylinder & Slide. According to the invoice, the initial pull was 4 1/2 SA, 10 3/4 DA, and afterward 3 1/2 and 9 1/2. If I hadn't seen that on the invoice, I would have sworn that the DA pull afterwards was half the factory pull. It's not so much the lighter pull, but the smoothness.

Anyway, at that DA weight it has fired everything I've tried, mostly Winchester and my handloads with CCI primers. Fired primers look to have been dealt a hearty smack.

 

[Deanimator]

1. Smoothness is more important (and less problematic) than lightness.

2. Do not cut springs or loosen/shorten the strain screw in the front of the grip frame. It's a pretty reliable recipe for light hits and misfires.

S&W or Cylinder & Slide can do a decent trigger job, but then so could any reasonably competent gunsmith.

 

[jad0110]

I've handled a Model 10 that had an action job to smooth the trigger. Otherwise, the stock parts were in place. It felt like about a 6 # pull to me, though I think it was up around 9 #s. Like the other 2 posters, I don't think lightening the pull through swapping out springs is at all necessary. An ultra smooth DA pull with a clean, crisp break is a thing of beauty, IMO.

S&Ws DA pulls are usually okay out of the box, but it doesn't take much from a good gunsmith to make them superb. When I can afford it, I plan on having an action job done on all my Smiths.