Need help with a technical question... regarding a TV show.

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FourNineFoxtrot

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There's this TV show on USA, called "Burn Notice". Not a bad show, all things considered, and more gun-friendly than most, as far as that goes. Unlike most shows of the spy-genre, this one isn't afraid to get a little technical. Of course, when this happens, there's no guarantee that the technical-sounding stuff they say isn't utter nonsense.

So here's the situation. In the latest episode, there was an instance where an assassin managed to get a hold of The Hero's gun, a Sig Sauer P228. The assassin then proceeded to disable the gun by removing the trigger assembly spring, without The Hero's knowledge, of course. Upon finding this out, The Hero, being the ever-resourceful super-spy that he is, jury-rigged a replacement trigger assembly spring using a hairpin, that worked well enough to fire the one shot that lit the rigged propane tank to explode... but, I digress.

I'm a fairly new shooter, and utterly ignorant of the inner workings of my weapons, including a Sig Sauer P226, which I keep cleaned and oiled and loaded (and it keeps working), and whatever happens on the inside is a mystery to me. As Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

My questions:
1. Is there such a thing as a trigger assembly spring on a Sig P226 or P228?
2. If there is, what does it do?
3. Can it be removed or sabotaged, and if so, would it be easy/simple to do?
4. Would such sabotage prevent the weapon from discharging and/or being used as an effective weapon?
5. Would it be possible, hypothetically, if the prior conditions implied by the questions were met, to jury-rig a replacement trigger assembly spring using a hairpin?

While this post doubtless makes me look like an idiot, I can accept that as long I learn something. That being said... kindly don't kick the newbie too hard while he's down...:uhoh:
 
Are they talking about the trigger bar spring, the big one that looks like a hairpin:

1-Hammerdown.jpg

I used a paper clip to replace a similar spring once on a makarov IIRC. It didn't work very well. But it did work a little.

That show looks like of like the 80's classic "The Equalizer."
 
Cosmoline, I'd say that's probably it. It's the right size, roughly the same as a hairpin. Having (belatedly) found the P226 diagram posted on this forum, it looks like that's the only spring even close to the right size, as well as being pretty much the only one in a shape/position that could be conceivably replaced by a hairpin.
 
I don't own and have never owned a sig, but just a guess here ... wouldn't the gun still fire with the spring removed ? If it's anything like the trigger bar spring on a beretta 92.. the gun would fire, you'd just might have to push the trigger back into it's reset position.
 
FWIW the hsow is really quite good, well written, doesn't get preachy, and stays active enough to keep you watching. The writing is full of dry humor and feels kind of like Magnum PI with the internal monologue kind of stuff.

Plus it keeps Bruce Campbell working. That's worth a browny point in my book...

Two thumbs up for "Burn Notice".
 
A SIG P-series can be disabled by removing the trigger bar spring. I've had them break. The spring pushes the bar up into position; when it breaks the bar falls down and completely disconnects the trigger mechanism, causing the trigger to swing freely back and forth in the frame.

A temporary spring could be fabricated out of any spring wire. It would take considerable fiddling, bending and rebending to get it to stay in place and still not bind excessively on the inside of the grip panel (which helps to hold it in place) and prevent the trigger from moving altogether, but for a "field expedient" it would not have to be perfect. Also, you can turn the gun upside down to make the bar fall back into place, reconnecting the trigger.
 
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