Nowlin Trigger Job kit Question

[thumbtack]

Does anyone here have experience with the Nowlin Trigger Job Kit? I am looking to improve the trigger on my Springfield MilSpec Model 1911.

Also how hard is it to install something like this? What is Nowlin's quality like?

Below is a link to an EBay auction of what I am considering.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3670849993&category=36258&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBDW%3AIT&rd=1

Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

[bountyhunter]

I know that the success of a "drop in" kit depends entirely on whether the boss pins in your frame are in the same place as the cutting jig that fitted the parts up was designed for. If they are tight to spec, sometimes you will get a good result.

 

[1911Tuner]

Ditto

What bountyhunter said.

Sometimes Drop-Ins work...Sometimes not. Hope for the best, but don't count on it.

Test the gun several times with two rounds per magazine until you're satisfied that it won't go burrrrp. Take note in any sudden change in
the feel of the trigger, especially in the middle of a string or right after a
hard mag change.(Speed Reload)

Luck!

Tuner

 

[Clemson]

I used a Nowlin drop-in kit in a Systema a few years ago. It worked OK, but I had to restone the sear because it was cut on a slight angle as received. It was not a problem to do, but I had to do it nonetheless. For what it is worth, Brownells charges dealers a bit less than $60 for the Nowlin kit, and you can pick the hammer design that you want. That may be preferable to the crapshoot of an ebay auction.

Clemson

 

[1911Tuner]

Nowlin

Along the same line...Nowlin hammers, sears, and disconnects are top-notch. Brownells does list a Nowlin MIM sear right above the machined steel
sear. I recently used a few Nowlin disconnects to replace the MIM parts that came in my 1991A1s and NRM Government Model. (Finally!) The parts required very little prep and the only attention that the sears needed was a light escape angle to produce a clean 5.5-pound pull. One did require a little adjustment on one Colt hammer hook to get an even load on the sear, but this was probably due to the pin holes in the frame being a little catty-wampus.

Polishing the sear primary angles in a jig, and a little heavier escape angle would no doubt have made for a very sweet 4-pound trigger without even
tweaking the sear spring. 4-pounds is a bit light for my intended use, but
would just the ticket for some folks.

Luck!

Tuner

 

[Bladeandbarrel]

I do not believe that any of the "Nowlin" trigger job kits are actually Nowlin, but in fact cobbled together by the seller from miscellaneous parts.

The parts do not look like any Nowlion Kits I have seen.. Nowlin kits also come in a plastic bag with their company info and part descriptions. These do not. Danger sign...

Nowlin does not make a trigger with a pinned on bow for starters,,,,,,,

BUYER BEWARE

 

[1911Tuner]

Nowlin/Not Nowlin

Ah! Thanks for the heads up, Anthony. Good to know. I've never ordered anybody's kits, but if somebody is marketing "Parts, Vendor Unknown" under Nowlin's marquee...it's fraud unless disclosure has been made.

FWIW to all concerned...I've never used "Drop-InTrigger Job Kits" and the
only one that I would consider would be the one that Dane Burns sells,
Even then, I wouldn't expect it to drop in and work in any given pistol.
Too many variables that the parts manufacturer can't control.


YM...of course...MV

Luck!

Tuner

 

[dh515]

I know you asked about Nowlin but I've used the Cylinder and Slide tactical match kit sold in Brownell's ($93 good guy price) in three of my pistols with good success. This particular kit gives a 4.5 lb trigger pull and they have other lighter kits available too.

 

[1911Tuner]

On a Final Note

...before I back outta this one.

Study the parts in the 1911's trigger group, and their relationships for a
minute and consider them carefully.

"Smithed" hammers and sears generally fall somewhere in the neighborhood of .018 to .020 inch long hammer hooks. That's just a tick
over a 64th of an inch. Sear primary angles run about .015 inch wide...
which is just a fractional amount UNDER a 64th. That's not much, considering how violent and slam-bang the cycle of the .45 auto is.

The hammer hooks are generally cut as close to dead square as can be managed, and the sear's primary angle...the engagement surface MUST
agree with the hammer hooks AS INSTALLED IN THE GUN. If those
angles don't agree, you may have a time-bomb on your hands. It only
takes a half-degree mis-match in either one, and that "Drop-In" trigger
group that feels Oh-So-Sweet today will be a completely different animal
5 or 6 thousand rounds down the road. Sometimes the warning signs that
something is wrong are so subtle that they're missed...or even ignored.

Even with a precisely fitted trigger group, things wear and things change with use. Springs fatigue. Contact surfaces polish themselves and the
angles change.

The original specs called for a light captive angle on the hammer hooks, and a matching primary angle on the sear. The hammer hooks themselves were set at about .030 long...Nearly twice as much as the hooks on the hammer of a "tuned" trigger group, so that when the hammer bounced off the sear, it had enough length that the sear would catch it, and the captive angle would force the sear back to the bottom of the hooks.

All this made for a heavier trigger pull...some heavier than others, depending on how sharp the captive angle was...but it made for a pistol
that was much less apt to go full auto, even with thousands of rounds worth of wear on the parts.

Match-tuned triggers have been around almost as long as the gun itself...
but those pistols were meticulously maintained, and the trigger groups were re-done or replaced often.

'Nuff said. Ya'll be careful with the project.

Tuner