S&W Mod 642-1 Performance Center trigger job question

[Ridg1963]

I thought it would be productive to elicited recommendations from those who have experience with J Frame trigger jobs completed by competent gunsmith. I was wondering if my 642-1 Performance Center trigger could be significantly improved upon while maintaining a reasonable level of primer strike reliability. On a side note, the 642-1 is designed to utilize full moon clips, individual rounds and of course it works just fine with speedloaders.

 

[SteadyD]

I have two j frames with the PC tuned action. They are better than a standard model j frame. I have no idea how much the trigger could be improved upon beyond that though. The PC j frames already have lightened springs in them.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I do my own triggers on J frames and I have never had a problem with a reduced power mainspring.

The trigger return springs need to be trial and error for reliable trigger reset though. You can usually get away with the lightest one in a Wolff kit though.

I would bet pretty heavily that the Smith PC smiths did not take that trigger to the edge of its ability to be light and still function though. So there will be room for improvement. In general, the PC guns have never met my (admittedly high) standards and I do not think they are worth the premium. Once again in general. I do think the porting they include on some of their offerings is well enough done and at a price much less than sending it out after a purchase.

In conclusion, yes, there is room to improve that trigger. I would bet the trigger return spring could be lightened a few lbs at minimum.

 

[Drail]

The S&W Performance Center built some fairly nice guns when it was first started but has been pretty much a marketing joke ever since. I would not pay one dollar more for a S&W Performance Center gun. Even the early models had "duty level" trigger jobs that were only slighter better than the factory stock DA trigger. No work is done to the SA pull because none is needed on a S&W. They all have superb SA triggers. On a J frame there is very little room for improvement on the DA pull because of the geometry of the action. The trigger has significantly less mechanical leverage against the hammer and its spring than a K or L frame. My wife has carried a J frame for many years and I have tweaked and tuned it as much as possible - and to retain 100% reliability you can't reduce the DA pull much. Just a little. The best way to get a nice DA pull on a J frame is to build up the muscles in your hand.

 

[fireman 9731]

As others have said, there is only so much room for improvement in a J-Frame, especially one used for carry, where you need 100% reliable ignition and reset. I put an Apex kit in my 442 Pro Series and polished the rebound slide. A couple drops of good lube, and I'm happy with it. Its lighter and smoother than it came from the factory but its not too light for a carry gun. With that said- its not as good as my old Model 36 with no modifications.
Additionally, I noticed that you have magna style grips on your gun. A T-grip adapter or a set of boot grips that fills in the space behind the trigger guard make a big difference for me on where my trigger finger ends up on the trigger, which effects how easily or smoothly you can squeeze the trigger.

 

[Telekinesis]

I have the 442-1 PC (same gun, just blued). You can absolutely make improvements over the stock trigger.

I was quite disappointed in the stock trigger for something coming from the "performance center". It was heavy (which I expected) but it was awfully gritty and had some stacking. I was prepared for a trigger worse than my K frame, but I thought this was ridiculous.

I ended up doing an Apex spring swap with one of their duty level kits designed to maintain reliability while lowering the trigger weight to something reasonable. It's still a DA revolver, but now it's much closer to 12lbs. I also stoned some of the internals (mostly the rebound slide and parts where they contacted the frame) but not the actual trigger engagement surfaces. It significantly improved the smoothness of the trigger without affecting the safety of the gun.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I have several of the newer ones & I think the problem is with the trigger return spring. I don't think it needs to be that heavy. I never mess with the mainspring.

 

[thomas15]

I have put Wolff springs in mine. Got a kit with several springs (main and rebound) and through trial and error found the combo that works best. Then look under the hood for any rough spots or burrs and stone them. With a J-frame you are still going to end up with a fairly hefty trigger pull no matter what you do. Anything "really" light (Ha Ha) is going to mean handloading with Federal primers. But even +P loads might be a handful.

 

[Drail]

351 Winchester - They use heavy springs to overcome the lack of finishing on the action's injection molded parts and allow the trigger to reset on a gun that has had no fitting done - it is merely "assembled". People do this all the time with brand new 1911s just to make the gun go into battery instead of figuring out why it won't go into battery and fixing it. Installing heavy springs is not the proper way to solve action roughness and grittiness or poorly fitted parts or any other problems. But it's all most guys can do. Brute force and ignorance........

 

[Ridg1963]

The S&W Performance Center built some fairly nice guns when it was first started but has been pretty much a marketing joke ever since. I would not pay one dollar more for a S&W Performance Center gun. Even the early models had "duty level" trigger jobs that were only slighter better than the factory stock DA trigger. No work is done to the SA pull because none is needed on a S&W. They all have superb SA triggers. On a J frame there is very little room for improvement on the DA pull because of the geometry of the action. The trigger has significantly less mechanical leverage against the hammer and its spring than a K or L frame. My wife has carried a J frame for many years and I have tweaked and tuned it as much as possible - and to retain 100% reliability you can't reduce the DA pull much. Just a little. The best way to get a nice DA pull on a J frame is to build up the muscles in your hand.

Well said Drail, very well said, smaller trigger/hammer geometry contributes to less leverage upon fulcrum points. Also, the smaller the internal space the less opportunity to employ better design options to move parts more smoothly. Case in point, the Colt D frame Detective Special with its leaf spring and slightly larger components makes a world of difference compared to a J frame. Hence the J frame has never been stellar in the trigger pull department. LOL, although I will always own one and its my most used carry gun. Thank you for sharing your knowledge Drail, all excellent points of interest.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

All this talk about changing springs, remember, the PC already did a trigger job in the revolver so you have no way of knowing what springs are now in the gun. You just might buy something that you already have.

This is a carry gun, not a target gun. The triggers are not supposed to be the same. Carry guns should not have light triggers for obvious reasons.

 

[Rule3]

All this talk about changing springs, remember, the PC already did a trigger job in the revolver so you have no way of knowing what springs are now in the gun. You just might buy something that you already have.

This is a carry gun, not a target gun. The triggers are not supposed to be the same. Carry guns should not have light triggers for obvious reasons.

+1
What ARCH said

Leave it alone
If you MUST do something try a slightly reduced rebound spring (been there done that on lots of SW revolvers. Don't mess with the main/hammer spring.

 

[P5 Guy]

There is only so much leverage in lock work that compact.