Taurus PT-111 Mil Pro Trigger Job?

[dubious]

Does anyone have any leads on improving my PT111 Trigger? It's just TOO HEAVY. Please help!

 

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Here's some info I found on www.thefirearmsforum.com... I'm still looking for more info on striker springs! Please speak up.
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"I recently completed a trigger job on a PT111 Millennium. Never again.

The major problem is the machining marks left in the firing pin tunnel. Got those smoothed down. There are two springs, one drives the striker/firing pin forward, and one retracts the firing pin below the breech face allowing the gun to feed upward from the magazine during cycling. The factory FP retracting spring is a flimsy affair and with the least amount of set or deformation it will allow the striker spring to overpower it which results in failures to feed upward since the FP now protrudes slightly from the breech face. The retracting spring also has to push the FP rearward just enough for the cheesy little connector to catch it, which allows for repeated trigger pulls without racking the slide (that particular contraption by the way, is one of the most poorly designed mechanisms since the S&W 61).

Ended up making a new reduced-power striker spring and an increased-power retracting spring. DA pull levelled out at about 8 pounds with only a little grit.


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Here's another post from www.thefirearmsforum.com:
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OK. On this particular gun (PT111 9mm), field stripping was almost impossible. Got the slide assembly away from the frame, but the barrel would NOT come out of the slide. The screw that holds the front sight on had not been trimmed correctly at the factory and was preventing the barrel being removed. Problem #1 fixed.

The Millenniums are DAO, but somewhat unique in that the trigger engages the striker every time you pull the trigger and is not dependent upon rearward movement of the slide to engage the bearing surface. On its face, this is a good thing until you look at how they went about it. There is a coverplate on the underside of the slide held by a screw. Underneath is a small, thin lever and an absolutely microscopic coil spring. Without a doubt, the cheesiest setup I've seen since the good ole RG days. If you don't ABSOLUTELY have to take this down for repair, don't mess with it. I wish I hadn't.

On to the trigger pull. The only way to lighten the trigger is to alter the striker spring. The design would indicate that resting length of the spring is crucial to reliable ignition, so coils must not be clipped from the spring. There is no commercially-available spring kit for this pistol, so I set about figuring what diameter spring stock would be best. The problem is that there is also a firing pin retracting spring, and the factory striker spring already has just the minimum force needed to overcome the retracting spring for reliable ignition. Scratch lightening the trigger pull.

I figured I would just have to smooth the pull out and be happy with that. The trigger pull on these guns stack horribly toward the end of pull (another spring function - gotta live with it) but are rough as cobs. Examination of the striker tunnel in the slide showed very rough machine marks as if it were never polished at all. Polished as much as I could without creating excessive play for the striker, and it still is rough as a cob.

So... almost six hours of bench work (with several interruptions) with a net result of.... zero. If anyone is thinking about getting one of these guns, do yourself a favor and buy something - anything - else.

 

[Caimlas]

In case you're wondering if you can get Taurus to do it for you, or maybe to "upgrade" it to the new "3rd Series" Millennium trigger: I called Taurus to find out if it's possible. It isn't. They use a different frame and operating mechanism, and the conversion isn't possible from 1st or 2nd series to 3rd series trigger (DA/SA with a double stage).

And for "getting something else" - as someone who doesn't mind the heavy trigger on a carry weapon, too much - let me just add that Taurus's 3rd series Millennium Pro (the one with the 'straight 8' heine sights) does have a significantly lighter trigger, as well as it being DA/SA. The DA pull is quite a bit lighter, and the SA is surprisingly light, even if there's a bit of take up (or call it a 2-stage trigger if you want). Quite an improvement, and I wish I could trade mine in at a marginal financial loss (but can't, obviously).

Let's be careful with internet misinformation. Taurus Millennium has three "series": 1st series, 2nd series (which are the first "Pro"-designated version), and the the 3rd series (with the DA/SA trigger and the straight8 sights). There is a significant difference between 3rd series and the prior two - they're almost entirely different guns.

And in all honesty, while the trigger on my MP is heavy, it's not so heavy that I can't hit bowling pins with it at 25 yards with regular consistency. Like anything, you've just got to get used ot it. For me, it hasn't caused any problems in reliability (which has been at 100%) (It's lighter than the trigger on my SKS, at any rate.)

 

[dubious]

Sighhh.... my Mil Pro IS 3rd Generation.... and I could hit bowling pins 1 out of 10 shots from 25 yards, but wouldn't have any problem with most other decent pistols. Like I said, my gun has gotten great accuracy from expert shooters, but it the trigger pull is too much for me and most other people.