kgj1119

im an leo and want to put a 3.5#pull on my duty 1911. some say that is too light for duty. does anybody have any suggestions?

Dave Berryhill

Most gunsmiths will make a 1911 trigger pull 4 to 4 1/2 lbs for a duty or self defense trigger. A good trigger job with no creep will feel lighter than it actually is.

M. Hall

I'd go 4 with a .45, 5 with a 10mm. Just keep the finger off the
dang trigger 8)

Dane Burns

I do a lot of LEO guns. Some go as low as 4# by departmental regs. Most are more and as high as 5#. I don't reccomend anything under 4#. Check with your department's armorer and your regs. If you don't have either, don't go below 4. My experience with a 1911 would suggest 4#+ lbs. My last duty gun was set at 5lbs.

TimB92020

My Department requires at least a 4 pound trigger pull on single action weapons. I have a GM and a Commander with "duty triggers" set at 5 pounds with a slight roll prior to release. They are quite manageable and don't feel too heavy, unless I'm plinking around and trying to target shoot at very small targets, or extremely long ranges. I like to play a game we call "follow the dot", where your shooting partner puts a round in the target, and you shoot the same hole, then vice-versa. The 5 pound trigger pull is noticeable to me when trying to be that precise. When on the rifle range I like to plink at the 100 yard targets with my GM. I can hit about 8 out of 10, but the 5 pound trigger does feel a bit heavy in that mode also.

On the other hand, I also have a Kimber Compact with the trigger set at 4.5 pounds with the same slight roll prior to release. It feels about perfect, not too light, but none of the difficulty I feel with the 5 pound triggers when doing precise or long range shooting. I personally would not want a trigger pull any lighter than 4.5 pounds...but then I'm carrying a Glock with a NY-1 trigger when in uniform....YMMV Best bet is to see if you can try several guns with different trigger pulls and find the one that feels right for you, while still keeping within any applicable Department regulations.

-Tim

Andrew Reed

I'm kinda curious as to why the different pulls on the diff calibers??


Back to my hole,
Andy

Shane45

I would think that it is so you dont have an ND due to recoil.

Larry Pomykalski

Sometimes I think we approach this 'minimum trigger pull' question from the wrong end. Instead of 'how light is acceptable for safety' we should ask 'how heavy can you shoot well with?'

There isn't much more of a liability-riddled act than intentionally launching rounds that then MISS their target. So I suggest we determine the trigger pull range where we SHOOT BEST, and set the pull at the top end of that.

Better to have a 3# pull that you can actually shoot with, rather than a 'safe' 5# pull that will cause you to miss an attacker and shoot a bystander.

Just MHO,

Larry

Shane45

I mostly agree. However, what you can control in a range situation, you may not control in an adrenaline/shtf situation. How do you determine what you can handle under REAL stress???

Shane

Shane1911

Ideally, your range guns AND your carry guns should have the same trigger pull weight so there are no surprises, and you become accustomed to knowing (approximately) when the hammer's going to drop.

When under stress, you are not going to notice the difference between a 3.5 lb trigger and a 5 lb. trigger - unless you've done significant amounts of practice under duress (hard to do).

ALL my 1911's have 4 lb. triggers. It is a good compromise FOR ME. YMMV.

I agree with Shane, my guns are set up right around 4lbs. give or take. My duty gun breaks just over 4.25 but it is an unbelievable trigger.

Larry Pomykalski

That's a good argument for occasionally including a great deal of stress in training or competition.

Larry