GI trigger job

[bryan83]

Ok guys got the parts for a trigger job on my GI "4 Champion

Parts list: WC Value line Speed hammer # 455B
WC Comp Match Trigger
WC 417 Sear Spring
WC 314C sear

Im a beginner gunsmith so bear with me here. The sear and sear spring went in great.

Here are my problems
the trigger was had to much play and felt wobbly inside trigger housing and when I put everything back together the slide would not got back all the way because of the hammer was in the way. Did I get the wrong hammer/Trigger? any help is appreciated.

Thanks guys,
Bryan

[gbw]

Does the hammer wedge between the slide and the grip safety? If yes, then you either have to use a GI style hammer which will clear the gs, or a grip safety that's relieved so the hammer can go all the way down - at least as far down as your stock hammer used to go.

1911 trigger jobs are not simple, and it may not be the best place to begin learning gunsmithing - it's very easy to create a very dangerous, and possibly illegal, pistol.

The most knowledgeable and experienced guy on this forum, a genuine expert, refuses to do trigger jobs - not because he can't, he surely can if he wants to, but (I'm speculating) because of the possible future liabilities.

[1911Tuner]

Well...I'll assume that meant me. :D

Can do trigger jobs. Will do trigger *work*, but will NOT take the pull below 5 pounds. Not because I can't...but because I don't do match-type guns, and because I feel that a match-grade trigger on a carry gun is a liability...and not necessary anyway. A clean, 5-pound trigger is much better than some think...mainly because they've never felt a really clean 5-pound trigger.
For carry guns, I prefer 5 pounds with a slight rollout-type break.

The hammer problem is probably coming from using a rowel-type hammer with the standard GI grip safety...and the safety isn't compatible with that type hammer unless you recontour it.

[gbw]

Sorry Tuner, it was presumptious to speak for you...sometimes the old synapses just don't quite fire right. Hmmm...maybe THEY need a trigger job.

[RickB]

I did a pretty passable "tigger job" on my Mil-Spec by cutting the hammer hooks to .022", replacing the factory sear with a pre-prepped STI part, and tweaking the sear spring a little. This, or a small variation on this, has resulted in nice, 3.5#-4# triggers on three or four of my guns, even when retaining the 23# hammer spring. Your mileage may vary.

[1911Tuner]

Sorry Tuner, it was presumptious to speak for you

Nadda problemo, lad. I try to stay outta the trigger job end of it because...well...I've never really focused on that part of the gun, and mainly stuck to functional reliability tweaks.

[random_alias]

No matter what you do, the trigger will have some movement because of the nature of the trigger design, basically a rail that sits in grooves along the insides of the frame. They say you should fit your trigger so that it falls completely in and completely out of the frame without any assistance, only gravity causing it to fall. I started mine out that way. I eventually adjusted it so that gravity caused it to fall completely forward but only partially back within the frame, slightly further back than it would move if I was pulling the trigger. That way, I had a completely free falling trigger as far as the trigger could move within the frame after reassembly (when the disconnector/sear/sear spring, etc blocks the trigger's travel past a certain point) but it was still tight enough in the frame to eliminate part of the horizontal wobble. Free falling within the normal range of motion but not sliding out the back of the gun when disassembled. I did this by making small, careful bends or bows along the trigger, depending on which corners were jumping out when I had the slide off, looking down the top of the frame, and wiggling the trigger to see which corners were lacking pressure.

As for the hammer, you need to give it more room. Remove material from the grip safety so that there is a little open room under the hammer after it is fully cocked. Then test by pulling back on the slide. You'll eventually get it right. I chose to file down my grip safety along the same contour as it came from the factory. In other words, I didn't reshape my safety as much as I just shrank it. You want to end up with a grip safety that leaves enough room to slightly over-cock the hammer. When testing the fit, remember that when you hold the gun in a shooting position, you are depressing the grip safety and therefore increasing the amount of space between the top of the safety and the bottom of the hammer. So, when you are filing/polishing/whatever down your grip safety be sure to test the clearance without your hand on the grip safety. That way, you are fitting the parts to their closest possible fitment scenario.

Another option is to buy and install or have someone else install a beavertail grip safety. Just depends on your personal preference.

[1911Tuner]

You want to end up with a grip safety that leaves enough room to slightly over-cock the hammer. When testing the fit, remember that when you hold the gun in a shooting position, you are depressing the grip safety and therefore increasing the amount of space between the top of the safety and the bottom of the hammer. So, when you are filing/polishing/whatever down your grip safety be sure to test the clearance without your hand on the grip safety.

Uh...Unless somethin's seriously outta spec, or you try to use a rowel hammer with a GI grip safety...the full-cock clearance is already there.

[auto45]

I like a little "roll" in the trigger. Prefer it over the "glass rod breaking" type of trigger to be honest.

Consistant roll is not easy to do on a trigger...to my understanding.

I lucked out on mine with what I call "smooth creep". :D

[random_alias]

Uh...Unless somethin's seriously outta spec, or you try to use a rowel hammer with a GI grip safety...the full-cock clearance is already there.

Yeah, sounds like he's using this hammer:http://www.wilsoncombat.com/a_hammers_speed.asp
with a Gi gun.

If that Gi has a standard grip safety then it's one of these situations like you explained before:

Spindly...If you installed a rowel hammer along with the standard grip safety, (used with the spur hammer) you need to relieve the safety to allow free travel of the hammer. If this is the case, it's a wonder that the hammer will go to full cock at all. http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=19675&highlight=rowel

[Bill Hale]

I just took a look at Springfields web site, the Champion is a 4" Government Model, spur hammer and long tang. Bryan83 will need to relieve the tang on the grip safety to use the WC hammer.