Hammer following down

[John]

OK, I know who is going to participate in this discussion (where are you Johnny?), but I have to ask.

My .45 1911 is fitted with a Wilson silver-ish trigger. The trigger pull is nothing short of fantastic, people always stay with their mouth open, when they try it (bragging a bit?). It's not too light (I would say around 4 - 4.5 lbs), but it is sweet and crisp.

I also have a carbon fiber trigger, which I would like to fit in the gun, but when I put it in, I have a little problem. When I let the slide go forward without a magazine in place (I know, bad thing to do), the hammer follows and is arrested in half-cock. That, I do not like.

I tried comparing the two triggers (the one in the gun and the carbon fiber one) and for what I can see, there are no differences, dimension-wise. Now, I know that my eyes are not what they used to be, so I wouldn't stand behind the previous phrase 100%, but what should I do to stop it happening?

I assume that this trigger keeps the sear from sitting as far inside the hammer hooks as the one now in the gun. What I do not know is what shall I bend/alter/file/hammer in order to make it work properly?

Oh yes, suggestions that the trigger is crap and I should send it to you for proper disposal are not acceptable. First, I can dispose it myself and second shipping it to US is more than the trigger's cost per se!!! LoL

Rgds

[stumbler]

According to Kuhnhausen: If the trigger bow contacts the spring, it could be that the bow is too long. You should dress the lower corner of the bow :)

[1911Tuner]

Hi John. Let's eliminate a couple of things.

Pull the trigger and hold it. Trip the slidestop to drop the slide. If it follows again, your hammer hook/sear engagement may be where the bug lies.
It could also be the bow contacting the sear spring. Your hammer hooks may be too short, too. To see if it's the bow, assemble the gun and leave the grip safety out. Use a good flashlight to watch what's happening in the
trigger/sear/disconnect/sear spring area.

If it doesn't follow, bend the middle and left legs of the sear spring forward
to put more tension on the sear and disconnect. Bend the leaves from some
point just above the junction of the main body, or they'll snap off at the corners. If that fixes it, install a new sear spring. You may also want to
install a 23# mainspring. Sometimes trigger tuners use a 19 pound mainspring or lower to shave every ounce off the trigger that they can.

Judgement call. If it only does it with the new trigger...The trigger is the likely culprit.

Standin' by...

Tuner

[John]

Hi John. Let's eliminate a couple of things.

Pull the trigger and hold it. Trip the slidestop to drop the slide. If it follows again, your hammer hook/sear engagement may be where the bug lies.

No, if I hold the trigger back while releasing the slidestop, the hammer does not follow.

It could also be the bow contacting the sear spring. Your hammer hooks may be too short, too. To see if it's the bow, assemble the gun and leave the grip safety out. Use a good flashlight to watch what's happening in the
trigger/sear/disconnect/sear spring area.
Let me understand that, you mean that at rest, the trigger's rear area should not touch the sear spring? I am using a four prong sear spring. So I guess there is always a prong touching the trigger bow, right?


If it doesn't follow, bend the middle and left legs of the sear spring forward
to put more tension on the sear and disconnect. Bend the leaves from some
point just above the junction of the main body, or they'll snap off at the corners. If that fixes it, install a new sear spring. You may also want to
install a 23# mainspring. Sometimes trigger tuners use a 19 pound mainspring or lower to shave every ounce off the trigger that they can. I know that the mainspring is the original, it hasn't been changed to improve the trigger pull.

Judgement call. If it only does it with the new trigger...The trigger is the likely culprit.

Standin' by...

Tuner That's the problem, it only does it with the black trigger. With its normal trigger, nothing 's happening. If I put in the black, there it is, so I am guessing there is less contact between the hammer and sear. I even tried to bend the area of the trigger where the disco touches upwards a little, no luck. I 'll spend some time tonight with the grip safety off, inspecting how the various parts interact, with the standard and the new trigger, and I'll come back to you.

Rgds and many thanks

[1911Tuner]

Howdy John,

The problem isn't in your hammer hooks.

The Clark sear spring is supposed to touch the trigger bow to keep tension on it and keep the trigger from nudging the sear off the hammer hooks
when the slide goes home. Inertia is the bug on this...The gun jerks forward and the trigger stands still, nudging the disconnect. if the hammer happens to bounce off the sear just a little, the hammer hooks can't grab the sear again because it's rotated a tiny bit.

The area to watch is at the left leg/to see if the leaf is held off the sear
when the trigger is held to the rear, preventing the sear from resetting.
This normally only causes a problem wen the trigger is pulled, though...as when firing.

Bending the trigger bow at the disconnect point was probably a mistake.
Check the face of the disconnect and the edges of the trigger stirrup for sharp edges and dress them off if you find them. The trigger stirrup should alreadyvbe relieved at the bottom to prevent lifting the disconnect and nudging the sear when the trigger is pulled, but there's no guarantee...I've seen aftermarket triggers that weren't. Quick-fix with a smooth mill file.
Just break the corner at 45 degrees to the stirrup and follow up with a stone to remove the file marks. Hit the top of the stirrup a few licks with the stone at 45 degrees while you're at it.

Drop the trigger into the channel and check to see if it protrudes past flush
with the frame wall. If it does, it's long/out of spec. Do you have any pre-travel with the trigger when it's installed in the gun? (Take-up before it puts pressure on the sear.) If it's just a small amount, you can stone it a little
to create a little clearance with the disconnect. Polish the face of the stirrup on the stone and some 600-grit paper. Try it again with a standard sear spring....and be sure to check for a little take-up. .040 inch minimum.

Another thought...Does the trigger fall in and out of the channel freely? It
should drop in and out under its own weight. If the trigger is binding, that could be at least part of the problem. If it doesn't fully reset, it puts pressure on the sear when the disconnect resets under it. Check for that.

Standin' by...

Tuner