colt triggers

[1911noob]

i have a colt xse and wanted to get a better (lighter trigger) and i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. do you also have to replace the sear and disconector to have a lighter/smoother. i found a kings trigger and it says it is for the gold cup wil that work for all colts or only the gold cup

[John]

Mind you the trigger has no effect on the trigger pull weight or feel. So, changing it is a cosmetic matter more than anything else.

And no, I do not think the Gold Cup trigger fits standard Colts, but I could be wrong here. Never had a Gold Cup, but if I remember correctly their triggers are different from the rest of 1911s.

[Spyros]

Yep, wider - with a wider frame cut.

[rhtwist]

I believe one of the few MIM parts on the Colt is the sear, so replacing that along with fitting the trigger better, smoothing the trigger bow sides and frame slot and a better adjustment of the sear/hammer contact might help. I do not recommend this for none but professionals as IMHO there are many things that can go wrong if not done right. Also how low do you wish to go. I like a crisp 5 lbs. of pull on a defensive carry gun as the minimum. Less for target only.
Greater minds will hopefully follow and add/correct my response. Be careful.
rhtwist

[tenx]

A Gold Cup trigger is much wider than a standard trigger. It won't fit into a standard frame. The trigger itself will not affect trigger pull.

I suggest that you look at this forum's technical section regarding trigger jobs and also take a look at Brownells' technical writeups on trigger jobs. Lightening a trigger pull properly involves jigs and fixtures to cut the hammber and sear for minimal, but proper engagement and lightening springs. You can ruin a hammer and sear easily, if you don't do this right or have an unsafe gun.

[Spyros]

Of course, you could just buy a drop-in trigger tuning set from C&S or EGW.

[RickB]

i have a colt xse and wanted to get a better (lighter trigger) and i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. do you also have to replace the sear and disconector to have a lighter/smoother.

I have had good results on three Colts by stoning the hammer hooks to .022" height (some are .030" or more), stoning a small secondary angle on the sear, deburring and lightly polishing the components (leaving alone the hammer/sear engagement surfaces), tweaking the sear spring a bit, then boosting a few times. It has resulted in very good triggers in the 3.5#-4.0# range.

[Hawkmoon]

http://www.m1911.org/full_technic.htm

Scroll down to the article titled "Poor man's trigger job." It's all you need.

[1911noob]

thanks for all the info guys. i want to eliminate all the rattle my trigger has, thats the sencond half of the reason i wanted to get a new trigger. i met a gunsmmith by my hunting camp recently and he was telling me somthing about after i break the gun in he could shave the sear down or somthing like that. i dont really remember that well.