Woodworker2
11th September 2009, 19:54
About three months ago, I bought a new Smith and Wesson Doug Koenig special. I have a couple other brands of 1911’s, but this is my first new S&W. I assumed that it just needed a little breaking in to work right, but 500 rounds later nothing has changed. I am hoping that one of the members of this Board can point me in the right direction with my problem, or make a suggestion of what I should tell S&W service department.
The problem is the trigger and the amount of pull required to release the hammer. About 15% of the time, primarily with the first round, the trigger does not function properly; even with the grip safety fully depressed, the hammer does not drop (no take up is felt). I have tried changing to my left-hand, released and reengaged the grip safety, checked to make sure the thumb safety is off; it makes no difference. Sometimes the hammer will drop, but only by using a force about 5 times more than normal. Sporadically after the first shot, the trigger seems to require more pressure to release the hammer than normal. All of the ammunition I shot was new 230 gr. FMJ; Winchester white box, Blazer Brass, and etc (no reloads or steel cases). The magazines are the original Smith and Wesson. The pistol has been properly lubricated. Bottom line, what good is a “Target” pistol, if the trigger pull can varies greatly between shots, to the point that you can’t hit the center of a target.
It is really difficult to replicate the problem. I recently tried troubleshooting the pistol, using plastic ammunition. I have not noticed any rub marks on the magazine. Without the magazine in place, the trigger pull seems to be the same every time. I tried using a different brand magazine, but it is hard to tell if that changes anything. One thing that did stand out is that sometimes the slide would not fully close on a new (plastic) round (starting with the slide fully closed and the hammer down, insert a new magazine with 8 rounds, pull the slide back and release; slide closes but leaves about 1/16” to 1/8” gap).
When this problem has occurred, I did not think to check if the slide was fully closed; I just dropped the magazine and cleared the chamber. Looking at the back end of the slide, with the barrel pointed down range, I did not notice it being out of battery. For some reason I remember that it was hard to engage the thumb safety.
Could the problem be as simple as the slide not closing fully, but why only part of the time? Is the trigger hard to pull because the disconnector would not have moved far enough to reengage, and the trigger stop is bottoming out against the magazine release? But why would it mainly occur only on the first round, and not on the second through eighth? Can anyone help?
The problem is the trigger and the amount of pull required to release the hammer. About 15% of the time, primarily with the first round, the trigger does not function properly; even with the grip safety fully depressed, the hammer does not drop (no take up is felt). I have tried changing to my left-hand, released and reengaged the grip safety, checked to make sure the thumb safety is off; it makes no difference. Sometimes the hammer will drop, but only by using a force about 5 times more than normal. Sporadically after the first shot, the trigger seems to require more pressure to release the hammer than normal. All of the ammunition I shot was new 230 gr. FMJ; Winchester white box, Blazer Brass, and etc (no reloads or steel cases). The magazines are the original Smith and Wesson. The pistol has been properly lubricated. Bottom line, what good is a “Target” pistol, if the trigger pull can varies greatly between shots, to the point that you can’t hit the center of a target.
It is really difficult to replicate the problem. I recently tried troubleshooting the pistol, using plastic ammunition. I have not noticed any rub marks on the magazine. Without the magazine in place, the trigger pull seems to be the same every time. I tried using a different brand magazine, but it is hard to tell if that changes anything. One thing that did stand out is that sometimes the slide would not fully close on a new (plastic) round (starting with the slide fully closed and the hammer down, insert a new magazine with 8 rounds, pull the slide back and release; slide closes but leaves about 1/16” to 1/8” gap).
When this problem has occurred, I did not think to check if the slide was fully closed; I just dropped the magazine and cleared the chamber. Looking at the back end of the slide, with the barrel pointed down range, I did not notice it being out of battery. For some reason I remember that it was hard to engage the thumb safety.
Could the problem be as simple as the slide not closing fully, but why only part of the time? Is the trigger hard to pull because the disconnector would not have moved far enough to reengage, and the trigger stop is bottoming out against the magazine release? But why would it mainly occur only on the first round, and not on the second through eighth? Can anyone help?