Does the trigger on a new j frame have to break in like on a new semi auto? Does it get smoother over time? I'm used to DAO semi autos and those are a breeze in comparison.
This is my first revolver and after range session 1, I feel like I have a lot to learn about shooting DA revolvers and will need a lot of practice. From what I've seen on internet videos since shooting, I think my first mistake is using the first pad of my finger and not the crease or second pad...

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thx.

You can put some snap caps in the gun and dry fire it a few hundred times. This will smooth out the trigger a tad. However, the DAO pull will never be light and short, it's not suppose to be. It can be mastered through practice however.

Agreed. Dry-firing is probably the single best way to smooth out the trigger pull. It also helps a great deal when it comes to improving your accuracy. I've fired about 700 rounds through my 642 so far, but I've probably dry-fired at least 2 or 3 times that much. I think the trigger pull is very nice now.

As for trigger-finger placement, most people will probably do their best using the distal joint. However, people have different hand sizes and different levels of hand strength so you may have to do some experimentation to find the placement that works best for you. The important thing is to be able to pull the trigger straight back with minimal disturbance of the sights. A good way to figure this out is, you guessed it, dry-firing!

Here's an article by Massad Ayoob on handgun shooting. He goes through lots of different topics, and one of them is "the power crease". This may not be exactly what works for you, but he brings up lots of good topics to consider and work on.

How to shoot a handgun accurately by Massad Ayoob Issue #85

Ditto Dragon88. My first formal training with a revolver was at the police academy. We shot a combat course with a lot of double taps and were encouraged to dry fire at home. We were instructed to use the first pad for trigger pull. The reasoning was that using the crease or second pad could easily pull the gun off the target to some extent.

In my case, the continual practice of rapid and repetitive firing made trigger pull a second nature and a non-issue.

Nobody has mentioned spring-changes and I realize some folks are totally against it for various reasons. If you change nothing but the rebound spring in the small-frames....it will help and also give you a good reason to go into the gun and look for trigger or hammer rubs and give the gun a good going-over and lube job. Like all the posters above...it will get better with use, but I have found hammer and trigger rubs. These will also wear-off in time, but I prefer to look for them and fix them first. YES....I have found hammer rubs on a NIB S&W and trigger rubs as well on the lesser thought-of makes.

Lighter springs go in my range guns for playing games, but not for my carry guns. I'd rather live with an extra pound of trigger pull than a misfire during a SD situation.

That's one of those "various reasons" I mentioned above. I think adrenalin in a stressful situation will likely overcome any TP issue. I wouldn't play with my life either, but I don't think it hurts to "play" with the springs while your learning. For goodness sake...I have a neighbor that actually removes the hammer-blocks from his range shooters to eliminate any possible drag on the trigger and I'd never recommend going that far. I don't even want to be around him with a loaded gun that he may drop. You can go to the extreme. What possible noticeable gain could one achieve by removal of the hammer-block?

Thanks all... Figured there wasn't any magic to it. I'll try lots of practice and snap cap dry firing. I'm definitely going to try different parts of the finger... It'll be tough habit to change though as I've been taught using the "first pad" technique.

I'll be pulling the revolver apart soon to give it a full cleaning and inspection once I feel it's "broken in". Thinking a couple hundred more rounds should do it. Until then, this one gets left at home.

Someone please correct me if I'm in error. I'm under the impression that because J-Frames use a coil spring rather than the leaf spring of the larger frame revolvers, a J-Frame will never achieve the quality trigger pull the others are capable of.
Really depends what a user's needs are. A 2.5" K-Frame might be an alternative if trigger pull is an issue. Downside is a bit bulkier & heavier.
Good Luck, Kevin