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03-19-2017, 12:59 PM
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Thoughts on shield trigger weight / configuration
Just throwing some thoughts out there.
I was out shooting my shield today. Ran great, really enjoyed it. The trigger is OK, I'm not gonna mess with it, it does what it's supposed to. I can hit what I'm aiming at, it's not a race gun by any stretch and I never bought it with that intention.
Just some thoughts on the trigger...
In comparison to my Springfield XD Mod.2, the trigger is like night and day. The XD is super smooth, stops, then shoots with a light break. If I do my part, there is no wiggling and the shot goes exactly where aimed.
I also have a Glock to compare to.
Looking at the configuration of the Shield's trigger compared to a Glock, they're similar in the way they push the safety plunger up; with a bump on the trigger bar that moves rearward, hits the plunger at an angle and ultimately pushes it up. They differ in that the glock has the cruciform on the back of the trigger bar that serves as the sear (maybe I'm stating that wrong, but it does release the firing pin).
The Shield and XD both have a sear that pivots in the rear as a result of the trigger bar pushing it upward in the front, which releases the firing pin.
The difference is the XD has piece opposite the rear of the sear that pushes the safety plunger directly up (i.e. doesn't engage it from a 90 degree angle rather it pushes the top of the plunger). This seems, IMO, to result in a smoother, lighter trigger.
It seems to my untrained eye, and untrained opinion, that most of the weight and grit of the Shields trigger pull is a direct result of way the safety plunger is disengaged (i.e. with the trigger bar). The same holds true for the Glock: you can feel the engagement of the trigger bar to the safety plunger.
Is that the case?
Last edited by yep380; 03-19-2017 at 01:01 PM.
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03-19-2017, 01:07 PM
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You might be right, the trigger on my shield was gritty, and bit too heavy over 7lb, that's why I decided to install apex duty carry kit, also polished all the internals, it went from horrible to nice and smooth, clean crisp break, and it is now under 6lb.
I would say that my accuracy improved too, couldn't be happier with it.
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03-19-2017, 01:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shield9mm
You might be right, the trigger on my shield was gritty, and bit too heavy over 7lb, that's why I decided to install apex duty carry kit, also polished all the internals, it went from horrible to nice and smooth, clean crisp break, and it is now under 6lb.
I would say that my accuracy improved too, couldn't be happier with it.
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Does the Apex kit change the way the safety plunger is disengaged?
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03-19-2017, 01:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yep380
Does the Apex kit change the way the safety plunger is disengaged?
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nop, it just makes it smoother.
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03-21-2017, 08:57 PM
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Here's a few pics of the different configurations for lifting the striker (the XD Mod.2 and Shield).
First up is the XD.
In the first pic, the part that is next to the sear is shown. This is the part that rises straight upwards as the trigger bar moves to the rear. It engages the safety plunger (shown opposite) and lifts it into the slide.
The second pic shows this part when the trigger is pulled. As you can see, it goes pretty much straight up.
The third pic is the trigger bar of the shield and the safety plunger opposite. It moves rearward and hits the plunger at a 60 or so degree angle (whatever it's cut/milled at) and pushes the plunger upward. This results in pressure on the rear of the plunger and that obviously drags as the plunger goes into the slide. You can feel this engagement as you depress the trigger.
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03-22-2017, 09:52 AM
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Apex does offer an improved firing pin block (safety plunger). It has a larger radius edge, for smoother engagement by the trigger bar. The Performance Center guns use a more rounded firing pin block as well. You are correct in that this is where a lot of the trigger feel comes from. The Apex firing pin block also comes with a lighter spring for it, which further reduces how much you feel it, but it's only recommended for competition.
Apex striker block on left.
Also, a big part of the Shield trigger feel is the design of the sear. Compared to a full size M&P, the shield sear has a more blunt engagement angle, greatly increasing the pull weight. I have a few FS M&P's that I have upgraded to Apex sears, and I've taken the old sears from them and put them in my Shields (and my brother's). It did wonders for the trigger pull, and with a part that was just going to go unused otherwise.
If you are feeling really bold, or you are handy, there is an online tutorial video on how to modify the shield sear with a file, in order to reshape it to more of a ramped vs. blunt edge. This is obviously risky in the area of reliability, however, I have done it successfully and tested it extensively with no problems. Having extra sears laying around, it was worth the 20 minutes to see what I could do.
See the pic below for examples. The top sear is from a Shield, and is what mine and my brother's sears looked like from the factory. Not sure if these are the same in newer production Shields, as ours are at least a couple years old.
Last edited by Lesane; 03-22-2017 at 10:03 AM.
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03-22-2017, 08:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lesane
Apex does offer an improved firing pin block (safety plunger). It has a larger radius edge, for smoother engagement by the trigger bar. The Performance Center guns use a more rounded firing pin block as well. You are correct in that this is where a lot of the trigger feel comes from. The Apex firing pin block also comes with a lighter spring for it, which further reduces how much you feel it, but it's only recommended for competition.
Apex striker block on left.
Also, a big part of the Shield trigger feel is the design of the sear. Compared to a full size M&P, the shield sear has a more blunt engagement angle, greatly increasing the pull weight. I have a few FS M&P's that I have upgraded to Apex sears, and I've taken the old sears from them and put them in my Shields (and my brother's). It did wonders for the trigger pull, and with a part that was just going to go unused otherwise.
If you are feeling really bold, or you are handy, there is an online tutorial video on how to modify the shield sear with a file, in order to reshape it to more of a ramped vs. blunt edge. This is obviously risky in the area of reliability, however, I have done it successfully and tested it extensively with no problems. Having extra sears laying around, it was worth the 20 minutes to see what I could do.
See the pic below for examples. The top sear is from a Shield, and is what mine and my brother's sears looked like from the factory. Not sure if these are the same in newer production Shields, as ours are at least a couple years old.
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Interesting stuff for sure, thank you for that. I'm really just learning about how the various actions work, so this is fascinating for me.
I can see how changing the angle where the trigger bar engages the sear would smooth things out and lighten up the trigger. This reminds of how the angle on the trigger connector on a Glock changes the weight (except for the lack of sear and sear pivot).
I'm not going to attempt to change the geometry of my sear though. If I had an extra sear, I probably would, just to see how it went. I might take out the striker block and shine it up as well as the channel it rides in though. I checked the Apex site and found the striker block they sell as well.
Appreciate the picture - that really helps.
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03-22-2017, 08:41 PM
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I wish I could shoot a regular shield to compare it to my pc shield. The trigger on the pc version is awesome and better then any glock trigger. The only thing I don't really care for is the curve of the trigger. It's still not that bad though.
Everyone is talking about how gritty and bad the trigger is on the shield and I'm trying to figure out what everyone is taking about.
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03-22-2017, 11:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GA_Sheepdog
Everyone is talking about how gritty and bad the trigger is on the shield and I'm trying to figure out what everyone is taking about.
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Some samples are better than others. My Shield has never been gritty really. But my full size was bad. My cousin's full size has never been gritty.
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