I have a Model 457 that has a clicky trigger. In single action shooting, if the trigger is fully at rest there is an audible click that you can also feel when pulled about 3/4 of the way.. right before the breaking point.

I've put enough rounds through it to know it functions fine, but I'm wondering if it's normal. It only seems to be on the first shot.. I don't know if my finger is keeping it from resetting 100% or if I just don't notice it on the subsequent shots.

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- The Federalist #46 -

Only in SA, right?

While I obviously can't know what's occurring in your specific pistol, since I'm not there to look at the gun, I can offer some thoughts on something which isn't an uncommon occurrence with S&W pistols made on the .45/10mm frames. It can happen in other models, but I've heard it mentioned by other armorers and some folks from the factory as having more of a chance to occur in the .45/10mm models.

It involves the trigger play spring not pushing firmly forward against the back of the top of the trigger (the ears, or prongs) when the trigger is positioned against the rear of the drawbar head and the gun is in the cocked, single action condition.

The front tips of the trigger's prongs can slip forward and just over the top of the rear of the drawbar head, the V-groove, and rest on top of the drawbar head. When the trigger is then pulled in the SA/cocked condition, the tips of the prongs must snap back down over the top edge and back into the V-groove, so they can push the drawbar forward and thereby push the sear forward (where it contacts the drawbar body toward the rear of the drawbar), allowing the hammer to fall forward and fire the gun.

This movement of the trigger's prong tips down and over the top edge of the V-groove is what makes the 'click' heard during the SA trigger press. I've looked down inside some frames (disassembled guns) and watched this occur when examining them for this occasional condition.

Some adjustment of the trigger play spring, giving it a more forward bend, can sometimes correct the condition and keep the trigger's prongs positioned within the V-groove. The problem comes when folks try to repeatedly 'adjust' the spring, which can eventually cause one or both sides to break off at the bottom. This sort of force isn't applied to the spring during normal operation, since it just pushes against the rear of the trigger but isn't itself pushed forward.

Also, sometimes someone may damage the spring by rough, or inattentive, cleaning practices where they may shove a brush or something against the spring.

Here's a couple of pictures of the spring located on the drawbar. The first one shows the drawbar and spring without the trigger in position where it would be when the parts are assembled in the frame. The other pic shows the trigger being held in place, but in roughly the position which would occur when the trigger had been pressed fully to the rear, so the trigger prongs are down within the V-groove. Imagine them tipped upward (with the trigger rotated more forward at the bottom) and just slipping over the top edge of the V-groove, where they would have to snap back over and back within the V-groove in order to return to the spot illustrated in the pic.




If the hammer is cocked in the field stripped frame for cleaning, the drawbar is moved forward and places the spring in a slightly more 'protected' spot between the frame. Maybe less likely to be unintentional hit by an errant cleaning brush. Naturally, the hammer will have to be decocked in order to reassemble the slide onto the frame after cleaning and lubrication.

While I've 'corrected' the click heard in some guns by gently applying even force to the spring to give it a more forward angle, I don't do it repeatedly. Not worth risking damaging the trigger play spring, which would then have to be replaced to return the gun to as-produced condition.

The gun will function without the trigger play spring, although the SA trigger will have some 'slop' and extra play in it. This isn't something usually noticeable when the gun is being normally fired for actual use, though. As a matter of fact, at one point the CHP removed the trigger play springs from their older 4006's (so they wouldn't have to be shipped to the academy gunsmiths for replacement of any broken springs, I'm told), and I was told they ordered their new 4006TSW's produced without the spring at all. I'm guessing they aren't concerned about any potential 'click' when the guns are fired from the single action cocked condition for any subsequent shots after the first DA shot.

Of course, they also order their guns with spurless hammers, supposedly to discourage the guns being fired for the initial shot from a SA/cocked condition.

Hey, just my thoughts. If you call the factory and ask to be connected to someone in pistol repair, you could ask about it ease any concern. Just remember to be brief, since if a tech is talking on the phone he's not repairing a gun.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Thanks for the reply! Very in depth, much appreciated.

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- The Federalist #46 -