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Old 05-16-2017, 08:07 AM
green02crew green02crew is offline
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I have a .45 recon with a "click" in the trigger. Only can happen in single action and I can't figure out the cause of it. I've attached a link to a YouTube video to see if anyone knows what's causing the single action click. It feels like a slight wall and false break of the trigger but obviously well before you reach the actual pull. Maybe a worn trigger? Gun functions like normal otherwise.

3rd gen S&W trigger click - YouTube


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Old 05-16-2017, 08:31 AM
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Probably a bent, damaged or missing trigger play spring. If you search the forum, there are many threads describing this common problem.

The trigger play spring is riveted to the front of the drawbar. The "ears" can become bent or break off. If the ears are bent, they can often be carefully bent back into the proper place/shape.


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Old 05-16-2017, 08:59 AM
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If I had a dollar for every one of my 3rd Gens with this issue, I could take my wife out for a very nice dinner tonight! Well, at least the very best that McDonald's has to offer.

Someday, I'll get them all fixed. What a pain in the trousers. It's not so much the cost as it is finding a local gunsmith who will do the job right once and for all.
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Old 05-16-2017, 11:40 AM
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If the problem is just broken trigger springs, I'd be happy to repair them for you, if you can't find a local armorer or gunsmith to replace them.
I'm not sure how much the rivet and spring cost, but it can't be much.

I'm sure the USPS would appreciate all the business.
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Old 05-16-2017, 12:11 PM
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If the spring isn't broken, you can fix it with a pencil with eraser. I had this problem with my 457 and 18DAI told me how to fix it. It's easy, as long as you are careful not to over "adjust" it and break the tangs on the spring.

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If I had a dollar for every one of my 3rd Gens with this issue, I could take my wife out for a very nice dinner tonight! Well, at least the very best that McDonald's has to offer.

Someday, I'll get them all fixed. What a pain in the trousers. It's not so much the cost as it is finding a local gunsmith who will do the job right once and for all.
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Old 05-16-2017, 12:13 PM
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If you can find them. Numrich has the springs, but not the rivets. Brownell's has the rivet, but not the spring. I suppose the best way to find them would be to try the factory. If they still have them.



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If the problem is just broken trigger springs, I'd be happy to repair them for you, if you can't find a local armorer or gunsmith to replace them.
I'm not sure how much the rivet and spring cost, but it can't be much.

I'm sure the USPS would appreciate all the business.
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Old 05-16-2017, 12:29 PM
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The upside of the problem is it is just annoying and won't affect function.
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Old 05-16-2017, 01:15 PM
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Thanks all for the help, the spring was ever so slightly bent back I guess. I pushed it back in a little with my finger and it's back to normal! This is my 3rd PC gun and my 4th classic S&W but the first one to have this issue. It's also the only one that requires punches to get the pin out for take down and to push the rear struts back down for reassembly. Red headed step child of the bunch if you will.


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Old 05-16-2017, 02:56 PM
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Originally Posted by armorer951 View Post
If the problem is just broken trigger springs, I'd be happy to repair them for you, if you can't find a local armorer or gunsmith to replace them. I'm not sure how much the rivet and spring cost, but it can't be much. I'm sure the USPS would appreciate all the business.
Thank you for the offer, but the postage and transfer fees alone would bankrupt me.
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If the spring isn't broken, you can fix it with a pencil with eraser.
Oh, I've tried the pencil eraser fix many times. It gets better for a little while and then it goes right back to being buggy again. Perhaps I'm not being aggressive enough or just not doing it right but it hasn't been a permanent solution for me.

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If you can find them. Numrich has the springs, but not the rivets. Brownell's has the rivet, but not the spring. I suppose the best way to find them would be to try the factory. If they still have them.
Exactly right. I saw that same split availability and I'm not even sure the springs they are selling are the later "improved" type. Far better if you can get the parts directly from the mothership... and probably cheaper too.
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Old 05-16-2017, 03:22 PM
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Thank you for the offer, but the postage and transfer fees alone would bankrupt me.
Just wait until I tell Mrs. TTSH that you passed a deal on free labor that would easily have covered dinner at McDonalds and Burger King!
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Old 05-16-2017, 03:45 PM
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FWIW, I've been told that it's much more likely to occur in the .45/10 frames (longer drawbars?), but I've seen it happen with an occasional 9 double stack frame.

The older trigger play spring (thicker and not connected across the top) was at one time made in a very shiny (almost chrome-like) steel. I only learned about it from a senior armorer at another agency many years ago. He said it was supposed to be stronger than the early spring that was copper-colored, and had supposedly been made to address the drawbar head/trigger ear "click" in the FBI guns.

He said it didn't have a part number, and I'd have to try to ask for some through just one person at the factory, as those springs weren't available through the regular CS/LE parts guys. He seemed to be right about that, as neither of the LE parts contacts in CA I knew (back then) claimed to know anything about those springs, and couldn't find any reference to them in their computers.

I called the person the other armorer had told me to call, and the first question the fellow asked me was how I'd even heard about them. He chuckled when I told him, and then asked me how many I needed, so I asked for a few. That was quite a few years ago. (Don't ask if I have any "spares", either.)

However, I saw a picture somewhere online in the last several months, about a sale at one of the major parts vendors, and the trigger play spring shown was one of the bright, shiny ones. My guess (strictly just a guess), was that the company had decided to wash out whatever remaining supplies they may have found of that older spring, so they got dumped on the parts market.

As has already been mentioned, the gun will function normally without the trigger play spring. The SA trigger may have some extra "slop" in it, but that's not something normally noticed when you're shooting the gun at speed, for defensive roles. It's more for slow-fire target shooting, to give the SA trigger a little less "play".

As a matter of fact, I remember when a friend of mine with the CHP (weapons training officer) told me that the CHP had finally removed all the trigger play springs from their early 4006's. They'd tired of replacing the broken springs in their heavily-used guns, so they just drilled out the rivet holes so springs could no longer be installed (don't ask me why they felt they needed to drill out the holes). When they ordered their new 4006TSW's (and 4013TSW's), they ordered them without trigger play springs installed on the drawbars, from the get-go.

I didn't see (missed?) where someone explained the reason for the "click", but it's caused by the front ears (or prongs, if you'd rather) of the trigger rising just up and over the top of the drawbar's head. They normally remain in the wide V-notch at the back of the drawbar head, but sometimes, when the hammer is cocked into SA, the trigger can tip just enough to let the tips of the ears rise just up and over the top edge of the drawbar head. As the SA trigger is pulled, the tips of the ears, sitting on the top edge of the drawbar head's V-notch, are pulled down over the edge, back into the V-notch ... making the "clicking" noise as they snap down over the top edge of the drawbar head.

The trigger play spring can usually be adjusted to keep enough tension against the trigger so the ears don't rise that high, but the "fix" is often temporary. Also, too much, or frequent, "adjustment" of the spring can result in one side or the other breaking off.
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Old 05-16-2017, 07:34 PM
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Smile Fixed The Spring

A few months back, I experienced that "click" after I did a thorough disassembly and cleaning of my 3913TSW, so I suspect that spring may have gotten bent during the disassembly and cleaning process, maybe hit it with the brush or possible cleaning rag caught on it. After reading the many posts on this forum about the trigger play spring causing the problem, it was an easy fix.

The up side of it all was that doing another disassembly and reassembly of the frame to fix the spring was good practice for when I want to do another thorough cleaning. That trigger play spring installed on the front of the draw bar assembly is something to be mindful of when doing a thorough cleaning, as the tabs bend relatively easy.
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Old 05-16-2017, 11:38 PM
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So, you're saying it's the appendix of the 3rd Gen guns?

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As a matter of fact, I remember when a friend of mine with the CHP (weapons training officer) told me that the CHP had finally removed all the trigger play springs from their early 4006's. They'd tired of replacing the broken springs in their heavily-used guns, so they just drilled out the rivet holes so springs could no longer be installed (don't ask me why they felt they needed to drill out the holes). When they ordered their new 4006TSW's (and 4013TSW's), they ordered them without trigger play springs installed on the drawbars, from the get-go.
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Old 05-17-2017, 12:03 AM
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I've searched for "trigger play spring" & "Fastbolt" and get hundreds of threads. If someone remembers Fastbolt's tutorial,
I'd appreciate a link.

Thanks.
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Old 05-17-2017, 07:03 AM
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Just wait until I tell Mrs. TTSH that you passed a deal on free labor that would easily have covered dinner at McDonalds and Burger King!
Keep it quiet and I'll send you a certificate for a free McDouble.
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Old 05-17-2017, 08:26 PM
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Quote:
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I've searched for "trigger play spring" & "Fastbolt" and get hundreds of threads. If someone remembers Fastbolt's tutorial,
I'd appreciate a link.

Thanks.
I've deleted a number of older posted pics to prevent any potential copyright infringement, as some included some partial pics from S&W manuals, so some of those older threads may no longer have pictures in them.

You may, if you wish, PM me and provide an email address (presuming my almost always full PM box has room ), and I'll be happy to discuss any simple questions you may have about it (or some other topic).
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Old 05-17-2017, 09:46 PM
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So do I understand correctly that if both ears of the spring are simply broken or snipped off, the only difference in performance (besides no more click) is more slop in the DA and, to a less noticeable extent in more rapid fire, the SA trigger? I wonder if I might prefer those to the click, all things considered.
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Old 05-17-2017, 10:41 PM
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So do I understand correctly that if both ears of the spring are simply broken or snipped off, the only difference in performance (besides no more click) is more slop in the DA and, to a less noticeable extent in more rapid fire, the SA trigger? I wonder if I might prefer those to the click, all things considered.


Broken or out of adjustment spring causes the click AND it seems a sloppier SA. I didn't notice it in DA.


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Old 05-17-2017, 11:42 PM
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Broken or out of adjustment spring causes the click AND it seems a sloppier SA. I didn't notice it in DA.


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My experience was the same.
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