586 adjustable trigger stop-6"

[Retired W4]

It's my understanding the 586, 6" barrel has an adjustable trigger stop. I call S&W customer service and was told that it was an internal adjustment. Well,duh. Then he told me the procedure would be found in the owner manual. Well, if it's there I could not find it. If it's in the manual then I guess I will continue to look for it. If not, could someone tell me how it's done. I just want to take up some of the over travel.

Thanks.

 

[handgunner356]

The only ones I'm familer on the L-Frames were the rods inside of the rebound slide. The only way to "adjust" them was to insert a longer rod and grind it down as needed. Most of the PC guns had the screw in the trigger itself.

 

[Retired W4]

This 586/6" has a small piece (looks like "in the white") right behind the upper part of the trigger that appears to be a trigger stop. I have not seen this on any of my other S&W's. According to SCSW (3rd ed., pg. 248,) this gun has an "adjustable" trigger stop" which doesn't lead me to any grinding of parts. It looks to me that if I could move this piece forward 1/16th" it would, in fact, take up the over travel of the trigger. I don't mind taking off the side plate, as I have done on many other guns, but I want to know what to do when I do remove it.

Pardon the extra oil. It had been put up for storage. Many thanks.

 

[Smith357]

This 586/6" has a small piece (looks like "in the white") right behind the upper part of the trigger that appears to be a trigger stop.

That is the trigger stop, to adjust it you must remove the side plate, and then loosen the screw holding it in place.

 

[Retired W4]

Thanks

Thank you. That will be my project for tomorrow.
Tom

 

[Retired W4]

Operation complete

Thanks Smith357 for the info. After removing the side plate I went to max adjustment first to see how it did, and man, it's perfect. I loaded it up with snap caps and ran it through several times, SA and DA and it worked perfectly. As many of you already know, but for those who do not, the trigger adjustment takes up the trigger over travel so the trigger has a shorter distance to go forward for the next shot. It really comes into play during rapid firing.

I'm no gunsmith, but I'm sure the smiths on this site will agree. Be patient with your plastic mallet. The urge to pry the side plate is great, but don't do it. Just keep tapping and it will eventually come off. Proper screw drivers are a must!

I think S&W should have this feature on all their revolvers.

 

[Roadranger]

As mentioned in previous threads, most LE guns have the adjustment removed. Back in the mid 70's, S&W sent out a notice to the LE community to remove them because if they get loose, they can cam around and prevent the gun from firing. This a bad situation if your a LE officer. Most target guns still have them installed. Bob!

 

[Retired W4]

Thanks for the info, Bob. Mine is cammed to the max, and it still fires. If mine came loose it would only increase trigger over travel. It appears that S&W corrected the problem since the 70's; otherwise I don't think they would be using them in newer guns. My guess is the old stop was actually capable of preventing the hammer from falling when adjusted too far, or came loose and went to max adjustment. This one is not able to adjust far enough to keep the hammer from falling. Also it's designed so that the screw that holds the adjustment is captured by the side plate, and if IT came loose it wouldn't go any where. It looks like S&W has really thought this one out.

In addition, after further research:
I realize the 586-6 (1997) did eliminate the trigger stop stud, but there was also a laundry list of other changes incorporated in that change. They eliminated the serrated tangs, changed to MIM hammer and MIM trigger, and other unnamed changes to internal lockwork. They also changed to a MIM thumbpiece in 1997 prior to -6. All of those appear to be changes meant to reduce manufacturing cost. That, of course is just a guess on my part. What I do know is on my gun, after examining the internals and working with the trigger stop, there is no way this trigger stop, in this configuration will stop the gun from firing. There could be scenarios whereby dirt or debris could cause the hammer from falling, but that could happen regardless of the trigger stop being there or not. My belief is S&W fixed the trigger stop problem after the 70's and then eliminated it altogether in 1997 for cost reasons. It seems to me that if a real problem continued to exist, S&W would have issued a recall. Maybe Mr. Jinks could give us more on this one.

 

[TomDedrick]

Thanks for the info. I have a 586 no dash with the trigger stop. This is my first disassebly of this gun and the stop was loose, but she shot beautifully yesterday.

Now I know what it is and how to adjust it. This is my first revolver to have this type of trigger stop.

 

[AveragEd]

Actually, the intended purpose of a trigger stop is to limit the amount of trigger travel after the sear breaks so the trigger doesn't build up inertia before encountering the limit of its travel and possibly affect the gun's point of aim. This is a target-shooting feature more that a combat one, which might be why 6" guns seem to have it most often.

Having said that, I have a 4" 66-2 that has a stop. I posted a photo of it once and someone on here messaged me about its rarity on that barrel length.

Ed

 

[saemetric]

Actually, the intended purpose of a trigger stop is to limit the amount of trigger travel after the sear breaks so the trigger doesn't build up inertia before encountering the limit of its travel and possibly affect the gun's point of aim. This is a target-shooting feature more that a combat one, which might be why 6" guns seem to have it most often.

Having said that, I have a 4" 66-2 that has a stop. I posted a photo of it once and someone on here messaged me about its rarity on that barrel length.

Ed

Both of my M19's with 2 1/2" bbls have the trigger stop