Thumb safety/apex

[triggerb]

Anyone with a thumb safety upgrade their trigger? I emailed Apex and they told me that everything will drop in except for the Striker Block due to the sear housing in the thumb safety version. So I'm not sure if the DCAEK kit will work and might be stuck just changing the trigger itself or having a S&W tech modify the stock parts.

What has your experience been, install wise and thoughts?

I personally have no qualms with the factory trigger but wouldn't mind upgrading to the aluminum or poly apex trigger. I'm not in a rush so I have plenty of time to decide.

 

[mkbruce]

Anyone with a thumb safety upgrade their trigger? I emailed Apex and they told me that everything will drop in except for the Striker Block due to the sear housing in the thumb safety version. So I'm not sure if the DCAEK kit will work and might be stuck just changing the trigger itself or having a S&W tech modify the stock parts.

What has your experience been, install wise and thoughts?

I personally have no qualms with the factory trigger but wouldn't mind upgrading to the aluminum or poly apex trigger. I'm not in a rush so I have plenty of time to decide.

If you are able to install the trigger, then the rest of the DCAEK except the USB is just as easy. All that is required us a 1/8" roll pin punch. The USB requires removing the rear sight, but even that is doable for the non-gunsmith.

 

[triggerb]

Yeah I'm comfortable with doing the drop in work but not so much for modifying the existing parts, and it's worth the extra cost for the option to switch back. Edit though, the part that will not fit is the Reset assist mechanism not the USB

 

[mkbruce]

Yeah I'm comfortable with doing the drop in work but not so much for modifying the existing parts, and it's worth the extra cost for the option to switch back. Edit though, the part that will not fit is the Reset assist mechanism not the USB

Exactly - the RAM won't work in that model, but it is not a necessary part.

The USB will remove 90% of the grittyness in the factory trigger.
The Apex sear will change the characteristics of the trigger break for a more crisp feel with less overtravel. The springs allow tuning of the trigger pull weight to your liking.

None of these parts are truly drop-in - they require various amounts of disassembly, parts swapping and reassembly. You may also need to adjust the trigger bar loop (I did for both a 40 FS and a 40c) when using the polymer AEK trigger.

Apex's videos do a good job covering the installation procedure - and people here can help if you run into trouble.

It's well worth the installation effort.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Anyone with a thumb safety upgrade their trigger? I emailed Apex and they told me that everything will drop in except for the Striker Block due to the sear housing in the thumb safety version. So I'm not sure if the DCAEK kit will work and might be stuck just changing the trigger itself or having a S&W tech modify the stock parts.

What has your experience been, install wise and thoughts?

I personally have no qualms with the factory trigger but wouldn't mind upgrading to the aluminum or poly apex trigger. I'm not in a rush so I have plenty of time to decide.

I installed a full DCAEK and polymer trigger in my M&P 40 with no issues

 

[triggerb]

I installed a full DCAEK and polymer trigger in my M&P 40 with no issues

With thumb safety?

 

[mkbruce]

With thumb safety?

The thumb safety is no issue with the DCAEK. It does not complicate the installation in any way. The only part that can not be installed (and it's not included with the DCAEK kit) is the RAM. Don't bother ordering the RAM.

 

[Danno_man]

DCAEK with AEK trigger. No RAM. No issues

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

With thumb safety?

Yep, with thumb safely. The S&W armorer who did the work on my gun told me the only thing I couldn't add would be the RAM because the thumb safety takes up the real estate if that makes sense.

 

[ultratec00]

All my M&Ps have the thumb safeties and are Apexed. No RAM or trigger, just the carry or competition kits.

 

[triggerb]

Sounds good, I plan on doing the upgrade sometime early next year when my bank account recovers from these holidays.

How do y'all like those aluminum triggers?

I like metal triggers over poly as I am more accustomed to them. The main thoughts I have against the APEX poly is that the factory trigger is poly so personally I don't think it's really worth ~$45 to change a S&W poly to an APEX poly. Whereas an aluminum trigger seems like it would alter the feel of the trigger more.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Sounds good, I plan on doing the upgrade sometime early next year when my bank account recovers from these holidays.

How do y'all like those aluminum triggers?

I like metal triggers over poly as I am more accustomed to them. The main thoughts I have against the APEX poly is that the factory trigger is poly so personally I don't think it's really worth ~$45 to change a S&W poly to an APEX poly. Whereas an aluminum trigger seems like it would alter the feel of the trigger more.

The aluminum trigger is more of a flat trigger while the polymer trigger is a bit rounded on the sides, kind of ergonomic. I noticed a huge improvement in switching to the polymer trigger but I understand what you mean about not wanting to pay that much for another poly trigger. Believe be though, it's worth it! It really reduced the over travel and combined with the DCAEK, I have a nice smooth trigger pull that's much shorter than before. The reset is way not prominent now too.

I think it really fits the gun, and it kind of reminds me of the magpul parts in my AR if that makes any sense. Good luck, I hope you get a good deal on all your apex stuff, it sure is expensive but it's well worth the trouble.

 

[Danno_man]

Skip to about a minute in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUd9fuMUAWI

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[SMMAssociates]

The RAM is the only thing that you can't install on a thumb-safety version of the sear block. (That version of the block may be on a non-thumb-safety gun! The safety lever itself, a spring, and a little plastic thing, are the only parts in the thumb safety, but it requires a specific sear block that doesn't include the Hilary Lock to be there. The Hilary Lock sear blocks won't accept the thumb safety or the RAM.)

(The "Hilary Lock" is the key lock. Named after you-know-who, after the Clinton v.s. S&W "Deal" some years ago.)

Regards,