I recently picked up a 1968 4" Model 28 that I intend to use as a walkaround gun in the woods, since it is in "used but not abused" condition. Very smooth action on this old N Frame. It came with some sort of a shoe on the trigger to make the standard trigger as wide (or wider maybe) as the standard target trigger. I am assuming that this was an aftermarket company that made these things. Feels like it is constructed from steel instead of aluminum. I actually liked the feel of it on the gun, but I took it off for now. What is the info on these things? Were they really popular at one time? It seems very well made. Obligatory pics of gun in question from GB. I haven't taken any other pics of it yet.

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The set screws for those things leave dimples in the side of the trigger. That's why I don't like them.

From the amount of residue underneath, this thing had been on a LONG time. But other than that there were only two tiny marks from the allen screws - no displaced metal. The guy that put it on must've known his business. I am thinking of leaving it off, as I tend to torque stuff down a little too hard.

Trigger shoes were once popular, on both target and holster guns. Even a few LE duty guns sported them for a while. The two cup pointed Allen screws, used to attach them to the gun's trigger, near invariably leave circular dimples on the trigger when removed. More seriously, the shoes are often wider than the trigger guard, posing a potential for a ND when holstering. They are prohibited in many competitive shooting disciplines because of this.

The only fix for the ugly trigger circles is to replace the trigger with a proper unmolested trigger.

they are "fine" if you like them on the range.. but some people argue they could slip and bind up the trigger at the worst possible time... my late father had one on his edc for years... never an issue...

You can barely see the marks, and the metal isn't dented at all. I must have gotten lucky. There was a pile of crud under it, though.

It did occur to me that it could slip off at the worst possible moment. I will probably leave it off. Who made these things?

Tyler manufacturing still catalogs them...Other sources here......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

Up to the early1990's, when I shot NRA bullseye pistol, most of the .45 acp "soft ball" guns had after-market trigger shoes and extended ribs installed (Red Dot sights had not been invented yet, or the early ones were looked down on by the old timers). But even some cops would put them on their revolvers, which I didn't think it was very smart because the wide trigger shoe could rub on the side of the holster as a loaded revolver was being put back in the holster resulting in an AD (in NRA Bullseye Pistol you don't use a holster) Since they didn't have loctite back then, they would add clear fingernail polish to the screw and tighten the living daylights to keep them from coming loose. These are many of the guns with the dimples on the side of the trigger nowadays.

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The most common is the Ace trigger shoe sold by Flaigs Gun Shop. I think they were in Glenshaw, Pa.

I added shoes to 2 S&Ws, a prewar K-22 and 1950s K-38. Neither get holstered so they're fine, and I like the added control. I knew the likelihood of ever selling these guns was very small, so adding something that left permanent marks wasn't a big deal.

I would do the same with my new Colt Python if I could find one that matched up. The trigger on the new ones is a different profile.

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Psalm 27:2

Trigger shoe aside, like in a parts drawer, that is a good looking Highway Patrolman you have. Perfect for your stated use.

The steel trigger shoes were the Flaig "Ace". These were quite popular for target revolvers in the 1950s and '60s. There are two legitimate reasons to avoid them. First, as noted, the set screws mar the sides of the trigger. Second, because the trigger shoe is wider than the trigger guard they are a real accidental discharge risk for guns carried in holsters. For this reason many police departments banned them from use by officers on duty revolvers.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

Trigger shoes helped, in the day of the bullseye shooting discipline, to make the trigger pull feel lighter because the device spread out the pressure applied by the trigger finger across a bigger area on the face of the trigger. Although I shot those matches, I never used the trigger shoe. I thought it was a bad idea then, and I have seen nothing to make me think otherwise 50 years later.

These were quite common in my early LE days. For single action shooting they provided more contact surface on the trigger, thus a lighter feel. Many cops. me included, carried them on duty. I never heard of a malfunction, such as holster interference or loosening. All the departments I knew of allowed them.

The most common qualification course then was the FBI PPC course, which also became the standard competition course. As more and more really skilled shooters (not me) got involved those pioneers struck upon the idea of shooting the entire course DA, even though SA was allowed at 50 yards.

I arrived at this same conclusion. I decided to change to DA all the way through. It took me 3k rounds of concentrated practice to make the transition, but my scores went way up. Off came the trigger shoes. The hot set up from then on was a narrow smooth-faced trigger. For as long as we carried and shot revolvers that was the preference.

This is still so habitual with me that the only way I shoot a DA revolver is DA. My non-LE friends think this is very strange - until I start to shoot.

So in the natural evolution of things trigger shoes became pretty thin on the ground.

But not quite forgotten. Some years ago I bought a Ruger 77/22. Despite their sometime reputation of being poor or inconsistent groupers, I was determined to make mine a sub MOA grouper. I put a lot of money into it, including an after market trigger. I wanted that trigger to feel even lighter by having a broader contact surface, so I installed a trigger shoe. All this worked. I no longer shoot competitively, but if I get into an informal .22 rifle contest, if I lose, it will be because I lost, not my rifle.

All of my DA handguns have narrow smooth triggers. But on my 77/22 the wide trigger via the shoe is perfection.

For the OP I think is just a matter of personal preference how he chooses to equip and shoot his revolver. If his preference is SA then maybe the shoe will be a benefit. For DA, based on my experience and what I have seen in shooters way back, the bare trigger is preferable.

As soon as I bought my 28-2 in 1979 I put a trigger shoe on. Never slipped.

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ken
SWCA #1959

Thank you. There is a patch of rust on the other side of the cylinder that looks like like something wet contacted it at some point. Very light pitting that isn't even worth worrying about. It locks up like a bank vault. Looks like it will be a good woods gun.

I hate to admit it, but it has been about 25 years since I shot ANY revolver, double OR single action. I have carried and shot a wide variety of semi-autos in that time (both double and single action) but I only recently started getting back into revolvers (mainly because of this site.)

Trigger shoes were a fad from the early target days. My dept did not allow them due to the possibility they could slip leaving the revolver inoperative. They would leave a mark on the case hardening of the trigger. The idea was more width for the trigger finger would make the pull feel lighter.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

And you can do that with a wider target trigger (S&W #5843, .500 wide, grooved, case color) if a wider trigger is what you want.

Good looking 4” Highway Patrolman. Congratulations on the purchase.
If in fact you decide on a wider trigger, there was also an option from S&W in those years for a .400” smooth face, case hardened trigger. I believe the SCSW called it a semi-target trigger. Pictured is my 6” Model 28 with the smooth face .400” trigger as it came in 1969. I really like this smooth face wider trigger.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

I've got the smooth .400 trigger on my 28-0. I really like it and the action job. I haven't lettered it but I suspect it went back to S&W and got the trigger, an action job, and a white front sight insert. To me it's the perfect set up. I've still got three pieces with trigger shoes. One was my deceased wife's mod 15. She was killed in the line of duty on 12/31/84. It will remain unchanged and will go to my son when my dirt nap comes. I have a couple of others with trigger shoes, one a model 60 I bought for my wife around 1971. She like them. I once would put target hammer and trigger on new S&W's if they didn't already have it. Several years ago I picked up a zip lock bag with about 20 trigger shoes in it for $10.00. Can't leave something like that laying around. I think I might still have around six of them...if I can remember where I put them. I had a lot of trigger shoes on my LEO revolvers before I retired. I seem to shoot better with a wider trigger.

The only real experience I've had with a trigger shoe was on a Kel-Tec P-11 back in the day, and it worked just as advertised. It seemingly reduced the trigger pull, but more importantly protected my finger from the narrow, sharp trigger the KT had. It never came loose, it never interfered with holstering. No idea if it left a mark or not. It was still on the gun when I sold it, but it was a Kel-Tec. I wouldn't have cared it I noticed it. I think mine was from Uncle Mikes, but it was a long time ago.

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John 3:16 .

Nice one ! If you want to part with the trigger shoe let me know I'll buy it from you.

A good friend of mine has a Clark Pin Master (1911) with a wide trigger. The difference being Clark, the elder, milled the frame in the rear of the trigger guard to accommodate the wide trigger. It actually feel very good shooting it, with no worries about anything coming loose.

Thank you. I think that would be just about perfect.

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your wife.

Would the best place to find one of the smooth target triggers be here? I bet S&W doesn't sell them any more!

Heaven help you if you ever happen to have to defend yourself with a trigger shoe equipped gun. I’m afraid that’d be a Million Dollar Mistake if you wound up in court with a civil suit over the scum bag junky you were forced to shoot. The Oposition’s lawyer would make a mountain out of the trigger shoe mole hill. And the liberal judge would probably agree.

I seriously doubt that the outcome of a Pistol Match was altered because one Shooter had a trigger shoe and another didn’t.

I never saw the point in a trigger shoe. Change springs, or have a professional gunsmith rectify any deficiencies in that your gun.

Those trigger shoes are a relic of the past like cigarette machines, riding on the back of pick-up trucks, and those chronographs we used to put down range.

Yes in the 1960's Trigger Shoe's were popular .
They were our drop in trigger jobs .
If you wanted a wide target trigger ... it was easy and inexpensive to do .
Remember no internet , no you-tube , no drop-in anything back then .
All of my Revolvers and even a few 1911's got the easy trigger job .
The model 58 in my Avatar still wears one ... inatalled in the 1970's .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I own a number of handguns equipped with trigger shoes and a lot of people see them and get all worked up about things like "they'll leave marks on your trigger" or "it's going to slip and cause your trigger to bind up".
After decades of having them on guns I bought used with who knows how many years of use, and decades more by me, I've never had an issue with one slipping, and any I removed temporarily showed no damage to the triggers that was noticeable. One of my old handguns was owned by a member of the Navy shooting team at Camp Perry in the 1950's and later, and he had the trigger shoe on it. I figured if he felt confident it wouldn't fail in major matches, it must be OK.

I have one of those on my 17-3 and like it very much, maybe more than the wide grooved one, but I didn't mention it because I could not find a part number for it.
I might also mention that K, L, and N frames have the same trigger part numbers. It's the hammers that vary from one to another.

Trigger shoes were popular in the mid-1960s, as they seemed to lighten the trigger pull, and if adjusted carefully, could double as a trigger stop to prevent overtravel. These two 28s belonged to my father and myself - my 6" and his 4". I never saw fit to take the trigger shoes off either.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Exactly. If you want a fat trigger this is the way to go. FWIW, I went the other way when I bought my M-19 Combat Magnum, I had a stock width smooth trigger installed. It’s perfect for me.

I did not know they were a big thing on handguns but in the 60's-70's they were very popular on trap shotguns.
For those of you who shot trap in those days you know that we would try any gimmick for that extra bird out of 100.

Two of these .357 Magnums came to me with trigger shoes. I added one to the third one for consistency.

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First time I ran across one it came on a SAO S&W Target Masterpiece I traded into. I liked it, it was never holstered. The only person that complained was by buddy Mike that only shoots double action. I waited for it, he pulled the trigger...looked at me, checked the cylinder, reset pulled the trigger, nothing again and I finally lost it and told him it was SAO. He files all of his serrated triggers smooth.

Is this claim of liability speculation or do you have factual back up?

For years there have been admonitions against using revolvers with modified actions as legally this could impugn the intent of an otherwise innocent shooter. Finally Massad Ayoob called bs on this and put out a prize if anyone could actually produce a case where an otherwise lawful shooting went against the shooter because it was established that the shooter's handgun had a modified action. No one, in all these years, has come forward to contest Ayoob.

So the question is whether the presence of a trigger shoe ever had any affect on a use of force case.

Since you brought it up, the burden of proof is on you.

Speculation is not proof and carries no weight.

If the marks are that small, a cold blue pen might make them disappear completely.
The trigger shoe that was on my Model of 1950 when I bought it was mounted with cup-pointed set screws and left the previously mentioned "circles" on the trigger. Just one touch on the circle blemishes with a Birchwood Casey Permablue touch up pen solved the problem.

And you would have to look REALLY closely, AND also know they were there to start with, to even see them.

That worked for me but YMMV.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

The revolver isn't pristine. That being the case, I think I will just leave it alone. You have to really look for them to see anything.

That's always a good option.

If you don't do anything to correct such a minor "finish issue" that doesn't bother you and isn't getting any worse, you're still retaining the option to take corrective action to address it at a later date.

Nothing to lose by making that choice.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

My favorite Duty Revolver was a Model 19 four inch with RR/WO and the 3 Ts. Target Grip, Target Hammer and Target Trigger, which is basically like having a Trigger Shoe.

Back in my Bullseye shooting days, I had trigger shoes on all my competition guns. I still do. Most Bullseye shooters used them. I also have one on my Winchester Model 52 .22 target rifle. There was fear on the part of some shooters that they were unsafe because the trigger shoe could cause an accidental discharge during holstering. Bullseye shooters do not use holsters, so that is not a concern.

I have owned three Model 29s over the years. Two are gone. One I still have. I always liked the wide target triggers on those more than the thinner combat triggers.

It was the same situation north of the border. Many of .38 Spl. guns used for Police Bullseye shooting were 6" Model 14's (Target Masterpieces). There was only one double action segment in the competitions and none involved starting from a holstered firearm. I used one for a while in competition so I must have felt it helped. It never slipped or caused any problems but I didn't like it on my service weapon(s) most of which were model 10's or 15's back in the day.

Al

Not exactly. A target trigger is wider than a standard trigger - but AFAIK they AREN'T wider than the trigger guard. I don't think S&W ever manufactured any revolvers where the trigger was wider than the trigger guard.

A lot of trigger shoes ARE wider than the trigger guard. The one that was on my Hand Ejector model of 1950 44 special when I bought it was wider than the gun's trigger guard. That's one of the reasons I removed the trigger shoe.

So, even though the purpose of the trigger shoe is to provide the same benefits of a target trigger, they aren't exactly the same.

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I have an Ace trigger shoe on my 28 & 17 bought in the 70's. Also my brother's 66 has one. Never had any issue with them. Makes the trigger feel more like the 29 and the 27