New M&P Shield 9mm -- trigger pull over 10 pounds!

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hotrail

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Just got a M&P Shield 9mm. Now I know the triggers are not light, and the action is not ideal, but I am really surprised at how hard this gun is to shoot. I measured the trigger pull when I first brought it home, and I can't even measure it. My Timney trigger pull gauge only goes up to 10 pounds, and the trigger doesn't even break before the gauge is maxed out.

I measured it again tonight, with the same result. Still over 10 pounds.

I bought this new and picked it up last week. Gave it a good cleaning. Put 150 rounds through it and gave it a light cleaning. Put another 175 rounds through it today. I am impressed at its reliability. I think I had one round fail to feed or eject in the first 10 rounds, and function has been 100% since then.

Now I know many, many shooters are unhappy with the triggers on these guns, and many go straight to Apex for a trigger kit. But I don't think I hear everyone reporting 10+ pounds trigger pull with the stock configuration. Does this kind of trigger pull represent a defect, that I should return to S&W to check and fix?

BTW today I qualified with this gun; I did nearly 100 rounds at 3, 5 and 7 yards on a silhouette target. I only had one round outside the 10 ring. But that was slow fire, so no big accomplishment. With a little discipline, you can pull a heavy trigger and hold the point of aim. But I could never do that at a real world rate of fire, or doing double taps. So I don't see this as a satisfactory gun for its intended purpose.

Anyway, my real questions are :
1) is 10+ pounds really the norm for these guns?
2) is mine defective? Does this kind of trigger pull represent a defect, that I should return to S&W?
3) Any ideas what would cause this condition?

Thanks for any info.
 
Looks like MA compliant is minimum 10# trigger pull. Check your product code from the box against the website.
 
This gun is SKU #187021 - "M&P9 Shield CA compliant".

I looked at the Smith & Wesson web site and do not see any specification for the trigger pull weight of this model.
 
7.3 to 9.4 with Lyman tester. Make sure you pull at the lower portion of the trigger. Otherwise the trigger safety won't release.
 
LAA said:
7.3 to 9.4 with Lyman tester. Make sure you pull at the lower portion of the trigger. Otherwise the trigger safety won't release.
Click to expand...

OK, I thought I was getting the trigger safety, but I went back to the bench and tried again. The face of the trigger is very smooth, and has a lot of curve, which was making my trigger gauge ride up, despite my best efforts, and I was not releasing the trigger safety.

So in fact it is measures a pretty consistent 8 pounds, with the lowest I observed at 7.5 pounds.

I do not want this to be a four pound trigger. I don't want it to go bang unless I really mean for it to go bang. What is the best way to take it down just a bit, keeping it safe for daily carry?
 
Can't help you with trigger pull, as I've never been inclined to change that. Having carried a GI 1911 with a heavy pull for years, everything is light to me.
 
First question is, are you a California resident required to have a California compliant gun? If so, then check your state Reg's for trigger pull weight, or call S&W.

If you are not in California, you have options to get the trigger pull down to 6# +|- 1/2#, or lower.

1. Call S&W and see if they will get it to their own spec pull weight (or send you a lighter trigger return spring for you to install) for a non-CA Compliant gun
2. Dry fire the gun 1,000+ times to smooth and lighten the trigger pull.
3. Disassemble everything and polish all metal firing control surfaces. This will smooth the trigger pull immediately and usually drop it up to 1.5#. Dry firing will eventually do the same thing.
4. Take it to a local gunsmith for the polish job and perhaps installation of a lighter trigger return spring, which he will probably have on hand.
5. Buy an Apex Duty Carry Action Enhancement Kit (DCAEK) and install it yourself, or have a local 'smith do it. You can also replace the trigger itself for the complete upgrade package.

As a relatively small, thin gripped CCW gun, the Shield is hard to shoot well and fast with a heavy trigger. 5.5-6# seems about right for most people. I have my Apex Shield setup tuned to 5.25# and it feels just right. I believe S&W used to spec 6-6.5#, but they so often missed that they may have removed it from their web site.
 
I agree with Ranger98. Put in the Apex dcaek and be done with it.
 
hotrail said:
So in fact it is measures a pretty consistent 8 pounds, with the lowest I observed at 7.5 pounds.

I do not want this to be a four pound trigger. I don't want it to go bang unless I really mean for it to go bang. What is the best way to take it down just a bit, keeping it safe for daily carry?
Click to expand...

That sounds about right, mine was about the same between 7-8lb, and awfully gritty. After the apex DCAEK, and getting all the internals polished it came down to just a bit under 6lb, and no more grittiness, IMO just perfect.
Check your state regulations before making any mod, most guns get better after they are broke in.
 
Apex is the answer. The full kit gives a nice smooth trigger with a pull of 5-6 lbs.
I purchased a Massachusetts compliant 9mm and ours are mandated 10 1/2 lb
pull, you gotta do an Apex kit to shoot these guns enjoyably!
Tried a "Free State" .45 Shield with regular factory pull and judge my 9mm with
the Apex kit to be superior to that one.
 
I would just install the Apex sear, I did that and liked the results. However, I wanted even better and installed the Apex ultimate striker block and now it's the smoothest trigger ever. However, per your comments, the trigger pull would be too light for your needs. But I have to say, you get great results at the range when shooting with a 4 lb. trigger. So for you, just try the Apex sear, i think you will be happy. Regards, Elliot45
 
Elliot45 said:
I would just install the Apex sear, I did that and liked the results. However, I wanted even better and installed the Apex ultimate striker block and now it's the smoothest trigger ever. However, per your comments, the trigger pull would be too light for your needs. But I have to say, you get great results at the range when shooting with a 4 lb. trigger. So for you, just try the Apex sear, i think you will be happy. Regards, Elliot45
Click to expand...

Changing the sear and striker block effect trigger pull weight only a little. They make it much smoother (less gritty), especially if you polish the inside of the striker block channel.

It is in changing springs that you get real differences in trigger pull weight. Apex sends new springs for both the sear and striker block. It is best to install these as they are designed to work in tandem (timing). Then measure your trigger pull.

With the factory trigger return spring, the pull may be too light (below 5.5#). Apex includes one or more different springs so you can adjust the pull weight to your liking--if you buy a kit and not just the sear.
 
I have a California compliant Shield as well. California, believe it or not, doesn't regulate trigger pull weight. It comes down to what makes you comfortable and safe. I suppose you could make it so light that they might refuse to approve it as a CCW. For me, the standard 5.5 to 7 lbs has been fine.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
I'm in Mass, when I bought my shield new it had an 11 pound pull.
I'm very fortunate that I have several top notch gunsmiths near by,
so I had one work the trigger down to 6 pounds for me. No grit , nice take
up crisp reset and no Apex parts.
My 9C was at 10 as well and quite mushy, he redid that one for me too
and now that trigger is at 5 pounds, nice short take up and short reset.
I often think about going lighter on my shield but it has no safety and that is the one
I carry the most so I have not yet. My 9C is such a pleasure to shoot now.
check your state law and do whatever is legally acceptable.
I could not hit the side of a building with my shields stock trigger.
Now I am quite accurate with both.
 
Last edited:
CB3, your statement is incorrect. I did not order a trigger kit, I only ordered a machined sear which was first installed and did reduce the trigger pull significantly. If you call Apex, they will confirm that this is the case. Then I ordered the Ultimate Striker Block. This really smoothed out the action and probably lowered the trigger pull weight a little more. Neither item comes with springs which I left unchanged. I went from a trigger pull over 7 lbs to a very smooth trigger pull of between 3 1/2 to 4lbs. The gun is a tack driver now. Regards, Elliot45
 
Elliot45 is correct. Jim at Apex said their machined sear alone can lower factory trigger pull weight about 2#, sometimes almost 3.

Sorry.
 
Thanks to all who replied, I appreciate the ton of good information. While I bought my first S&W revolver more than 30 years ago, this Shield is my first S&W semi-auto.

Also I gotta say the group here is awesome. If I posted my original, somewhat off-base question on certain other forums, I would get the same number of replies, and all but one would just be "bash on the forum newb". It is great to get so many replies that are on point.

In CA we do not have a law that specifies a minimum trigger weight. Actually it is worse here. The state mandated "micro stamping" for all new pistols. And given that no manufacturer has commercialized microstamping, no pistols qualify. So there are no new models of semi-autos released for sale in CA at all. But every year some fall off the list, if they are discontinued or changed. The only models sold in CA are the ones still on the ever-declining DOJ "roster".

Some agencies that issue CCWs do restrict license holders from carrying guns that have been modified. Typically it is just a general prohibition on modifications, not a spec on pull weight, etc.

Thanks again.
 
Last edited:
Elliot45 said:
CB3, your statement is incorrect. I did not order a trigger kit, I only ordered a machined sear which was first installed and did reduce the trigger pull significantly. If you call Apex, they will confirm that this is the case. Then I ordered the Ultimate Striker Block. This really smoothed out the action and probably lowered the trigger pull weight a little more. Neither item comes with springs which I left unchanged. I went from a trigger pull over 7 lbs to a very smooth trigger pull of between 3 1/2 to 4lbs. The gun is a tack driver now. Regards, Elliot45
Click to expand...

I did the same. Read about it on the M&P forum last year and bought only the machined sear from Apex and a glock trigger spring from Brownells or somewhere. I'm at 5lbs maybe 5.5 depending on where on the trigger shoe I put the gauge, but no more than that. It made a nice difference in the 7-7.5lb pull I started with. Maybe mine got lucky in the striker block area though. The full kit I imagine is great, though I went the less expensive route and got the results I was after for cheaper. I did not want to mess with having to try and remove that Shield rear sight.
 
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