Adjusting trigger slack in 1911

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nbjim

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Recently I purchased a new SW1911 (SKU#108284). It is a beautifully made 1911 but I do have one problem - adjusting the slack out of the trigger.

There is quite a bit of slack in the trigger, yet when I attempt to adjust it out, with even the least amount of adjustment, it will not fire.

Has anyone a suggestion what I might do to remedy this problem?
 
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Your post covers a lot of perspectives on the S&W 1911 trigger.

The little screw adjuster on bottom of trigger shoe only adjusts how far your trigger moves back after it trips the sear and fires the gun. As you found out a little bit of adjustment prevents hammer from tripping. Need to have enough slack there for gun to function.

The next area is the general sloppiness or wiggle of the S&W triggers. For some reason there is quite a bit of wiggle to almost all S&W 1911's, likely due to excess clearance of the trigger wand in the internal frame channel for the trigger wand. About the only thing you can do here is to get an oversized aftermarket trigger and file/stone the top and bottom of trigger shoe and wand for more precise fitment.

The excess slack that you refer to, I presume you to mean is the amount of "take up" that is required before trigger actually engages the sear. There are two solutions here. A shim can be soldered to the back of the trigger wand to reduce take up. A second solution is to, again, obtain an aftermarket trigger with a slightly longer wand. If you are not experienced in assembly/dissassembly or modification of 1911's you should engage a competent gunsmith to perform the work.
 
thanks

Thanks arroyoshark. You've been a big help with your advice. I was hoping that there might have been an internal adjustment but obviously it's a job for a gunsmith.
 
They do offer triggers that have a pair of "ears" on the trigger bow at the rear of the trigger shoe. These can be bent to remove most of the pre-travel. The over-travel screw should be set to the fire/no fire point then backed off a quarter turn.
 
Installing an aftermarket trigger is not hard, but it does require complete disassembly of the frame. The trigger is the last part to come out. It can be a DIY job, but only with proper knowledge of how the 1911 trigger mechanism works, fitment, and how to safety check your results. When in doubt, take it to a gunsmith. If the guy knows what he is doing you will get the gun back with an excellent trigger that will put a smile on your face every pull.
 
Please be advised that a certain amount of takeup in the trigger of a 1911 pattern pistol is required for safe operation. A trigger poorly fitted to the race way that move vertically and laterally is another story.

Having noted that, if you're operating the trigger properly, you'll only notice that minor amount of takeup on the first round. The trigger should be held back through recoil and once sight alignment is regained, allowed to move forward only enough to reconnect with the sear. This is generally about 0.035 inches.
 
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