My S&W Victory is a nice piece of engineering in every way, except that the trigger pull has a lot of creep. Neither my 22A, Ruger Mk III or Browning Buckmark Hunter were as bad. All broke crisply and clean. Not my Victory. After many years of shooting i've learned not to get too excited about the hype, but every review about the Victory has been glowing. Unfortunately, this trigger most definitely needs work. So, back to the factory, or too a gunsmith. Your thoughts?
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Victory trigger disappointing. What to do?
- Thread starter gunhawk7
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Interesting first post. So what is the measurement of the trigger pull, weight wise?
By contrast, Gunsamerica quote......"The trigger is excellent, with a short take-up and crisp break. The pull weight is right at three pounds as measured by my Timney Triggers scale. As a result of the light weight and crisp operation, you’ll shoot this gun accurately with ease. The flat face of the trigger is serrated vertically and has an overtravel adjustment screw set into the face."
By contrast, Gunsamerica quote......"The trigger is excellent, with a short take-up and crisp break. The pull weight is right at three pounds as measured by my Timney Triggers scale. As a result of the light weight and crisp operation, you’ll shoot this gun accurately with ease. The flat face of the trigger is serrated vertically and has an overtravel adjustment screw set into the face."
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I'm not sure, as I don't have a gauge. I tried to compare the trigger weight between the Victory and the Buckmark Hunter, just by feel, but it's really not possible since the Buckmark breaks like glass and the Victory has so much creep.
tomf52
Member
My Victory also has some creep, but after shooting it a bit I have gotten used to it and it is one of the most accurate handguns I have. I'm very pleased with it.
It's accurate when rested on the bench. Off hand is another story. We all know how important a light *crisp* trigger is to accuracy. I want to get the best that I can out of the pistol. I haven't dealt with S&W public relations before, so i'm not sure if they would see this as a problem.
Magload
US Veteran
Volquartsen is working on a trigger and he told me it should be ready this fall. I have his trigger in my Mark III and it is really nice but I have learned to like the trigger in my Victory. My Victory trigger is at 3lb 12oz and I have ran 1600+ rounds and it feels better then when it was new. I doth i will replace it.
Was there any creep?
Magload
US Veteran
Not that I can feel. I take up the slack till I hit the wall then apply pressure and it breaks. The gun Victory and the Mark III have the same optic on them, MatchDot II and I will score higher with the Victory every time. There are several of use old guys that shoot 10yd bench rest at the 50yd National Rimfire targets. They are like the air rifle targets that the 10 ring is 1/8" with a dot for the X. 10 targets one round a target so you can really see that your trigger is doing for you. I had to get the guys to switch to these targets as the Victory will shoot 10 rounds through the first bullet hole.
Ok then. If there is no creep in yours then mine has a problem.
But nobody has answered my question yet. Back to S&W, or to a gunsmith?
Wee Hooker
Member
If your hoping S&W would improve the trigger on their dime, I would doubt it. Likely it's in spec and you need to remember this is their inexpensive model. If you want to pay their custom shop then that might work but could get expensive. I'd vote taking a look yourself ( if you inclined) or takeing it to a local smith . That said, I've never been a fan of putting $100+ into any $300 gun. You just never get it back.
PS if the trigger is anything like the 22A, it's not going to be cake walk. Hopefully these get popular enough where somebody comes up with an inexpensive drop in kit.
PS if the trigger is anything like the 22A, it's not going to be cake walk. Hopefully these get popular enough where somebody comes up with an inexpensive drop in kit.
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Magload
US Veteran
I think S&W will just tell you it is in specs. This is only a $360 gun and not a custom target gun. I would think a gun smith could work on it but i would just wait for a after market trigger that is going to give you a lighter trigger and adjustments.
Magload
US Veteran
I have put $450 into this $350 gun so far and a trigger assy would add another $150 but I don't plan on selling it and and it has become the target pistol I hoped it would. Still think I will stick with the trigger it has as long as I keep winning with it.
The range master who is a Bullseye shooter tried my trigger and said the only thing wrong was too much over travel. There is a adjustment for that but it hasn't bothered me so I haven't adjusted it.
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I'll give S&W a call and see what they say. I don't mind spending an additional $150.00 if that's what it takes, as I think the pistol's ease of take down and versatility are worth it. Still, we should note that the great reviews don't necessarily reflect the reality of *all* of the Victory pistols.
Gregbenner
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I also do not like the Victory trigger. Mine is about 3 1/2 lbs, but way to long of a pull. I shoot one handed, and do not like it. I have the VC Carbon barrel, and some new custom target grips coming this week, just need a trigger! Both VC and TandenKross say they are working on one.
Too heavy or too long? By long, assume that you mean that from the time that you feel the wall, to the time it let's off, it creeps. There should be a little leeway, for safety, from the time you squeeze the trigger until the time you feel the wall. Just like a military rifle. There should be *no* movement of the trigger at all between the time you hit the wall and the hammer drops. You apply pressure and it should break like glass. *All* of my .22 semiautomatic pistols have been like that. In any case, i'm glad to read that i'm not the only one with a Victory that needs trigger work.
Gregbenner
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I guess a bit of both travel and creep. In all fairness, I do target shooting only, and my other pistols either have modified triggers or were much better stock ( and much more expensive as well). Right now, the Victory is one of my least favorites, but with grips and a trigger I think it will be pretty good. Perhaps if I only shot the Victory I would just get used to it, but I normally shoot more than one gun at any outing, and the Victory is always a challenge to shoot one handed.
Magload
US Veteran
Maybe be that is why I get along with my Victory so well as I can't shoot worth a darn one handed. I didn't have all this wobble when I was a younger man. I say younger as I am still young and will only be 70 in December. Indoors at 50 feet I am lucky to score a 84 with any gun But mt Victory beats my tricked out Mark III any day. I have become a benchrest pistol shooter. Two handed I am petty good and guess I could shoot steel but the ranges here are not set up for pistol steel.
Gregbenner
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ML, I didn't mean to suggest I shoot "worth a darn" one handed, only that I so
I'm only a year behind you, and the wobble is a bich. Box stock the Victory is an excellent excellent pistol for the money. Had my Mark 2 at the smith last Monday. After all the instruction he has given me, i still managed to jam the damm hammer swinging gizmo against the stupid sear pin (or whatever it is called) during attempted reassembly.
Magload
US Veteran
ML, I didn't mean to suggest I shoot "worth a darn" one handed, only that I so
Hey don't feel bad I spent all day and part of that night getting my Mark III to work again after installing and removing and reinstalling all the received parts 12 time when i put the VQ trigger assy in. If it wasn't for a good You Tube that covered a step that VQ didn't explain well and Ruger's video forgot to mention it was off to a smith for me also. I hit one point at the 12 hour mark where I was ready to just throw the brand new gun away.
I don't want to thread drift too much, but i just hit 70 myself. I can still shoot one handed fairly well, as long as i'm using a red dot and the trigger does it's job. My Mk III was a pain in the posterior to assemble, so I dumped it thinking that the Victory would take it's place, but the trigger on the Victory doesn't hold a candle to my old Mk III. I like to compete, so the Victory is going to need work, as I guess it's not the bright shining star that it's cracked up to be.
