Yah, the fixed in place trigger stop has been that way from the git-go on PCs, as far as I can tell, and has never made much sense. But neither do the old frame mounted ones. All ****. But the purists will sneer at adding an adjustable stop.
That said, if the trigger's well tuned, the stop isn't a big deal (meaning needed) with any S&W revolver trigger, forged or MIM, at least in single action. The break should produce very little, if any, disturbance of the sight picture. Too low a return spring weight and the trigger jumps back. Too much and the trigger wants to mash forward into the pad of your finger. Just right and you about can't feel it!
But a stop does produce good results in DA work, at least for me. However, done right it means that the SA feature is either unusable or weighs "40-eleven" pounds! Favorite for DA work is a silicone rubber stop glued in place and trimmed with an extremely sharp knife until the DA break is just an ever so light rise in pressure with no notice of further movement.
A glued on silicone rubber stop on a 547 9mm. SA pull is off the charts, but who cares?
As far as the rest of most PC revolvers, you're mostly buying a limited production barrel attached to a standard frame. For me, it's mostly about accuracy and a steady hold, which the big .44 PCs address quite well. Have retained only one .357 PC with no intentions of swapping off so far.
A mid-1990s 629-4 PC. No better or worse than the rest of my newer ones. Extremely accurate, but the extractor rod groove cutout shows signs of a broken milling cutter (another one!) and the bolt drops way early, so massive drag line. But it's way more than satisfactory at the range and in the field!
Last years purchase of a new 629 Competitor did nothing to change my thinking. It's fine, just wish the barrel was the same weight whilst being about 2" longer to increase moment of inertia.
That said, if the trigger's well tuned, the stop isn't a big deal (meaning needed) with any S&W revolver trigger, forged or MIM, at least in single action. The break should produce very little, if any, disturbance of the sight picture. Too low a return spring weight and the trigger jumps back. Too much and the trigger wants to mash forward into the pad of your finger. Just right and you about can't feel it!
But a stop does produce good results in DA work, at least for me. However, done right it means that the SA feature is either unusable or weighs "40-eleven" pounds! Favorite for DA work is a silicone rubber stop glued in place and trimmed with an extremely sharp knife until the DA break is just an ever so light rise in pressure with no notice of further movement.
A glued on silicone rubber stop on a 547 9mm. SA pull is off the charts, but who cares?
As far as the rest of most PC revolvers, you're mostly buying a limited production barrel attached to a standard frame. For me, it's mostly about accuracy and a steady hold, which the big .44 PCs address quite well. Have retained only one .357 PC with no intentions of swapping off so far.
A mid-1990s 629-4 PC. No better or worse than the rest of my newer ones. Extremely accurate, but the extractor rod groove cutout shows signs of a broken milling cutter (another one!) and the bolt drops way early, so massive drag line. But it's way more than satisfactory at the range and in the field!
Last years purchase of a new 629 Competitor did nothing to change my thinking. It's fine, just wish the barrel was the same weight whilst being about 2" longer to increase moment of inertia.
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