Another thread about M&P trigger

[dannybot]

We have three M&P9's (two FS and a 9cCT) and generally enjoy them. They are nice shooters and pretty accurate.

My wife and I compete USPSA and IDPA, and I compete 3 gun using the FS models. The gun is so ergonomic, I rarely even use the sights during the USPSA competitions and score well for accuracy (my speed is another issue).

So the question comes from this: my wife went out to an A Girl and A Gun event recently taking my Ruger MkIII Competition model and came home complaining that she wants the M&P to have a trigger just like that. I have polished the sears on our competition M&P's and they are smooth and light like an Apex, I compared it to a firearms instructor's gun, and he tried mine. We both agreed no noticeable difference.

So will the AEK trigger, from anybody who has installed one, make a big difference? Or do I let her get a Glock 34 like she has been looking at for the last few weeks?

 

[shawn mccarver]

We have three M&P9's (two FS and a 9cCT) and generally enjoy them. They are nice shooters and pretty accurate.

My wife and I compete USPSA and IDPA, and I compete 3 gun using the FS models. The gun is so ergonomic, I rarely even use the sights during the USPSA competitions and score well for accuracy (my speed is another issue).

So the question comes from this: my wife went out to an A Girl and A Gun event recently taking my Ruger MkIII Competition model and came home complaining that she wants the M&P to have a trigger just like that. I have polished the sears on our competition M&P's and they are smooth and light like an Apex, I compared it to a firearms instructor's gun, and he tried mine. We both agreed no noticeable difference.

So will the AEK trigger, from anybody who has installed one, make a big difference? Or do I let her get a Glock 34 like she has been looking at for the last few weeks?

What do you mean "let her?" LOL

Around here, that kind of talk brings about fighting words from my wife! LOL

 

[Dino1]

Get her the gun she can shoot comfortabley, The trigger from gun to gun can make the world of differance. Can you copy the trigger from the Rugger to the Smith? She needs to find what she can shoot, and fits her style, then purchase that pistol. Maybe the Ruger is her gun.

 

[dannybot]

She can shoot the M&P well, she can shoot the MkIII very well. I can use the M&P defensively very well too, but 8" plates at twenty yards gets a bit challenging during a three gun match.

My question was specifically directed at folks who had installed the AEK trigger. Does it remove all that redundant travel? Is it like a 1911?

Keeping the S&W line would be nice, since it is not just buying another $600 gun, but we'd need holsters and magazines too.

 

[Jyezahn]

Yes, the AEK trigger removes a lot of take-up travel and squishy-ness. The aluminum has a solid feel and the clearance between the trigger guard and bottom of the trigger is minimal.

Before:

After:

 

[dannybot]

Nice pic Jyezahn. That helps a lot.

 

[loveMD]

Yup, it will remove alot of the extra play in the trigger. I like mine alot.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[jdubpro]

I agree with Jyezahn. I first installed the Apex USB and sear with the Apex competition springs and the Apex RAM. I ended up leaving the stock striker spring and stock trigger return spring. That combination gave me the best feel and resulted in about a 4# pull. It is crisp with a nice reset, but with a lot of take-up and over-travel. I ordered the AEK trigger and installed that last week. It made a drastic improvement. There is still more take-up than my 1911, but it's way better than the stock trigger.

I did have to adjust the trigger bar, but I just followed the Youtube video and went slowly. It took me four tries to get it just right. I highly recommend the Apex parts.

 

[MSG Glenn]

Get the Apex kit and the G34. Make her happy.

 

[dannybot]

Get the Apex kit and the G34. Make her happy.

Nice try Glenn, but we are looking for a competition shotgun too, AND have a college sophomore.

 

[sdeeut69]

white lettering/logo

Yes, the AEK trigger removes a lot of take-up travel and squishy-ness. The aluminum has a solid feel and the clearance between the trigger guard and bottom of the trigger is minimal.

Before:

After:

How did you get the white letting on your gun?

 

[dannybot]

I used a silver Sharpie. Clean with alcohol or denatured alcohol, let dry then fill in with the ink. Once dry scrub off excess with alcohol. I have also read that you can use crayons or model paint.

Look in the M&P 15-22 rifle section, there are several threads on filling your roll marks.

 

[Bkreutz]

White out works too.

 

[Jyezahn]

How did you get the white letting on your gun?

I used white fingernail polish. Spread it on and in, let it dry slightly, use papertowel folded up, with nail polish remover (non-acetone if you didn't take the slide off the frame), gently rub the excess off.

 

[jeffhughes]

The Apex FFS kit and trigger will give you what she is looking for.

It feels like a fairly light 1911.

I love it but would not carry one, but for matches, sure...

 

[dannybot]

I put the AEK trigger in MY match gun yesterday. It feels pretty good, and really light. A lot of the pre travel is gone, and there is no perceptible overtravel. I did have to open up the loop a lot to get the sear to fully engage.

The whole thing took less than an hour, but I wasn't in any sort of a hurry. I'm going to try and make a 3gun match this weekend to see how much it has helped me.

This is NOT a carry modification!

 

[OneJzsupra]

I can't help just yet as I'm waiting for mine to come.... But I do want to say your wife is awesome lol

 

[Jyezahn]

This is NOT a carry modification!

Why do you say that? Is it that it's just not a carry option for YOU? Or you don't consider it to be a carry option, period?

It's simply a direct replacement for the stock trigger. It doesn't lighten the trigger pull, it just makes it crisper and depending on the shooter, will help you stay on target during trigger pull.

I'll carry mine with NO reservations.

 

[agksimon]

Why do you say that? Is it that it's just not a carry option for YOU? Or you don't consider it to be a carry option, period?

It's simply a direct replacement for the stock trigger. It doesn't lighten the trigger pull, it just makes it crisper and depending on the shooter, will help you stay on target during trigger pull.

I'll carry mine with NO reservations.

I personally feel it's safe to carry a gun with a 4lb pull, but any lighter than that would make me uncomfortable. Also, I again personally feel more comfortable with my carry gun having some pre-travel. You just never know when something bad could happen when re-holstering, or under strees, having their finger where it doesn't belong. We had a veteran cop near here that had his finger on the trigger and under stress, shot a kid when there was no threat.

 

[Jyezahn]

I personally feel it's safe to carry a gun with a 4lb pull, but any lighter than that would make me uncomfortable. Also, I again personally feel more comfortable with my carry gun having some pre-travel. You just never know when something bad could happen when re-holstering, or under strees, having their finger where it doesn't belong. We had a veteran cop near here that had his finger on the trigger and under stress, shot a kid when there was no threat.

The AEK trigger has 20% less pre-travel, but it still has some. And it closes the gap between the bottom of the trigger and the trigger guard, which means less possibility of snagging on something during holstering. Accidents do happen under stress, and that's unfortunate. I'm sure that cop has quite a heavy weight to bear.

 

[keakar]

How did you get the white letting on your gun?

youtube has a video showing how to do it, it looks easy enough to do

 

[Nitrous SSC]

Use of the duty/carry kit with the AEK trigger gives a good solid feel but it still doesn't have that "wall" I'm so used to with all my 3rd gen guns.

BUT, M&P vs M&P its Light years better. I have an AEK trigger AND duty carry kit on both my M&P's. The OEM Trigger is **** and feels like its going to break.

 

[e-jism]

So will the AEK trigger, from anybody who has installed one, make a big difference? Or do I let her get a Glock 34 like she has been looking at for the last few weeks?
Reply With Quote

Give her all the facts and let her decide. You know what they say, "A happy wife means a happy life."

 

[keakar]

just my 2 cents but if she found a gun she likes and shoots accurately the get her THAT gun and don't try to make another gun feel the same or mod it close to it.

if it aint broke don't fix it and get her what fits her best

that said, as far as the apex trigger I think YOU will love it and be very happy you did it for your own so do it for yourself then let her make up her mind shooting the AEK trigger vs her other choice and see in a side by side test and feel

 

[dannybot]

Okay, here's what I have to say in answer to address the above comments, questions and my own personal opinions regarding the AEK trigger install.

First, I do not have a trigger pull scale to make objective measures so I can only offer subjective opinions of the changes as far as the weighting of the trigger.

I did the Burwell sear modification last summer, and it really improved the weight, feel of uptake, smoothness and reset on the trigger. I have three M&P's to compare, so anytime I make a modification I can go back to the prior iteration on another gun. My only complaint with the Burwell job was that it very slightly increased pretravel, and left the overall travel the same. I did this upgrade to both of our full sized M&P's that we use for USPSA, IDPA and 3gun.

But we kept jerking, just not as badly as before. After shooting the M&P and Mk III back to back, wifey said she wanted something done. That's what led me to the AEK trigger.

Install was not that bad, just follow the video. Use the link from the Apex website. Pretravel is really, really shortened, and the trigger geometry is changed, so the pull weight is also reduced, significantly. That, in addition to the sear modifications combine to make a light, short pull trigger with the stock springs.

As for how the gun shoots, well, it shoots well. Sort of. I opened up the trigger bar following the instructions in the video, measuring ans testing, measuring and testing. It dry fired reliably probably a hundred times.

But today at the match, I had about a dozen FTF's on the first stage, so I had to open up the loop some more on the fly with limited tools and no measuring. But after wedging a screwdriver inside the loop I got it to run perfectly from that point forward. I was making thirty yard shots on 8" plates with increased speed and accuracy.

So, for me, it was a worthwhile modification. But I did get my hands on a G34 with a $20 Glockworks trigger job at the match today, and it appears to be a contender too. But it does have the Glock ergonomics, which the S&W doesn't...

 

[loveMD]

I put the AEK trigger in MY match gun yesterday. It feels pretty good, and really light. A lot of the pre travel is gone, and there is no perceptible overtravel. I did have to open up the loop a lot to get the sear to fully engage.

The whole thing took less than an hour, but I wasn't in any sort of a hurry. I'm going to try and make a 3gun match this weekend to see how much it has helped me.

This is NOT a carry modification!

This was my experience too, alot of the travel slop is gone. I opened the loop more than i wanted to by accident but it worked perfectly and i avoided having to adjust it several times. Love the aek trigger.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[smokey0118]

How did you get the white letting on your gun?

The crayon method seems to be easy and quick. Scrape a crayon around the lettering until the lettering is filled in and then hit it with a hair dryer to melt it and get it to set in the lettering. Just wipe down the excess with some clp on a rag. Here's an example on my ar...

I've beat my ar up and the crayon lettering has held up great. It's somewhat easy to reverse, with a toothpick, and quick to fix.

 

[Harrison]

I have a G-34 and have owned two M&Ps. I also shoot USPSA. If your wife wants a G-34 let her get one. There are a lot more aftermarket parts to upgrade a Glock than there are for an M&P. Besides a much better trigger, fewer and more reliable innards, the G-34 gives you an extra inch of between front and rear sight. Ultimately, your wife is going to be shooting the pistol, not you. Let her get what she wants. Also, there are a lot more Glocks being shot in USPSA than there are M&Ps.

 

[Shizane6]

I have the Apex AEK Trigger on my M&P9 FS. I installed it myself and it works great. Very light and smooth trigger pull. I definitely recommend it!

 

[keakar]

I have the Apex AEK Trigger on my M&P9 FS. I installed it myself and it works great. Very light and smooth trigger pull. I definitely recommend it!

I already have the APEX AEK & USB sitting on my desk along with a spare trigger bar so if I ever need to go back stock for warranty work it is simple and easy to do to swap it all as one complete unit.

I got the (MA) trigger bar assembly so I can use the really heavy spring (if needed) to bring the trigger back up to 6 lbs again since its for home defence and I don't want a soft trigger just a smoother one that works better.

I just want to put a couple hundred rounds thru the new gun first to make sure there are no issues before I go start changing anything