APEX TRIGGER INSTALLS

[SPEEDGUNNER]

I am sure this question has been asked before and the subject maybe even beaten to death over the years but I would still like to hear some opinions...

I am thinking of upgrading the triggers my M&P's (9, .40, .357SIG, .45) and I am wondering if it is something I should undertake myself, or should I send them to APEX (or someone reputable and familiar with the process) to complete the task?

I have been fine with my M&P triggers over the years, but after upgrading a SIG with their SRT kit I am now spoiled and want my M&P's to have the same precise feel.

I have the skills and the tools, just not sure I have the patience...or the time.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

 

[Flyingfool]

Go to their website. Seems pretty dirt simple. The hardest part appears to be drifting out the sites. Which are known to be extremely tight and hard to move.

 

[Raisin]

IThoughts? Recommendations?

Just be sure you have a good sight pusher. It easy after you get the rear sight off although the trigger bar loop can be a bit tricky if it needs adjustment. I messed up my installation in a compact. I opened the trigger bar loop to much and the sear would release the striker before the blocker was completely out of the way and it would stop the striker before it hit the the bullet. It took a while to figure out the problem since I could hear the striker release and thought all was good in that area.

 

[Raisin]

Thoughts? Recommendations?

Just be sure you have a good sight pusher. It easy after you get the rear sight off although the trigger bar loop can be a bit tricky if it needs adjustment. I messed up my installation in a compact. I opened the trigger bar loop to much and the sear would release the striker before the blocker was completely out of the way and it would stop the striker before it hit the the bullet. It took a while to figure out the problem since I could hear the striker release and thought all was good in that area.

 

[tsduke]

I've done it. I got the kit with trigger combo. The only problem I had with seer and trigger parts was I could not get the dang pin that is partially preset in the trigger to budge at all using a hammer as it shown in the full kit install. If you find Apex's video on the trigger install only you will see they use a vice now.

I wasn't at home so I didn't have a vice handy when I did the work so I did everything but the trigger. Trigger I'm going to do this week actually. Doing the work twice, but on the bright side I get to see 2 phases of improvement over stock.

I've done a few sights on the shields. 1 was a bear to get the rear screw out (dang red locktite) the others came right out. I have the MGW site tool so the site pushes out just fine with patience.

 

[tsduke]

Just be sure you have a good sight pusher. It easy after you get the rear sight off although the trigger bar loop can be a bit tricky if it needs adjustment. I messed up my installation in a compact. I opened the trigger bar loop to much and the sear would release the striker before the blocker was completely out of the way and it would stop the striker before it hit the the bullet. It took a while to figure out the problem since I could hear the striker release and thought all was good in that area.

What did you do to mess up your trigger bar loop? I'm wondering if I will need to do any additional work when I swap triggers.

 

[427mach1]

If you are talking about the forward set sear and trigger kit.... How old are your M&P's? S&W changed the sear plunger spring from 1/16" to 1/8" diameter around 2010 if I recall correctly. If your guns have the smaller spring, you will need to also change out the sear housing block; the Apex kits require the larger spring and sear plunger.

Mine had the 1/16" spring and I could not find a sear housing block with the thumb safety. I had to machine the spring hole out to 1/8" to accept a new spring and plunger. If you don't have the thumb safety, the sear housing blocks are easier to find. Fortunately, they aren't that expensive either.

 

[CB3]

I just left an M&P FS off at Apex for some parts installation. They said they could be up to 10 weeks out on the work, although it could be sooner.

I have installed various Apex parts on 6 M&P's. The first was difficult because it was a new procedure and took 2+ hours as I recall. Other installs, done months apart, were much faster and easier, usually much less than hour.

I have one gun that has just never run the Apex parts correctly. That's the one I left for them to work on, adding some new parts. Apex has been great to work with on this troublesome gun, but there is only so far one can go with remote gunsmithing. BTW, I took that gun to two local gunsmiths, each of whom improved performance but could not fix the problem. Warranty replacement parts from Apex also helped but did not cure. This is a very unusual situation that I don't blame on Apex parts or service. Sometimes, shot happens.

I recommend you do it yourself, one at a time. By the last one you will say it's pretty easy.

 

[gqllc007]

I literally installed two of them this weekend. One in a .45 MPc and the other in the 9 MPc. I ran into a few problems as well.
Using a MGW sight pusher the sights and the USB was a piece of cake. I ended up putting Truglo TFX on them.
The main issue was the trigger bar loop. In it's stock position it would not release the striker or reset. So I bent the loop. And I bent it too far. I also did not use feeler gaugers which was a mistake. The trigger worked in both but I ended up getting light primer strikes on the trigger of the 9mm MPc. On the .45 MPc the trigger had an odd feel like it would hang up on the front of the sear and then release. I had to take them apart. I cleaned both striker channels and made sure they were dry along with the striker assembly. When I disassembled the 9c I noticed the trigger bar loop was the old style long slow slope. I replaced it with a new H style with the rounder slope. Then I rebent the trigger loop and used a .016 feeler gauge. I reassembled everything and now everything feels perfect. I fired the 9MPc and no longer had light primer strikes.
Now to the second part I screwed up. I purchased two aluminum Apex triggers. One I assembled nicely on the 9c but it was on the old trigger bar and now I can't get the pin to back out. So I put the second one on the new H trigger bar and my punch came off and screwed up the aluminum so now that one is being thrown out. Right now I have the stock polymer trigger on both.

 

[Raisin]

What did you do to mess up your trigger bar loop? I'm wondering if I will need to do any additional work when I swap triggers.

If you watch the Apex installation video they show how to adjust the loop. I opened it up too much. I their video they caution you to carefully open it only a tiny amount but I opened it too much. Had to take it out again and close the loop just a very tiny amount. I should have used the feeler gauges like the video says rather than just eyeballing it. Here is a link to the Apex video on how to adjust it. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMLv_JaoSkU&feature=youtu.be&list=PL49zaerr9Gi_4Y07uhJW1I0iIAPl6mr6d[/ame]

 

[Steved13]

I've done a full kit on my PC FS, and a solid trigger on my PC Shield. Also changed the sights on the Shield. I had never done anything like this before, so I ordered all the little tool trays from apex, and I was glad I did as they are pretty cheap and made it easier (IMHO). Watch the videos first so you have the right punches and such, and go slow. A good sight pusher is a great idea.

I just went step by step while watching the video step by step, and no problems.

 

[Flash_80]

The only trouble I had with mine was the rear sights, and that cost me $60 for a sight pusher. It wasn't hard, but it was something I just didn't want to mess with. Didn't want mar up the rear sight and didn't want to have to meticulously mess with making sure I got it back on straight. I thought it was a minor pain, but I was able to do it without any issues. My rear sight screw was one of those that came out real easy. I guess I got lucky on that part.

I was ok with buying the sight pusher, because I'll always have it if I ever need it for anything, but if you have no future use for this, just have a local gunsmith do that part of it. One other thing, I would suggest buying a roll pin style punch if you don't have one. I used a standard flat faced punch a couple of times on my M&P, but eventually got the roll pin style. Because, well, they're roll pins. They come out a lot easier with the right punch.

 

[jim46ok]

Go to their website. Seems pretty dirt simple. The hardest part appears to be drifting out the sites. Which are known to be extremely tight and hard to move.

I agree. If you plan to do 3 pistols, then a sight (site) drifting tool is warranted. You may get someone to share the cost, as it's probably a tool neither of you will use often. The videos on Apex website are great.

 

[Grumpy_bottom]

Having never done a trigger job, without any specialized tools or blocks, just a brass punch set and youtube, I found it to be almost ridiculously easy, albeit time consuming as i paused the video, worked, played video, paused et al. Easy enough that I did a second one within a week because it was such an amazing improvement and so simple to do.

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk

 

[Rett Skutt]

I have been fine with my M&P triggers over the years, but after upgrading a SIG with their SRT kit I am now spoiled and want my M&P's to have the same precise feel.

I have the skills and the tools, just not sure I have the patience...or the time.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

My 2 cents,

I completed 2 trigger installs on my M&P Shield and Full Size Pro. First one took time, because it was new to me. The second one took about an hour.

As others have stated, the rear sights are tough. A good sight pusher would be a good thing to use. And for me, placing the trigger spring in and keeping it in place while pushing the "carriage pin" in was tricky. But taking the time and being patient will help.

But that gets back to your point. Do you have the time or patience? Apex has a large backlog. At one time they were not taking in any new business. If you purchased the kit through a gun shop, perhaps they could install the trigger kit. My gun shop stated they would do it free since I bought the trigger kit through them. I chose to put the trigger kit in myself however. Other gun smiths charge about $25.00. One thing about a gunsmith doing the work. They should stand behind their work, and if a range is in-house, they might test fire the gun with the trigger kit. So as always, it's your choice.

I hope this helped,

 

[jmonte345]

I've done it. I got the kit with trigger combo. The only problem I had with seer and trigger parts was I could not get the dang pin that is partially preset in the trigger to budge at all using a hammer as it shown in the full kit install. If you find Apex's video on the trigger install only you will see they use a vice now.

Thanks for the tip. I had the same issue with the pin in the trigger but was able to get it after reading this post.

 

[awmp]

Take your time, watch the videos before you start (don't ask how I know), I have done 6 M&Ps (3 Shields and 3 full size M&Ps), patience is needed but worth the work.