Installed the Apex DCAEK today

[scattershot]

...and it went pretty well, considering I can't see anymore and my hands shake like a whore in church.

First thing I did was install the new sear block and spring. That really made a difference, and smoothed out the takeup beautifully.

I almost stopped there, but what the heck, I wanted a lighter trigger. When folks tell you to be careful of all the little springs, etc. LISTEN TO THEM! I didn't have any trouble with the sear spring, because I kept a finger on it, but my pistol has a thumb safety, and the little detent doohicky came out. Long story short, that spring is probably still bouncing off of the walls in my basement. I jury rigged a spring, and pressed on.

The difference in trigger pull weight is remarkable. From what I guessed was around 8#, to 4 1/2 to 5 after the installation. (I retained the stock springs)

Long story short, the takeup was really smoothed out, and the pull was reduced. I didn't notice that it was any crisper, and in fact there is a little creep at the end of the break now, but I'm hoping it will go away with a little dry firing or a trip to the range (if I can find the sled dogs!) the reset is much crisper now, and overtravel is less.

Overall, I'm pleased with the kit, but if you are experiencing a gritty trigger, try the striker block first, you may be happy with just that mod, and it's pretty easy to do.

 

[loveMD]

Lol, Im glad to see you on the otherside. I know how you felt, I just dropped in their aek alum trigger and was a bit intimidated but it went just fine. Got a striker blocker on the way that will complete my mods to the trigger. Im a little worried about drifting the site but will just take my time.

Yeah, theres a reason why everyone warns against losing little springs. Its easy to forget during the heat of battle though.

 

[dullh]

The DCAEK kit is nice, but after installing two complete kits in two FS 9MM M&P's I found the USB and the reduced-power USB spring were the two items that made the most difference...

 

[scattershot]

In fact, I almost left the new sear out of my pistol after trying it with just the USB and spring. In fact, I'm thinking of polishing the blocker in my 40c to a mirror finish and cutting a couil or two from the factory spring to see how that works. The break is already pretty good, with a fairly mushy reset, but the crisp reset is probably something I can live without.

 

[Snowdaddy70]

DCAEK Install

New to the Forum.. Wondering how difficult the install process is for the DCAEK, AEK Trigger and RAM kit? I Talked with a Gunsmith this week and he said it was unwise and potentially very dangerous to attempt this.. He also wanted $200.00 to install the kit and 6 weeks to do so. So I am Left with that expensive time consumng option or iIcan attempt this install on my own. Ive watched the Online videos and It seems pretty straight forward. Just wondering what challenges I may face or if I should even try it. Thanks.

 

[Rgoodwin]

Order the armorers block as well. I did not have it and getting the pins out is a little clumsy hanging over the edge of a desk.

 

[Ksimons]

New to the Forum.. Wondering how difficult the install process is for the DCAEK, AEK Trigger and RAM kit? I Talked with a Gunsmith this week and he said it was unwise and potentially very dangerous to attempt this.. He also wanted $200.00 to install the kit and 6 weeks to do so. So I am Left with that expensive time consumng option or iIcan attempt this install on my own. Ive watched the Online videos and It seems pretty straight forward. Just wondering what challenges I may face or if I should even try it. Thanks.

I installed my complete kit in about an 1 1/2 hours. Let me say that I am a very mechanically minded person but this was the first time of a complete tare down of my FS 40. I found watching the videos from APEX help while I was doing it. But it comes down to how muck you trust your abilities. $200 and six week wait for you gunsmith seems a little high to instal a kit. If he was making the modifications himself to get the same results that would be inline. Someone that has done them a few times it would take about 45 min in my mind.

 

[jdubpro]

It's not that difficult. I had never done anything more than a field strip. It also took me about 1-1/2 hours. I had my laptop right there and kept playing, pausing, and re-playing the Apex videos. Take your time. Add one piece, reassemble, test, take apart, add the next piece. You can do it.

Also, I recommend polishing all of the pieces, plus the trigger bar, as long as you have everything apart.

 

[Old_Sparky]

Thinking about adding this to my M&P .40. What do you use to polish the pieces inside? Figure if I am going to do it myself, might as well do it right the first time.

 

[jdubpro]

Thinking about adding this to my M&P .40. What do you use to polish the pieces inside? Figure if I am going to do it myself, might as well do it right the first time.

I used a Dremel with a felt polishing tip and red jewelers polish.

 

[Stratajema]

It's not that difficult. I had never done anything more than a field strip. It also took me about 1-1/2 hours. I had my laptop right there and kept playing, pausing, and re-playing the Apex videos. Take your time. Add one piece, reassemble, test, take apart, add the next piece. You can do it.

Also, I recommend polishing all of the pieces, plus the trigger bar, as long as you have everything apart.

Why do you feel you have the experience to tell others to polish the parts inside their gun and thereby permanently change the tolerance of parts that ensure the safety of the gun?

 

[Robotech]

Polishing is fine, but never use a Dremel or other rotary tool with anything other than a felt polishing pad/tip. Any of the abrasive or cutting tools will take off too much material way too quickly.

That said, sometimes you need to use a stone by hand to remove burrs, and I found that a 1/4" rubber-abrasive cylinder bit was perfect for cleaning up the burrs between the striker and striker-block holes, but you need to use it only by hand, not using the motor.

 

[Snowdaddy70]

Thanks for the replies and the advice... I'm going to give it a shot this weekend.

 

[dullh]

I installed two DCAEK's and one SCK so far...

No offense to Apex, but if I had to do it over again I would have only bought and installed the USB (and spring) and left everything else factory...

 

[Snowdaddy70]

Well everything was installed, but wasn't able to install the RAM due to my gun being California compliant! Sucks that I didn't research this more beforehand. This is the part I really wanted. There isn't even a hole for the pin in the new sear housing. Does anyone know of a way to change this? Is there a way to remove the magazine disconnect and install the RAM on the newest model M&P 9mm?

 

[gm272gs]

I read that as "Dalek" and was going to post here to say that the Dr. with the scarf was my favorite.

Nevermind!

 

[jdubpro]

If you have the new sear housing you shouldn't need the Apex RAM. My FS with new housing has a better reset than my 5" Pro with old sear housing and Apex RAM.

 

[Snowdaddy70]

Really? Good to know... I'm headed to the range tomorrow to see how everything feels with the new installs.. The gunsmith says it is now holding a 3.8lb trigger pull. That's a little lighter than I wanted but I might as well check it out before I tighten it up. Also I found the answer to my RAM problem.. But I'll see how it feels at the range and comment tomorrow. But I can tell right now that I am not feeling anything from the reset... And the reset "click" is even less noticeable than before. So we'll see...

 

[Llando88]

Searched and found this thread.

Bottom line: As of November 2013, will I see a "significant" benefit by installing a DCAEK or USB in a standard, stock M&P 9mm (SKU 209301)?

Am considering two options, an M&P Pro Series pistol vs. stock, trying to get opinions on whether the Pro series is really "worth it" over stock, in particular with respect to the product line improvements over the years the standard M&P has been in production.

TIA...Rich