New 586, customizing the trigger

[Bionic_Man]

First time in this Forum. I am transitioning from a Glock blaster, to a shooter who lives in the moment for a single shot. Hence, I wanted a revolver to use as a single action, iron sight, paper puncher. I think I found it in the 6 inch 586, that I will pickup in 10 days. I shot a single action Colt revolver a while back. My first shot, I fired unintentionally while putting my finger in the trigger guard. A real lesson in trigger awareness and control. I want to eventually get similar results with my 586. Being new to revolvers, I assume I can have the single action lightened? I also assume the double action does not change? I've shot a GP100 and a 686 in DA poorly, but I hope to learn how to shoot DA with my 586. I hope I'm making sense.

 

[Butchbird]

Any gunsmith worth his salt can do marvels with a S&W trigger pull -- I think S&W factory will work on them -- check with them -- I use Alex Hamilton at Ten Ring Precison for mine since he lives nearby and is very easy to deal with -- a really nice guy

 

[murphydog]

It is probably better to use your new 586 first and see how you get along with the SA trigger pull as is. 5 pounds and crisp should be fine for target work with practice.

 

[Hapworth]

Are you using a vintage 586 or one from the new "classic" model line?

 

[lhump1961]

I find the stock SA trigger on ALL my Smith revolvers to be quite light enough! Get it in your hands before you decide. JMHO.

The 586 is a wonderful choice...one of my favorites!

 

[loeman]

I agree with lhump and murphydog in their posts on this thread. Put some time in at the range with your 586 before you decide. I have three guns that are the same or quite similar to yours. Two are 686s and the third is a 681. The triggers are perfect (IMO) with two of them and and near perfect with the third. Enjoy your 586, it was a great choice.

 

[Bionic_Man]

It is a new classic 586. I intend to use it a while to learn the trigger.

Is it bad form to learn to fire a SA handgun with 3 lbs. or less trigger pull? I own Glocks and a 1911, I really don't know how to pull a DA trigger (non-striker).

 

[OKFC05]

It is a new classic 586. I intend to use it a while to learn the trigger.

Is it bad form to learn to fire a SA handgun with 3 lbs. or less trigger pull? I own Glocks and a 1911, I really don't know how to pull a DA trigger (non-striker).

As an old revolver shooter who has used them in bullseye, USPSA, IDPA, ICORE, etc., there are several suggestions:
1. Don't start redesigning a gun you don't know how to shoot. There is no point in having a single-action trigger under three pounds, unless you are good enough to shoot in the Olympics.
2. As soon as you grasp the basics, bullseye shooting is a fun way to work on your accuracy and technique, and ultra-light triggers are not allowed.
3. There are quite a few old revolver shooters around who are NRA instructors. You can save a lot of time and ammunition by taking a lesson or three. The action pistol games are shot double action with revolvers, due to the time constraint. And it is possible to shoot quite fast and accurately double action with a revolver. Even old guys like me can manage quarter second double taps, and if you want to see what is possible, watch Mr Miculek's videos.

 

[snubbyfan]

I agree with the others. Shoot the gun as is for a while before spending money on a trigger job it may not need.
Your money would be better spent on lessons on proper grip, stance and trigger control. After that lotsa practice both dry fire and live fire.

 

[jtcarm]

S&Ws have the best out-of-the box SA triggers of any production revolver except maybe the really high-end stuff like Freedom Arms. They're not only light, but I have never shot a K-frame or larger that had any perceptible creep.

In a nutshell: Leave it alone!

 

[Jaymo]

I can honestly say that I would never mess with the SA trigger of a Smith revolver. They have a better SA pull than any SA revolver I've shot, with the possible exception of a Freedom Arms.

Kinda funny, how DA revolvers usually have much better SA triggers than SA revolvers.

 

[clevolver]

Save your money, or better, spend it on ammo and range time, and learn to shoot with a standard trigger.

One, older S&W revolvers have great triggers as it is.

Two, they get better the more you use them. The smoothing a gunsmith will do to a trigger just replaces the natural wear-in that you'll get from dry fire practice. So save your money and dry fire practice 100-200 trigger pulls every night. You'll get a better trigger AND a better feel for the trigger.

Three, improving the trigger will not make YOU a better shooter. There are good triggers and bad triggers, and there are good shooters and bad shooters. If you're a beginner, as your post suggests, work first on making yourself a better shooter. When you get to the point where you're good enough that the only way to improve your shooting is with a better trigger, THEN think about the trigger job. By that time, you MAY find that the trigger has worn in to where you wouldn't think of changing a thing, though.

Sometimes people who buy something are in a hurry to do this and that to it to customize what they bought, before they really get an appreciation for what it is. You really, really, really shouldn't waste money doing things when you don't yet know whether those things are going to be improvements or not. If you're just looking to spend money on something, spend it on ammo, and use the ammo to invest in yourself by practicing.

 

[rwsmith]

I agree.....

I find the stock SA trigger on ALL my Smith revolvers to be quite light enough! Get it in your hands before you decide. JMHO.

The 586 is a wonderful choice...one of my favorites!

I don't want to do any custom work on my 686 because it isn't needed and I'd be afraid that changing it would mess it up! I like it just the way it is. Of course you are free to give it a try and you can get good results at least in having it customized to your pull weight, etc.

You are starting with a first-class base in the 586 to customize to your satisfaction.

 

[clevolver]

Is it bad form to learn to fire a SA handgun with 3 lbs. or less trigger pull? I own Glocks and a 1911, I really don't know how to pull a DA trigger (non-striker).

SA vs DA is a different feel. The DA pull is longer. It's the same basic motion, just longer.

To do it right, work on your grip first, to make sure you can control the gun while pulling the trigger.

Next, without gripping the gun at all, work on flexing your index finger at the second knuckle until you can perform the motion without the rest of your hand moving. Ideally the only part of your hand that should move when you flex your trigger finger is the tip of the finger down to the second knuckle.

Dry fire practice while aiming at something. The goal should be to fire the gun without your trigger pull motion pulling the sights off target. As you pull the trigger, if the gun pulls off target, stop pulling, correct your aim, and resume. Do 100-200 pulls, concentrating on good form. If you get tired and can't maintain good form through 100-200 pulls, stop when you can't maintain good form. You're training your muscles and developing muscle memory.

Do it every day while (or instead of) watching TV, and keep in practice. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, a half hour, whatever you can.

 

[Jaymo]

Put a lot of rounds through that L frame and you'll be amazed at the trigger pull. It really does get sweeter with use.

 

[PeterK]

Ha! I was just dry firing my 6in 586 just before reading this post. I agree with others, dry fire it a lot, as well as shooting your new 586 before getting any work done on it. And as clevolver said, aim at something well dry firing to work on your trigger control, I like to use the nose of the deer on the wall! Have fun and enjoy your new gun, and I think you will really enjoy it. I have a 6in 586, 6in 686, and am currently looking for a 4 in. Have fun!

Peter

 

[ridgewalker]

I recommend setting up 2 targets. Use one for SA and one for DA. At first you will probably be much more accurate with SA. Keep practicing on a regular basis and you will find that eventually you become equally accurate shooting SA or DA. That is what happened with me. Now I just set up one target and shoot DA 90% of the time.

Follow clevolvers advice about trigger finger movement above. Also I have found a high grip helps a lot with accuracy. Try to have the web of skin between your thumb and index finger at the top of the grip on your revolver. L frame revolvers like your 586 fit me pretty well but depending on your hand size and finger length you might want to change stocks. I like the trigger to be placed just slightly in front of the crease of the first joint on my index finger but some people might like it elsewhere.

Learn correct sight placement. It varies with different ammunition. Try to use one type of ammo per range session because different ammo will have different points of impact. Usually I shoot the first cylinder SA off the bench and adjust my sights after each shot. Get a good screw driver that fits your sight screws perfectly and put it in your range bag. You can do a search on this forum and find which direction to turn the screws to adjust your sights. After you are sighted in for your ammo you are good to go.

Take your time when aiming. You want to be able to see equal amounts of light on each side of your front sight blade when you fire the trigger.

Keep practicing and then practice some more and you will find the 586 will do anything you want it to do. In other words, it is not the gun that we have to make better, it is us. Enjoy.

 

[Jaymo]

My old 586 no dash appears to have been dry fired and/or shot a lot.
As a result, the trigger is fantastic.

 

[Bionic_Man]

Just bought 500 rounds of 38 Special, and 250 of .357 Mag. I was not expecting to pay less than .223/5.56 or .45 ACP per round. Then my neighbor gave me 200 rounds of 357.

I have seven days until I take it home, a day after I turn 50 years old. I was thinking a custom gun was more appropriate for turning 50, but have decided to keep it stock. Thanks all for the advice

 

[johngalt]

I put light mainsprings in my revolvers, I'm thinking of going back to the regular springs. The single action pull is almost too light.

For bullseye shooting, the minimum trigger pull is 3.5#. For the .22 stages, I think you can go down to 2.5#.