Hey, I am now an official member of the S&W club. Just picked up a new Airweight. My first wheel gun in 30 yrs. The trigger pull on this thing is terrible. Have only dry fired yet, but my finger is already aching. Suggestions? I realize it is a DA, but golly. My last Smith was a .41 Magnum, and it was smooth as silk even in DA.
New 642 trigger pull
- Thread starter oldnfat
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Diablo982
Member
Welcome to the wheelgun club! Unfortunately a heavy trigger pull is standard with the J-frame revolvers. You can dry fire it some and that will help to a degree. You can also change out the springs, but at the risk of reduced reliability. Not an issue if its a target gun, but most 642's are mainly for self-defense, so I leave in the heavy factory originals. Don't be discouraged by the crappy trigger. The K, L, and N frames all still have the trigger you remember on your old 41 mag.
Look at the Wolff Spring website. My wife had trouble pulling the trigger, so I reduced my 642 pull by about 1/3.
My write-up here:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...st-weight-rebound-spring-j.html#post136175934
then scroll down for a brief report from the range test.
My write-up here:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...st-weight-rebound-spring-j.html#post136175934
then scroll down for a brief report from the range test.
Welcome to new Smiths. I understand your issue. Unless you do your own trigger work my suggestion would be to find a really good gunsmith to clean up the action. Coming from your reference point I doubt that simple spring kits are going to get you to where you want to be. A good smith should be able get it down to a clean and reliable 9#....a seriously good smith, lower.
Invictus357
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I think I'd like a snub CCW to have quite a heavy trigger pull.
I had an LCR which had a great trigger but my finger was about dead after 50 rounds.
If it really bugs you I'd go see a good gunsmith to lighten it a little.
I had an LCR which had a great trigger but my finger was about dead after 50 rounds.
If it really bugs you I'd go see a good gunsmith to lighten it a little.
dentkimterry
Member
My new 642 trigger was kind of heavy too. Took the sideplate off and looked inside. Not a sniff of any kind of lubrication anywhere. Put a little gun oil in all the spots I could see that where rubbing and dry fired it a few hundred times. Put it back together and now I think it is perfect for a carry pistol.
eazyrhino
Member
642 and 442 pro series come with really nice triggers as part of the package $430. Oh yea their also cut for moon clips,the 442 is also all stainless just black coated. Anyway congrats on your new 642 they are just great little guns.
Why would that be?
If you purchased the gun for self defense & CCW my advise is leave it alone and learn to shoot it as is. Contrary to what others have said you risk reliability when changing things on these guns. They are very accurate once you become adjusted to them.
Is your life really worth a few pounds of trigger pull?
Is your life really worth a few pounds of trigger pull?
I have a new 642 as well. There is a lot of information on the main and rebound springs on the J frames available here. In fact, that's how I found the forum.
My experience is that I used the Wolff kit with the 13 pound rebound spring and 8 pound main spring. I also put some grease (I forget the brand) on the rebound slide itself. The result is a better trigger pull and no reliability issues. I put over 100 rounds of ammo through mine with no problem.
Of course how much work, if any, you feel comfortable doing only you know. Other people have done work with stones to smooth the frame and rebound spring, but I'm too chicken to do that.
My experience is that I used the Wolff kit with the 13 pound rebound spring and 8 pound main spring. I also put some grease (I forget the brand) on the rebound slide itself. The result is a better trigger pull and no reliability issues. I put over 100 rounds of ammo through mine with no problem.
Of course how much work, if any, you feel comfortable doing only you know. Other people have done work with stones to smooth the frame and rebound spring, but I'm too chicken to do that.
eazyrhino
Member
I have a 642 with il & a classic 36 il and my newest purchase is a 442 pro series. The trigger on the pro was so much better than on the other two that it prompted me to call Smith & Wesson. They told me that my 442 has a smoother trigger, meaning there was work involved in it. The barrel and cylinder are also stainless steel. Cylinder cut to accept moon clips. And no lock.
Edmo
US Veteran
The Wilson Combat springs in my 642 lightened it up a bit, however it is still a trigger that must be practiced with. Combine a very light handgun with a long and heavy trigger and it is not the best combo for accuracy unless you give it some dedicated practice.
The trigger parts will smooth up after quite a few cycles, but the spring kit will make it lighter.
Make sure you run enough ammo through it after any trigger/spring work to establish reliability. Some of the hammer springs are too light to ignite heavy primers consistently.
Edmo
The trigger parts will smooth up after quite a few cycles, but the spring kit will make it lighter.
Make sure you run enough ammo through it after any trigger/spring work to establish reliability. Some of the hammer springs are too light to ignite heavy primers consistently.
Edmo
jtpur
Member
I just bought a 642 yesterday. Yes the pull is heavy, heavier than on our 638 which after two months of searching I could not find another locally, so went with the 642 to take to our place in Florida and leave it there so I dont have to check my gun every time I fly..
I am no lawyer but know a bit about shooting/s (self defense kind) I would suggest you deal with the factory trigger pull or buy a different gun. If you are involved in a shooting, the gun will be put into evidence. A ballistics expert will fire the gun, measure the trigger pull etc.. If your gun is altered, it may convice a DA to charge you, or say the wrong thing and you might wind up with a negligent discharge lodged against you. Modifying guns and getting into shootings is not a good thing. We had acop once who had a higly modified shotgun and he shot another officer accidentially. The wounded officer sued the gun maker and lost because of the modifications. He had to go out on disability at 2/3 of his salary and he was crippled for life. It ain't worth it folks..
I am no lawyer but know a bit about shooting/s (self defense kind) I would suggest you deal with the factory trigger pull or buy a different gun. If you are involved in a shooting, the gun will be put into evidence. A ballistics expert will fire the gun, measure the trigger pull etc.. If your gun is altered, it may convice a DA to charge you, or say the wrong thing and you might wind up with a negligent discharge lodged against you. Modifying guns and getting into shootings is not a good thing. We had acop once who had a higly modified shotgun and he shot another officer accidentially. The wounded officer sued the gun maker and lost because of the modifications. He had to go out on disability at 2/3 of his salary and he was crippled for life. It ain't worth it folks..
That would be my point. That's why I professionally lighten and smooth my carry revolvers. So I can reliably hit stuff with airweights...and even K-Frames.
My other point is that back in the day it wasn't all that necessary to gunsmith duty weapons to get rid of rough and unnecessarily heavy (lawyer) trigger pull.
I was told by a gunsmith who did a triger job for me, that Blaser ammo would probaly not be reliable because of its hard CCI primer. Blazer uses aircraft-grade aluminum that's heat-treated to make an economical cartridge case and is cost less, but is not a SD bullet. It is great for testing trigger jobs.
If the weapon fires 90 to 95% of the time, factury ammo should not be a problem.
If the weapon fires 90 to 95% of the time, factury ammo should not be a problem.
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riverrat38
US Veteran
After a couple thousand dry firings and several hundred live rounds down range, my 442 has smoothed up and the trigger is lighter. Trigger pull is the sum of spring force and friction force. If the action is smoothed out some, the pull will be mostly due to the spring force.
I think that dry firing prior to lubing the internals would speed up the smoothing effect.
As far as having work done on the action goes, if the gun was purchased used, it might be that the work was done by a former owner. If this was the case, I think it would be hard for a prosecutor to accuse the current owner of being worse than "Jack the Ripper"!
rat
I think that dry firing prior to lubing the internals would speed up the smoothing effect.
As far as having work done on the action goes, if the gun was purchased used, it might be that the work was done by a former owner. If this was the case, I think it would be hard for a prosecutor to accuse the current owner of being worse than "Jack the Ripper"!
rat
Edmo
US Veteran
Not to discount your friend's experience, however I would suggest having a J frame trigger professionally tweaked down to 6-8ish pounds of smooth pull will not automatically put you at any legal risk.
I have seen this notion of " the altered gun resulted in conviction" floating around the internet for years without any case evidence cited to back it up.
Yes, it could be considered negligent to carry a gun after having a "hack job" alteration to the point of the gun being unsafe. For example a gun which could discharge if dropped, etc... This would be similar to driving a car with known faulty brakes and causing an accident. However, I would not consider a professionally done trigger job on a J frame to be risky from a legal standpoint.
The only challenge is to test it with your carry ammo to insure the hammer spring still has enough umph to strike the primer effectively. YMMV...
Edmo
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Anton Chigurh
Member
I bought a 340 PD that came with a very rough pull. Tried the dry-fire-through-it approach, but after a day still had a stout pull and a blister.
So, I stripped it. Had done this many times, many years ago (Skeeter Skelton used to write articles about how to slick up a Smith, back in the days when they they were already pretty slick, and it was not yet a legal issue at any of the many levels it is today), so it was like riding the bike you rode 30 or more years ago. Did nothing but polish here and there
The kicker was that the mainspring strut was a real ****. Seemed to be a stamped out part, that wasn't all that flat, and had a burr on the end that mated with the internal hammer. A bit more aggressive approach with that strut resulted in a reassembled gun that was now more than acceptable.
Not going down Skeeter's road, but search how to strip and polish. Just changing springs is not likely enough.
So, I stripped it. Had done this many times, many years ago (Skeeter Skelton used to write articles about how to slick up a Smith, back in the days when they they were already pretty slick, and it was not yet a legal issue at any of the many levels it is today), so it was like riding the bike you rode 30 or more years ago. Did nothing but polish here and there
The kicker was that the mainspring strut was a real ****. Seemed to be a stamped out part, that wasn't all that flat, and had a burr on the end that mated with the internal hammer. A bit more aggressive approach with that strut resulted in a reassembled gun that was now more than acceptable.
Not going down Skeeter's road, but search how to strip and polish. Just changing springs is not likely enough.
PALADIN85020
US Veteran
You are not going to get a light trigger pull with a J-frame. The shorter hammer stroke and the reduced weight of the hammer necessitate a stronger hammer spring for reliable primer ignition, and that equals a heavier trigger pull. A good Smith gunsmith (Nelson Ford) worked on my 442, and he explained this to me. It makes sense. Some lightening via work on the trigger rebound spring is possible, and smoothing the action via polishing of the internal components is also possible, but you'll never get the light DA pull that can be achieved with the K- and N-frames. It's a belly gun, not a target gun - you'll just have to get used to it.
John
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I have never understood the reasoning that smooth and consistent function of a defensive weapon becomes a liability in an otherwise justifiable shooting. I never worried much about a light pull in a DA, but smooth, consistent and reliable are essential to survival.
Yes, a plaintiff's lawyer trying to steal with a pen what his clients' dead relative couldn't steal with a knife will grasp at "hair-trigger gunslinger vigilante with deadly dum-dum exploding atomic death-ray bullet" appeals to uninformed juries, but he will also characterize that 5 shot revolver as an "assault weapon" if not a weapon of mass destruction if he thinks he can mislead the jury without challenge. Until they criminalize barratry, this will always be the case. I'd sooner be alive to deal with that.
Unless of course there is statute or case law establishing a minimum permissible trigger pull for self-defense. In which case hang up your Glocks and 1911s.
Yes, a plaintiff's lawyer trying to steal with a pen what his clients' dead relative couldn't steal with a knife will grasp at "hair-trigger gunslinger vigilante with deadly dum-dum exploding atomic death-ray bullet" appeals to uninformed juries, but he will also characterize that 5 shot revolver as an "assault weapon" if not a weapon of mass destruction if he thinks he can mislead the jury without challenge. Until they criminalize barratry, this will always be the case. I'd sooner be alive to deal with that.
Unless of course there is statute or case law establishing a minimum permissible trigger pull for self-defense. In which case hang up your Glocks and 1911s.
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I'll agree with that statement. I have a model 36, model 60 and model 342Ti I use for carry. Not one of them played with. If an Oh !*#$ moment ever occurred, trigger pull would be the last thing on my mind.
To the members who have not spent hours upon hours in a court room observing you would be appalled at what an attorney will pull out of their hat in order to get a favorable decision. I'll take the altered gun arguement out of the equation. Regards
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Even some of us who have spent that time still change grips and sights and choose ammunition that has been tested to FBI standards and practice and do a dozen other things plaintiff's lawyers will seize on as evidence of malicious intent. I wouldn't be surprised to find that posting on a site like this about self-defense topics could be used to portray one as a blood-thirsty Dirty Harry-wannabe. What say we take all of that off the table?
I wonder, how will the attorney know your revolver was altered internally unless you tell him? And if, in a deposition, you admit that, what is to say he won't also ask about all those other matters, too?
Cooter Brown
Member
I dry fired my 642 several hundred times--that smoothed things up nicely and now it has a quite passable trigger pull.
Use of snap caps would be best, but not totally necessary.
Use of snap caps would be best, but not totally necessary.
TheTinMan
Member
The Kuhnhausen book was super for me. I was much more interested in smoothing out the trigger pull on my 642 than making it lighter. It's still just over 11 pounds - couldn't measure before but well over 12. However it is very smooth after judicious stoning, grease and CLP in the right places and a 15 pound recoil spring. Smooth = accurate, and I don't know how that could be a liability.
Gee, what a lot of different beliefs on this trigger issue. Ordered an Apex spring kit installed it and the problem is gone. Fired about 200 rds. this week and never had a problem. Much nicer trigger, and the recoil was milder than I expected also. Accuracy was far from what I would like, but practice will help that. I hope. Thank you jessegpresley for the advice, and thank everyone else for their honest opinions.
indiandave
Member
I did the same thing. I don't know if my trigger got smoother or my finger got stronger. Maybe a combination of both.
Florida Guy
Member
I sold my 642 soon after buying it for the same reason.
My finger was sore after firing only a few rounds.
My finger was sore after firing only a few rounds.
