Questions About Apex Hard Sear for M&P45

[McE]

My M&P45 has a 7lb trigger pull (measured myself)

Will replacing just the sear with an Apex Hard Sear really drop the pull weight (more accurately, the 'breaking weight' I would call it) down to 4-4.5?

It claims to reduce overtravel, but from what I can tell, it seems that for a sear to 'reduce overtravel' it just means it trips later in the trigger pull for the illusion of shorter overtravel. Can someone with the Hard Sear tell me if their triggers still hit the molded in frame nub?

My M&P45 is an older one without any of the factory upgraded parts (slide release with nub for better reset feel, performance center style sear, trigger bar, whatever). Is the Apex Hard Sear specific to either older or newer trigger bar if the trigger bar loops are different?

Most importantly- is this Hard Sear different from/incompatible with the sears found in other Apex kits? Meaning, do I need to commit up front to drop the money on a full kit? Or can I slowly upgrade piecemeal by doing this sear first and other parts later?

 

[Rastoff]

Last question first: no, the hard sear is not compatible with the other Apex kits. Yes, you will need to get the whole kit and cannot do it piecemeal.

No, the hard sear will not drop the pull weight that much and certainly won't reduce over travel dramatically.

What you want is the Apex Forward Set Sear(FSS) kit. It will reduce pull weight to between 4-5 lbs. The actual weight varies from gun to gun. It will reduce over travel to almost nothing.

I bought the Hard Sear first. It was an improvement, but not a lot. I then got the FSS. Take it from me, just get the FSS.

 

[McE]

Still getting my feet wet here.

The Duty Carry Action Enhancement Kit comes with
-Hard Sear (same 'Hard Sear' sold individually, I'm almost certain)
-Ultimate Striker Block
-Heavier springs

If I'm reading it correctly, those heavier springs are included because they say doing just the sear drops the weight too much and heavier springs are needed to bring it back to something considered good for carry. If the Hard Sear really didn't drop the weight much, I don't get why the springs are touted as being necessary to 'undo' some of the pull weight reduction.

Buying just the Hard Sear and USB would save me a little bit of money over the whole DCAEK kit because I wouldn't get those springs, but it sounds like I wouldn't use them anyway.

Both Apex and reviewers say the Hard Sear gives around 4.5, which is what I'd like. Sounds the same as that FSS, but I don't mind the pretravel distance enough to pay twice as much for the FSS.

 

[Rastoff]

It's not the pre-travel (slack) that needs to be corrected, it's the over travel. The over travel in the M&P is one of the largest mechanical factors causing accuracy issues. The FSS fixes the over travel.

I have not installed the DCAEK so, I cannot comment on the difference between it and the FSS. All I can say is what I said before. I bought the hard sear and now it sits in a box. The FSS was the best thing I've done to my pistol.

In the end, trying to save a few dollars cost me more. I would save you that expense. The hard sear is an improvement, but the FSS is a great improvement.

 

[McE]

It's not the pre-travel (slack) that needs to be corrected, it's the over travel. The over travel in the M&P is one of the largest mechanical factors causing accuracy issues. The FSS fixes the over travel.

I have not installed the DCAEK so, I cannot comment on the difference between it and the FSS. All I can say is what I said before. I bought the hard sear and now it sits in a box. The FSS was the best thing I've done to my pistol.

In the end, trying to save a few dollars cost me more. I would save you that expense. The hard sear is an improvement, but the FSS is a great improvement.

Want to sell that hard sear? I have two M&P45's and can experiment side by side. PM me with details if you'd like to sell.

 

[Rastoff]

No, I need to keep it for my own purposes. Sorry.

 

[ScottN]

I have the newer m&p 45c (spent casing dated Jan. 2014) so my feedback may be irrelevant. I bought it used in almost new condition but I couldn't see that it was shot at all...maybe 50 rounds. Looked like one of those "it shoots low left" so I'm trading it type of situations. The trigger wasn't broken in at all.

The trigger pull was 7 - 8 lbs on my cheapo Timney scale. I had my gunsmith install the apex fully machined sear while he installed new sights. The pull weight is now 5.25-5.5 lbs. It doesn't change where it breaks, much if any at all, but it smooths out the trigger pull and gives a much more noticeable and smoother reset. I still hit the nub when pulling the trigger. Your description of the illusion of reduced over travel seems about right. All that said, I like it a lot. I imagine the pull weight will settle in at 5 with further breakin but that's just a guess on my part.