Shield Apex sear install and test

[Pilot172P]

My trigger in my Shield 40 actually was pretty good stock. It felt clean and had a clean break, however, the pull was 6.5 lbs. For $40 I decided to try the Apex sear which alone is supposed to reduce the pull by 1.5 lbs!

I installed it today. The steps were very simple, but the process a pain in the butt! All you need to do is just remove the rear pin and pull the rear sear/extractor assembly out. The trigger does not need to be removed. Sounds simple right? Well the rear pin almost took a sledge hammer to remove it! I had to pound so hard that it broke my punch in half!!!

I finally got the pin out with the second punch. The assembly came out easy. Then I removed the pin holding the sear in, which came out easy. What I forgot is there is a spring and tiny plunger (like smaller than the size of a BB) on the end of the spring. The pin came out and the tiny plunger flew over my head! By some act of God, I actually found the plunger on the floor! Wow, I thought I'd be calling S&W for a darn plunger tomorrow.

I installed the Apex sear which took a few seconds. The Apex has a different ramp where it touches the connector and different edge where it touches the striker. The part looks very well made. I put the housing back in the frame which was a little tricky getting the trigger bar to fit back in this hole in the sear housing. Last step, re-install the rear pin, ugh!! I polished and oiled the pin. It took some hard pounding but went back in OK.

I put the slide back on and now was ready to test the trigger. My old sear measured 6.5 lbs on the head. I pulled the trigger and it felt just awesome. Couldn't be better. I measured it on my Lyman digital scale: 4.8 lbs, awesome!

The Apex was a huge improvement for the Shield for a measly $40 and some heavy pounding, LOL. Hopefully not all rear pins are in as hard as mine. This sear really changed the feel and pull weight of the trigger. 5 stars *****, highly recommended. If you need help replacing yours, stop on by. I have the sledge hammer and a few extra punches!

 

[Com 45acp]

If you have to use a sledge hammer to get a frame pin in/out something is wrong. Sounds like something isn't lined up correctly. I'd be worried you bent or cracked something in there. But that me.

 

[Flash_80]

I was about to post something about the Apex in my Shield 40 just now. Ran back to do a pull test real quick (5 lbs), went to break it down to look at the trigger spring (glock spring I think), and the little sear disconnect lever you flip to take it down fell out in the floor. So now I'm digging into that. Wow!

 

[Pilot172P]

If you have to use a sledge hammer to get a frame pin in/out something is wrong. Sounds like something isn't lined up correctly. I'd be worried you bent or cracked something in there. But that me.

The sledge hammer was a figure of speech. I had to use a regular size hammer though and hit it pretty hard. Even when it was almost all the way out, it was still just as hard. Usually these pins push right out by hand or tap lightly, at least on my Glocks they do.

 

[REARSPROCKET]

I had the Apex sear in my Shield but it was a little too light for carry, mine went from 6.5 down to 4.7oz and under 4 with a little moly on the sear. I kept the sear dry and hoped it wouldn't lighten up any more with range time. Then I scored an M&P Pro sear from a new take out and it,s now @ 4.12oz dry. The Pro sear is the same one used in the Peformance Center mine just doesn't have the heavier sear spring that comes in the PC version to bring the pull back up to lawyer level. If yours gets too light try the M&P Pro sear out, people remove them for comp and install the Apex. If you don't use a roll pin punch the pin will deform and be tough to remove, I'd replace that pin they are 1/8 x 7/8 IIRC.

 

[427mach1]

I had the Apex sear in my Shield but it was a little too light for carry, mine went from 6.5 down to 4.7oz and under 4 with a little moly on the sear. ... and it,s now @ 4.12oz dry.

I hope that you mean 4 lbs 7 oz, not 4.7 oz and 4 lbs 12 oz?

 

[Pilot172P]

I had the Apex sear in my Shield but it was a little too light for carry, mine went from 6.5 down to 4.7oz and under 4 with a little moly on the sear. I kept the sear dry and hoped it wouldn't lighten up any more with range time. Then I scored an M&P Pro sear from a new take out and it,s now @ 4.12oz dry. The Pro sear is the same one used in the Peformance Center mine just doesn't have the heavier sear spring that comes in the PC version to bring the pull back up to lawyer level. If yours gets too light try the M&P Pro sear out, people remove them for comp and install the Apex. If you don't use a roll pin punch the pin will deform and be tough to remove, I'd replace that pin they are 1/8 x 7/8 IIRC.

I did use a roll punch. My trigger is now right at 4 lbs 14oz. I do have the external safety also and use it, so I'm fine with being just under 5 lbs.

 

[REARSPROCKET]

Sounds perfect, glad it came out where you want it. Mines is also just under 5lbs @ 4lbs + 12oz. Yes I meant 4lbs + 7oz