Smoothing serrated triggers?

[gatchelguy]

I shoot my double action revolvers the way I think they are supposed to be shot: double action. However, three of my K frames have the .265 serrated trigger. This is not conducive to comfortable shooting. I am considering grinding and polishing these triggers to a smooth configuration. I would appreciate any pro's and con's on this subject.

 

[What the]

Go slow with the Dremel/grinding implement.

 

[ahanes]

This is a great do it yourself project and one of the few times a Dremel should be allowed near a gun. Just go slow and finish it up with a fine grit paper using a shoe shine method and it'll be rounded and easy on your finger.

 

[Muley Gil]

I shoot my double action revolvers the way I think they are supposed to be shot: double action. However, three of my K frames have the .265 serrated trigger. This is not conducive to comfortable shooting. I am considering grinding and polishing these triggers to a smooth configuration. I would appreciate any pro's and con's on this subject.

If you have the proper gunsmithing screwdrivers, ones that fit the slots exactly and have parallel sides, remove the sideplate and the trigger from the revolver. Remove the hand from the trigger and put the trigger in a padded vise. Grind away the grooves with a Dremel type tool, making sure to round the trigger face.

Using strips of emory cloth, going from rough to fine, polish the face of the trigger, using a shoeshine action. Once you are done, you can do a faux case finish by dabbing the trigger with cold blue-heavy in some spots, lighter in others.

Blow out any metal dust or shavings and reassemble.

Enjoy your greatly improved DA trigger.

 

[Nightowl]

Personaly, I do not like the what remains after the grooves have been removed from a serrated trigger. Plus, they are getting hard to find as they have not been made in some time. Why not finding a factory smooth trigger and swithing them out? If you want you can probably sell your old ones for more than the new ones will cost. The downside is having to fit the new triggers when the old ones already are fit to the action. Just my thoughts.

 

[shouldazagged]

Every gun with a serrated trigger that I've bought in the last fifteen years (three, I think) has gone to a smith for a trigger-and-action job and to have the trigger face smoothed and radiused. I hate the grooved trigger on a gun I may carry for defense, but I don't trust my skill with the Dremel enough to work on my guns with it.

 

[Bat Guano]

Lost track of the ones I've done. The first few were completely by hand. Thank God for Dremel, but that and hogging off wood are about the only time I get near a gun with one. Too much raw power there.

 

[STCM(SW)]

I just buy a combat trigger & install it. Not that hard.
Magnum Mark on GB has them all the time.

 

[TAROMAN]

Larry Potterfield shows how to smooth a trigger.

 

[John Hill]

Larry Potterfield shows how to smooth a trigger.

In Potterfield's short video, he appeared to simply pull the spring loaded hand away from the trigger. How do you reinsert the hand and get the spring to engage?
John

 

[TAROMAN]

I use a slender bamboo skewer to depress the end of the spring past the hand's holes, and then pop the hand back into place.

 

[loc n load]

Smooth triggers

SOP on all of my Smith & Wesson "shooter's and carry guns during the past 4 decades has been to remove the ribbing on the trigger, and round off the edges of the trigger face as well, then take some sanding cloth and work in both directions back and forth until the face and the edges of the trigger face is glass smooth....no abrasion on fingers and no "drag" on rapid DA to disturb the sight picture.

 

[hotrod150]

Don't care for the wide smooth "combat" trigger for DA shooting myself, plus I haven't had any luck with three separate tries of dropping in triggers. Hammers yes, but not triggers-- they seem to work OK in SA or DA, but they've all had a hitch in the trigger return stroke.
The serrated triggers, wide or narrow, are great for SA shooting but for DA with my j-frames I prefer a narrow trigger with the serrations smoothed off and the edges & tip rounded. Remove the trigger and use a dremel with a sanding drum, then finish the face-smoothing with some emery cloth wrapped around a 3/4" or so round dowel. I don't remove the hand from the trigger assembly, instead I use a shim when I clamp it in the vice.

 

[Erich]

I did one myself and it came out . . . okay. Good enough for me, but not as good as the one a 'smith did for me.

 

[gaijin]

As said; dremel/emery cloth-go slow...

 

[crsides]

I did mine with dremel but did not remove all the serration. Just smoothed it out a little. Made a big difference.


Charlie

 

[hotrod150]

The four or so I've smoothed out were taken down until the felt smooth, however the serration lines still show. Maybe not as pretty as totally smooth but I figure that since it's harder to put material back on than to grind it off, I'd stop while I was still ahead.

 

[Jim_Macklin]

easy job or buy a new trigger

The S&W triggers are casehardened, so a file is not easy to use. A Dremel tool is not really easy to use.

I like a round diamond sharpening tool used for knives and fishhooks. You really don't need to do more than remove the sharp tops of te grooves.

Use a properly fitted screwdriver. Often you have to fit a screwdriver to the slot for a correct fit.
Do not try to pry the sideplate off, rather use a plastic, leather or wooden mallet to tap the grip frame down, inertia will loosen the sideplate. Keep track of where each screw was used, they are different.
Carefully [use eye protection] lift the rebound slide to release the trigger.
Lift out the trigger by using a toothpick or other soft tool to move the hand out of the slot and lift the trigger off the pin shaft. Note how the hand spring is installed.

A vise makes it easier, but you have two hands for a reason. If you do use a Dremel, a vise is a must have.

Clean all metal particles off and out, use canned air after a solvent wash.

Reassemble.

 

[John Hill]

For those of us needing some direction on how to do this (with pictures), there are many videos on You Tube showing how to disassemble a S&W revolver, clean it, change a trigger, replace a trigger hand spring, etc. You just have to keep doing different words in your search. As here on this forum, there are a lot of different ideas of how to do things. Use your best judgement. These videos vary from so-so to excellent with some great close up shots that let you really see what is going on.
John

 

[gatchelguy]

Thanks for all the replies and advise. I took my triggers to my neighborhood 'smith. He will do the job for less than I could buy a Dremel and do it myself.