So you own a J-Frame.....now what

[Flork]

So you own a J-Frame S&W. If it's a factory gun the trigger pull is probably something like 12+lbs right out of the box. Which I have to say blows my mind because lots of these guns weigh less than a pound.

I've always thought the triggers could use a bit of an improvement, so I came up with something.

After months of R&D, I'm proud to announce the Apex J-Frame Duty/Carry Kit. The kit consists of an Apex XD Firing Pin Kit an, Apex Rebound Slide Spring and Apex Main Spring. The kit yields a 9lb trigger pull right out of the box and has proven to be dead reliable. We've got one gun that's had over 1000 rounds of random factory ammo through it without a single hitch and others running in the high hundreds with the same results.

The kits will be released at the NRA show in Pittsburgh next weekend.

I'm not announcing a price yet because I'll be running a give away on our Facebook page for the person who guesses the price correctly first.

Scott

 

[Broadside]

Flork,

Do you have kits for both older hammer mounted firing pins as well as current frame mounted firing pins?

 

[Flork]

At the moment, we've only tested the kits in the newer guns with the hammer mounted firing pins. We're willing to test them in the older ones, we just don't have any for test beds.

Scott

 

[Flork]

Here's a link to the official Press release.

New J-Frame Kit – Press Release « Will Work For Ammo – Apex Tactical Specialties

 

[Torakan]

Given the tactical application of small J frame size revolvers, I have never seen the need to give them have lighter trigger pulls.

 

[Flork]

I prefer smooth before light but there's nothing wrong with smooth AND light (if it's reliable).

p.s. What's the purpose of the aftermarket firing pin?

The springs in this kit are rated at about 20% greater than those we install into guns that we we work on in house. We engineered them this way to assure that we have reliable ignition across the board.

The after market firing pin is to assure more reliable ignition. We've been working on our XP Firing Pin for a couple years now and the design we came up with has proven to be extremely durable. We have a few that have over 10,000 rounds of live ammo and multiple thousands of rounds dry fired on them.

 

[photoman]

Thanks. I look forward to trying one.

 

[Broadside]

The after market firing pin is to assure more reliable ignition. We've been working on our XP Firing Pin for a couple years now and the design we came up with has proven to be extremely durable. We have a few that have over 10,000 rounds of live ammo and multiple thousands of rounds dry fired on them.

Flork,

Is this just the frame mounted firing pin, or do you make hammer mounted firing pins also.

The reason I ask is that Smith & Wesson has discontinued manufacturing firing pins for the old revolvers that use a hammer mounted firing pin. I am currently not aware of anyone offering hammer mounted firing pins.

Thank you.

 

[Flork]

It's just the frame mounted firing pins. We haven't seen a huge necessity to produce hammer mounted firing pins.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

The kits will be released at the NRA show in Pittsburgh next weekend.

Scott,

We talked on 10-8 about this and the TPS reports.
When you say they will be released at the NRA show do you mean they will be for sale there? I'm attending and will be looking for you ASAP once getting there if so. Me and my co-worker will be going and be picking up at least 3 kits, maybe 4.

Seth

 

[blujax01]

It's just the frame mounted firing pins. We haven't seen a huge necessity to produce hammer mounted firing pins.

Uh-oh.

Wrong crowd for that comment.

 

[photoman]

Uh-oh.

Wrong crowd for that comment.

I think what he means is that the old hammer mounted firing pin is reliable as is. The frame mounted firing pins have not been 100% reliable with ~some~ gun models like the newer 625's. I've never had any problems with the frame mounted firing pin in the J's (I don't use moon clip J's).

 

[Old cop]

The J's are strictly for self defense and I leave them as-is. Constant practice will enhance your abilities and smooth out the trigger.

 

[Flork]

Smith still has the hammer mounted firing pins available as far as I'm told. And they work correctly as they are so there has been very little reason for us to make them.

 

[Flork]

Seth!

AAAAH TPS Reports.....Too bad that joke fell on so many def ears....alas it was worth the attempt.

Yep, they're going to be released at the show for immediate sale. You should stop by, feel the sample gun and chat for a while.

We're going to be in Booth # 3908

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Cool, can't wait, never been before. I'll have to pick up some more flair while there.

 

[markush]

Can I ask the weights of the rebound and main spring? I'm trying to get an idea of how this would compare to the Wolff kit with the 13# rebound and 8# main spring.

 

[chp]

Good on Apex. I look forward to getting one. Right now, I use the Wolff heaviest reduced power hammer spring, but don't change the rebound spring (can induce me to short stroke when shooting at speed). That set up has been 100% for me after 2,000+ rounds out of various J Frames - and much nicer than stock.

 

[Broadside]

Smith still has the hammer mounted firing pins available as far as I'm told. And they work correctly as they are so there has been very little reason for us to make them.

Just curious who told you this and when?

I called several weeks ago to get a bobbed hammer with hammer mounted firing pin for a Model 60 and was told they were discontinued.

Someone else posted on this forum that they tried to get a hammer mounted firing pin and were told the part was discontinued.

Again I was trying to get a whole J-frame hammer, not just the firing pin. But the other person who posted said he was trying to get just a firing pin.

 

[Flork]

Interesting. I'll start looking into the feasibility of making the firing pins and let you guys know what I come up with.

Scott

 

[allglock]

Can I ask the weights of the rebound and main spring? I'm trying to get an idea of how this would compare to the Wolff kit with the 13# rebound and 8# main spring.

I want the answer to this question also.

 

[Flork]

5.5 on the rebound and 6.5 on the MS. At a compressed length I specified in the engineering process.

 

[russp1]

The J's are strictly for self defense and I leave them as-is. Constant practice will enhance your abilities and smooth out the trigger.

+1

The hard trigger pull is the safety on this gun. In a self defense situation this gun is designed for, you'll have more than enough adrenaline to pull the trigger.

 

[Beancounter81]

How soon after the NRA show will these be available at Midway, Brownells, etc?

 

[chp]

6.5 on the MS.

How - that's light. If it's reliable, it should be excellent.

 

[markush]

Yes and 5.5 on the rebound is even lighter! I have no personal experience with this but I've read where people say they can out shoot the trigger return of a 13# rebound.

Is a 5.5# rebound spring a recipe for disaster, or does it just somehow work in this kit?

 

[stantheman86]

If I ever get the burning desire to buy a 3" M60 and use it as a range gun, I might look into this kit.

 

[David Sinko]

Will this work with the .22 rimfire J Frames? I'm eyeballing an 8 shot snub (like a 43C) and these rimfires tend to have the stiffest trigger pulls, often out of necessity. Will your kit work with these?

And what about the Centennials, both old and new? My 940 is the only revolver I own that I have never disassembled, because it was so good when I bought it. I didn't need to change a thing. I ordered a spare firing pin from Brownell's to have one just in case, and they sent me what looks like a common frame mounted firing pin. I believe that this is the wrong part. So is the Centennial firing pin different and can you accommodate?

And regardless of new or old, frame mounted or hammer mounted, aren't the coil mainsprings and rebound springs all the same as they come from S&W?

Dave Sinko

 

[Flork]

How soon after the NRA show will these be available at Midway, Brownells, etc?

As soon as Brownell's Approves them through their new product process and Midway does the same they should have them available.


They'll go up on the Apex site within a few days of us getting back.

 

[Flork]

On the spring weight questions.....He's the thing.

When you measure spring force, you have to take a force reading at a certain length. So if I have a spring that is for example 2" long at free length and I want a force reading, where do I measure it? If I compress the spring all the way down until it coil binds I'll get a heavier reading than if I hold the spring at the max compressed length in the mechanism. After some careful calculations, I determined the length I needed the spring weight to be measured at and had my spring manufacturer run the numbers. At the compression I specified, the springs weighed in right were I needed them to.

I don't know how the other guys measure their springs, but I get the feeling they compress them all the way down for a reading. That would seem logical if I needed to give somebody a rating that could universally be measured easily.

The spring recipe we're using here is 20% heavier than those we've used in the past in customized J-Frames. We engineered that much extra into the springs because we need them to work in every gun every time. So far they've been working great.

Scott