trigger help on a 642

[gatordave]

Last year my wife decided she wanted her own gun. She handled a 642 CT Airweight. She really liked it and it was hers. She loves the laser as she has a "lazy eye" and it helps her aim. Now she is having trouble pulling the trigger on it.

Is it possible to lighten up the trigger on this gun, and if so how much will it help?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Bud11]

Was wondering the same thing on my new 642.

 

[Old cop]

It is possible, but not by much. If you go too far you run the risk of light strikes, not a good thing on a SD gun. Dry firing a lot (hundreds of times) will smooth it out and lighten it as much as an expensive, and risky, trigger job.

 

[Ashlander]

Dry firing is also good exercise for her trigger finger. People who don't shoot a lot have weak trigger fingers.

 

[sps282]

You can install lighter springs but you may wind up with an unreliable weapon which may fail to fire when you need it the most! You can smooth out the trigger pull with very careful stone work but unless you really know what to do that can turn out bad also. As mentioned dry firing and good maintenance will improve the trigger pull over time.

 

[snubbiefan]

I know some folks think it's a toss-up....or is not worth the effort, but I guess I have been lucky. I have done spring changes (both hammer and trigger) on 3 of the Smith J-Frames I own and have had no issues at all....period. Even in the 317. I have used the Wolff kit, but others like the Apex. If the weapon is clean (as in no trigger, hammer or strut rubs), I do believe the trigger can be lightened with success. BUT...I certainly agree that dry-firing and use will "self-polish" the action as well. I'd do that and give it some time before I considered a spring change. The Wolff kit is only around $9.00-or-so. The Apex kit is a little more expensive, but I believe you also get a firing-pin spring and some other do-dads with it.

 

[oldtexan]

Last year my wife decided she wanted her own gun. She handled a 642 CT Airweight. She really liked it and it was hers. She loves the laser as she has a "lazy eye" and it helps her aim. Now she is having trouble pulling the trigger on it.

Is it possible to lighten up the trigger on this gun, and if so how much will it help?

Thanks for the help.

I have a pair of 642-2 that I use as pocket-carried secondary/tertiary guns. Between the two I've put about 1300 rds through them, in the last three years or so.

I view them as decent backup guns to be used from contact distance out to maybe 15-25 yds depending on lighting conditions and the user's eyesight and skill. They are good choices for folks with the motivation to endure the discomfort of protracted training sessions (that are IMO necessary to develop true proficiency), the poor sights, and generally poor "shootability"(low weight, short sight radius, heavy trigger, etc). They are IMO not good choices for novice shooters.

My two 642 both have a 12 lb trigger pull, measured by a cheapy scale from a trigger finger's position. I haven't noticed any significant change in the trigger characteristics despite the round count.

Changing any springs is going to bring a risk of light strikes. I've also read reports that the Apex kit can reduce the vigor of the trigger's return, possibly causing short stroking of the trigger. Both of these could be big problems in a fighting gun. Maybe the 12 lb trigger of a j-frame just isn't for her.

Dry firing is a good idea and could help you two figure out if what she has is a hardware problem or a software problem.

At some point you and she may come to the conclusion that the 642 just isn't the right gun for her because of the trigger. If that happens, I'd recommend looking at a 9mm auto such as a Kahr K9, P9, CW9, T9, or TP9, or a Walther 9mm PPS.

The autos I mentioned will have less felt recoil, far superior sights, greater capacity, lower cost training ammo, and lighter triggers than the 642. The downsides include a slide that is difficult for some people to operate and somewhat greater complexity of operation. My wife can easily rack the slide on a Kahr TP9 or T9 (4" slide/barrel) but has trouble with the shorter slide of the K9. She has no problem with the slide of the PPS.

If you two decide to seek a solution other than the 642, I'd encourage her to shoot a variety of weapons at a rental range to give her an idea of what is available and how well/poorly each gun works for her.

 

[Tyrod]

Last year my wife decided she wanted her own gun. She handled a 642 CT Airweight. She really liked it and it was hers. She loves the laser as she has a "lazy eye" and it helps her aim. Now she is having trouble pulling the trigger on it.

Is it possible to lighten up the trigger on this gun, and if so how much will it help?

Thanks for the help.

The LG-305 Crimson Trace grip as furnished on the 642CT is a pretty good grip. I recommend practice. My tests indicate just changing the mainspring will reduce DA trigger pull by about 1 to 2 lbs. You'll end up with a DA trigger pull some where between 10 and 11 lbs. That would be far more than is enough to reliably ignite ammo assuming the gun is in resonably good condition. I recommend the Wilson Combat Spring kit. You might just want to try just the mainspring. Save the other springs in the kit for later or if you find you need further reduction. It's easy to find folks that say you may have ignition problems, it's much harder to find folks that have actually had them.

P.S. PM me your location in Florida. If you're close enough, I'll come over and install the spring kit.

 

[snubbiefan]

I am in your camp there Tyrod. Too many good company's make too many good spring-kits that are sold and sold and sold..and they are still making them, so something must be going right. A hammer spring change is about as hard as getting out of bed in the morning. The key is...you just may not be able to stick a reduced-effort spring in a gun that has other issues. It is not uncommon at all to find rubs in a new gun that will eventually shoot-out, but a spring change on a new weapon may not work if there are other friction problems within the lock-work. Also, some ammo uses harder primers than others. CCI seems to have a reputation as a hard primer.

Moon...my wife loves the K and L frames too, but she can't make them fit in her purse.

 

[photoman]

The Apex spring kit WILL make it easier to operate the trigger. I've been running one for a while on a 442 with 100% reliability. FYI... I didn't use the Apex firing pin or firing pin spring, just the main spring and rebound spring.

 

[Electraclyde]

I dry fired my 442 several thousand times. Good for the gun and good for the trigger finger.
After the dry firing and firing about 600 live rounds, I now have a decent trigger and still have a reliable gun.

 

[Martya]

I did the Wolff spring replacement, described here
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...st-weight-rebound-spring-j.html#post136175934

First shooting results here
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...st-weight-rebound-spring-j.html#post136187965

Hope this helps.

 

[snubbiefan]

I think the longer firing-pin and firing-pin spring in the Apex kit is not normally needed, but will give those that have issues, or fear issues a little more insurance.

I have fooled with revolvers that had FTF issues and simply trimming one coil off the FP spring resolved the issue. It's just another spring that has to be overcome and all it has to do is push the pin back. Like some of the other stock-springs installed in the guns, the manufacturer errs on the "heavy" side so they don't get new guns back for FTF.

 

[bassoneer]

I had a gunsmith do an action job and replace springs (I think he used Apex) and it was better, but still had a "snag" when pulling the trigger. It was OK until the very last part of the trigger pull, and then it just stopped and was hard to get the last little bit to go through and make the gun fire. I took it back and had the gunsmith look at it again and complained about the "snag". After looking at it again, the gunsmith took it to the shooting range and tried it for himself...he found the problem. I am guessing this is rare, but the "hand" (?) that comes out of the frame and turns the cylinder (by pushing on the cylinder star) was snagging on the frame. He removed a burr on the frame and it is now extremely smooth in comparison. So...action job - yes. Springs...probably. Good gunsmith - yes. Firing lots of rounds - yes.

I will say that I have a J-Frame 640-1 that is a .357 magnum, but is essentially the same gun as the 642 except all stainless steel and it has an incredibly smooth action and is a dream to shoot. I would think that if my wife ever started carrying a gun she would want the 640-1 for the action, accuracy, and far less recoil. But I love carrying the 642 because it is so light. Also have the Crimson Trace grips on mine and it puts a hole wherever that little red dot shows up.

Good luck, B

 

[snubbiefan]

It's just the nature of the beast nowadays. Even in the cherished Smith's, you can find rubs or burrs. No trigger-job or spring change can make-up for dragging or rubbing parts. I just hardly ever purchase a new gun. I like to find them that have already been shot-in, but not shot-out.