Trigger Polishing

Though replacing the sear spring or compressing or clipping one loop off of the spring can reduce the trigger pull weight, it is not the only thing you can do to improve trigger pull. Polishing the contact areas and adding shims to the trigger and sear can also help smooth the trigger pull. To work on the parts you will need to remove the side plate with a 1/16 hex key.

Some side plates have 2 screws and newer ones have plastic covers with 3 screws. If you remove the frame from the gas tube you need to be careful of the small spring and ball bearing that presses against the safety. You can see in this photo I have replaced the hex head screws with Phillips heads for convenience and to upgrade them to stainless steel. I have also replaced the safety with a stainless cap.

The trigger has 2 side points of contact. Under the trigger is a wavy washer that is used to take up some slack and the trigger touches the sear at the rear rounded portion that can also be polished to a smooth surface.

The sear also has 2 side contacts and contacts the trigger and the striker/hammer. The sear tends to have more die marks than the trigger and is made of much harder material. Polishing the sear is both more difficult and more critical. The angle of the sear contact area is critical to the striker release.

Aside from polishing the contact points it is often possible to replace the wavy washer with a solid shim or set of washers. It is important to check both the alignment and the tension when placing shims in the frame. I usually test the trigger and the sear separately for tension. Then when the right shims are selected it is important to check the sear and trigger alignment.