I was wondering if there is any way to lighten the trigger pull on my P3at? I know there is a mod on here to put in a LHS and do some work on the firing pin. BUt I"m not sure if I'm ready to go that far. I recently purchased a used HC 1st Gen to go along with my blued 2nd gen. And I noticed the trigger pull in my 1st gen is a lighter than my 2nd gen. And to me that feels a lot better. I have several friends with 2nd gen guns and they all say that the feel of my 2nd gen trigger is smoother and better than their's. But I'd just like to lighten it a little. Thanks in advance!!
Just keep shooting it and it will get lighter & better. It probably isn't fully broken in yet. These things are not intended to be range toys. The heavy long trigger is the safety! In the event you ever have to use it in an altercation, a light trigger is the last thing in the world you want! rcmodel
To add to this thread. When pulling a revolver in a social situation, DO NOT C0CK THE DANG THING! If you need to fire it the double action pull WILL NOT be an issue. The light single action trigger pull CAN BE an issue. Lesson learned many, many years ago and learned cheaply. :-[
The way I did it (the cheap way), is to put some snapcaps in it and practice while watching TV. It smooths out the trigger and also the other moving parts. It requires no ammo, or range time = the cheap part. This is another way to speed up the process without actually shooting… Slurry Recipe Get a small tub of original J&B Bore Cleaner, and a small bottle of CLP Breakfree (Mil-Spec LSA weapons oil will work, too). Put about a teaspoonful of the bore cleaner in a small cup and mix the oil with it until it will just sag off the end of a screwdriver without dripping. Let it stand uncovered overnight to let the carrier evaporate. Slop it on parts that you want to slide or rub smoothly together such as slide rails and trigger action parts. Then repeatedly cycle the parts so the slurry smoothes and cleans the areas that rub together. Once the parts are running smoothly, THOROUGHLY clean off the slurry with Gun Scrubber (or other POLYMER SAFE rinse-type cleaner), then lube the gun as you normally would. Bobo
You really don't want to modify a trigger or anything else on your "carry piece". Should you have to use it.............the law will ask questions. "Tinker" with your plinker and range inventory but...........my advice is ...do not modify the one you may have to use on a BG..
+1 USNCHIEF... Aggressive DA's love to blast "gun nuts" that have "custom assasin triggers". But.... if you want to smooth one up for fun, just take the gun apart and polish the trigger bar just like you would polish the throat and feed ramp. It takes a little bit off the pull weight. You can also follow up with a bit of FLITZ polish. I have a new 3AT that I will do this to. I recently got me a trigger pull gauge and will post before and after. I did this to my new Glock. I took it from: Stock as issued: 4.55 lbs. Drop in 4 lb. Wolf striker spring: 3.38 lbs Drop in and polish critical points: 2.8 lbs. And yes....the Glock 35 is a RANGE ONLY gun!
Young, stupid & lucky it was pointed at the ground. When adreneline is pumping you won't even notice a heavy trigger but it will still take some force to pull it. A light trigger pull doesn't offer enough resistance in that situation, felt like I just touched it & bang. It would be great if we always could be cool and calm when a situation arises but that's not how it usually works out. I figure my carry gun should have a nice heavy trigger pull. Don't want to shoot the wrong person, place or thing. ;D YMMV
Light trigger, no safety, bad idea. Actually, I think the P3AT has a light trigger pull compared to a small frame revolver. I wouldn't change a thing. I think it shoots rather well myself.
Thanks for all of the input. I'm not really looking to make it a hair trigger or anything like that. This is totally unscientific but my 2nd gen feels like it is in the 5.5# range and my 1st gen feels like it is in the 4.5# range as far as trigger pull. I was just wanting to make my 2nd gen feel more like the 1st gen. I'll try taking it apart and polishing things up...
I agree with rcmodel . KT P 3AT is not pistol for target shooting - it is for self defence and heavy and long trigger pull subserves of safety...But for example the trigger pull of Kevin is much heavier .
Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET I cannot find anywhere that Jeff Cooper said: "You must always have a heavy trigger." My P3ATs are all equipped with my LHS 3-4 pound triggers: http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1178708109/0 I will NOT be changing them back. The P3AT is MUCH more capable this way--And the trigger pull is still long--It just doesn't SEEM so long anymore. If I follow the above rules, then the weight of the trigger pull does not come into play until I need to HIT what I am aiming at. At that point, lighter is just as safe and FAR more accurate. Packer.
I highly polished(By hand) the front, back and sides of the trigger bar as well as polishing the frame where the trigger bar rubs. It seemed to clean the trigger pull up, I doubt it lightened the pull much if any, but made it more enjoyable
SouthernShooter has the right idea to polish and lube the metal areas that make contact to help smooth up the trigger pull. I'm against lightening the springs as I also consider the long trigger pull the safety. I always carry the gun with one in the chamber. I find the slide somewhat difficult to pull back, just because it's a small area to grip and the gun isn't fully broken in yet. I don't want to be in a position where I need to use the gun, I have to rack the slide to chamber a round and I can't for some reason. I consider this mode of carry no more unsafe or dangerous than carrying a snubnose revolver with a full cylinder. Neither the P3AT or the revolver can discharge unless the trigger is pulled back to drop the hammer on the firing pin. I want everything to be second nature in a gun battle. I just want to just draw, squeeze and fire ..... Ohio Rusty
Nothing I have mentioned changes the LENGTH of the trigger pull. What if you draw, squeeze and shoot a different person than the one you aim for? I think it is far safer to be sure of hitting what you shoot at. In these days of possible terrorist attack, you might actually NEED to shoot from a greater distance than 5 feet. With the lighter trigger pull and some practice, the P3AT becomes a MUCH more formidable weapon. Packer.
I agree with 2PP, however, I am still trying to get better at squeezing the trigger without pulling my shot, I havent lightened up my trigger pull yet, but the accuracy issue is also important to me. Sometimes when i squeese the trigger the shot goes high and left - and that would be a big concern to me in a stressful situation. I'll keep practicing with it before I replace my Bersa as my carry, but until I can hit where I'm aiming I don't want to use it as my main CCW.
ONE of the MANY reasons that the LHS helps improve accuracy is the ability to only use the very TIP of the trigger finger on the trigger. Packer.
