Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns What is a good trigger pull weight for a 1911 .45?

Touche'

My 1913-vintage Colt breaks at 5 pounds and is a sweetheart even with the "no-seeum" sights. That manageable trigger allows for fist-sized clusters of cast bullet hardball at 15 yards. My Series-70 Gold Cup breaks at 3.5 pounds and since wadcutter loads is all it ever sees I'm ok with it.

I guess I'm gonna have to break down and get a "modern" 1911 to take some of the load off the old ones. But darn it, I like the old ones.

As of November 2018, yes.

On my match pistol, I had the trigger at 3.25lbs. That was perfect for me. I was carrying a LW Commander and its trigger was right at 4lbs. Good enough. I'm not really trigger-sensitive anyway, though 9 lbs. is a bit much.

For competition 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 pounds is about right. These are not generally carry guns.

Back in another life I carried a Springfield 1911 "Enhanced" Govt. Model when transporting prisoners. Some times it would be in a duty holster or concealed if on airplanes. Although we had a handgun policy that I considered wonderful, we were limited as to what modifications we were allowed to do. We could change out the sights, but all triggers had to break at 4 lbs. or higher. So I had my 1911 and Browning Hi Power set at 4 lbs. I am very satisfied with that crisp breaking trigger and pull weight and I am used to it.

Those 1911 triggers are not for every one and if one is not willing to admit that and put the time in to have a trained thumb and trigger finger then buy a Glock. Living in Alaska and leaving a hand gun in a truck 24/7 means the possibility of grabbing a very cold steel pistol with a glove exists. That is why a Glock 19 lives in my truck along with a S&W Air Weight 642 .38 Special. Both have internal strikers. large trigger areas and very forgiving triggers.

If I was wearing gloves and in a hurry I might get a negligent discharge with a 1911. Maybe others are ok with that possibility, but not me.

^^^^^^^
Thoughtful and informative post.
Would you consider the Glock to have as forgiving a trigger as the S&W 642?
Is the Glock trigger stock?

In Bullseye competition with the NRA, centerfire 1911 pistols must pick up 3.5 lbs. In competition with CMP, it must pick up 4 lbs.

You can probably adjust the pull weight yourself and it is unlikely you will need to start replacing parts. Your sear spring has three fingers. The finger on the far left controls trigger pull weight. If you bend it forward, toward the muzzle, pull weight will increase and of course, if you bend it back, it will decrease pull weight. In the bending process, bend it at its root, where it branchs off the main body of the spring. It is a trial and error process. Bend it, put your pistol back together and test the weight over and over until you get it where you want it.

Most will recommend you go no lower than about 4 lbs for general shooting.
Phil