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

Mine beaks at between 9 and 10 pounds and I think that it is too heavy for my target shooting. I suppose a guy doesn't want it too light as a semi-auto so it doesn't double or have an accidental discharge, but I'm curious where others have their triggers set?

Any decent 1911 mechanic can put a clean 4 to 4 and 1/2 pound trigger on that pistol that will not follow or double

How well you manage that trigger is, of course, up to you.

Who the heck makes a 1911 with a 9 pound trigger?

4.5lb is about perfect for anything outside of pure competition, IMO.

Match service pistol must pick up 4 pounds. I think if you get 4 pounds and it will seem like night and day.
You can buy drop in CNC parts, or do things like polishing trigger bow, split the hammer spring, and cut a coil or 2 from the main spring. Anyway there are instructions for a do it yourself guy, and you can always drop it off at a gunsmith. Well worth what ever path you take.

That's what I was wondering. ...

I've seen a couple of new Springfield Milspecs that gauged over 7 pounds, right out of the box.

Between 4 and 5 pounds.

I prefer a crisp 3-3.5 lb 1911 trigger. Some of the competition guys get down around 2 lb but that's a bit light for my uses.

Exactly what I was hoping to read, thanks guys. That piece was reworked buy a smith (more like a black smith) in southern WI. with some modifications that were questionable, that trigger among them.

That's great for a bullseye gun, but not a gun intended for defensive use. Hair triggers can be a problem in that context.

Have got quite a few 1911s and a few months ago tested all the triggers with Lyman Trigger Pull Gauge...

The two Commanders I use for carry ran 4# 13 oz (stock) and 4# 2 oz. (worked on)

The lightest was 3# even on a TALO Commander in .38 Super that is used mainly for IDPA. (worked on)

The heaviest was a 1951 Commander in .38 Super at 5# 8 oz. (factory stock).

The rest run from 3# 4oz. to 5# 3 oz. The average is right around 4# which is just about right for average all-around or defensive use...11 out of 21 are stock factory jobs. 8 of 11 Stock factory triggers ran from 4# even to 4# 14oz. Only two were over 5#s.

Worst trigger job I have fired was on an early Thunder Ranch Special when I believe it was Wilson was building them before Les Bare. Friend bought one at like $2500 and asked me to shoot it. I had barely gotten on target and finger on the trigger and it went off.... I have had match pistols with better triggers...it was not controllable. After a few magazines the gun started doubling... Friend sent it back asking for a 4-4.5# pull... Got a call from him a few weeks later. Gun came back with about the same trigger pull and started doubling again within a box of ammo. He called the company and told them if they could not put a simple 4# trigger job on a gun in two tries he wanted his money back... They refunded him the money and he bought a SIG 229 and lived happily ever after...

Bob

What, exactly, was the gunplumber attempting to accomplish? What did he think was the intended purpose of the mods?

This right here. No more than 5

Well the thing got Novak Tritium sights, a full length guide rod, larger beaver tail, lighter hammer, Wolff springs, match grade barrel and bushing, flared magazine well, polished feed ramp and Robar 3 plating. I don't have an official trigger pull scale, but 9-10# is where the trigger breaks with my digital fish scale and it sure feels too heavy to me. His intended purpose was to charge me way more than the subtotal of the parts were worth. I'd been money ahead to buy a Les Bare, STI or Ed Brown.

For bullseye match competition, "hardball" 1911 category, 45 acp,. The 1911 trigger has to support 4 lbs.

Non-hardball bullseye 1911 pistols can have lower trigger pulls. 2.5# is nice.

You can get a trigger jig for the 1911 from Brownells. Use a 0.018" shim, and get a nice 4# trigger pull. Pretty easy to do.

My old Competition 1911 for IPSC is right at 2 lbs and it’s never doubled are failed once though 10’s if thousands of rounds. Not what I’d recommend for most folks though.

For a carry gun and general plinking I prefer 4 to 5 lbs with no creep.

Colt.

The idjit would have had to work at it a bit to come up with a 9-10# trigger........................just saying.

And full length guide rods making any difference in performance of any kind is a figment of the imagination.

MM

Still??

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