Ideal 1911 trigger weight

[davidb]

Hello all,
I have my RIA at armscor right now for some warranty work and asked for a trigger job while its there...well today i check my messages from work and they had called asking what weight i want it at.

Im calling them tomorrow and dont really have an idea of how low i want it, the gunsmith said 3# is the lowest they will do, but 4# is what they reccomend.

So for all you 1911 guys, what trigger weight do you feel is ideal?

Thank you for any advice,
David

[punisheryayarea]

Negative 4



J/k...... I depends on what you will use it for. Is it a defensive firearm or just a range toy.

[davidb]

Negative 4



J/k...... I depends on what you will use it for. Is it a defensive or just a range toy.

its mainly a range toy but does get left loaded alongside my other pistols just incase the long guns fail/or arent accessable

[bulletblood]

4 lbs is good. Anything lighter for me seems like I'm firing a broken gun.

[nahpungnome]

I've read 4lbs+ is ideal for defensive use. I like light triggers and all of my pistols are range toys (except the G19, which doubles as the nightstand pistol). My Sig 1911 has a factory 4lb (breaks at 3lbs 15oz) trigger job and feels nice, although I wish it was a little lighter, maybe 3.5lbs.

My Baer started around 5lbs, but after 1300 rounds, it breaks at 4lbs 1oz. My Baer breaks like glass, but again, I wish it were around 3.5lbs

[static808]

A crisp break with minimal creep and overtravel is more important than weight.

+1

great advice here. i follow this philosophy with both handguns and long guns.

[Loubot10]

I have a Warren Tactical 1911 with the trigger set at Scott Warren's favorite 4.5# and I gotta say it works for me.

[foxtrotuniformlima]

as low as they will go.

[k1dude]

It's all personal preference. For range or competition, 3 to 3.5 lbs is nice IMHO. But for carry/personal defense, anything under 5 lbs makes me uncomfortable.

[PutTogether]

No matter the weight, tell them you want NO creep or grit, and as little over travel as possible.

If its a range toy (not loaded up home for self defense until you have shot several thousand rounds through it and are intimately comfortable with it) 3 lbs. 3 lbs is good for target shooting. Especially punching static holes in paper at long distances.

If it is range toy that will double duty as a defense gun, 4 lbs. 4 lbs is still really good for holes in paper.

If its a defense ONLY gun (no fun range trips - just practice running drills with your carry gun) then 5 lbs is a good trigger weight to have.

Me, I like 3.5-4lbs. The weight though, isn't the most important. I've got a spingfield pro that breaks at close to 5. Might seem high, but there is NO creep in the pull. NO grit in the pull. Just take up a little slack......let the pressure build......then the proverbial 'glass rod' snaps and the shot is broken. It's amazing.

Minimizing take up, eliminating creep and grit. These two things will make whatever pull weight you decide feel great.

[cc426]

A crisp break with minimal creep and overtravel is more important than weight.

4-5 pounds on a duty gun meant for self defense is fine.

+1

but if you're getting the work done already anyhow, if it's a range use only gun, i'd go as low as possible. Possibly send it to a different smith and take it down to 2lbs

If you have any plan on defensive use 4 - 4.5lbs is what i'd recommend

[rm1911]

Like others have mentioned the quality of the pull is more important than the weight. A crisp clean and no travel 5lb is far nicer than a sloppy 3.5lbs. Also have them work on a short reset. I'm not a 1911 smith so I might not get the parts right but the sear spring I think it is.

But if you get all that, then 4-5 is fine. 1911 triggers spoil you.

[sholling]

A crisp break with minimal creep and overtravel is more important than weight.

4-5 pounds on a duty gun meant for self defense is fine.

Bingo! I have competition only pistols below 4lbs but my self defense pistols are all 4-5.5lbs

[cindynles]

A crisp break with minimal creep and overtravel is more important than weight.

4-5 pounds on a duty gun meant for self defense is fine.

Exactly. I like 4 lbs on my 1911s that I shoot in competition (USPSA). A lot of guys go lower than that, but I don't have enough fine motor skills during run-n-gun to pull off using a sub-4 lbs trigger.

[davidb]

thanks for all the info, i wasnt even thinking about the pre/overtravel and the clean break/no grittiness, i'll make sure to bring them up tomorrow

cindynles - can you expand on the fine motor skills thing? im not new to shooting but havent competed before or anything