M&P 45 Trigger - Holy Mother!

MassMark

MassMark

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Well, I finally got my hands on a brand spanking new Smith and Wesson M&P45 - no TS and no disconnect. It was so nice to see this gun on a dealer shelf. I'm going to be laying away a .45ACP very soon and this one has been on top of my list, so needless to say, I was like a kid at Christmas when it was handed to me - all new and dull...[wink] Then - I pulled the trigger....[shocked] Oh my God! It's singularly the worst trigger I have ever felt - my Vp70z feels smoother for Pete's sake...Man, I hate this state. What felt like a perfect gun, was ruined by just an awful trigger - it felt like I needed to pull it to next year and then really squeeze to get the pin to drop. I'm on a tight budget and cannot see sinking $550 into this gun and then another $200 on a trigger job...Sad. I can't afford a Sig220, so it looks like a Ruger P345 is on the horizon, (unless I get really lucky)....
 
It can't be worse than my M&P9 full size. Jim Conway said it was the worst one he's tried, and he's tried a lot of M&P's.

A trigger job won't be $200.
LaRocca is $125
Greg Derr is $65.
Everybody who has tried mine (full size was done by LaRocca, compact was done by Derr) likes the Larocca one better. I haven't made up my mind which I like best yet, they feel very different.
 
MassMark said:
Well, I'm breathing easier about the trigger job not being $200.00, but having to do it at all just sucks....
Click to expand...

Agreed. But if you buy a S&W J-frame you'll also need to a trigger job, and that has been true since long before the MA 1998 silliness.
 
M1911 said:
Agreed. But if you buy a S&W J-frame you'll also need to a trigger job, and that has been true since long before the MA 1998 silliness.
Click to expand...

I'd argue the "need" to do a trigger job on a J-Frame. I have a 642 that is as smooth as butter and I got it that way watching TV and dry firing...[grin]

Granted, something needs to be done, as the trigger pull when new was indeed heavy, but not now...Round count and snap-caps did the trick...
 
MassMark said:
Well, I finally got my hands on a brand spanking new Smith and Wesson M&P45 - no TS and no disconnect. It was so nice to see this gun on a dealer shelf. I'm going to be laying away a .45ACP very soon and this one has been on top of my list, so needless to say, I was like a kid at Christmas when it was handed to me - all new and dull...[wink] Then - I pulled the trigger....[shocked] Oh my God! It's singularly the worst trigger I have ever felt - my Vp70z feels smoother for Pete's sake...Man, I hate this state. What felt like a perfect gun, was ruined by just an awful trigger - it felt like I needed to pull it to next year and then really squeeze to get the pin to drop. I'm on a tight budget and cannot see sinking $550 into this gun and then another $200 on a trigger job...Sad. I can't afford a Sig220, so it looks like a Ruger P345 is on the horizon, (unless I get really lucky)....
Click to expand...

Dude, Greg Derr does awesome trigger jobs for like $65 bucks. Who the hell is charging $200 for trigger work?
 
Congratulations on the new M&P Mark! I was thinking about getting one, but I couldn't wait for the approval, haha.

eisenhow said:
It can't be worse than my M&P9 full size. Jim Conway said it was the worst one he's tried, and he's tried a lot of M&P's.

A trigger job won't be $200.
LaRocca is $125
Greg Derr is $65.
Everybody who has tried mine (full size was done by LaRocca, compact was done by Derr) likes the Larocca one better. I haven't made up my mind which I like best yet, they feel very different.
Click to expand...

What are the differences between the two trigger jobs? If I have some tax money left after finishing my 10/22 build I'm going to have my 40 worked on by one of those 2 gentlemen.
 
jhblaze1 said:
Dude, Greg Derr does awesome trigger jobs for like $65 bucks. Who the hell is charging $200 for trigger work?
Click to expand...

Honestly - I have no idea where I came up with the $200.00 figure and have put it to bed. Now, if I choose an M&P, I'll have to figure out how to have it done quickly. I'm not kidding when I say: there is no way I want to even shoot this gun with the trigger it has now - it was that bad....[thinking]
 
Mark
I suggest that you take the gun and drive to Stateline in Mason, NH
The will do the trigger work very reasonably and you do not have to pay any shipping.

BTW, the problem is not Mass but rather that S&W's quality control sucks.
Their Mass trigger should be 10 pounds according to their specifications.
 
You should do the trigger yourself. Get a couple of files and have at it. Its not that difficult, plus you will learn more about the working of the gun and have the satification of a job well done
 
You need to try a MA compliant PPS [laugh]

Having recently shot it,a standard M&P and G19 with NY1 + 3.5lb connector in succession,those two made the Glock feel like a Novak Browning.
 
Supermoto said:
You should do the trigger yourself. Get a couple of files and have at it. Its not that difficult, plus you will learn more about the working of the gun and have the satification of a job well done
Click to expand...

+1 If you are mechanically inclined and understand the working of how the sear interacts enough to not do something stupid, the work required to smooth out the trigger is no more complex than a few file strokes and a quick polish with a dremel felt wheel.

You can go all the way and polish a bunch of different parts to adjust overtravel, take-up and weight, or simply polish everything and leave the parts stock to smooth it out.

For those who are not mechanically inclined, however, a pro job is easy to find as others have suggested, and only costs about 2-3 boxes of ammo, which is far less than it'd take to naturally smooth the trigger anyways.

To paraphrase something Burwell said, "The M&P is the easiest gun to perform a trigger job on ever made."
 
meth0d said:
What are the differences between the two trigger jobs? If I have some tax money left after finishing my 10/22 build I'm going to have my 40 worked on by one of those 2 gentlemen.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to think how to explain it. I don't think I have the vocabulary to describe it without using terms with negative connotations. The Derr seems to be longer and have a more gradual increase in force with pull. The Larocca seems shorter and has a steeper rise. Greg Derr measured both, I brought my fullsize to have the magazine disconnect remove, I forgot to ask Mike to do it when I had the trigger done. He said it was about 5.5 lbs but felt a lot lighter. He said he measured my compact, which he did, at ~4 lbs. However, everyone who tries both says the Larocca "feels" lighter. I'm happy with both. The service was great, and both guns are much better afterwords. I think either one will give you a results that are MUCH better than a stock MA trigger.

I've got to have Jim Conway try both back to back. I'm sure he could articulate the differences much better than I. He could have done it yesterday if he was at the range, but he wasn't there. [wink]
 
JimConway said:
Mark
I suggest that you take the gun and drive to Stateline in Mason, NH
Click to expand...

I visit Stateline 2 times a month. A close friend of mine lives down the road from them.. Great guys, VERY helpful, TAX FREE :) and will continue to shop at stateline in mason nh.

However I have a experience that differs with Jims recommendation on a M&P 9

A close friend of mine took his brandy new M&P(few hundred shots) to them ask them to do a trigger job get rid of the Mass parts and get the pull below 5lbs. He got the firearm back and was not impressed, it did seem somewhat smoother it lost some of the pulling the trigger through rocks feeling but overall not pleased. I had a similar reaction to the trigger job when I checked it out.

He and I are both NOOBs to firearms we just didnt "know better" if anything was done, checking trigger pull and what to expect from a trigger job. And what a proper trigger job would feel like on a M&P..

So we went to S&W in Springfield to see if they would let us dry fire a non-mass compliant trigger on a M&P... They did, and it solidly reinforced our thought that better could be done on the trigger on his M&P...

So a trip to Greg Derr was in order, I went with him as well why not!!

On our road trip there we joked about greg not having a scale with enough weight to check the current trigger pull....

HE DIDNT and just said ya its more than 7lbs.. He also showed us some examples of what he does on a trigger job VS. what his gun looked like. He showed us slight evidence of some polishing of one part but overall he could not say much more looked like it had been worked on. It was very obvious with the work that greg did that there were modifications done..

The M&P came back from derr in less than 2weeks(if not sooner) the trigger is not like a 1911 but MUCH better than stock and its previous condition.

Im not here to bash Stateline, I think its a great gunSHOP. Greg Derr is a gunSMITH, I do think there is a difference. Both places charged $65 for the work...
 
Last edited:
MassMark said:
Well, I finally got my hands on a brand spanking new Smith and Wesson M&P45 - no TS and no disconnect. It was so nice to see this gun on a dealer shelf. I'm going to be laying away a .45ACP very soon and this one has been on top of my list, so needless to say, I was like a kid at Christmas when it was handed to me - all new and dull...[wink] Then - I pulled the trigger....[shocked] Oh my God! It's singularly the worst trigger I have ever felt - my Vp70z feels smoother for Pete's sake...Man, I hate this state. What felt like a perfect gun, was ruined by just an awful trigger - it felt like I needed to pull it to next year and then really squeeze to get the pin to drop. I'm on a tight budget and cannot see sinking $550 into this gun and then another $200 on a trigger job...Sad. I can't afford a Sig220, so it looks like a Ruger P345 is on the horizon, (unless I get really lucky)....
Click to expand...

Been using S&W's since the late 60's....and think this is definitely not the same company or quality that existed at that time. Have picked up various pieces over the years and the trigger work (IMHO) is atrocious. It needs to be given to a gunsmith to get what used to be the norm. Guess its just a sign of the times. [wink]
 
M1911 said:
Agreed. But if you buy a S&W J-frame you'll also need to a trigger job, and that has been true since long before the MA 1998 silliness.
Click to expand...

J-Frame aside...I think this might apply to all current S&W....whatever the variety. Recently sent my Model 25-15 via local dealer, to a gunsmith to have a smooth trigger installed, and trigger work done. Only found out when it came back that S&W is supposedly no longer offering the smooth trigger.

The GS ground down the trigger face to make it smooth and then did the rest of the work. End result is a trigger and action (both double and single) that I love. No complaints about the work, or end result at all. My only complaint is that I was not informed ahead of time. The grinding was done without my input or knowledge.

Again, end result is great. [grin]
 
MassMark said:
Well, I'm breathing easier about the trigger job not being $200.00, but having to do it at all just sucks....
Click to expand...


Overheard in Pete's last time I was there about the PPS.

(to Mike/Salesguy) "Hey Mike, does this suckass trigger come with it or do I need to pay extra."
 
Last edited:
MassMark said:
I went to another gun shop today - Pete's in Adams, where I tried another M&P 45 and if it was possible, the trigger was even worse....[rolleyes]
Click to expand...

Not to tout any product....but have you tried Kimber? Have two in .45 ACP and triggers are fantastic....surprise shots are normal. The entire platform, IMHO, is great, and accuracy is dead on. [grin]
 
If I didn't do mine myself I'd go to Burwell... not a question. I've tried many others too. Mine is pretty good... but Dan's are just amazing. You get what you pay for.
 

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