When looking at a trigger job, usually people have this image of what they want. If shooting in competition, people seem to want their triggers to be as light as 2LB in order to shave time off of their courses of fire, which makes sense right? There is also the long range shooters who want to be able to shoot accurately out to long range with little to no pressure on their trigger pull in order to get as little disruption to their sight picture as possible and minimize shooter interference, alright I get that. Then there are the fellows that have guns they want to use defensively, who want to a trigger job to try and turn their carry piece into a race gun. This is the subject of my discussion, since I feel that there is a lot of confusion about what a safe, functional, and reliable trigger for self defense is.
First let us look at a stock Glock trigger and why it is the way it is, just as a base of reference. Glock is the most popular pistol on the market today for a gazillion reasons, to include the fact that literally every part of the gun is customizable by the owner of the pistol. This opens up the Glock to be very versatile in almost any role you can put it in. The thing we must keep in mine is that when we are carrying a gun for self defense, we need the pistol to be SAFE, SHOOTABLE, DURABLE, and RELIABLE. When the Glock was designed, it was made the way it is to be all of those things. When engineers set out to make guns, there is a science that goes into them and there are reasons why springs are a certain weight and why certain parts are made a certain size and of a certain material. The weight of each component, the weight of the springs, and the tolerances of each component all come together brilliantly to function every time you pull the trigger.
The Glock trigger constantly is degraded for having the worst trigger, or just not being good enough for some people. The stock Glock trigger comes in at about 5.5LB, which feel really nice and light to me. People still want to modify it, even though this is actually a pretty light trigger pull with little travel when compared to other striker fired pistols on the market today. The most common complaints to triggers that I hear from people, comes when they SLOWLY dry fire a trigger and feel all the movement that they wouldn’t feel if they were concentrated on shooting the gun and not micro-analyzing the feel of the trigger pull. This is most apparent when people judge double action trigger pulls. If you have them shoot a course of fire under a timer, they wont notice the trigger pull, but in slow fire, they will criticize it, even if they shoot well with it. This will lead people to want to modify their triggers, even if it compromises their warranty and the reliable function of the gun, if only to change the FEEL of the trigger pull.
I mention this because I want to emphasize the importance of not compromising the system in which you are going to be trusting your life. If you do not like the trigger pull on your gun, there are ways to lighten it without grinding, replacing springs, or doing anything out of the ordinary. I want share a method with you that I use in order to lighten the trigger pull, or at least the feel, without compromising the reliability or durability my carry guns reliability.
https://youtu.be/X6ptKG0XRc4?list=PLYUFsZkp0SkGo76eOVgEsoSpicvUzCymz
The only things you will need for this trigger job is a gun oil of your choice (I prefer a Slip2000 CLP like EWL or Gun Lube) and your trigger finger. Now the first thing you will want to do is go around and give a drop of oil to each spring that is part of the trigger or firing control system. This will typically be trigger springs and hammer springs on hammer fired guns. The next part would be the metal on metal friction points. On the Glock, this means the face of the striker, the drop safety plunger, and the disconnector where the trigger bar rides and where it is pushed down.
I have found that this will give the feeling of a lighter break without changing the weight too much. When using a grease though, I have found that it can actually drop the weight of the trigger by about a half pound almost right away. I have had the best success with Slip2000 EWG because it seems to just stay in place and it also is made of the same stuff as their popular EWL so you don’t have to worry about them mixing.
https://youtu.be/_05Na4YK3qg?list=PLYUFsZkp0SkGo76eOVgEsoSpicvUzCymz
The next thing you will need to do is to dry fire and practice with your gun. This I what you should be doing anyways in order to get better at shooting in general. Dry firing after lubricating your gun will help the lubricant get more and more connected to the metal, making the contact surfaces smoother and smoother. Now firing the gun after this application of lubrication will help the oil penetrate into the tight spaces between the spring coils and lubricate them. This causes the feeling of smoother and more consistent spring tension throughout its full range of travel, as well as extending the life of the springs. After about 100 to 200 rounds, I notice that my trigger pull is a lot smoother.
With continued follow-up lubrication of these areas, your trigger pull will continue to drop in weight and smooth out even further. I have had great success with this method of lubrication on all of my guns. If you take the time to practice and get used to the stock trigger on your carry pistol, you will undoubtedly find that this method does the same thing that “Cajunizing” your gun for hundreds of dollars will do. But the best part is that you will spend more money on ammo and become more proficient with your gun, which is a win-win in my book and is far more rewarding than any trigger job.
David served in the USMC for a few years, deployed twice and got wounded. Retired and moved to Alaska. Has a passion for reviewing and testing guns and gear of all kinds. Enjoys working to dispel myths and show that you can train and practice in a realistic, safe, and practical way.
