1911 trigger question

[Vendetta]

I have a Para Elite that I love, but the trigger leaves a bit to be desired. It has a fair amount of pretravel and its a tad on the gritty side. Is there a simple way to reduce the pretravel and clean up the grittiness or is this more of a gunsmith thing? Im not afraid of working on guns and I work in a machine shop so have plenty of mechanical prowess but 1911s are brand new to me. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[partyboy6686]

Is it doable? Yes. To get rid of the pre travel you might have to change the trigger out to one that has adjustable tabs on the trigger bow. When changing out the trigger you might run into issues with the grip safety. I've had new adjustable triggers installed in one of my 1911's before and then the grip safety didn't work. Really didn't bother me that much since it was a gun I use for competition shooting.

 

[Leo]

Have you tried just taking the grips off and hosing everything out with guncleaner/dry lube type spray? If it is burrs from machining, taking the trigger out and rubbing down the edges of the bow with 600 wet paper is a good start. A toothbrush full of valve grinding compound to clean up the grooves in the frame helps too.

 

[churchmouse]

The issues you are having are more than just the trigger. The take up can be a few things in the mechanism. The gritty feeling is on the hammer/sear contact. All of this can easily be dealt with if you have the proper tools and know what to look for.
I have owned several Para's and had the same issues with a few of them.
Get the gun to a good 1911 smith. Possibility some parts will be required as in Hammer/sear/disconnecter. When you get it back you will really like the gun.

 

[Vendetta]

I will probably start with a good detail cleaning. The pretravel doesnt bother me near like the grittiness. I actually have an extra adjustable STI trigger laying around. Unfortunately I think the Lafayette area is short on gunsmiths especially of the 1911 variety.

 

[partyboy6686]

Yea the only guys that come to mind for working on 1911's is Allen Moore (Moore Gun Works/Diamond Collision) aka AllenM here on INGO or Zach at ZR Tactical Solutions.

 

[sloughfoot]

Since the 1911 was designed to have a two stage, single action trigger, they all have some amount of take up. It can be reduced, but should never be removed.

The gritty feeling can be easily fixed by complete disassembly, cleaning, and burr removal.

If that doesn't get rid of the creep in the trigger, the $25 trigger job will take care of it.

Plenty of guys on this forum have been working on 1911's for lots of years. We just don't talk about it much. Jerry Johnson in Churubusco has 40 years experience at least.

 

[churchmouse]

I will probably start with a good detail cleaning. The pretravel doesnt bother me near like the grittiness. I actually have an extra adjustable STI trigger laying around. Unfortunately I think the Lafayette area is short on gunsmiths especially of the 1911 variety.

The MIM parts in your gun can be dressed up unless they are very high round count. If they are it will be replacement time.

 

[Vendetta]

They are not high round count. The small amount of pretravel really doesnt bother me ( I own a p95, an inch of pretravel in SA) so I guess a good detail strip and deburr is in order. I appreciate the input fellas.