Drop in.....or what?

796 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Howardk, Aug 29, 2001

hhsmiley

Discussion Starter · Aug 29, 2001

I hope I didn't make a mistake here. I just bought a Nowlin Pro-Match drop in trigger job for installation in a gun I'm working on. That gun is at Tripp Research now, so I decided to try the kit in my Kimber Polymer just to check it out.

I would have to say that the Nowlin trigger job is "crisper" than the standard Kimber
parts but the pull itself seemed like it was about 6-7 lbs! That's just a guestimation since I don't have a scale.

The Nowlin mainspring was MUCH stronger than the one that came with the KP. I replaced the new mainspring with my old one and that helped a little. Maybe got it down to around 5 lbs.

I'm pretty sure my trigger pull with the standard KP parts was about 4 lbs. All I ever did to those parts was lightly mirror polish the engagement surfaces with jewelers rouge and a little felt buffer. I have put approximately 3000 rds through the KP with the original parts.

Will the Nowlin trigger job get lighter over time as I shoot it?

It's supposed to be a 3.5 lb. pull right out of the package so I am a little disappointed. Am I supposed to do anything to the kit besides just put it in the gun, like trim the mainspring?

The whole point of my spending $120.00 on this particular kit was to:

1. have good quality parts (non MIM) for the new gun
2. not have to have a gunsmith do a trigger job on it

I'm thinking now that I might have been better off spending the $50 or so it would have cost for McCormick parts (like those that come with the KP) and just polished them like my old ones and had a 4 lb. trigger.

Any one with experience with one of these kits or ideas on what might help, please let me know what you think.

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jaydee

· #2 · Aug 29, 2001

I wouldn't be worried about the parts, they're most likely top-shelf, though Drop-In is subjective, as long as your gun is identical to the jig the used to finish the set, then you'd be fine, but that's unlikely, so slight variances will exist.

You'll probably need to tweak the left, possibly the middle finger.

How'd the trigger bow fit, was is smooth when installed backwards, pr was there some tight spots?

What you've done is upgrade your stock parts with hi-quality stuff that may need some final tweaking for your pecific application.

Much like going out and buying the latest and greatest Mondo lift camshaft for your Chevy Small block, you may need to blueprint the assembly, as the Cam Bearings may be slightly out of wack, causing some thrust, and even some run-out.

Drop-in is close to stock, but usually the tighter tolerances make it a crap shoot, on whether you will need to do more work, or not.

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hhsmiley

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 29, 2001

The trigger slides smoothly in and out. It's not catching on anything.

I guess I maybe should wait until I actually get the gun (that these new parts are going into) back from the getting refinished before I pass judgement on them. It may be that they'll work better in that one.

I was just very surprised/disappointed in how the trigger pull was with the new parts, especially considering that everyone that posted on this board about the same kit said it dropped in and provided the as-advertised trigger pull from the get-go.

I guess if I do need to do more work I'll at least be assured that I used good parts and the trigger job will last.

I'll post again with how the parts work in the other gun.

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Howardk

· #4 · Aug 29, 2001

My Nowlin drop-in trigger weight was also high--although I didn't have a scale so I'm not sure how high. If you're concerned about the pull weight buy a cheap RCBS trigger scale to make sure. The way I got my trigger pull lower was as Jaydee said--bending the sear spring. After I first installed the Nowlin the trigger pull was great--crisp and light. All of a sudden it started to develop creep. I sent the unit back to Nowlin and they said they fixed it, but the creep is still there. I've pretty narrowed it down to the hammer, since if I change hammers the creep goes away. Have you looked at the drop-in kit Teddy Jacobsen is selling (actionsbyt.com) Talked with Teddy today and he hand works unit. It's $130--a little more than the Nowlin but it's also hand finished.

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