Beretta 96 triger

[ZEPHYR]

My 96 has the mushiest trigger of any pistol I have owned. Once that hammer is cocked, there is so much play and pull until it fires I end up jerking it.Is there any way of adjusting this?

[LDBennett]

Yes. Take it to a gunsmith who specializes in Beretta 92 pistols and get a "trigger job".

What you are feeling is the connection between the hammer and the sear. The easy initial take up is the trigger moving to touch the sear. The heavier pull is the trigger moving the sear so as to disengage the sear and hammer. The sear and hammer are held together by a ledge on the hammer where the sear sits. The trigger and its linkage slide the sear on that ledge until the sear falls off the ledge and the hammer falls.

The mushyness you are feeling is the sear slightly rotating the hammer against the hammer spring as it tries to slide along the ledge on the hammer. This is called camming the hammer during letoff. Lawyers love deep sear engagements and lots of camming because it makes it difficult for the gun to go off accidentally. Shooters hate that kind of trigger/sear/hammer action because it feels mushy, creepy, and is heavy.

The trick to a good trigger job is to keep a bit of the camming but make the sear not have to move as far to fall off the ledge on the hammer. When done correctly the camming is not felt, the creep is gone (the trigger appears to not move as it is being pulled to letoff), and the "break" of the trigger is crisp. if done right the gun is still safe and will not go off when bumped or dropped. The lightness of the trigger pull is usually acheived with lighter trigger, sear, and hammer springs. Just changing the springs still leaves the camming and the mushyness.

A good gunsmith can do the job right so that the trigger or sear is not ground down through the surface hardening allowing the trigger job to virtually last forever. A poor job works fine for a while until the edges are worn off. That is because the gunsmith ground down the parts through their surface hardening and the heavy forces are "machining" away the mild steel. Some guns use parts hard throughout and this is not a worry. The other option is to buy a drop-in trigger job. Some guns are so popular that manufactures make a new sear and hammer with all the surfaces ground and hardened for a perfect trigger out of the box, so to speak. most such drop-in include springs as well. Check Brownells for such a kit.

LDBennett

[ZEPHYR]

Thanks LD. At the site it says " Does not fit late production guns with polymer triggers. Factory weight or 20% reduced power."
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/sto...ONVERSION+UNIT

How do I know if mine is a later produsction.the trigger seems to be plastic.

Is there a code on the pistol some where?

[LDBennett]

zephyr:

What you found was just a replacement spring. You need a whole trigger/sear drop-in kit. In a quick review of the Brownells catalog I could not find the trigger/sear kit. You can either take it to a gunsmith and let him do the trigger job or call Brownells and see if they sell the drop-in kit for a new trigger/sear that will give it a "lighter, crisper pull".

LDBennett

[ZEPHYR]

Originally Posted by LDBennett

zephyr:

What you found was just a replacement spring. You need a whole trigger/sear drop-in kit. In a quick review of the Brownells catalog I could not find the trigger/sear kit. You can either take it to a gunsmith and let him do the trigger job or call Brownells and see if they sell the drop-in kit for a new trigger/sear that will give it a "lighter, crisper pull".

LDBennett

Thanks. I have the polymer type . I went to the local gun sho that a lot of the police and county sherifs use. They gave me the name of a gunsmith that they use and he is supposed to be good.

Thanks for the info LD.