Guys, bought a new 229 Combat. It is a beautiful gun but the da trigger is so heavy that I do like shooting it. I have a 220 and the triggers are night and day. The 220 does not have more than a 1000 rounds through it.

Is it just a matter of shooting the heck out of it or what? The gun was not cheap and I was expecting something much better than this.

I've had 8 DA/SA Sigs, each with different trigger characteristics. I had a P226R .40 that had to go to GGI because the DA trigger while not heavy, was really gritty and stagy. My agency issues the P229R and each gun I inspect annually as an armorer has a different feeling trigger. Sig triggers to me seem to be like a fingerprint, no two are alike. Some need an Sig's AEP or GGI to make them usable, others are perfect right out of box.

Thanks, not encouraging news but thanks for the input. I didn't want to pay for AEP on a $900 gun.

A few years ago, I bought a 9mm P226R that had the absolute worst DA trigger of any SiG I had ever shot. Every night when I got home from work, I would dry-fire the snot out of it. That and several hundred rounds downrange helped break it in.

It's the short trigger. Blame it on the short trigger.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
It's the short trigger. Blame it on the short trigger.

So changing to a regular trigger should help?

Sorry to read about your P229.

Well you can always hope that someone putting the gun together just put in the wrong weight mainspring or some other off-spec part. Or it's just the unfortunate nature of production guns. Assembling guns by grabbing parts out of bins isn't exactly the formula for exacting tolerances, precision fitting and sublime function and action. Regardless, you unfortunately got one of those 'meh' ones. Sad to say that I've been there a few times myself. It sucks even more when it's a relatively spendy gun, but when it happens it always stinks no matter how much was spent on the firearm.

Shoot the snot out of it and hope for the best, or complain to SIG CS and have them take it in to inspect and test. Or better yet send it off to GGI or Robert Burke and have some real magic done to it. There was a recent thread that cited that the AEP service didn't always come back with the desired results. I honestly can't say either way since I've never had the service done to any of my SIGs.

Interesting. We got in two brand new P220 Combats last month. Everyone in the shop agreed that the DA pull was the worst they had ever felt, on both guns.

SA was far from crisp too. We let the Sig rep feel them too. He took them back and is replacing them both with other models for us.

I thought the Combats had action jobs at the factory? The stock 2022s we have have better triggers on them. Regards 18DAI

Install a 17lb mainspring and do a ton of dry firing.
That is if you don't feel like doing some polishing internally.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by rbert0005:
Install a 17lb mainspring and do a ton of dry firing.
That is if you don't feel like doing some polishing internally.

Bob

Thanks for the advice.

I'd take it to a local smith to have them gauge the trigger pull. The specs are for 10 pounds. If you're getting around that, dry fire a lot. If you're getting 12-14 pounds, put a call into SIG to see what they'd do.

You can buy the GGI spring kit, it is only $25 and comes with both a 17 and 19lb mainspring (I like the 19 for duty/defensive guns.)

That and some light polishing on the internals should make a huge difference.

I installed the kit in an old P6 (had to stick with old style mainspring and strut 'cause I can't find the new seat anywhere in stock), polished the internals except I left the hammer/sear engagement alone. It went from the worst DA pull I've ever felt to pretty darn good.

It isn't as good as my GGI tuned P226 of course, but the difference is my P226 pull is 100% smooth and nearly perfect, on the P6 I can still detect some inconsistencies in the pull due to not touching the sear/hammer surfaces and the old style mainspring. At speed though, I don't notice the imperfections, the trigger is very shootable.

When you say "heavy", is it just that the DA pull takes too much force, or does it actually feel gritty/creepy or uneven? If just too heavy, then just changing the mainspring as has been suggested.

What's the SA pull like?

I've experienced this as well. I have an older, pre-rail P229 that has a nice smooth pull and crisp break. I tried a guy's P229R a few months back, and it was horrible. Gritty, heavy, and it stacked badly. Hard to believe they were essentially the same gun.

I'd be unhappy after dropping a grand too. You could swap the hammer & trigger springs or Contact the fabulous Sig CS folks and explain the situ to them. They may make it right for you.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
When you say "heavy", is it just that the DA pull takes too much force, or does it actually feel gritty/creepy or uneven? If just too heavy, then just changing the mainspring as has been suggested.

What's the SA pull like?

It takes considerable force to pull back and release the trigger. The SA seems fine.

Thanks. I will look at changing the mainspring.

IMO this is par for the course for new Sigs.

I'll assume you've lubed the fire-control parts with a good lube? Better yet, tear it down, polish the appropriate contact points and reassemble with Brownell's Action Lube.

The 17 or 19# hammer spring will help as well.

First, I'll assume your mechanical experience/skills with full disassembly and action tuning are minimal. Otherwise, the gun would have been completely detail stripped, cleaned, inspected and lubed by now. Therefore, just a few small suggestions that don't require a lot of mechanical skill.

I'm a half decent amateur gunsmith. I tune (if necessary) all of the actions on my Sigs, 1911's and revolvers. I find the ability to work on my guns (when necessary) to be relaxing, saves money and enhances the shooting experience as well.

With patience and an orderly approach, basic detail stripping and re-assembly is not beyond the capabilities of the average shooter. You might consider obtaining a video and learn to detail strip. If you had a problem during the process, a lot of SF members would be glad to help out. If not, send it back to Sig.

Some items not requiring detail stripping:

1) If the DA is excessively heavy, something is possibly out of spec. After 1,000 rounds, it should be broken in. Using light springs won't correct the underlying issue. IMO, lighter springs are just fine tuning to be done after the action is cleaned up. They are not a solution to something else. In addition, a 17# mainspring is going to also lighten the SA significantly. If this is a defensive pistol, you may not want a super light SA. I use Wolff 18 or 19# on my classic Sig P-series. I've found the 17#'s funky. Sometimes changes the personality of the DA and the SA ends up too light for my taste. With a DA/SA action, a lighter mainspring reduces the weight of BOTH the DA AND SA.

2) If you have a friend with a trigger pull gauge, borrow it and take DA and SA measurements. If not this is the time to buy one. It ought to be in every shooter's tool kit. For one, this will tell you whether the gun is in spec or not (per BuddyChryst). Right now you're just guessing.

2) Unload gun and leave slide forward with hammer down. Remove the LH grip panel. This will give access to the hammer/sear engaging surfaces. Tight quarters, but is accessible. Use a toothpick and place a dab of grease on both surfaces. Cock hammer and repeat. The exposed surfaces differ based on whether hammer is cocked or uncocked. Ideally, you'd want to detail strip, de-grease and then re-lube, but this is just for analytical purposes. See if the pull has improved.

3) Another common area, if you're feeling adventurous...hammer strut yoke where it contacts the hammer. The curved surfaces tends to be rough, since it's just a stamped part. Remove RH panel as well. Remove hammer strut assembly (plastic base, mainspring, hammer strut). Pay attention to the strut orientation. Polish the top contact areas with Flitz, very fine emery cloth or whatever. Purpose is to smooth out the surface, which has a high PSI load. It's amazing what just polishing this can do. Note that it's can be tricky seating the strut in the hammer when reassembling. Polish, lube and reassemble. See if the pull has improved. This could impact your warranty, however. I've never been concerned myself, since I do all my own work.

4) Regarding spring replacements generally. Some of the springs in the GGI kits are for competition use. Some require slide disassembly. If it's a defensive gun be careful what you use. Even with a simple mainspring (hammer spring) replacement, test it with your carry loads. Every gun is different. Again, I consider lighter springs to be for tuning, not rectifying an underlying problem. For just mainsprings, you can get an inexpensive kit ($9) from Wolff with 17, 18 and 19# springs. Then see what works in your gun.

Thanks for such detailed feedback. I will certainly give it a try. Again, thanks for taking the time.

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