I was at the range today and began shooting my G19 Gen4. The first couple of trigger pulls were fine then the trigger almost siezed up. I unloaded and did a few dry fires still had a very hard trigger pull. When I got home I detailed stripped it, no broken springs or anything, reassembled and it now functions as it should. I have no aftermarket parts installed besides the glock gadget and which is a pivoting end plate, and a grip force adapter, what could be the cause of the issue?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Super Shooter,

My money is on the Glock Gadget.

Incorrectly installed trigger spring spring.

Sometimes the trigger spring is put in upside down. It should form an S with the forward end like so:





The "hook" of the trigger spring should be facing up at the rear, and facing down at the forward end when installed.

Older style trigger bars lack the small grove on the underside of the hole through which the trigger spring goes; the groove is there to prevent the spring from rotating to the side and locking the trigger. Most of the time if the trigger is hard to press, that's the cause.

How dirty was it? How many rounds since the last detail strip/cleaning? Glocks don't need much maintenance or lubrication, but they do need some, especially on the trigger bar and connector interface.

quote:

Originally posted by Phred:
How dirty was it? How many rounds since the last detail strip/cleaning? Glocks don't need much maintenance or lubrication, but they do need some, especially on the trigger bar and connector interface.

It was cleaned and lubed, carried and not shot until today, did not see lint or any external blockages during detail strip. Thanks for the replies so far, checked the trigger return spring orientation amd it is correct. Anybody have anything else?

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
My money is on the Glock Gadget.

I agree.

Get rid of that thing!

There's really no failure mode in which the "glock gadget" striker control device (SCD) can lock up a pistol. Because of the design, the only real failure that could possibly occur is separation from the pistol by failure of the hinge; very unlikely and hasn't happened before, but should that occur, it won't impede function of the pistol.

The only possibility of the SCD doing what the original poster is describing would be if he had his thumb covering the striker plate, and that would be very obvious.

The trigger spring isn't trigger return spring; it tries to pull the trigger aft, or in other words, attempts to pull the trigger in the same direction as the shooter when firing a shot. (a "competition spring" is a stronger spring, making for a lighter trigger). If the spring isn't in place, which. normally happens if the spring rotates to one side, usually to the left (as seen from above, facing toward the front of the pistol), the opposite effect occurs and the trigger can become hard to move.

The "new" style trigger bar" uses a small v shape with two points below the hole through which the trigger spring goes. These little points were designed into the trigger bar to prevent the spring from rotating and causing this problem. If you remove the trigger and find this to be the older style without the v-groove beneath the hole, you can continue to run that part if you want, or an updated trigger bar is fairly inexpensive. There are a lot of pistols out there without the upgraded part, and if the spring is put in reversed, the spring might still rotate anyway; the grove exists to prevent rotation in a correctly installed spring.

Note that the upper picture above (neither picture is mine) shows the old style trigger bar.

I would place some oil into the slot where the trigger bar and connector mate.

Unlubricated connectors can do the exact same thing that happenend to you.

Did you detail strip the gun or do any work with the connector just prior to that range visit? Improper fitting of the connector to the trigger housing could cause this condition. I encountered this a couple of times with Ghost lightening connectors; I can't say with any certainty that this factor was the binding cause with the first instance (since I didn't think to check for correct seating before ripping the part out of the trigger housing), but the second time this happened I noticed a bit of movement when I put pressure down on the connector, as if I didn't completely seat the part before finishing the reassembly of the gun and doing the perfunctory function check that identified the binding.

It did seem like 'reassembler error' after the second time, but alas my major takeaway from these 'events' was and still is a distrust of Ghost connectors, since I'd never encountered this binding with any other lightening connector before trying the "3.5" Ghost parts ('Rocket' and 'Ultimate'). Scherer's "3.5" had been my aftermarket connector of choice at that time, but then the company went T.U. and then with all subsequent Glock acquisitions I had little choice but to begin experimenting with other aftermarket products like Ghost's before settling on the factory 'minus' unit.

I've not experienced any problems with Scherer or the factory 'minus' part (I 'think' I still like the feel of the Scherer better, but hey it's just a Glock and no matter what anyone does or how much money is thrown at it it still feels like a sloppy mess...just a 'nicer than normal' sloppy mess). Nor have I had any problems with lightened connectors included with complete trigger assemblies from ZEV, Pyramid, Apex and others.

Let's check the simple stuff first. Look at the pin that goes through the trigger that the "safety" hinges on. Does it look like it is backing out even a little bit? I've seen that pin start to back just a little and it causes what you are talking about.

The second thing to check is free movement of the striker block safety. If that has a bad spring, or a large piece of crud, you might get what you described.

I had exactly what you describe going on with my service pistol. I put 15,000 rounds through it last year, and upon detail strip it had a crap load of junk in it. The armorer said it looked like concrete had set up there was so much crap inside the pistol from shooting it. He gave it a bath in the ultrasonic a couple of times, made sure the frame was good and clean, and now the problem went away.

quote:

Originally posted by Super Shooter:
It was cleaned and lubed, carried and not shot until today, did not see lint or any external blockages during detail strip. Thanks for the replies so far, checked the trigger return spring orientation amd it is correct. Anybody have anything else

Has any sanding or filing been done to the trigger safety tab? I have seen those sanded down to be flush with the trigger face when the trigger is pulled so if the finger isn't centered on the trigger, or gloves are worn, then the trigger safety might not have fully released & therefore blocked the trigger operation.

quote:

Originally posted by JonTy:

quote:

Originally posted by Super Shooter:
It was cleaned and lubed, carried and not shot until today, did not see lint or any external blockages during detail strip. Thanks for the replies so far, checked the trigger return spring orientation amd it is correct. Anybody have anything else

Has any sanding or filing been done to the trigger safety tab? I have seen those sanded down to be flush with the trigger face when the trigger is pulled so if the finger isn't centered on the trigger, or gloves are worn, then the trigger safety might not have fully released & therefore blocked the trigger operation.

No everything is stock and nothing has been ground down. Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I will be on the look out for the issues mentioned. I will do the following:

1) Check the connector interface and make sure it is seated properly

2) Strip it down and give the frame a good scrubbing

3) Check to ensure that the springs are in proper orientation

4) Check and periodically inspect pin alignment

Thanks again guys!