Getting a smoother DA

[jmac2112]

Hi,

I have a Shadow 2 with the CGW Pro Package installed (by me).  I have followed all the suggestions in the "Smoothing the Action" thread (first sticky in this subforum) and I have also polished the grooves on the underside of the trigger bar.  This made a pretty big difference in the overall smoothness of the action, but I am still not satisfied with my DA pull.  It's very smooth if I pull quickly, but if I slow things down at all I can feel a lot of hesitation.  I think this is what people mean by "stacking."  So I guess my question is, is there some other secret here?  It is entirely possible that I did not do a good enough job when I was smoothing and polishing the parts, but I'm not sure what I could have done better.  Anyway, if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!

As a point of reference, the best DA pull I have experienced was on a Sig P220.  It was a very heavy pull, but I can't imagine anything smoother.

Thanks!

John

[Arko]

Well I'm very new here and to CZs but I recently went through my P-01 trying to get the best I could get out of it by following the thread tou reference and another by schmeky linked here.  https://czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=66147.0

and noticed a little tip in there about the trigger bar support spring and about how they're always over- tensioner and about how relieving some of that tension will do alot to reduce stacking which as I've always understood it is the undesirable trait of double action guns needing more and more force towards the end of the trigger pull, or press as has become the vogue and trendy term to use lately. If that's what your experiencing then I can attest that this spring trick works wonders and I did it to my Omega TBSS and it had a more profound impact on the stacking in my trigger, which was atrocious, than anything else I've done to the gun.
  Now, as I said I'm new to CZs but I assume the regular 75 actions have this same spring? No? Then disregard everything I've said.

[George16]

Use some Flitz and polish the contact surfaces of sear also. Just don’t overdo it. Another thing you can do is install a competition hammer and CGWs adjustable sear. I did this after polishing the trigger contact surfaces and the trigger is buttery smooth and crisp. I also fitted and installed a disconnector and shirt reset kit.

You can also polish the side of the frame where the trigger bar rubs against.

[jmac2112]

Thanks, Arko and George 16! 

Arko:  Thanks for the link; I'll look into that.  Funny thing about the trigger bar spring on my gun.  I had messed with it a few months ago when I was adjusting my mag release spring (on a 75 model they are both retained by the same screw) and ended up with too little tension, which was causing a very weak reset.  I recently adjusted the trigger bar support spring for more tension, and now my reset is back to a nice positive "click."  It does not seem to have had any effect on the DA pull, however.  Maybe I managed to adjust it just right; maybe it only messes with the DA pull if there is way too much tension.  In any case, I don't think that's the source of my problem.  I'll certainly look through the link that you sent and see if there are any other ideas that might help.

George 16: The parts you mention are all included in the CGW Pro Package that I installed.  I polished all the contact surfaces as detailed in the sticky that I referenced.  I did polish the inside of the frame where the trigger bar rubs, but I didn't put a lot of emphasis on it.  I'll do some more work in that area and see if that makes a difference.    When you say "the contact surfaces of the sear," do you mean the underside of the sear where it rubs against the hammer, or the angle where it engages the hammer hooks, or both?  I did not polish the CGW sear at all, since it already seemed very smooth compared to the stock sear with the washboard tool marks. 

Thanks,

John

[George16]

Thanks, Arko and George 16! 

Arko:  Thanks for the link; I'll look into that.  Funny thing about the trigger bar spring on my gun.  I had messed with it a few months ago when I was adjusting my mag release spring (on a 75 model they are both retained by the same screw) and ended up with too little tension, which was causing a very weak reset.  I recently adjusted the trigger bar support spring for more tension, and now my reset is back to a nice positive "click."  It does not seem to have had any effect on the DA pull, however.  Maybe I managed to adjust it just right; maybe it only messes with the DA pull if there is way too much tension.  In any case, I don't think that's the source of my problem.  I'll certainly look through the link that you sent and see if there are any other ideas that might help.

George 16: The parts you mention are all included in the CGW Pro Package that I installed.  I polished all the contact surfaces as detailed in the sticky that I referenced.  I did polish the inside of the frame where the trigger bar rubs, but I didn't put a lot of emphasis on it.  I'll do some more work in that area and see if that makes a difference.    When you say "the contact surfaces of the sear," do you mean the underside of the sear where it rubs against the hammer, or the angle where it engages the hammer hooks, or both?  I did not polish the CGW sear at all, since it already seemed very smooth compared to the stock sear with the washboard tool marks. 

Thanks,

John

Both, but since you already have the CGW adjustable sear, then there’s no need for any polishing.  I forgot what exactly what parts are in the Pro package so I apologize for being redundant.

[Tok36]

Thanks, Arko and George 16! 

Arko:  Thanks for the link; I'll look into that.  Funny thing about the trigger bar spring on my gun.  I had messed with it a few months ago when I was adjusting my mag release spring (on a 75 model they are both retained by the same screw) and ended up with too little tension, which was causing a very weak reset.  I recently adjusted the trigger bar support spring for more tension, and now my reset is back to a nice positive "click."  It does not seem to have had any effect on the DA pull, however.  Maybe I managed to adjust it just right; maybe it only messes with the DA pull if there is way too much tension.  In any case, I don't think that's the source of my problem.  I'll certainly look through the link that you sent and see if there are any other ideas that might help.

George 16: The parts you mention are all included in the CGW Pro Package that I installed.  I polished all the contact surfaces as detailed in the sticky that I referenced.  I did polish the inside of the frame where the trigger bar rubs, but I didn't put a lot of emphasis on it.  I'll do some more work in that area and see if that makes a difference.    When you say "the contact surfaces of the sear," do you mean the underside of the sear where it rubs against the hammer, or the angle where it engages the hammer hooks, or both?  I did not polish the CGW sear at all, since it already seemed very smooth compared to the stock sear with the washboard tool marks. 

Thanks,

John

   The guide linked above is for the CZ Omega trigger system. You have a Shadow 2 which uses the classic CZ 75 variant trigger system. For your pistol that guide is not going to be of much help. While adjusting the trigger bar tension in an Omega can help the DA pull it will not do much for a Shadow 2.

   The first thing that i would suggest for smoothing out the DA is to shoot the pistol allot. These pistols can benefit greatly just from a thorough break in. I have a few that are thousands or rounds in and they are still improving just from use. Each CZ 75 variant is different, i have found this especially so when trying to smooth out the DA pull. It may be worth while to work on the bottem of the frame where the disconector nose contacts the frame towards the end of the DA pull. You should be able to discern if it needs work by taking a close look at it. The Shadow 2's seams to have improved machining over the 75's so it may not need it. The trigger pin hole and the trigger/trigger bar pin hole are another good area to check. The humps on the top the the trigger bar that engage the slide are worth a look as well as the corresponding contact points on the slide.

I will mention break in again because of its importance. May your DA smooth out well.