Any compelling reason not to put an apex duty kit in a j frame?

[NoLock]

I've been a 9mm Glock guy for ten years. I've always subscribed to the doctrine of adding quality steel sites and leaving them alone

I've had limited experience with revolvers. I purchased a no lock 442 in November of last year and installed an Apex kit. I followed the Apex video directions on youtube. I really liked the trigger pull but not the reset, it felt weak. Fired a couple hundred rounds of wadcutters with no issues and a ton of dry fire. In Feb the hammer stud broke and Smith sent me a new gun a month ago.

From the research I've done it looks like opening the gun up and changing out the springs and firing pin could have contributed to or been the cause of the broken hammer stud.

I'm torn as to whether or not to install an Apex kit in this new gun. What has been your personal experience with this kit or others (wolf Wilson etc)? Is the reduction in trigger pull and better performance worth the slight chance of reliability issues? Did I just have bad luck?

[Leroy Suggs]

Removing the sideplate on a J frame and working the trigger can break or crack the hammer stud because it is unsupported on one end
Thats with any hammer spring, not just Apex. Do not remove the sideplate on a J and work the trigger with the hammer spring installed.

The Apex kit will give better trigger action than factory.
Polish the bottom of the rebound slide and you will have a good trigger return. POLISH ONLY THE BOTTOM.
Make sure you install the Apex firing pin and spring. It is .005 longer than factory.

My experience with Apex kits in a 442 and 638 is over 2500 rounds in the 638 and over 1700 in the 442.
Zero misfires. Six different types of ammo.

[NPV]

I recently installed one on my 442 and 640 Pro the trigger was very sluggish to reset on the 640 after installing it ( though the 640 was unfired). The trigger on my 442 is now superb, it was decent before but more like a stock K frame now. As long as it stays reliable and Smith is replacing broken guns I’m gonna run with it.

[Spartan1980]

Removing the sideplate on a J frame and working the trigger can break or crack the hammer stud because it is unsupported on one end
Thats with any hammer spring, not just Apex. Do not remove the sideplate on a J and work the trigger with the hammer spring installed.

The removing of the side plate and working the action doesn't just stress the pins on J frames, it stresses them on ALL S&W models.

But to the O/P it seems to be a regular occurrence these days for hammer and trigger pins to be breaking. I've had several friends having to send guns back for replacement hammer and trigger pins. If you don't pry on them during disassembly/assembly or work the action with the side plate off, the Apex Kit will have no bearing on the life of the pins. Unless it extends that life due to lower spring weights, that's really about all it could do.

[OlongJohnson]

My understanding is that the pins that can't be seen as a distinct color on the left side of the frame are aluminum. The bronze-colored pins are stainless. Guess which ones seem to be associated with reports of breakage?

[Isaac]

My understanding is that the pins that can't be seen as a distinct color on the left side of the frame are aluminum. The bronze-colored pins are stainless. Guess which ones seem to be associated with reports of breakage?

olong, any truth to the M&P 340 having all steel pins?

[OlongJohnson]

I believe that is the case.

[medmo]

I've been a 9mm Glock guy for ten years. I've always subscribed to the doctrine of adding quality steel sites and leaving them alone

I've had limited experience with revolvers. I purchased a no lock 442 in November of last year and installed an Apex kit. I followed the Apex video directions on youtube. I really liked the trigger pull but not the reset, it felt weak. Fired a couple hundred rounds of wadcutters with no issues and a ton of dry fire. In Feb the hammer stud broke and Smith sent me a new gun a month ago.

From the research I've done it looks like opening the gun up and changing out the springs and firing pin could have contributed to or been the cause of the broken hammer stud.

I'm torn as to whether or not to install an Apex kit in this new gun. What has been your personal experience with this kit or others (wolf Wilson etc)? Is the reduction in trigger pull and better performance worth the slight chance of reliability issues? Did I just have bad luck?

I don’t think anything you did caused that failure. Popping off the side plate and swapping springs shouldn’t have caused that problem. Yes, order it, swap out and enjoy a better action.

[medmo]

Buff not polish. Green buffing compound with Dremel buffing wheel and include the left side of the rebound that contacts the frame.

[NoLock]

Threadlock side plate screws?