Or “ An alternative philosophy on the LEM trigger”.
Yes, another LEM thread because I could not find a suitable home for this last night. In short, I’m on a parts swapping/gunsmithing quest to make the LEM a “self-decocking TDA” instead of what most people consider it, a weird DAO. Warning: long post
This applies to the P series pistol only. It may apply to the USP series, but I haven’t investigated it yet. To start, I have been shooting the LEM trigger on the HK P series for years, but recently switched a pistol back to V3 (TDA). The result was a love/hate trigger that raised a lot of thoughts and questions. The comparisons made here are between a single pistol.
Why is the LEM difficulty all mental? The pull and reset of the SA are no different between V3 and V1. The only difference is the V1 trigger will return all the way out AFTER the reset.
Therefore, The LEM trigger should be treated as a TDA pistol that automatically decocks if allowed. Please consider this, and maybe revisit the LEM and see if this mentality helps. Next I’m going to go through how to set-up the LEM trigger that makes the most sense with this philosophy.
1. The DA pull vs the LEM pull. In this particular example, the DA is surprisingly smooth. In fact, it is a better FEELING pull than the LEM in any variant (weight). The V3 in this gun is ~ 9 lbs with no stacking. The LEM stacking really counts against it and is mostly due the weight of the hammer spring. Conclusion, to improve the LEM, drop the hammer spring weight.
That’s a real “duh” to anyone who knows the LEM trigger.
A: 14 lb spring - garbage.
B: 12 lb “blue” spring - good on TDA, stacks terribly on LEM.
C: 11 lb lazywolf spring - weakest reliable spring. This is in my P30L carry gun set-up.
D: 10 lb reduced weight - This will be my go to in competition.
2. Next, we take a look at the TRS, which is the other side of this equation. The TRS contributes to the trigger pull in 3 ways. The first is contributing to some of the weight (V3) or most of the weight (V1/2) of the trigger pull. The goal is to ideally minimize this. It also contributes to reset speed. The goal then becomes to balance the pull and reset speed as a compromise. Lastly, a high weight TRS can help reduce the feel of stacking.
A. Heavy TRS - not bad when paired with other light springs. Too heavy with other heavy springs. My go-to for P2000 series.
B. Light TRS - perhaps too light for a good reset. When used in V1 LEM, weight and reset are indistinguishable from V3. Due to reset issues, I do not like this TRS.
C. Medium TRS (P30 series only) - This is in the mail right now. I hope that with the 10/11lb hammer spring, this will be “The Spring”.
3. Firing pin block spring. Simple. As long as it is safe, lighter is better. Therefore, the LazyWolf enhanced is my choice here.
Let’s now look at a V3 set up ideally (11 lb hammer spring, light TRS) and a VMutt (very close to VTLG, but with lazywolf springs and Medium TRS).
V3 DA. 7.5-8 lbs. Smooth and no stacking. Overally, pretty nice.
VMutt first pull. 5.5-6 lbs. Small amount of stacking, but not so much it leads to staging the trigger.
V3 SA. 3.5-4 lbs. Mush reset, mush break. Almost identical to V1 LEM. Bleh.
VMutt second pull - same as the first, but shorter. Here the stacking actually helps “re-prep” the trigger during recoil so that when the sights are back on target the gun is effectively single-action. Feels better than the vague-mushy feel of the V1 and V3 triggers.
Using this technique and exhaustive practice, I can pull my splits down into the high-teens and low 20s when running wide open. No, it’s not a single stack 1911, but I can’t do any better with the V3 because of the sluggish TRS and exact same reset as LEM. For comparison, my bill drill splits for a 1911 run 0.15 on my absolute best days (after shooting the 1911 for a good while).
That wraps up the key springs in a P series pistol. The nickle plated sear spring does nothing for me. The 4.1 hammer kit does make a difference, but it is so small I consider it in the diminishing returns because of the cost to benefit. Finally the LazyWolf reset reduction makes the V3 and LEM worlds better, but it really shines with the spring set that he uses (which is what is essentially described here).
This ends my dive into P series triggers. If you managed to make it this far, thank you , and try out some of these tips for yourself.