DIY Trigger Job Possible?

[BigGameHunter]

Here is a hypothetical question. I have a Ruger P89 that is my go to auto for target shooting. The trigger after several thousand rounds has smoothed out and lightened to a nice easy pull. The problem is no matter how light the trigger pull is on it the slack is a country mile that needs to be pulled in.

Is there any books, videos on the internet or other material that could help me adjust this trigger not a complete trigger job just adjust out all of the travel on the trigger so that it is a nice crisp pull. What do I need (New springs, parts, etc). I am trying to do things on my own and would like to eventually be an amateur gunsmith. I made myself a gun bench for tinkering and Have a descent amount of tools between my father and I.

Any information would be appreciated or anyone who can point me in the right direction with regards to useful instruction. Thanks

 

[CRAZYLOCH]

Just be VERY careful with DIY trigger jobs, shave or grind off too much, and boom, it can become "unsafe" to fire, too light of a trigger can cause accidental bump fires and can be dangerous to handle.

my 2 cents bro.

 

[BigGameHunter]

Not adjusting the tension or lightening the trigger just want to take all of the overtravel out. I realize that lightening the trigger will do that but will just taking the slop out of it make it unsafe? If so then I won't as I don't want it to be unsafe like I said just crisper. My fingers are not very long and reaching for the trigger in double and single even I can't get a good "purchase" on the trigger and it is just the very tip of my pad so if I can take that travel away it would make a big difference. Thanks

 

[woolly]

Not adjusting the tension or lightening the trigger just want to take all of the overtravel out. I realize that lightening the trigger will do that but will just taking the slop out of it make it unsafe?

Any work on a trigger can make it unsafe. Especially if you don't really know what you are doing.

Take it to a competent gunsmith and have him fix things up for you.

 

[BCRider]

A lot of the initial takeup is needed to allow the DA cycle to work. If you lower the hammer and shoot a shot in DA mode you'll likely find that there's very little takeup before you begin to push back the hammer. Sure, you can add something to move the trigger to the rear so your SA shots have only a little takeup before you feel the sear pressure. But you'll lose your DA ability. In effect you'd turn it into an SA only gun by removing the initial takeup travel.

 

[wherermykeys]

That slack should only be a problem on your first shot. As BC Rider said, you will have that with a DA/SA trigger. Make sure you're not releasing the trigger all the way after your shot. You should only release until you feel it reset. At that point, the take up is way less.

 

[stevebc]

Not adjusting the tension or lightening the trigger just want to take all of the overtravel out. I realize that lightening the trigger will do that but will just taking the slop out of it make it unsafe? If so then I won't as I don't want it to be unsafe like I said just crisper. My fingers are not very long and reaching for the trigger in double and single even I can't get a good "purchase" on the trigger and it is just the very tip of my pad so if I can take that travel away it would make a big difference. Thanks

I had a P85, which is the predecessor to your P89, and I'll bet that if you're having problems reaching the trigger, it's at least partly that the Ruger has such a bulky grip. There's not much you can do about that, even the few aftermarket grips you can find for the P89 aren't going to be much, if any, slimmer than the stock grips.
It's great that your trigger has smoothed out and is light- have you measured the pull weight? Mine was long, gritty, and heavy even after a trigger job that I blew way too much money on. In retrospect, I blew a few hundred bucks trying to make a sow's ear into a silk purse; the Ruger is never going to be a decent target pistol. Even if you manage to shorten your pull, they simply aren't the best for accuracy.
Don't get me wrong- I'm not bashing the Ruger. It's tough and reliable and will eat just about any ammo you feed it, but a target pistol it isn't.
My two cents worth...