Trigger

The stock trigger from STI is a plastic shoe at about a medium length. After doing a lot of dry-fire and the first range session, I was finding that I was getting inconsistent trigger finger placement during one-hand only operation due to the trigger reach. To help combat this I wanted to put a shorter trigger in the gun.

I installed an X-Line Vario Trigger Short Curve trigger. These are imported by Atlas Gunworks, and offer a replaceable trigger shoe. You can buy different shapes and lengths to suit your hand size and trigger preference. I went with the short, curved as that style has worked well on conventional 1911s for me. So far this seems to have solved my trigger reach during one-hand use for me.

Other notes:
– The trigger feels a little “cleaner” with the metal trigger versus the polymer.
– For fitting, I coated all 4 sides with dry-erase marker and kept inserting and removing, chasing high spots until it just barely went in but would slide up and drop down freely when the grip was pointed down. The stock trigger had a little play in it, but this one has not extra movement. I removed material from the frame which made the stock unit looser, however my logic is if I didn’t like the short, curved trigger the frame would fit any of the replacement triggers that could drop in, instead of having to fit another trigger. And the trigger is anodized aluminum and didn’t want to soften the material by eating through anodizing without a way of refinishing it myself.
– The polish on the trigger bar was much nicer than the stock unit.

Dehorning the Grip

Since the grip is a molded plastic piece, it has some edges that are a little sharp. While I had the pistol detail stripped, I took the time to go through and break the edges with a file and some 1000 grit sandpaper. For most use, it probably doesn’t matter. However, I wanted to eliminate any edges that might create hot spots on my hands during extended range sessions.

NOTE 1: I didn’t touch any metal as it’s DLC finished. Any work to this would require a refinish.

NOTE 2: If you’re going to attempt this, go slow and check your work often so you don’t go too crazy.