NEW LC9 and LC380 TRIGGER KIT

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robkarrob

Bearcat
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Apr 26, 2012
Messages
39
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Sarasota, FL
There is a new LC9 and LC380 trigger kit available. The maker is Saints Arms, and the kit is sold through eBay. The kit is two pieces, a new hammer and a new trigger bar. It is a well made kit and the parts are accurately CNC machined and heat treated. I made an install video and a short results video, on the kit. The kit sells on eBay for only $35, which is a bargain. The results is it shortens the pull a little over 1/4 inch and moves the trigger break point forward the similar amount. You can search eBay for "LC9 Trigger Kit" or follow this link to the eBay ad:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ruger-LC9-and-LC380-Trigger-Kit-/261492666405?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce22d7025

My results video link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR3bNTMgWqY

The LONG install video is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf-VsWBXthM


Bob
 

groberts

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So cool. I was going to get the Galloway bar until he decided to lump it in with the springs and jack the price up. This looks like a great alternative.
 

robkarrob

Bearcat
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That is what a lot of others are saying. They would have spent the $40 (delivered) for the Galloway trigger bar, but since he bundled it with springs and a bad designed trigger, he has upped the price to $110 (delivered). This Saints Arms kit works as good or better than the Galloway trigger bar only kit, and it is only $35 plus $3 shipping. This is a very low price for a quality made hammer and trigger bar.

Bob
 

robkarrob

Bearcat
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Part of the reason that Galloway had chosen to add the trigger as part of the trigger bar kit, is the trigger bars are breaking. Galloway's design was to have the trigger over-travel stopped by using the rear of the trigger bar as the stop. This should have worked fine, but somewhere along the process in heat treating his trigger bars, they have become brittle. So if someone pulls the trigger back with force, when the rear of the trigger bar contacts the profile lobe, the pressure on the thin areas of his trigger bar can break, and have broke on several guns. His current fix is to sell the RTK trigger with the kit, which has an over-travel stop. By adjusting the OT stop, the pressure reverts to the set screw in the trigger, and not to the rear of the trigger bar.

You do not have that issue with the Saints Arms kit. The trigger bar was properly heat treated and does not crack.

Bob
 

groberts

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The ebay claims to have sold 80 of these yet there are no reviews. Furthermore, only two of us on this forum have discussed this item. Has anyone else on this board installed this? Does anyone else have any comments?
 

revhigh

Hawkeye
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This type of issue is exactly the reason why customers shouldn't add this unproven, unauthorized, aftermarket stuff to something as serious as a carry firearm. Ruger spends millions of dollars researching and testing their finished products, just so this type of thing doesn't happen. Then people buy it, install it, and come on here and rave about how great it is without having any idea of its quality, longevity, or effectiveness.

This is why you should buy a firearm, especially for carry ... That's good enough for you to live with out of the box ... Not one that requires unproven aftermarket parts to make it a useable or likeable weapon.

REV
 

groberts

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Rev, unfortunately most people don't get to try a firearm before buying it so they have to read reviews. And reviews are almost always back and forth. I've fired my LC380 and while I would prefer the trigger to break earlier I can live with it. However, it's not my carry gun and my wife hasn't felt well enough to go to a range and shoot it. So again, it really helps when products have lots of reviews.
 

robkarrob

Bearcat
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Apr 26, 2012
Messages
39
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Sarasota, FL
Hey guys, the issue is the trigger kit is for sale on eBay, not Amazon or similar, where they have product ratings and feedback. eBay only has feedback on the seller. I purchased my trigger kit about 3 weeks ago, and at the time the seller's rating was 128 positive. The seller has nothing else for sale on eBay, except the trigger kits. His current rating is 181 positive, or 53 more positive ratings. These all have to be from buyers of the trigger kit. He has no negative feedback, and the seller can not alter negative feedback. So it would appear that those that purchased the kit, have been happy with it. It is not like you shelling out $100, the kit is $38 delivered.

I am a Forum member, not mentioning the name in respect for this Forum, of the largest Ruger Forum in the world, 140,000 members. They have one particular thread of almost 120 pages and close to 1800 posts about the LC9 trigger pull. That is where I heard about the Saints Arms trigger kit. Many member of that Forum purchased the Saints Arms trigger kit, and all were very happy with the kit and the results it made to their guns. Just today a member reported that after going to the range "It's like a new gun, very nice improvement, glad I did that, everything went perfect, love the feel of the trigger now, so much better for me." So there are others reporting the same as me, happy with the improvement, and all feel it is better than the Galloway 35% trigger bar results.

In case some of you don't know it, Galloway Percision has stopped sales of his trigger bar. I would think it is because some of the trigger bars have broken/cracked, at the rear of the bar. I have seen photos of the broken trigger bar. I would call that a big problem for Galloway, as the trigger bars, or some of the trigger bars apparently were not heat treated properly, became brittle and broke. Not a good thing on a SD gun.

Bob
 

revhigh

Hawkeye
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My point was that no matter what the reviews say ... You STILL have no idea of longevity or long term functionality of this stuff. Everybody raved about the Galloway products too ... Until now ... Until enough units were in production ... And they've been 'tested' by the public, and found to be problematic.

My point stands .... Buy a gun you can live with in its factory configuration ... And if you can't tell the triggers on these cheap plastic guns are horrendous just by handling them in the store .... Then you really shouldn't even be buying one until you become more familiar with guns in general.

It's immediately obvious from first touch that the stock triggers in these guns are terrible, and difficult to shoot well with, and that's a huge detriment in an SD gun.

So now all the owners of Galloway trigger bar equipped guns can't trust them to function when it counts the most ... When your life depends on it. Might as well roll the dice .... Right ?

Or maybe just buy a better and probably more expensive gun with a decent trigger out of the box .... After all ... What's riding on the usefulness of the weapon ? Nothing too important .....

REV
 

robkarrob

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
39
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Sarasota, FL
I agree that there currently a lot of sub-compact guns with much better triggers than the LC9. That was not the case three years ago, when I bought my LC9. At that time the LC9 was awarded " The Gun of the Year", by Handgun Magazine, and others. The reviewers all stated it had a long pull, but there was no negativity to their reviews. At that time, the LC9 was very scarce, and it was hard to find a dealer in my area, that had one. After calling around for several weeks, I found a dealer, that was getting one in. I had to pay in advance, for him to hold it for me. Got it home and after many dry fires, I found out that the reviewers had fudged on the description of the trigger pull. I learned to shoot it ok, but never liked the trigger pull.

There are thousands of LC9s now, and many owners would like to improve their LC9's trigger pull. If everyone waits until a new item is tested and reviewed, nothing would ever make it to the market, because why would even the first person buy the product, as it has not been tested. I had one of the first Galloway original trigger kits (sold from late 2011 to early 2012). The kit was not perfect, but with testing and modifications, we were able to get it perfect. I have a great trigger pull, that has 50% less travel, and the break point was moved forward 1/2 inch. It is reliable and safe. But if I, along with many others, did not buy it, no one would have known how well it improved the trigger pull. That kit is still in my LC9, and still functions perfectly. Galloway sold over 3000 of those kits, before Ruger cut off his supply of hammers and trigger bars. That kit is no longer made.

Galloway came out with his own custom 35% trigger bar, last September. There were issues with that bar, but they got worked out. Now recently, some of the trigger bars have been found to crack/break, which is a heat treat issue. Is it a few trigger bars, or a lot? Only Galloway knows, but problems do occur. Look at the first year for the LC9s, where many guns had light hit issues. Also not a good thing in a SD gun. After a year of light hits, Ruger's engineers found the fix for the light hits, but if everyone had waited until the gun was thoroughly tested, no one would have bought it, and Ruger would have had to discontinued it, with no sales. So what I am saying is someone has to be the tester. If no one buys a new product, well guess what, there will never be a new product. And don't say guns or gun parts are different, because you are betting your life on them. I have not said to install the new parts and start using the gun for SD. You install the parts and test it. Just like a new gun, you don't start using that new gun to defend yourself, without testing it. We all know how to test, you take it out and shoot it, until you are satisfied it works properly and is reliable. Then you use it to protect your life.

I am a tester. I will not likely never find a way to improve my current LC9's modified trigger pull. But I still test the new kits and parts for it. That brings me to the Saints Arms trigger kit. If no one buys it, it will never make it. But when people like me install it, and find it provides an improvement, then we go out and let others know about it. I have tested it, and it works great. Others have tested it with similar findings, and have posted their results. So should everyone wait a year or two to find if the product will suffer from problems or meets this criteria: "You still have no idea of longevity or long term functionality of this stuff?". If so, don't bother for the results, as Saints Arms will be out of business, as no business can go for a year or two with no sales, because people are waiting for results.

Those of you that are looking for an improvement to the LC9 or LC380 trigger pull, I am saying that I have tested it, I have video results, and I would recommend it. The price is very reasonable. Everyone will make their decision, but as with the original Galloway trigger kit, there were many dire warning and negativity about modifying a stock gun, which were all proved to be unjustified.

Bob
 

revhigh

Hawkeye
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While I commend your self proclaimed 'tester' status .... and agree that people need to try out products and review them ..... it would seem just the opposite is true from your final statement .... the warnings about the Galloway parts were 100% justified, and have
come to be true.

Installing unproven and unapproved parts by a kitchen table gunsmith in the fire control system of a self defense handgun can have unintended consequences.

REV
 

robkarrob

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
39
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Sarasota, FL
My statement was true and the negativity was proved to be unjustified. You bring up the Galloway kit and say the negativity and warnings was 100% justified. Ask those that bought one of the original 3000 kits produced, and see if they want to remove the Galloway parts from their LC9s. The answer would be no, as the parts work perfectly, the gun is reliable, and the trigger is 100% better. Ask those people that bought the recent Galloway 35% trigger bar, and you will hear they also are happy with the trigger bar, results. They might say they wished the trigger bar improved the trigger pull as much as the original kit did, but otherwise would say it made a marked improvement to the stock trigger pull. Those that had the cracking/breaking issue, the number of failures is unknown, would say the trigger bar was defective and they had to return it for a refund. How about some of those first 50,000 LC9 buyers, that had light hits. Where were the warning to not buy the LC9. Wait don't buy GM cars, as they are defective and the ignition may shut off, etc, ect.

There is a large number of varied products that have had issues, that required recalls and or fixes, including guns and gun products. That does not mean no one should buy those products. Then this statement is made "Installing unproven and unapproved parts by a kitchen table gunsmith in the fire control system of a self defense handgun can have unintended consequences." Or could it be that those "kitchen table gunsmiths" might purchase the easy to install, 2 piece Saints Arms trigger kit, and end up with the intended results, a much improved trigger pull, using the well designed and manufactured parts.

Bob
 

groberts

Single-Sixer
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I just bought the Saint Arms kit. I look at it this way - IMO the existing trigger pull is too long. If I spend $38 and it last only a year then I'm only out $38 and something new will come along. I was going to do the same thing with the Galloway bar when it was $40. but no way at over $100. And, quite frankly, Eric ticked me off with a nasty response to an email to him - not the right way to win customers.
 

Mr. Boom

Bearcat
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
56
Location
Sunny Nevada
rgburrill said:
I just bought the Saint Arms kit. I look at it this way - IMO the existing trigger pull is too long. If I spend $38 and it last only a year then I'm only out $38 and something new will come along. I was going to do the same thing with the Galloway bar when it was $40. but no way at over $100. And, quite frankly, Eric ticked me off with a nasty response to an email to him - not the right way to win customers.
I'm right there with ya! I put the SA kit in mine and fell in love with it all over again. Parts were well made and fit perfectly.
 

groberts

Single-Sixer
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Messages
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I finally installed the Saints Arms kit today. What a pain - but then it's the first time I've taken a gun apart other than a field strip for cleaning. I do, however, have a suggestion for robkarrob that he do a new install video using a factory LC9/LC380. And possibly addressing the LaserLyte side mounted laser. And leave the magazine safety in. All the changes you have already made got confusing as to what I should be looking for.
Anyway, I have't taken it to the range yet but from a few dry fires I really like the new stroke. The old way was way too long making me wonder if it was ever going to fire.
 

thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
I have just installed the Galloway 35% trigger bar with RTK trigger and reduced power spring kit. The installation was easy and gave me more understanding of the internal workings of the gun. The results have been good so far with 100 rounds fired. I can now pull the trigger with the pad of my trigger finger instead of the crook of the finger that was needed on the factory trigger. This along with a lighter break force has improved my accuracy quite a bit. The free travel of the trigger has been reduced from approximately 1/2 inch to 1/4 inch, the stacking force and break is reduced, and the break point has moved forward some. This kit is a little too expensive at $100.00 plus $10.00 S&H. But I now have the perfect concealed carry gun. Some have said I should have spent a little more money for a better gun that was usable out-of-box. But they don't say what that gun is.
 

robkarrob

Bearcat
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Messages
39
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I started this thread about the Saints Arms trigger kit. I owned my LC9 for a little over a year and bought a S&W Shield 40. My LC9 was highly modified and very reliable, with less than half the trigger pull length of the stock LC9, and the trigger break point was moved forward over 1/2 inch. If my LC9 was improved so much, then why did I buy the Shield? The Shield's stock trigger was 50% shorter and required much less pull pressure than my highly modified LC9's pull. It was like day to night difference, and the stock Shield's trigger pull could still be improved beyond that. There are now a number of better guns on the market with better trigger pulls than the LC9, such as the S&W Shield, Springfield XDs, and others. These guns are just slightly larger than the LC9, and weigh a few ounces more, but both have much better trigger pulls, and for me the trigger pull is very important. When I purchased my LC9, these guns were not yet on the market. But if they were, I would not have purchased the LC9. The LC9 is a great small carry gun, with a poorly designed trigger pull.

Some say a self defense gun doesn't need a great trigger, as in a SD situation, your just going to be pulling the trigger under instinct. Maybe so, but my opinion is any improvement that allows you to shoot a gun better, is also going to improve your shooting in a SD situation. As long as the improvements keep the gun safe and reliable, they are not going to hurt anything, and could make the gun easier to shoot, and shoot more accurately. This is especially true in the case of the stock LC9's long, deep breaking trigger pull. Sure you can keep the pull stock, and learn to live with it. But the Saints Arms trigger kit will improve the stock LC9's trigger pull, at a reasonable price.

Bob
 

groberts

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Is there a S&W Shield 380? Or an XD 380? What do you know, there IS an LC380.
And thank you very much for the info on the Saints Arms kit. :D
 

robkarrob

Bearcat
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The only recent new 380 caliber small self defense handgun is a Glock model 42. It came out about 5 months ago. There are many other 380 caliber small guns around. The trend in recent small carry guns has been 9mm or more powerful calibers. Many were surprised that the Glock is not currently available in 9mm. Not that the 380 is a bad caliber, but it is less powerful that the 9mm, which is less powerful than the 40 and 45. The Shield and Springfield start at 9mm and go up to more powerful calibers. The 9mm Shield is a fairly light recoiling gun, and I would think that the 9mm Springfield XDs would be similar, as I have not fired the XDs in 9mm. My suggestion is to decide what caliber you want to use for carry, and then start checking the different models out.

Bob
 

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