New Galloway Trigger Kit for LC9

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thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
The new LC9 trigger kit from Galloway with trigger bar, KTM trigger, and set of springs is now being sold on their website for $99.00. I have one on order and was wondering if anyone has any information on this new kit ? (Installation, function, quality, problems, etc.) This kit is described as a "drop-in" with a detailed installation video, but looks like a job for a gunsmith. However, because of the high cost of the kit I am tempted to try it myself. A gunsmith is going to charge for a full hour at $50.00 per hour.
 

Slyk Willy

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 14, 2012
Messages
356
Location
Mid Michigan
You should do a search for "GALLOWAY" on this forum. You'll find so much info that it'll give you what you're looking for.
Some are PRO some are CON, so be prepared to make your own decision in the end. You say that you have one on order so I guess you're committed to the conversion. I'd suggest watching the videos and also watching a few others that you find on YouTube with a search for "LC9 trigger kits". after watching I'm sure you'll decide weather it's something you want to do or ?
"have done".
Hope you continue to enjoy your LC9 whatever the outcome.
 

Cubby

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
120
Each to there own, but I'm not going to put a hundred plus dollars in a four hundred dollar gun!
 

thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
Reply to Cubby (Tony) post. The Ruger LC9 is not quite a $400.00 gun. At Bud's online they sell for $350. cash and the one I purchased at Academy was $380. (I did not shop around). I did a lot of research on-line and in the gun shops for the best affordable concealed carry gun I could find. Being one of the "old school" gun buyers, I did not want a striker fired plastic pistol, and a .380 cal. was not a strong enough weapon in my world. Weight and size (and price) were major considerations for me in selecting the hammer fired 9mm LC9. I had been reading about the extremely long trigger pull, and some said you could get used to it with practice. I also knew that Galloway had a trigger kit for around $50.00 that would correct this if I needed to. After firing around a hundred rounds thru it I did not like the trigger at all, and the snappy recoil limited my practice time at the range. (Did I mention that I think a trigger safety was as ugly as a wart on the nose of a beautiful woman). Determined to fine tune my LC9 and minimize the drawbacks, I replaced the factory 16 lb. recoil spring with the 20 lb. spring and stainless steel guide rod ($40.00 for both) and then added a Pachmayr Tactical Grip Glove ($10.00) at the request of my shooting hand. When I went to the Galloway site to order a trigger kit, I was surprised to find that they no longer sold the kit and in a couple of months they would come out with a new kit (as described and priced in original post). I figure that Galloway has done their homework on the kit and has corrected the problems of the past (light strikes etc.) and will post a report when I get it installed. When all is said and done, I will have $540.00 invested in this gun project. If it all works out as expected I will have an excellent concealed carry pistol (what Ruger should have produced in the first place).
 

George

Blackhawk
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Messages
786
Location
New Hampshire “Live free or die”
Galloway fixed there light strikes issue with there info on the kit saying that you should not use ammo with hard primers to avoid light strike issues "boxer primers".. " not a quote " Just remember reading it someplace on there web site.. I'm not saying the kit is not good just saying I have read to many post with light strike issues.. I have the Galloway 20lb recoil spring set and there stainless steel guide rod for our LC9's and I would say it's well made in fact I install there guide rod on mine and my wife's gun with the heaver spring set on mine.. Does it help with felt recoil ? I really cant say. I'm not that recoil sensitive.. I'm fine with the triggers on both of our guns and even happier with the trigger on the new LCP " no - in the ser. number".. Shorter and smoother trigger then the older ones.. But with range time I do like the trigger on the LC9's we have.. Longer then the New LCP but still smooth and crisp to break.. If your handy you could install the trigger kit yourself.. If your not give another $50 bucks to a gun smith and you will save money in the end by not handing him a box of parts if you find you can't install the kit.. it's no harder then taking your gun apart and putting it back together again.. My .02 worth! Good luck! George
 

thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
I received the kit in three days and installed it myself. The trigger pull is much improved and my accuracy is better than before. I now have the ideal concealed carry gun. If anyone can claim they know of a better one please let me know.
 

George

Blackhawk
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Messages
786
Location
New Hampshire “Live free or die”
You may want to read over this post seems there are issues with the triggerbar you have installed breaking and cracking then the pistol will not fire.. I didn't know about this till I read about it this AM..
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=201437

George
 

thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
Reply to George: Your post about the trigger bar breaking and cracking are about the older Galloway trigger bars and not the new kit that has just come on the market from Galloway. The issue has been corrected in the new kit by using the RTK trigger which has a set screw that stops the rearward travel of the trigger before any force is placed on the trigger bar. Time will tell if the new Galloway Kit is durable and reliable. The Saint Arms trigger kit (trigger bar and hammer) are getting good reviews and are half the price of the Galloway Trigger Kit, but since they are relatively new on the market I decided to go with Galloway. So far I gotten good results with the new Galloway trigger kit with about 50 rounds fired with no problems. I will post up-dates on it's performance.
 

revhigh

Hawkeye
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
5,590
Location
PA
For $540-550 .... You could have just bought a better gun in the first place, and used it right out of the box .....

I'll never understand the logic behind buying just about the cheapest gun available in a given class and then dumping another $150 into it to 'try' to make it perform like the better guns in the class that probably cost less than the original gun plus mods in the first place.

REV
 

George

Blackhawk
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Messages
786
Location
New Hampshire “Live free or die”
I like my LC9 it's not bad at all fits well too conseal. I also like the smooth shape of it all light and safe.. On the other hand I'm a 1911 guy and if I had it too do over for myself anyway Maybe a Sig setup like the 1911 would have been a better choice what model is that the 228 226? I'm not sure..But it's .380. Only thing is I wish Sig made that same .380 gun in 9mm. Now that would have been ideal for me.. Same manual of arms as the 1911 small well made gun.. I think well worh the extra $$$.. But some range time should help with the LC9 and I do like the over all setup of it all with the thumb safety.. Oh i have no plan to change out the trigger on my LC9. It's smooth not too long and break is clean and crisp. I just have to get use too the D/A only longer pull for every shot.. Unlike some of the S&W gen 3's I have first shot D/A the rest in S/A .. For me that was hard enough to get use too! George
 

thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
Reply to revhigh: What gun in this class are you talking about ? I could not find any other gun this small and light with the firepower of the LC9. This is also a good looking gun without the ugly trigger safety, or the box look of a Glock. The fact that you don't understand why anyone would spend additional money to upgrade the gun tells me you are not a gun guy. I enjoyed working on this gun to make it better, and I am proud of the results. I considered buying the Kimber Solo, as it is also a good looking gun. But at twice the price and one less round capacity, it was a easy choice to buy the Ruger. I now have the perfect concealed carry pistol. What do you have ?
 

modrifle3

Buckeye
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
1,128
Location
NC
9mm S&W Shield. It does everything my LC9 does only better. And are found all day for $400. True striker fired, better fit and finish and a true pro quality firearm. I kinda got attached to the little lc9 but the release of the shield is gong to kill sales.
 

area338

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
Messages
19
I tried the Galloway lit in my LC9 and for the first 50 rounds it went well with a noticeable reduction in trigger pull and the length of the pull. At the 51st round the new trigger bar broke and it went downhill. After a little hassle I received a replacement from Galloway and even before putting it in I could tell it was not a good quality. The replacement bar did not work at all so I returned my LC9 back to stock and it is great that way. I know a lot of people are happy with their Galloway Kit and that's good but it just didn't work for me.
 

thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
Request to area338. Is the Galloway kit you had problems with purchased before May 2014 ? Did your kit come with the RTK trigger and reduced power springs ? The reason I ask is that there have been several versions of the Galloway kit over the last couple of years. Some just trigger bars, some with trigger bar and hammer, and now after May 2014 we have the trigger kit c/o: trigger bar, RTK trigger, and reduced power springs. I am interested in the performance of the latest trigger kit (described last above). This latest kit is intended to solve all the problems of the past. My question is does it really do the trick ? And last question is: did Galloway refund your money on the trigger bar ?
 

Bruiser

Single-Sixer
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
133
Location
Akron-Canton, Ohio
@modrifle: Does your Shield fit in your pocket? I've read in most places that its too big for pocket carry, where the LC9 fits pretty nicely, at least in mine. That would be the big difference, at least IMO.

Also, i was considering this switch, but I don't have the confidence in installing based on the instructions to do it, and having someone else do it just adds to the cost. The stock trigger is a little long, but it works, so I manage.
 

modrifle3

Buckeye
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
1,128
Location
NC
With the short mag it fits nicely in my opinion. I no longer have the issues with the stock trigger I use too. To me it is the same as any da revolver or pistol. It is a safe accident free design. There is little to no chance of accidental discharge. I have practiced rapid fire drills and have no trouble keeping all shots in the chest area at 30 feet. The Shield would be easier to group in rapid fire because the 6.5lb trigger is much shorter and quicker reset.
 

Bruiser

Single-Sixer
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
133
Location
Akron-Canton, Ohio
modrifle3 said:
With the short mag it fits nicely in my opinion. I no longer have the issues with the stock trigger I use too. To me it is the same as any da revolver or pistol. It is a safe accident free design. There is little to no chance of accidental discharge. I have practiced rapid fire drills and have no trouble keeping all shots in the chest area at 30 feet. The Shield would be easier to group in rapid fire because the 6.5lb trigger is much shorter and quicker reset.

Hmm, maybe I'll have to think about trading my LC9 for one then. The LC9 is ok, but it certainly has some drawbacks.
 

thomaskling

Bearcat
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
24
I agree the LC-9 does have some drawbacks. But I think I have overcome these drawbacks by up-grading the trigger and springs. The S&W Shield is also a nice gun but the see thru gap between slide and frame was excessive and the striker fire was a turn off. With the LC-9 you can see the hammer move with the trigger pull and you know it is fixin to go bang.
 

Knecht

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 6, 2011
Messages
350
Location
Czech Republic
There were times when I was also waiting for the Galloway trigger kits to be in stock, so that my gun would become more reliable and less lightstriking (as I hoped). And then I sold the LC9 (which cost me like $600 here in CZ, plus $60 for each magazine), bought pre-owned, like new Glock27 ($450 with three magazines and a holster) and never had to deal with any more mods or spend any more money. Also, my gun slide doesn't rust when I sweat anymore. Oh, and it actualy shoots every time I want to. With better trigger pull and a reliable striker instead of a toy hammer.
 
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