Tell me about shims

C

Cosmodragoon

New member
There are plenty of ways to burn money in gun enhancement. Some are arguably more productive than others. I know about polishing and spring kits. I was looking into some upgrades for an SP101 when I came across the idea of trigger and hammer shims. It looks like they just keep everything nice and centered but does anyone here have experience with them?
 
Do the shims adjust the trigger movement?

I know on my Sccy (semi-auto but with a dao hammer) they make trigger kits for it that shim it to reduce pull and reset. The gun has an absurdly long pull and reset to many people want to mod it to be like virtually every other gun in existence. If that's what the shims do I've been looking into similar options but decided to wait.
 
With the SP101, there are some instances of the hammer traveling too close to the edge of the hammer slot instead of in the center. Some owners have even reported that the hammer rubs against one side. What the shim does is to adjust the hammer longitudinally so that it has the same amount of clearance on each side.
 
I've used the shims on GP100s, Super Redhawks and even Blackhawks. Seems many Rugers will have rub marks on the hammers and some will have side play in the triggers. The revolvers will work just fine with the excess play and rubbing, but the shims will eliminate both of those for a crisper trigger pull and hammer strike.
 
I installed trigger shims on my GP100 because the hammer was rubbing on the frame. The hammer had all sorts of light scratch marks where it it the frame. If the hammer isn't rubbing then you don't have to worry about it.

My kit came with trigger shims also, but I have yet to touch those. I don't think the trigger has as many problems as the hammer on the GP100.
 
Shim sounds to be a washer or spacer. At times the part or the assembly has this smaller bearing surface built in I believe. Shims should come in different thickness. Ideally they should not be needed at all.
 
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I purchased a new S&W 696 some years ago that one could watch the hammer jump to the side as it fell...with the rub marks appearing in the hammer surface. If they are needed as in my case, I use them. If the hammer (and trigger) ride straight on their bosses without excess wobble, then there is no point.
 
At one time S&W and Colt both used built in spacer pads to keep the hammer and trigger centered; that prevented rub marks on those parts. The pads were hand adjusted with a file during assembly. But all that added to the cost of the gun, and the "problem" was purely cosmetic, so those have been eliminated.

One thing that can help, though, and cost less than shims, is to remove the sideplate and stone it to remove any burrs at the edges and do the same with the edges of the frame on the other side. With the Ruger, both sides of the frame have to be stoned.

Of course, shims do no harm but be very careful not to use shims that are too thick without either removing some frame/sideplate metal to compensate or thinning the shim. If the shims are too thick, the result can be a warped sideplate and binding of the hammer and/or trigger.

Jim
 
Of course, shims do no harm but be very careful not to use shims that are too thick without either removing some frame/sideplate metal to compensate or thinning the shim. If the shims are too thick, the result can be a warped sideplate and binding of the hammer and/or trigger.
Click to expand...

Exactly, and this shim kit has instructions on how to measure and install:


http://www.triggershims.com/index.html
 
I put them on my SP101 back when I had it. I seem to recall that it made the trigger pull just a bit smoother.

They're cheap enough that it's more if a 'might as well' thing, I think... vs something that is actually needed. I would like to get rid of the hammer scratching on my GP100... but it's I have not bothered to order a kit.
 
I put them in my GP100 when I was replacing the trigger return spring. Put them on the trigger, sear and hammer. Figured it can't hurt.
 
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