Ruger LC9 Trigger

The Ruger LC9 can be very accurate for a small 9mm, but it suffers from a terrible trigger. The trigger has over 3/8 of an inch slop before it engages the hammer. Once engaged, the trigger travels about 3/4 inch until the break. The break occurs about 3/16 inch before the frame. This all adds up to an odd trigger action that detracts from an otherwise excellent small 9mm pistol and is the number one complaint of many LC9 owners. Now that my LC9 has proven to be reliable shooting all brands of ammunition I need to improve my accuracy and I feel that the trigger action is key.

Ruger LC9 Trigger
Ruger LC9 Trigger

While searching for a solution I found a post on the Ruger Forum that addresses the entire trigger issue and more.

The modifications consist of installing a fitted pin that takes out some of the wiggle from the loose fitting trigger. This requires drilling the hole in the trigger where the pin goes. I’m not sure I will do this but won’t rule it out.

Next is removal of the firing pin block because the action that engages the block raises the slide slightly just before firing. I definitely won’t do this.

The main improvement that has my interest is moving the break away from the frame by 3/10 inch, and removing some of the free play at the beginning of the trigger stroke. This is accomplished by shortening the trigger bar. It looks to me that this won’t affect safety in anyway and will remedy my biggest complaint with the gun and that is the break being so close to the frame.

The following excerpts are from a post by antman6957 who describes how to remedy the long trigger pull and remove some of the free play.

” As anyone who has ever shot the LC9 knows the trigger pull is very long. It is my opinion that the long pull combined with the fact that it breaks so close to the grip that make it hard to keep on target. With such a short sight radius any slight movement can place a shot way off target.”

The modifications described below shortened the trigger pull on my LC9 by about 1/4 inch while making the trigger slightly lighter and moved the “break” forward by about 3/10 inch. This did not technically make the weapon more accurate. What it did was to make it easier for me to shoot accurately from a hand held stance. My groups went from around 8-10” @ 20ft to around 5-6” with less “fly aways”.

After close examination I noticed 3 areas of the LC9 that affect accuracy in a negative way and/or contribute to the long trigger stroke and deep break.

  1. The trigger/trigger pivot interface has a lot of tolerance.
  2. The firing pin blocker release causes the slide to move upward about 0.020″ in the rear just before firing. It’s like a twitch right when the weapon fires.
  3. The trigger pull is long and deep which makes it difficult to keep on target during the full stroke. The farther my finger has to move the harder it is to keep my hand perfectly still.

This is what I did to address these issues. These are rather serious modifications and should only be attempted by one who possess the necessary skills and is willing to accept all responsibility. They are only a description of what I did to achieve these results. I don’t desire to get into a discussion of the pro’s and con’s of the modifications. One must be competent to completely disassemble the LC9 to achieve satisfactory results.

1. The trigger (#3) is connected to the trigger pivot (#2) by a pin (#13). The hole in the pivot is over size allowing the trigger to wiggle side to side and front to back. I drilled the hole in the trigger oversize to accept a larger pin (.090”). This firmed up the trigger a lot. While there is still some movement it is not nearly as much.”

2. The second step is removal of the firing pin block. I don’t intend to do the second item because I want to keep the firing pin block in my LC9.

“3. The trigger bar (#5) has about .040” take up before it contacts the hammer (#6). This translates to about .250” of movement at the trigger tip. I sectioned the trigger bar by cutting it right in the middle of the straight section and welding it back together. I found that a standard hack saw blade removed the perfect amount of length. This then allowed me to file fit the tab at the bottom to achieve the minimum amount of free play. I presume that each LC9 would need to be evaluated to determine the exact amount the trigger bar would need to be shortened. But regardless, it’s the file fit that gives the “right” amount of free play.

Modification #3 had the most effect. The trigger’s at-rest position moved forward by ~.050” and the stroke shortened by ~.250”. This moved the break point forward by ~.300 inch!” Read the original post in its entirety on the Ruger Forum.”

The information in this post is a description of what one LC9 owner did to his pistol. It is not meant to be a guide for others to perform unauthorized modifications to their firearms.

This post is provided for information purposes only. I do not advocate that anyone perform these modifications or any other modifications to any gun. Modification of any firearm is serious business and could result in an unsafe situation. Work on a firearm should only be performed by a competent gunsmith.