I put a Grayguns Competition trigger kit into my SIG P320 XFive. That lightened and smoothed out the trigger, but not to the point of being unsafe. That said, the X Five is my range and training gun, NOT my carry or home defense gun. My P365 for carry is totally stock, and my home defense P320 Compact only has an Apex flat trigger installed. The pull itself is still original in that P320. As for the cosmetic stuff, I know they are fun and popular, but I would never put all those skulls and other such “flare” onto my defensive guns.
Yes @Dawn, fully aware of that… something I would never do nor have anyone else do on my weapons. Replacing a faulty trigger is one thing, making it lighter… NEVER.
But I did like your suggestion to right down notes about changes and why they were done. My AR I added Rails, a Bipod and a light for nighttime.
So… a couple of weeks ago I was on-line looking at what it takes to get trained and certified as a gunsmith (Hi @Nathan, Hi @Fred, fellow Engineer here ) Decided I might just get some specific training in the firearms I use or own, but i’m probably not going to do the whole training. You’ve gotta be an FFL to do a lot of even basic tasks, and I don’t think I want that headache.
That said, I built my first AR from a bag of parts by myself Yes, I did have my hubby coach me through the process, but I did every bit of the work myself. Had to literally make him sit on the other side of the room on his hands so he wouldn’t help
I’ve changed out recoil springs, replaced mag springs, done a few other things. Right now I have new sights and an extended takedown lever I want to install on my Glock - contemplating if I’m going to try that myself, have my hubby do it when I’m home, or teach me to do it, or see if I can find a MI gunsmith to take me through the process while I’m on the gig here.
My hubby is pretty adept at a lot of gunsmithing tasks, one of his best buds is a gunsmith and they did a lot of work together when run-and-gun competitions were really first starting to turn to race guns. But there are tasks he’s comfortable with, and those he hires out. If he’s comfortable doing it, he teaches me when the opportunity arises.
Now that I’m talking about it, I’ll probably have him coach me through both mods when I’m home.
@Dawn - I may do that, but first we have to chat about the community temperament he can be a little less than politically correct
Invited my granddaughter though, she should be on here soon
Zee He and I would get along just fine. You have no idea how difficult it is for me to rewrite every comment to make not sound so bad.
As long as he is respectful about his interactions, the system will automatically censor very inappropriate words…
And yes, even I have to reread my comments and edit them from time to time.
Text is difficult to decipher some times. I try to always assume positive intent when I read something. And I always assume that the person reading what I write has just had the worst day of their life - that helps me keep my comments as positive as they can be.
Ha! Yeah I may have an idea, based on who I’m married to
I have changed sights on a shotgun, and a revolver. I’m also thinking about switching to a bolt on rail and reflex optic on my hunting revolver. I haven’t done any in dept gun smithing. As I age, I’m contemplating taking a gunsmithing course at the local college. Might even lead to a career switch .
Go for it. I bet you could at least take care of your own stuff, and never really have to visit a gunsmith again. Plus mini mills are relatively cheap if you wanted to get licensed to make and sell. I eventually want to forge out parts to build a blunderbuss or flint lock pistol.
Yes, I think that having a full understanding of how your particular gun or guns operates is crucial. Does this mean everyone should be at the armorer level? No, I don’t think so. But those who have the active interest should take the initiative to fully immerse themselves into that level and be able to perform a FULL breakdown of the firearm and replace parts, clean, etc.
That being said- I know of a few people who really don’t want to be at that level. Just casual shooters who know how to clean it and take care of it. I also have other friends who go the armorer route (even certification level) to be able to perform this and also provide it as a service. Just depends on someone’s ambition level and overall use and goals.
Personally- I get into the details and reverse engineer a carton of milk, so I embrace the technical stuff. But that’s just me.
ha! that made me laugh … you and my hubby both. Plus he wants to redesign it because there’s always room for improvement
So how much should the concealed carrier be able to do in your opinion, @Kevin1?
I can do a full breakdown, but I’m not very fast at it
The basics of taking the gun down to do a basic clean and maintenance and upkeep and care. If you cannot take care of it, don’t own it. That’s how I see it anyway.
Yes I work on my weapons…If you own it, you need to know general preventive maintenance and service…not complicated on most weapons…
I own Glocks so I became a certified Glock Armorer [to understand the process]…changing out parts for OEM replacements are very easy…however, if the work is to fix the trigger [gen 3/4 models], and I intend to carry, I will spend the money to have a certified gunsmith do the work…
slow is smooth…smooth is fast…
Welcome to the Community, @Rick2!
I’m glad to hear that you can work on your firearms - and I’m really happy to hear you’ll have a certified gunsmith do the work on your carry gun. That will make a huge difference if you ever have to defend yourself legally for physically defending yourself. The documentation and the expert witness (gunsmith) can definitely help combat any question about the quality of your firearm.
One benefit of knowing the innards of your firearm is that when things go wrong, your knowledge can help your gunsmith focus on a solution rather than wasting billable hours fumbling in the dark. Everyone should at least have the basics.
That said, I don’t think it’s practicable for many or even most shooters to have the tools and workshop to do some of this work. If you do choose to do your own modifications or detailed repairs, YouTube is a great starting point. Vet your sources, though, and have a look at the comments to see if others had problems with the instructions.
I don’t possess the skill set to work on my guns AND my weapon is too important to me to get it wrong. I hire a very good gunsmith. Oftentimes it’s better to leave it to the pros. That’s my $0.02, your mileage may vary.
I know a guy who’s a gunsmith. But if a part failed I would do my best to try and fix it myself or if I wanted to upgrade.
I’m a mechanically inclined person. I learned how to work on cars for my first job (just basics) and I’ve learned many things over the past years in other trades. But my point is that I always try to do something myself before I pass it off to a mechanic, or any other professional. I simply don’t trust people to do it right or they’ll charge me an arm and a leg to do something.