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Tandemkross

Author Topic: Northwood Components Aluminum P11 Trigger Review  (Read 7958 times)

Offline GunLink

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Northwood Components Aluminum P11 Trigger Review
« on: March 06, 2014, 12:35:59 PM »
UPDATE:    We just got word from Pops at Northwood Components that the coupon code gunlink now combines with their site-wide sale going on for a 30% 50% total discount.  If you've been thinking about getting one of these fine triggers to improve your KelTec CCW pistol, now is the time.



http://www.northwoodcomp.com/

As part of our KelTec P11 Project, we got the Northwood Components trigger kit installed and it is leaps and bounds better than the stock part.  It is significantly more involved to install versus the trigger shoe, but it is definitely worth it. 

The stock plastic trigger on the P-11 had some side-to-side wobble in it in addition to a lot of pre- and over-travel during the pull.  Pops' Northwood trigger eliminated all of the wobble and almost all of the pre- and over-travel (leaving enough to ensure a good reset and break). 

A solid trigger is nice, but the biggest improvement is the comfort and shootability of the pistol with the new part installed.  The black anodized aluminum trigger that we installed completely eliminated the pinching and rubbing on my trigger finger that the factory trigger had.  Thanks to the larger surface area, it also dramatically reduced the perceived pull weight of the trigger (note: the pull weight is not actually changed and the safety is not diminished).  Our female shooter went from barely being able to even pull the stock trigger to having no problem with it. 

Check out our blog post on P-11 trigger improvements for more details.  We're leaving out trigger lightening tricks (a/k/a "the paperclip trick") because a) we feel that it could diminish the safety of the firearm and b) it has the potential to lead to light primer strikes.

Installation took about 1.5 hours total, including frequent coffee breaks and trips to the garage for tools, grease and other stuff that I forgot.  Total work time was probably about 45 minutes.  If you're not comfortable doing this type of work, you local gunsmith should be able to tackle the job in short order, but I didn't have any trouble following the instructions.

The P-11 with the stock trigger:


The first step is to field strip it:


Then drive out the frame pins:


And remove the frame:


Make sure you pinch the frame from both sides when you take it out to keep the trigger bar and slide catch (shown here) from flying away:


With the hole in the top of the trigger aligned with the hole inside the frame, and with the punch (included with the full Northwood kit) aligned with the pin, drive out the stock trigger pin:


Driving out the stock pin can take some serious tapping, especially if you have the barbed pin like we did.  Note that you can break the plastic stock trigger on this step.  You're replacing it, but if you can avoid breaking it, it could be worthwhile to keep around as a spare.


Time for the kit.  Here's what came with ours.  Two punches, a wrench and the stuff that goes into the pistol:  the trigger, trigger pin and pin set screw:


Here are the stock trigger and Pops' trigger side by side for comparison.  The stock trigger is the one with the circles from the trigger shoe set screws.  Note the gentler curve, extra length and pinch guard bump on the aluminum trigger.  We should have taken the glamour shots before applying the grease.


Installing the trigger is essentially the reverse of removing the stock trigger with one notable exception.  Instead of the barbed trigger pin that bites into the plastic trigger, the aftermarket part has a set screw that holds the pin in place in the aluminum trigger.  Be sure to have the trigger pin fully countersunk in the bottom of the trigger but not protruding from the top of the trigger.  It should be flush with the top of the trigger when viewing through the frame cutout (the one you used to drive out the old pin).  Pops tells me that this pin may not be in quite far enough judging from this picture:


When installing, pay attention to the clearances ahead of and to the rear of the trigger axis, otherwise your trigger may not break and/or reset properly.


Our trigger fit fine and had no problems with clearance on the back end when pulled.  As specified in the installation instructions, we did have to remove some of the Zytel grip material ahead of the trigger to allow it to move forward far enough for reset.  I used an end mill in a Dremel tool on the lowest speed and did finish work with a pocket knife.  I removed approximately 3/32" of material and squared off the cutout rather than rounding it like in the instructions.

(note how much better my side of the trigger cutout looks than the factory side)   ;)

With everything back together, here is the finished result of a very worthwhile P-11 upgrade:







Pops, creator of the Northwood Components triggers, was kind enough to provide us with a limited-use code good for 30% off at http://www.northwoodcomp.com.  Code gunlink30 is only good for a limited number of uses, so "get 'em while they're hot!"  Codes have all been used - GL.

Triggers are currently available for the P-11/P-40 and PF-9, but aftermarket triggers for the P-32 and P-3AT are in the works and should be available soon.  If you're not a big fan of your stock KelTec trigger, this is definitely a worthwhile upgrade!


UPDATE:  As mentioned above, based on the original pictures that we posted, Pops thought that the new trigger pin might not have been countersunk far enough to get a good hold on the hole in the top of the trigger pin.  During installation, we erred on the side of caution for not wanting to jam up the trigger by sticking the pin out too far.  While doing some other work that required removing the frame assembly, we went ahead and put it in a little bit further and found that we had plenty of room to work with at the top end.


Sunk farther.

The reason this is important is so that the torsion from pulling the trigger is evenly distributed between the lower trigger hole, trigger axis and upper trigger hole (as shown on the right).  If the pin is not fully inserted so that it is flush with the top of the trigger (as shown on left), the stress of the trigger pull is fully on the lower trigger hole and the bottom part of the trigger axis, which could potentially cause early part failure.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2017, 01:41:32 PM by GunLink »

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Northwood Components Aluminum P11 Trigger Review
« on: March 06, 2014, 12:35:59 PM »

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Offline GunLink

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UPDATE:    We just got word from Pops at Northwood Components that the coupon code gunlink now combines with their site-wide sale going on for a 30% total discount

If you've been thinking about getting one of these fine triggers to improve your KelTec CCW pistol, now is the time.  I forgot how big of a difference this kit made until I was handling a stock PF-9 and P-11 in the a week or two ago.  I do not recall if I have ever dropped the hammer on a P3AT, but I do know that a bad trigger on those small .380 pistols makes a world of difference.

-G

Offline pops409

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Re: Northwood Components Aluminum P11 Trigger Review
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2017, 02:49:58 PM »
UPDATE to the last update... Using the code gunlink at checkout will combine with the store-wide discount for a 50% total discount  - Pops :)

UPDATE:    We just got word from Pops at Northwood Components that the coupon code gunlink now combines with their site-wide sale going on for a 30% total discount.  If you've been thinking about getting one of these fine triggers to improve your KelTec CCW pistol, now is the time.

...

« Last Edit: June 26, 2017, 04:19:25 PM by pops409 »