[Redbeard]

So I noticed on the FNS-9 I bought that the trigger felt "gritty" and the break when the striker was released was a bit nebulous. I know that others have had similar experiences with thier FNS. While the "put more rounds through it" works fairly well I decided to try to improve things myself. That is what is included in this how-to.

Things I'm not:

I'm not a lawyer, but I on decent legal advice I advise you to only try this if you are comfortable with the process and have the experience needed to do this carefully. I am not responsible if you break your pistol based on what I have posted here. You must use your own judgement to decide if this process is within your own abilities.

I am not a gunsmith by any stretch. So if I use the wrong nomenclature please forgive me and let me know what it should really be called.

That being said: On with the show...

First things first. Get together what you will need to clean-up the grime and add some polish to the gun. Here is what I used:

• Hoppe's #9 to clean the cosmoline and other grime off the pistol. (Feel free to use whatever brand solvent you like).
• Break-Free CLP (or another decent gun oil like it)
• A decent nylon brush (a good medium hardness toothbrush works as well)
• Soft cloth or small towel (I used a piece of un-cut bore-patch)
• Facial tissue (it will add that last bit of polish)
• Cotton Swabs (You know Q-tips)
• Turtle Wax brand All Metal Polish (I suspect Flitz would do the same job here but I prefer the Turtle Wax because I can also use it on the shiny bits of my car :mrgreen: )
• The pistol!

Step One: Clean the pistol as thoroughly as you can. Then we will focus on cleaning two specific areas.

First is towards the front of the lower right above where the trigger is located (See picture below). That is where the slide-lock and top of the trigger assembly touch. Go back to this area and use your nylon brush and solvent to clean it of all oils and particulates from anything in that area that has metal on metal contact and rotates/moves. Use the cloth (or gun patch) to wipe away the grime and excess solvent. You should move the trigger and feel if there is any grim left. It should be clear. If not, have at it again until it is.

The second focus are the rollers that are at the back of the lower. (See picture below) Same story as the trigger. Get in there with your brush and solvent and clear out the grime. This will be a bit easier as tolerances here aren't as tight as the trigger. As before, use your cloth and wipe away the grime until clean.

Step Two: Oiling the components. Now, I am not a huge fan of oiling firearms in general but sometimes you need to oil them. When that is the case use as little as possible. In my case I put the Breakfree on a cotton swab and leave a small film behind. Breakfree does a good job seeping into tight places as well so a little goes a long way.

Oil the same components you just focused on cleaning and drying. Make sure that all the solvent is gone before applying the oil. For the trigger and slide-release oil the points where metal on metal contact are made. For the rollers in the rear make sure you oil the contact points that are connected to them like the release for the striker and whatever else is attached.

Let the oil sit and seep.

Step Three: Polishing the contact point of the striker and striker release. (See pic below). This is where the metal polish and the facial tissue come into play. Put a tiny drop of the polish on your finger and work the side that the release touches. You will see the surface turn a bit grey/black. It's supposed to. Once that happens use the facial tissue to both wipe away and then buff the surface. Repeat this process at least twice. It should be very smooth to the touch and shiny. Note: If you are using Flitz or some other product please follow thier directions for proper application.

Now, we are going to follow the same process with the striker release where it makes contact with the striker (See where the cotton swab is touching in the picture below) Again, go through the polish process at least two times. Note: this process is much easier if you push the trigger forward thus lifting the striker release.

That's it! You're done. Re-assemble and try the trigger. It should be nice and smooth and the break for the striker should feel much more crisp and consistent.


Please post-up if you try this or if you have any questions. :mrgreen:

 

[17heavy]

This is really quite bizarre as I had just finished putting up my tools from working on the trigger of my newly purchased FNS and sat down at the computer only to see this thread. What are the odds of that. I went into my project blind pretty much since I could find no information on the dis-assembly of the pistol. I was hoping for a youtube video like the many on the Glock series. I was not so much bothered by the feel of the striker release point which felt pretty good to me out of the box. What was driving me crazy was the very gritty feel of the trigger take up that was pushing the striker back for its final loading before releasing. It was horrible. I was determined to figure out how to smooth this up. The actual movement of the parts of the trigger with the slide off felt smooth and clean even under resistance. I determined the grittiness was coming from the striker moving within the channel cut for it in the slide. Now here comes my disclaimer. What I did from this point on was quite tricky and I do not recommend this unless you are very comfortable being an amateur gunsmith and are willing to possibly frack your gun up.

Removal of the striker is similar to that of a Glock only there are a few extra bits in there that the Glock does not have. One of which is a tiny pin that fell into my lap and I was lucky to find. After getting the striker out, I polished out the striker channel. I did this by using a wire bore brush and chucking it up in a hand drill. I worked it in and out for a few seconds then would stop and run a steel punch up the channel and feel for how smooth it felt across the surface until I felt it was as good as it was going to get. Clean out the channel throughly with solvent and patches when finished. Next I took a dremel with a wire wheel and put a mirror polish on the striker surfaces that contacted the channel walls. I then took a q-tip and put a thin layer synthetic grease on the inside of the channel and applied more to the striker itself (others may prefer to use oil instead of grease here but I like the staying power of grease). Putting the striker assembly back together is a bit challenging. Remember that little pin I said fell out? It has to be put back and kept in place while you slide the striker in. I found rotating the striker 90 degrees until it enters the channel then rotating it back vertical worked for me. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Remember which way the firing pin block comes out out of the slide. It will go back either way. I missed the chance to notice which way it came out as it sprang out of the frame while releasing the striker. The first time I put it back(50 50 chance) of course it was backwards and I damn near jammed up the striker movement. Took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to get it back out. Got that corrected and next came the mainspring and guide reinsertion and replacing the end cap retainer. IF your fingers are oily as mine were be prepared to hunt for this assembly after it has bounced off your ceiling or forehead:-D After getting it all back together it was noticeably smoother in the take up. Good luck if anyone decides to give this a try. Hopefully you will learn from my mistakes.

 

[Redbeard]

I actually stripped mine down past what I show in the "how to". I pulled the firing pin and striker assembly. The bore on mine was smooth and the striker was fairly well finished. The grittyness that I felt was the initial travel of the trigger which isn't the striker. It's mostly the the front portion right above the trigger. On trigger-pull the striker mechanism only moves back a tad (2-3mm at best).

 

[Redbeard]

135 views as of now an no other comments. Either no one has tried it or people have looked and thought it was a garbage write-up. Any opinions? I'm happy to have constructive criticism if there are issues...

 

[ronin152]

The grittiness of the trigger doesn't bother me but I have noticed that every time I pull the trigger it takes so much effort that the sights seem to move slightly left or right once the striker is released.

 

[Redbeard]

The grittiness of the trigger doesn't bother me but I have noticed that every time I pull the trigger it takes so much effort that the sights seem to move slightly left or right once the striker is released.

The part about polishing the striker and relase mechanism would help that some. However, the issue where the sight "jumps" when you pull the trigger is more related to grip and especially finger location on the trigger when you pull.

Try messing with it during dry-fire. Move your finger-tip according to which way the front sight jumps. If the sight moves towards your shooting hand use less finger tip in the trigger. If it moves away from your shooting hand use more. You will find the sweet spot where it doesn't jump.

If you clean the grittiness and polish those points you will find there is more "forgiveness" in the sweet spot of proper fingertip placement.

 

[rvrctyrngr]

Thanks for the process and pics, Redbeard. I agree with you that the grittiness of the take up is more likely due to the trigger bar's contact with the slide release during take up. I put a small drop of lube on those points when I first got my FNS and the grittiness went away immediately, before I even shot the pistol. Hadn't gotten around to polishing the other contact points, but I will use a dab of Flitz on the points as you mention and report the results. Very similar to the '25cent trigger job' that countless folks have done to their Glocks over the years (myself included).

Thanks again.

 

[ArLEOret]

Redbeard, thank you for a valuable post. I fired my FNS-9 last week and the trigger was not to bad for only 50 rounds fired. Reading your post I oiled the trigger group as suggested and the rollers in the rear of the frame. I greased the rails and oiled the recoil spring.
Now I am am all set to return to the range next week. Dry firing with a snap cap I have no grit in the trigger pull, just smooth pull.
I will dry fire about 50 more times prior to the range. Again thanks for the post. Stay Safe.

 

[Redbeard]

I appreciate the feedback guys! I look forward to the reports after a trip to the range. I am heading to the range tomorrow with 150 rounds of 115gr and I'll post, yet another, FNS review here in the forum.

Thanks for the process and pics, Redbeard. I agree with you that the grittiness of the take up is more likely due to the trigger bar's contact with the slide release during take up. I put a small drop of lube on those points when I first got my FNS and the grittiness went away immediately, before I even shot the pistol. Hadn't gotten around to polishing the other contact points, but I will use a dab of Flitz on the points as you mention and report the results. Very similar to the '25cent trigger job' that countless folks have done to their Glocks over the years (myself included).

Thanks again.

Redbeard, thank you for a valuable post. I fired my FNS-9 last week and the trigger was not to bad for only 50 rounds fired. Reading your post I oiled the trigger group as suggested and the rollers in the rear of the frame. I greased the rails and oiled the recoil spring.
Now I am am all set to return to the range next week. Dry firing with a snap cap I have no grit in the trigger pull, just smooth pull.
I will dry fire about 50 more times prior to the range. Again thanks for the post. Stay Safe.

 

[rvrctyrngr]

Haven't done the polishing yet, but was at the range the other day with a friend/student. His FNS trigger has always bee a bit gritty. I took it apart and put oil in these specific spots (mostly where the trigger bar rubs the slide release). He couldn't believe the difference.

 

[iamagreatguy]

I tried this but I used different products. Not sure how much that effects the results but I feel it did help but there is definitely still grit in the take up. I think maybe I didn't clean the rollers and trigger area well enough. Its hard for me to get in there even with the cotton swabs. Can you guys post some more photos of where and how you cleaned it out.

The products I used are M-pro 7 gun cleaner, Slip 2000 oil, and Blue Magic Metal Polish Cream.

Redbeard, Thanks for the writeup! Much appreciated.

 

[Redbeard]

I tried this but I used different products. Not sure how much that effects the results but I feel it did help but there is definitely still grit in the take up. I think maybe I didn't clean the rollers and trigger area well enough. Its hard for me to get in there even with the cotton swabs. Can you guys post some more photos of where and how you cleaned it out.

The products I used are M-pro 7 gun cleaner, Slip 2000 oil, and Blue Magic Metal Polish Cream.

Redbeard, Thanks for the writeup! Much appreciated.

I'm happy it helped. As far as using other products that is fine. Just using similar stuff should give a similar result. You might want to try a bit more solvent and a nylon brush and really getting after the moving parts just above the trigger to help with the grit.

I will try to get some better pictures. It's just my cellphone so getting good exposure shots can be a pain. I will make an earnest attempt tomorrow though.

 

[Redbeard]

Per the previous request here are some better pictures:

Places to clean and lube just above the trigger:

Places to clean and lube in the trigger "rollers":

 

[celticwolf]

Thank you for the post.

I just received my FNS 9, and the trigger was gritty. I liberally applied CLP, let sit and drip, applied again, sit and drip, then used swabs on the spots mentioned. CLP is great for penetrating and removing the assembly preservative. you just have to leave it alone and let it work.

After I was done I let it sit and cleaned off the excess CLP as it seeped from the pistol frame. When it was done the gritty feeling was gone. and the trigger was noticeably better.

 

[Mystro]

I polished out everything. The gritty trigger was a little bit better but not by much. The trigger has bothered me so much, I am afraid the FNS will go up on the sales block. The reset is nice on the FNS but the gritty trigger defeats the purpose of a short reset. I much prefer my FNX out of the FNH line.

 

[Redbeard]

I polished out everything. The gritty trigger was a little bit better but not by much. The trigger has bothered me so much, I am afraid the FNS will go up on the sales block. The reset is nice on the FNS but the gritty trigger defeats the purpose of a short reset. I much prefer my FNX out of the FNH line.

Make sure you REALLY clean and oil the spot where the slide-lock and trigger touch (See the first pic of post #13). Also getting 100 rounds down range does help as it will knock out small spurs of metal that rub together (another lesser reason to be gritty).

Good luck.

 

[howiebilt]

I cleaned mine but did not polish the areas that you showed. I put 200 rounds through it and was able to hit what I was aiming at with 20 rounds. I am going to try the polishing that you showed and see what happens but if there is no improvement , I will have a FNS-9 for sale .

howiebilt

 

[Gdub89]

I'll be getting my first FNS-9, and first FNH, at the end of the week

. I'm really hoping I don't run into the "gritty" uptake issue, but from the sound of everyone on here it's just how it is. Hopefully I can improve it by following all of the suggestions!

 

[harleyman]

Let me know how your accuracy was on the new FNS, mine was off . Thanks

 

[1stFNS40]

Just did all the above to my FNS40 and it helped even a little more. Now thats not to say my trigger was Notchy or Gritty. I was a nice smooth pull right out of the box. But oiling and wiping off the excess on those key point made it even more smooth.