Ultimate Shield Project: Apex Duty Carry Trigger

This is part one in a series of posts on turning a run of the mill S&W M&P Shield into the ultimate concealed carry pistol.

The first thing that needed to be addressed with the Shield 9mm was the trigger. I was happy with the weight of the trigger from the factory, but it was gritty, and had a false reset that is common with many of the M&P pistols.

My first stop when looking for a solution to smooth out the trigger pull was Apex Tactical. I have a little experience with their DCAEK kits, and I’ve been happy with them. I remembered seeing some of the Apex Duty/Carry Shield kits at Carolina Gunrunners, so I stopped by and spent my lunch money on the Apex kit.

I had decided to film an install video of the Shield DC kit, but I had some technical difficulties, and then I found that Apex has a nice install video:

I didn’t really know what to expect with the trigger pull from the Apex Shield kit, but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. The final trigger pull ended up around 6lbs, and buttery smooth. The break was moved further to the rear of the pull, and the reset is both shorter, and more pronounced. Most importantly, the ghost reset is gone, so when I let the trigger out, the first pop that it makes is the trigger resetting.

The kit installs relatively easily by following the instructions in the video above. The result is a much improved trigger pull on the little Shield. After running this trigger through a couple hundred rounds at the range, I like it.

The only downside is the price. At about $90 for a trigger kit for a sub $400 pistol, it’s a hefty price to pay. I’m not sure I’d pay it again, but now that I have it, I’m glad it’s in there.

I give it a solid A- with the only downside being the hefty price tag.