# What's with the double trigger set up on semi-auto pistols **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 22, 2026, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939 "2026-01-22T21:57:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/241 "2026-03-13T16:34:53Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > ’Ive got shooting buddies who have tried to “improve” theirs and they often end up having to address a variety of issues. Should have left them alone. I remember talking to a gunsmith back in the 1990s. He said, “Business has been slow for a number of years. But lately it has picked up, thanks to the Dremel.” I asked him what he meant by that. He said, “More and more people are buying Dremel tools. Many of them are gun owners, and they use the tool to do their own ‘gunsmithing’ in an effort to ‘improve’ the gun. They usually end up doing more harm than good, and then they give it to me to fix their screwups.” ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/242 "2026-03-13T16:41:45Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > The range master thought perhaps the gun was dirty. It was not. Clean is one thing. Try overlubing it. It will be a little messy, but if that works then it’s not the ammo. If it works then wipe off the lube and try again. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/243 "2026-03-13T16:45:27Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I asked him what he meant by that. He said, “More and more people are buying Dremel tools. Many of them are gun owners, and they use the tool to do their own ‘gunsmithing’ in an effort to ‘improve’ the gun. They usually end up doing more harm than good, and then they give it to me to fix their screwups.” See, I’ve made modifications to my gun. But they were modifications meant to be done by owners, using kits and instructions provided by manufacturers. No MacGyver crap from me. And when I got new sights, I let a gunsmith do the installation, because there was no way I wasn’t going to screw that up. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/244 "2026-03-13T16:46:36Z")
Heh-heh. I hadn’t considered that. In the old days, guys would work on “improving” the triggers on their revolvers and semiautos using “stones.” What that usually translated to was having to replace a lot of sears and other parts. I don’t know why they wanted 1.5 lb. triggers. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/245 "2026-03-13T16:51:42Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Clean is one thing. Try overlubing it. It will be a little messy, but if that works then it’s not the ammo. If it works then wipe off the lube and try again. Yea. It had been cleaned, and then shot once. Maybe 50 rounds. I did not clean it that night, the next day we bought that new ammo and it did not like it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/246 "2026-03-13T16:51:58Z")
Yeah; keep polishing the sliding areas until you wore or rounded off the notches and ridges that need to engage for sure 100% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/247 "2026-03-13T17:10:31Z")
But when it counts you want to have that extra 0.02 of a second of faster first shot! /s ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/248 "2026-03-13T18:38:45Z")
Lots of cheap ammo that is almost always Berdan-primed (e.g. not worth trying to keep and reload in most cases) and many steel cased owe their lineage to Tula Arms in Russia. In some cases not made by them anymore, often the different names mean different construction materials. They go bang reliably but can be dirty. Fiocchi is a very old, very large Italian company. They’re reliable. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/249 "2026-03-13T19:24:20Z")
A few comments that may or may not be of any value to you: I owned and shot a Shield EZ for a couple of years. They’re nice guns and indeed easy to work with. I could recommend them. Fiocchi ammo is generally good stuff. Another .380 semi-auto that has been recommended to me as being ‘soft shooting’ is Ruger’s Security 380. I’ve never owned or even shot one, but I believe the person who recommended it. I own other Rugers and their designs are often somewhat lacking but they almost always work. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/250 "2026-03-13T19:54:05Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > They check with a magnet. They won’t let it in. Why would the gun range care about the casing materials? I assume it is because they resell the cases that folks don’t take and you “can’t” reload aluminum casings. > [@Bullitt](#): > > I’ve shot Wolf and Fiocchi, both. They work. I’ve shot a ton of Wolf 223, 7.62x39, 9mm, and 40. No issues. > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > The 1911: you either love it or hate it. 🙂 > > It’s an exquisite piece of engineering. But it’s also “finely tuned,” and they seem to spend more time at the gunsmith vs. the owner’s gun safe. In a former life, I shot a ton of steel and action pistol. Nearly everyone used the 1911 platform but in the 2011 format (double-stack mag). There was also some revolver and Glock shooters (I did both from time to time). Most folks paid a lot for their 2011s and they freaking worked. I didn’t pay that much for mine (Para Ordnance out of Canada) and it freaking worked. I shot many, many thousands of my own rolled ammo from a Dillon progressive press. From what I saw over a lot of years of shooting multiple times per month, with lots of people is the 1911 platform is pretty dang reliable. We weren’t gathering on a cold January morning to grouse about our guns being at the gunsmith. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/251 "2026-03-13T19:57:13Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I assume it is because they resell the cases that folks don’t take and you “can’t” reload aluminum casings. If you’re using a magnet to find aluminum casings, well… 😜 ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/252 "2026-03-13T19:58:11Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Why would the gun range care about the casing materials? I assume it is because they resell the cases that folks don’t take and you “can’t” reload aluminum casings. Because it’s an indoor range that doesn’t allow steel core, and they’re either ignorant of the difference between steel core and steel case, or don’t want to bother differentiating the two as a magnet gets either. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/253 "2026-03-13T20:03:26Z")
Totally misread and completely missed the ferrous metals implication. STEEL, not aluminum. DOH! I have shot plenty of steel and aluminum cased ammo. But, I don’t shoot at indoor ranges so no one has ever magnet’d my ammo. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/254 "2026-03-13T20:08:08Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Fiocchi is a very old, very large Italian company. They’re reliable. Good to know. Never heard of them. I’ll shoot those… If I get my gun back from my wife. I think she likes it. > [@Bumbazine](#): > > I owned and shot a Shield EZ for a couple of years. They’re nice guns and indeed easy to work with. I could recommend them. Also good to know. I saw online some place had a deal that came with 4 extra mags and a bag made for it. I looked at one in the store I bought the new ammo at. I know my wife is nervous about the class. I only loaded 8 in a 9 round mag. Well, 6 mags. That may help the feed problem, that and different ammo. She has to shoot for this class. She should be good to go. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/255 "2026-03-13T20:11:53Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Why would the gun range care about the casing materials? I think the concern is a steel bullet. Or a copper cased steel projectile. Ricochet is all I can think of. They don’t care about the shell. They just touch the tip of the round (the bullet) with a magnet. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/256 "2026-03-13T20:25:17Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Good to know. Never heard of them. I’ll shoot those… If I get my gun back from my wife. I think she likes it. For other European brands, I highly recommend Sellier & Bellot (Czech Republic) and Prvi Partizan (Serbia). They both make some obscure calibers too. And at least for 9mm, S&B boxes pack the smallest of any brand I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/257 "2026-03-13T20:37:39Z")
I buy what I can get. I bought 4 boxes of .380 today. I cleaned them out. This is a big outdoor outfitter. .380 is a little scarce. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/258 "2026-03-13T20:44:08Z")
> [@Bumbazine](#): > > Another .380 semi-auto that has been recommended to me as being ‘soft shooting’ is Ruger’s Security 380. I’d pick that up because I like Ruger. But it has that double trigger that I am firmly against on principle. It’s stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/259 "2026-03-13T20:44:47Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > In the old days, guys would work on “improving” the triggers on their revolvers and semiautos using “stones.” What that usually translated to was having to replace a lot of sears and other parts. I don’t know why they wanted 1.5 lb. triggers. About 20 years ago I bought a Taurus .357 revolver. My wife was having a hard time squeezing the trigger, so I installed a “softer” trigger spring in it. The trigger pull was lighter as a result, but every other round was a failure-to-fire! I reinstalled the OEM spring. It was dumb of me to second-guess the designers of the gun… ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939/260 "2026-03-13T20:48:30Z")
I just did a spring upgrade to my Taurus 85CH for this same issue. And I was quite prepared to go to the range and have problems. (The Galloway spring kit includes both trigger and hammer springs.) Thankfully, I had 100% function and the trigger probably improved by 30% to 40%. But you’re right that the designers usually chose springs and related parts for good reasons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-double-trigger-set-up-on-semi-auto-pistols/1026939.md?page=14)