conversions

Question
What are NY1, NY2 and Miami pistol conversions? Do they have anything to do with either the spring shape or the actual tension? Do they offer any value to the everyday defense pistol?


Answer
These trigger configurations are specific to the Glock pistol.

When the Glock pistol was accepted for import into the US in 1986 many police departments were still using revolvers. They saw a benefit in the Glock pistol in that it was as simple as a revolver to use and carried three times the ammunition. But some of them were concerned about the "light" trigger pull.

Glock had done an enormous amount of research and found that a nominal 5.5 lbs was the "correct" weight for trigger pull in terms of the balance of not inadvertently firing the gun with proper training, and not being so heavy that it effected practical accuracy.

Some police departments, however, were used to 12 lbs double action trigger pull on their revolvers. This, coupled with the fact that some poorly trained officers had negligently discharged the Glock, claiming that "it went off by itself" or "due to a hair trigger," some PDs began clamoring for a way to make the trigger heavier.

The NY1 (thus designated because it was created for the NYPD) trigger spring replaces the standard spring in the ejector housing. The standard spring is an expansion spring which actually lightens the trigger. The NY1 trigger spring is actually a compression spring that resists the trigger, thereby adding weight. Depending on the source cited, this increases the weight to 8 or 10 lbs.

The NY2 spring simply uses a stiffer compression spring, increasing pull weight to between 10-12 lbs. You can tell the difference in that the plastic leaf that the spring is housed in is olive drab on the NY1 and orange on the NY2.

The so-called Miami trigger (created for Miami Dade)gets at the "problem" a different way. It uses the same springs, but uses a modified connector. The standard connect sits oriented to the trigger bar at 45 degrees. The "Miami" connector is steeper. This changes the nominal trigger weight from 5.5 lbs to 8 lbs.

Which connector is in the gun can be easily seen by looking at the connector in the disassembled gun, specifically right behind the disconnect tab:

On the standard connector (5.5 lbs) there will be no markings

On the 8 lbs connector it will be stamped with a "+"

On the competition (3.5 lbs) connector it will be stamped with a "-"

I would never put the competition connector in a self-defense gun (or a competition gun for that matter, as it would acclimate me to too light a trigger).

In my opinion, raising the trigger weight from the standard 5.5 lbs is an answer in search of a question. I have carried a Glock every day for fifteen years now, have taught numerous classes with it, shot in hundreds of competitions with it, and logged multiple hundreds of training hours with it, putting tens-of-thousands-of-rounds down range. I have had to on three occasions access it for self-defense (thankfully with no shots fired), and I have never once inadvertently touched off a round.

With the standard connector I can tag any reasonable sized target I can see. With a heavier trigger precision or distance shots are more questionable.

I would not recommend a heavier trigger, though some do. If you do put a heavier trigger in it, do NOT put in a NY spring AND a 8 lbs connector - you will render the gun incapable of firing.