Nighthawk Drop-In 1911 Trigger

Nighthawk Custom is a name that needs no introduction to the high-end 1911 pistol consumer. Their motto “One Gun, One Gunsmith” is a testament to their artisan philosophy and while the resulting quality is a sight to behold, the price point on many Nighthawk pistols is well beyond the reach of the common man.

But that doesn’t mean your favorite single-stack can’t experience the Nighthawk difference. New for this year, they are bringing an entire parts division online. The initial release will release 22 individual parts to market – all made with the same stainless and carbon steel billets used in their house builds. These parts are meant to be drop-in with minimal fitting or gunsmithing. The round one drop includes eight barrels, two mag catch kits, four mainspring housings, three grip safeties and four slide stops.

While this is all excellent news for 1911 owners and builders everywhere, there is one Nighthawk new release that stands well above the rest – their Drop-in 1911 trigger. Yes. We said “drop-in” and “1911 trigger” in the same sentence. The Drop-in Trigger System, or DTS, consists of a hammer, hammer strut, sear, sear spring and disconnector, self-contained in a solid housing. Each of these components are machined from 416 stainless steel billet, as is the housing itself. The sear spring, the only piece not contained in the drop-in housing, is a single-arm grip safety spring – deliberately designed to replace the more conventional three-arm sear spring. This system is compatible with most 1911 trigger shoes. So whether you prefer long, short, solid or skeletonized, “if you like your trigger, you can keep your trigger”.

After speaking directly to the folks at Nighthawk, they estimate this unit will produce a 3-3.5 pound pull weight. At time of writing, we’ve yet to drop this into a gun and test it ourselves, but have no fear. We’ll do so in short order.

High quality, custom-grade 1911 trigger jobs might as well be considered a form of sorcery, next to the plug-and-play nature of most black rifle or black pistol triggers. However, the cassette style housing of the Nighthawk DTS takes a page from the AR-market playbook and, by all appearances, seems to be a turnkey solution to both trigger improvement and internal parts upgrade. Expected MSRP on the DTS is $299. We look forward to wringing this one out and reporting back. Check out Nighthawk Custom here.