Morini CM84E trigger adjustment

[wade]

My new pistol will not dry fire consistently. The trigger mech. will not fire repeatedly. I will change the battery, but I was wondering if the electronics needed adjustment as with the air pistol version?

[Steve Swartz]

It is critical on the 84E that you are allowing the photo safety system to reset. Your finger must totally expose the sensor, and then totally cover the sensor for each shot. Light creeping around your finger will interrupt the mechanism. Not allowing light to creep around your finger after each shot will prevent the shot from being released (yes, blame this "feature" on the lawyers and/or chickens**t management).

Next, if the gun is cold and then taken out of the box in a warm, humid environment, you will get a drop of condensation form between the contact points. A quick puff of air or passing a pice of tissue paper between the contact points will fix this. Alternately, improper cleaning will sometimes lodge a "foreign object" here . . . a piece of dust will wreak havoc on the relays!

Last, when the battery wears down, the mechanism will fire every other shot. This is actually your warning to change the battery!

Steve Swartz

[Mark Briggs]

I'll contest one of the points made our most esteemed contributor, Steve. The CM84E does not require the finger to be taken off the trigger between shots. One can place one's finger on the trigger and dry fire it multiple times in succession without removing one's finger. In fact, Francesco Repich, the current "boss" at Morini, once wrote on this board that the best way to test battery capacity was to turn the pistol on, hold down the battery test button so the red LED illuminates, and then dry-fire the trigger five times as quickly as the firing circuit will recharge. If the LED does not extinguish completely during this test then you're guaranteed to have enough battery power to shoot a match with no problems. My experience is that if the pistol passes this test you have enough battery power for a match, plus at least another 1000 shots. If you are religious about turning the battery off after every training session or match, it will last a very long time (my current battery is now 20 months old and has probably fired at least 10,000 shots, plus dry-firing).

As for dry-firing, even with a new battery it takes at least two seconds for the trigger circuit to recharge between shots. Remember, this is a free pistol, not a rapidfire gun, so waiting a couple of seconds between dry fires shouldn't be a big problem!

[Steve Swartz]

Mark:

Yep, that's what the owner's manual says.

Steve Swartz

[PaulR]

Oh, if only I could remember to turn off the switch before storing.
Thanks Mark for your advice of putting a big sticker on the case reminding me. It has vastly improved battery life.

[Nicole Hamilton]

As for dry-firing, even with a new battery it takes at least two seconds for the trigger circuit to recharge between shots. Remember, this is a free pistol, not a rapidfire gun, so waiting a couple of seconds between dry fires shouldn't be a big problem!

No, but this is an interesting, however minor, disadvantage of an electronic trigger I hadn't heard mentioned before. One more reason I'm glad I didn't let myself get sucked into that lovefest attitude that "even people who don't shoot the Morini admit the Morini trigger is the best."

[Richard H]

As for dry-firing, even with a new battery it takes at least two seconds for the trigger circuit to recharge between shots. Remember, this is a free pistol, not a rapidfire gun, so waiting a couple of seconds between dry fires shouldn't be a big problem!

No, but this is an interesting, however minor, disadvantage of an electronic trigger I hadn't heard mentioned before. One more reason I'm glad I didn't let myself get sucked into that lovefest attitude that "even people who don't shoot the Morini admit the Morini trigger is the best."

How fast do you shoot Free Pistol, waiting two seconds for the circuit to recharge is not a big deal. Like Mark says you're not shooting rapid fire with it. My Walther takes about the same amount of time and I've never had the urge to fire shots within two seconds. So what is the disadvantage, or put another way what is your preceived advantage of the mechanical trigger?

[Nicole Hamilton]

... put another way what is your preceived advantage of the mechanical trigger?

As a practical matter, none. I merely meant to poke fun at the argument advanced earlier today that "everyone knows" the Morini trigger is better. If we were to judge only by this thread, it's got nothing but problems: They don't fire consistently or repeatedly, they fail if there's even a drop of moisture, you need to carefully cover the photo sensor or it doesn't work, woe onto anyone who forgets to turn it off else the battery wears out, and oh, btw, they need 2 seconds to recharge between shots, even with brand-new batteries. (Can we assume that if the batteries aren't new, it takes longer?)

A perceived advantage is only just that: One you perceive, which is to say, different people perceive different things and also some of the same things but as being of differing importances. There isn't any Santa Claus or Easter Bunny, and neither is there usually a once-and-for-all "best," no matter what anyone tries to tell you. Most choices in life are between mixed bags and you just have to pick the one you like best.

[Mark Briggs]

Hi Nicole,

I'll try to keep this post as clear of bias as I can. In doing so I will also try to address your comments above.

The electronic trigger is an imperfect device, as is any mechanical device. The only trigger that is perfect is the yet-to-be designed one which fires the pistol based purely on thought process. We can dream of the day that one will arrive, but until then the finger on a trigger shoe will have to do!

I've had a fairly narrow assortment of free pistols, only five different ones, and currently own only three (including a pair of Morini's). If you take a look at my signature line you'll see I'm from the frigid north. So that means that my pistols are used in the presence of widely varying temperatures and humidities. I have shot in -20c, + 40c, 8% RH, 100%RH (condensing, and rain), and just about everything in between. That's not to say I've got a lot of depth of experience, just a fair amount of breadth. And during the gaining of that experience I haven't had a single trigger failure with my Morini electronics. I have, on the other hand, had lubricants go gummy in the mechanical triggers of my Hammerli 150 and TOZ. But that's not a design fault, that was operator error.

You commented:
"They don't fire consistently or repeatedly, they fail if there's even a drop of moisture, you need to carefully cover the photo sensor or it doesn't work, woe onto anyone who forgets to turn it off else the battery wears out, and oh, btw, they need 2 seconds to recharge between shots, even with brand-new batteries. (Can we assume that if the batteries aren't new, it takes longer?)"

If anybody were to read this statement it could be taken out of context. The bottom line remains that the Morini trigger has proven to be extremely reliable, across a broad range of environmental and operational conditions. Your statement above incorrectly maligns an excellent design. At virtually any World Cup you'll see that close to half (if not more) of the pistols on the line are Morini's. They didn't get there by accident. If they conformed to your statement above they would be in the same catagory as the Walther and Steyr free pistols - a true oddity on the firing line.

Please rest assured that I'm not attempting to criticize you directly. I just want to set straight the performance record of the Morini pistol.

Oh, one additional point. Your post on the K-22 makes an excellent read. After reading through your decision-making criteria I can assure you the Morini would not have been the right choice for you. Its trigger offers absolutely no "pre-travel" and would have required considerable re-training on your part to use effectively. Triggers are highly personal affairs - you're lucky enough to have sorted out what you like and don't like, and to have found equipment that meets those likes. Stick with it, and shoot well!

[Nicole Hamilton]

You're absolutely correct. Obviously, batteries do wear out eventually, but aside from that, I don't actually believe -- nor should anyone think I do -- that any of the other problems mentioned in this thread are more than rare anomolies. As you say, it's just not plausible that if any of this was typical that they could enjoy the reputation they do. Word gets out!

Thank you also for confirming that, given my own (possibly peculiar :) taste, I likely made a good choice in my own purchase.

Warm regards and good shooting!