Triggers for ar 15s and person opinions

[Jchrisls]

So, as I have said before, I am fairly new to firearms, only purchasing my first in May. I have sent several thousand rounds downrange with the stock trigger and have been fairly happy with its performance so far. Although I haven't measured the pull ( per specs approximately 7-8 lbs) I have heard a ton about upgraded triggers and it has caught my interest.
So, here are my questions, obviously relying heavily on people's personal experiences by asking. I ask the following;

Does a lighter pull potentially improve your accuracy?
Is a modified trigger worthy of the expense?
What triggers do you use in your ar15s and why?

Truly relying on everyones personal experience here.

 

[Calculon]

If you're happy with the milspec trigger stay with it. A lighter/smoother pull will, in theory, improve your accuracy more probably depends on the shooter.

Thank said I have both milspec and drop in aftermarket triggers. The drop-ins tend to have a lighter pull (3 to 5 lbs) with less grittiness which is why people like them. I chose a Velocity Precision "Steel Cased" trigger to avoid issues with hard primers - my prior trigger was a Saber trigger from James Madison Tactical and wouldn't reliably shoot steel. The Velocity Precision Steel Cased trigger is a 4 lb pull and has a stronger hammer spring and hammer. I've been pleased with it and with today's shortages I'm able to shoot whatever I can get my hands on.

EDIT - Link added

Steel-Cased AR Trigger (For Steel Case Ammo) - Velocity Precision Engineering

The Velocity AR Trigger "Steel Case" version features a stronger hammer and hammer spring to improve performance with steel case ammo, but can be used with traditional brass ammo as well including .22 rifles - If you shoot a lot of steel case ammo this is the trigger for you! Available in 4lb...

velocitytriggers.com

 

[Jem45472]

Have a timney in mine. Awesome trigger at 3lbs. These are pretty expensive, but I bought it used for $100.

 

[BMF JK]

Have a timney in mine. Awesome trigger at 3lbs. These are pretty expensive, but I bought it used for $100.

View attachment 95921

Really cant go wrong with Timney .

 

[dsdmmat]

Once you get used to the stock milspec triggers an aftermarket trigger feels like cheating. The typical free floated barreled AR is capable of 1/2 moa accuracy. The aftermarket triggers may Help reduce that if you are capable of it. Are they worth the money? Maybe. The same amount money put into Practice ammo Instead of a upgraded trigger may be more beneficial to A new shooter.

 

[Jchrisls]

Oddly I kind of like the stock trigger. Smooth and a fast reset. This interests me though.

 

[Edwardteach72]

80 bucks gets you a Larue Tactical trigger.

***edit*** those same triggers used to be G priced but LaRue decided to build an entire production line just for triggers to get the prices down and still be fucking awesome.

I know a good bit of people who have both a LaRue and some G triggers and they all say they will go with the LaRue over the G any day of the week. And Geissele is regarded as the best

 

[Bob]

80 bucks gets you a Larue Tactical trigger.

And the Larue is about 85-90% of a Geissle for less than half the price. I purchased a Larue for my .224V build, immediately fell in love with it, and replaced the triggers in all of my AR-pattern guns with them.

 

[Edwardteach72]

And the Larue is about 85-90% of a Geissle for less than half the price. I purchased a Larue for my .224V build, immediately fell in love with it, and replaced the triggers in all of my AR-pattern guns with them.

Yea I had to make an edit to mention how the LaRue is on par with (some may say better but subjective) or so close behind G triggers that its not even really noticeable.

And again at $80 new fuck why not get a banger of a trigger

 

[cgrutt]

I'd say see if you can meet up with a local member and try out an aftermarket trigger. I have mil spec, Wilson Combat and Geissele Dynamics triggers in my rifles. There really is no comparison between the aftermarket triggers and mil spec. 1/2 (or less) the take-up, glass break, seamless reset. That's not to say anything is wrong with a mil spec trigger, just the two can't really be compared side-to-side. Apples and oranges.

 

[Robin]

Set triggers and specially made 'hair' triggers have been around for centuries, even before guns. They do not make your rifle shoot better, they compensate for the shooters lack of patience with himself.
Robin

 

[1075tech]

I have a mix. Mil-spec on my "utility" 5.56s. On my more "precision" 6.5 Grendel's, I have a Velocity single stage 3# (no issues with steel case), a Rise Armament 3.5# single, and a LaRue 2S. I have a preference for the single stage. I have a spare RA-140 that I'll likely put in my Grendel pistol and put the LaRue in place of one of the mil-spec. Next up will be to either fine tune the two stage in my Howa mini action, or possibly replace it with a Timney single stage.

 

[JamieZ]

I have a mix. Mil-spec on my "utility" 5.56s. On my more "precision" 6.5 Grendel's, I have a Velocity single stage 3# (no issues with steel case), a Rise Armament 3.5# single, and a LaRue 2S. I have a preference for the single stage. I have a spare RA-140 that I'll likely put in my Grendel pistol and put the LaRue in place of one of the mil-spec. Next up will be to either fine tune the two stage in my Howa mini action, or possibly replace it with a Timney single stage.

It must have something to do with being use to it, the reason why some like single compared to double. I love double stage triggers. So much so I even changed my RPR over to a Timney 2 stage, this was after modifying the single stage to get a lower pound pull, which I thought was good. Plus all the AR's I've put together, including ones for friends, I used 2 stage.

I have 2 guns with Geissele SSA-e triggers, one with a RRA-varmint trigger and the other gun I changed was the RPR.

Ive installed the Larue trigger in a buddies gun and I would have to say that by far the best bang for your buck is either the RRA-varmint trigger or the Larue.

If I was to build another gun,,,,I would choose to use either RRA or Larue and not spend what I spent on the Geissele triggers.

I would never put in a Mil-spec trigger. I just dont have a good use for a Ford Pinto

 

[holdover]

I have the Geissele ss trigger. Its a good trigger, but is it a $200 good trigger? Ehhhh, I bought it , I like it, but not for the money. Haven't tried La Rue, but I'd bet its pretty dam close . I would give it a try.

 

[Will556]

I’m a HUGE fan of Geissele triggers. I honestly think they are triggers on the market. They are also proven from years of use and there’s a reason why Geissele triggers have previously and are to this day chosen for many Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, SOCOM, FBI...the triggers work. No with that said, I would say practice with a good quality milspec trigger and get the hang of it and really run the shit out of it. After that, then go and spend the money on a Geissele. Second thing, don’t be fooled and think a milspec trigger can’t be decent. Case in point, have you ever heard of Don Majillo? Most people know him as “Milspec Mojo”, this dude is one of the fastest shooters and he does it with a milspec trigger. He is insane to watch. In this I believe he states he has a CMC trigger in it. But I promise you if you search around and watch his videos, you’ll see that he shoots just as fast with a standard milspec trigger. The dude is a freak. It sometimes sounds like he’s firing full-auto.

 

[Podmonkey]

The newbie AR15 priority list is as follows:

1 Ammo and range time/training, but ammo shortage + lockdowns = fuck us, I guess.
2 good quality red dot
3 Magazines, at least 10 up front, as many as you can reasonably afford going forward.

After that is all taken care of you can start tinkering around.
As suggested for a trigger upgrade I can't see any reason to get anything other than the LaRue MBT line. Now they have single stage and two stage versions, curved or flat bow.
I have one on my Recce build and it is fantastic, clean and crisp and smooth. For $80 there simply is no better trigger and it compares equally to $300 Geissele triggers.

 

[Jchrisls]

The newbie AR15 priority list is as follows:

1 Ammo and range time/training, but ammo shortage + lockdowns = fuck us, I guess.
2 good quality red dot
3 Magazines, at least 10 up front, as many as you can reasonably afford going forward.

After that is all taken care of you can start tinkering around.
As suggested for a trigger upgrade I can't see any reason to get anything other than the LaRue MBT line. Now they have single stage and two stage versions, curved or flat bow.
I have one on my Recce build and it is fantastic, clean and crisp and smooth. For $80 there simply is no better trigger and it compares equally to $300 Geissele triggers.

Have most covered including range time since purchasing ( 2k rounds downrange).
Unsure if Sig optics is considered quality, but have both the romeo 5 and juliet set. Are these decent?

Mags? Well, been discussed before ( to which you added invaluable insights on another thread, greatly appreciated). Really, really REALLY don't want to dredge that whole thing up again.

And I'm just in the research phase. I've kinda grown fond of the mil spec trigger I have, but have yet to experience anything else, hence the inquiry.

 

[Tisto]

I have a Geissle trigger in one of my rifles. It's the SSA-E model. Honestly, I wouldn't buy another one. It's OK, don't get me wrong, but for that kind of money I would like the break to be more crisp.

I also have a pair of rifles that have old JP Precision triggers in them. I do not know if they are even made anymore. The ones I have are easily 20 + years old. They are nice. They break clean.

Other rifles have "stock" triggers that I have polished and they are very nice. The problem is knowing where to stop. Polish just a little too much and you screw it up, and you can easily ruin the parts.

 

[Will556]

Have most covered including range time since purchasing ( 2k rounds downrange).
Unsure if Sig optics is considered quality, but have both the romeo 5 and juliet set. Are these decent?

Mags? Well, been discussed before ( to which you added invaluable insights on another thread, greatly appreciated). Really, really REALLY don't want to dredge that whole thing up again.

And I'm just in the research phase. I've kinda grown fond of the mil spec trigger I have, but have yet to experience anything else, hence the inquiry.

I’m not a fan of Sig red dots but their scopes are decent.

 

[Will556]

The newbie AR15 priority list is as follows:

1 Ammo and range time/training, but ammo shortage + lockdowns = fuck us, I guess.
2 good quality red dot
3 Magazines, at least 10 up front, as many as you can reasonably afford going forward.

After that is all taken care of you can start tinkering around.
As suggested for a trigger upgrade I can't see any reason to get anything other than the LaRue MBT line. Now they have single stage and two stage versions, curved or flat bow.
I have one on my Recce build and it is fantastic, clean and crisp and smooth. For $80 there simply is no better trigger and it compares equally to $300 Geissele triggers.

Like @Podmonkey said, the LaRue MBT-2S trigger is definitely nice for the price point and is a great trigger. I’m partial to Geissele but you’re not going to go wrong with either of them. Training and ammo is you’re best upgrade.

 

[Podmonkey]

The other nice thing about the LaRue MBT and some models of Geissele is that there is sufficient hammer force to reliably ignite ammo with hard military primers. I shoot milspec ammo mostly and the MBT hasn't faltered.

 

[Edwardteach72]

The newbie AR15 priority list is as follows:

1 Ammo and range time/training, but ammo shortage + lockdowns = fuck us, I guess.
2 good quality red dot
3 Magazines, at least 10 up front, as many as you can reasonably afford going forward.

After that is all taken care of you can start tinkering around.
As suggested for a trigger upgrade I can't see any reason to get anything other than the LaRue MBT line. Now they have single stage and two stage versions, curved or flat bow.
I have one on my Recce build and it is fantastic, clean and crisp and smooth. For $80 there simply is no better trigger and it compares equally to $300 Geissele triggers.

I would also suggest a quality sling, and probably white light

***edit***(me personally light before optic)

 

[Will556]

I would also suggest a quality sling, and probably white light

And it begins!

 

[Jchrisls]

I would also suggest a quality sling, and probably white light

***edit***(me personally light before optic)

Have a light and green laser already attached .
Haven't popped for a sling yet, was leaning more towards a detachable bipod first.

 

[Jchrisls]

And it begins! View attachment 96529 View attachment 96530

The red pill is epic. Since purchasing my first firearm this year, what a red pill it was.......

 

[Will556]

The other nice thing about the LaRue MBT and some models of Geissele is that there is sufficient hammer force to reliably ignite ammo with hard military primers. I shoot milspec ammo mostly and the MBT hasn't faltered.

I know most Geissele’s if not all of them use full power springs. It’s definitely a necessity to have a have full power springs. Some other well known companies instead of creating high quality machined trigger/hammer/disconnector/sear geometry to create crisp or lightweight triggers, they throw in underpowered springs to recreate a lightweight trigger pull but you end up with light primer strikes. Also I’d prefer to not have an adjustable trigger.

 

[Will556]

The red pill is epic. Since purchasing my first firearm this year, what a red pill it was.......

Keep listening to me and you’ll be wanting to build MK18’s with MAWL’s, 12.5” Recce’s, and paying CW Gunwerks for a custom AK!

 

[Podmonkey]

I know most Geissele’s if not all of them use full power springs. It’s definitely a necessity to have a have full power springs. Some other well known companies instead of creating high quality machined trigger/hammer/disconnector/sear geometry to create crisp or lightweight triggers, they throw in underpowered springs to recreate a lightweight trigger pull but you end up with light primer strikes. Also I’d prefer to not have an adjustable trigger.

I completly agree about adjustable triggers. Set screws and such are just things to come loose and create problems.

 

[Edwardteach72]

Keep listening to me and you’ll be wanting to build MK18’s with MAWL’s, 12.5” Recce’s, and paying CW Gunwerks for a custom AK!

You write that like its a bad thing

 

[Podmonkey]

Keep listening to me and you’ll be wanting to build MK18’s with MAWL’s, 12.5” Recce’s, and paying CW Gunwerks for a custom AK!

12.5" Recce? Methinks someone's been watching too much John Wick. 16" or bust I says!
Incidentally I watched John Wick with my brother a few months ago. He isn't into guns at all but said that AR he had looked really fancy. I say I have one even better than that and looks askance at me sonI show him a pic of my DD Recce and all he has to say is-
"........Why's it green?"
"Why is your bass blue?"
"I like blue"
"Well I like fuckin' green, Jesus! Why you gotta be be such a buzzkill?"
And he just laughs. He's an asshole