Allow me to throw my two cents worth in.
I am a self processed trigger snob. Unfortunately, I'm also a poor trigger snob which really sucks because a Geissele SSA costs 240 bucks, and a Timney two stage will run you about $200.
Fortunately, there's an less expensive alternative which I'll get to in a minute.
While I've always appreciated a smooth, glassy trigger on my handguns, it never was a big deal for my rifles, but I never was much of a rifleman before.
A few years back, Dennis from Dragon Leatherworks asked me if I'd take a Geissele SSA trigger in exchange for a year's worth of advertising and I said you bet, so he sent the trigger along which I immediately installed in my only AR and promptly fell in love with.
My next build, I kept the milspec trigger that came with the lower parts kit and that rifle became my spare until I sold it, because I just couldn't stand to shoot that trigger after shooting the SSA.
I put together a carbine after I moved here and because it was pretty much a house gun, I put the milspec trigger in that one too. It did the job, but wasn't anything I'd take out to the range after zeroing it.
Then Woody told me about LaRue's Tactical MBT-2S trigger. It was supposedly as good as a Geissele, but was only 90 bucks, so I ordered one for the carbine. That was right before Christmas. Unfortunately for me, the rest of the world heard about them about the same time, so it was six fucking weeks before I got my grubby little hands on it. Waiting six weeks pissed me off so bad that I swore I'd never buy another LaRue again.
Then I put it in my carbine. Oh Dear Lord, it was fucking sweet!!! It's a 2 stage trigger like the SSA with a take-up weight of of 2.5 pounds before you hit the wall, then an oh so crisp and clean 2 pound pull weight before the trigger breaks, 4 1/2 pounds total, compared to a shitty gritty 6-8 pound pull for a milspec trigger. I'm not fucking kidding here, guys - it's that nice.
So much for never buying another LaRue again. I've got them in all my ARs now (except for the one with the Geissele), and I'll never put another one together unless I have a LaRue to put in it.
Tom, one of my readers, shot me an email a few months ago asking my advice on a good, affordable trigger and I told him about LaRue. He now has them in all of his ARs as well. Yes, they're that good.
Be advised that neither the LaRue nor the Geissele triggers are target triggers. They're both advertised as tactical triggers, so while there's others that have a lighter trigger pull, these are designed so that you can take up the slack and hold it while on target without having an accidental discharge and shooting a motherfucker before you mean to.
And now for the good news: Not only have the price for them dropped another 10 bucks to $80, their shipping time is down to about a week or ten days from the time you order it until you have it.
So, if you'd like to have a really nice trigger for your AR but just can't bring yourself to shell out $240 for a Timney or a Geissele, give LaRue a shot - pun intended.
https://www.larue.com/products/larue-tactical-mbt-2s-trigger/
I have a LaRue. Reasonable price and as good as most of my various guns.
ReplyDeletePaul J
It's a true story. I had Larue MBT triggers in a couple of AR's that got lost when our skiff sank off the shore of a small, un-named island in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteI feel you pain DaveS, we lose a LOT of nice stuff here in the Chesapeake.
DeleteEd
yes, we're saddened as well by the loss of every firearm the.gov was aware we had, on a fishing trip to Lake Mead. Best we can figure, we were at the deepest part of the lake. Tragic, is what it is. I cried real tears...
DeleteGrandpa
No question all of the choices are excellent! I have a Geissele SSA-E target trigger in my HBAR and love it. Larue is a quality bunch of folks, and just got overrun by buyers... NOT their fault their product is that good!
ReplyDelete+1 for the SSA-E, it was essentially the first thing I replaced on my AR10. The stock Ruger trigger was the definition of garbage and it sits in a baggie for a time when I have nothing else, or come across someone I simply don't like. The second upgrade was ditching the horrid "good enough" M4 stock, with a nice fat magpul ACS.
DeleteAt 3.5lbs, the SSA-E is suitable for a field rifle and shouldn't ND from a bump when the safety is on.
-arc
I like their QD scope mounts too.
ReplyDeleteI'm a single stage fan. JP triggers for me. I did put an ALG Defense trigger in my Blackout. Pretty sure it's a stoned/polished milspec trigger. Not quite as sweet, but still worlds better than the gritty standard one.
ReplyDeleteIf you like AKs, ALG is the place to go for a decent (only can polish a turd so much) AK trigger. Threw one in my Romy and it's a lot nicer.
Self professed. Yeah, I know. I don't care
ReplyDeleteWe wouldn't want to shoot the mutherfucker until we are mean, that would be wrong.
ReplyDeleteLmfao. 😜
JD
Kenny is right about the Larue MBT folks, awesome trigger. I have ten of them.
ReplyDeleteSome might think it's a budget Geissele and that is absolutely not true. They started out in the same price range as the Geissele actually and brought it down several times as they paid off the tooling. They did a little video explaining this fact. IMO it kinda makes Geissele need to explain itself as to the reasoning behind their prices.
And... the MBT is machined S-7 tool steel vs compressed powered metal of the Geissele's, which isn't a knock on them because they are great triggers. Just pointing out the difference.
Don't get me wrong, the Geissele's are excellent triggers and I really like them, but when all is considered the Larue blows it away.
Sorry if I just increased anyones wait time ordering them.
Great triggers are fundamental to an accurate rifle.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Jewell triggers. I've got three. A Remington 700 with a hunter trigger, breaks clean at 2.5 pounds. Much better than the standard Remington slop trigger, but it's appropriate for a hunting rifle. Never could get that rifle to shoot under a half inch; still working on it.
My two accuracy rifles, a Remington 40X in .308 Win and a custom built benchrest rifle in 6mm PPC have Jewell benchrest triggers - that break at 1 ounce, and have no safety. If you can feel the trigger, it's already fired. THAT's a trigger.
The .308 is good for a half inch at 200 yards, which is a quarter minute of angle, and the PPC will shoot under a quarter inch all day long. It's a competition rifle built by a world champion named Ron Hoehn (now deceased) with a 45X Leupold scope. I've shot under a tenth of an inch with this rifle twice - 20 years apart, most recently this June. That's .091" both times.
Think I'm making this up? I'm not. Wanna shoot for money?
ALG Defense's ACT (advanced combat trigger) is a good inexpensive option.ď
ReplyDeleteyes, the ALG is a good inexpensive option.
DeleteBut if you want just as good as the ALG for a good bit cheaper go to ar15discounts.com (I have nothing to do with the company other than a customer and they have the best customer service in the business imo) These guys are a great family owned business. I'd even recommend Kenny contact them for advertising here.
Pick up their Dirty Bird polished/coated milspec trigger (it's identical to the ALG) and also order a Kaw Valley Precision blue trigger spring set from them as well. That spring kit costs like 5 bucks ? This set up has a clean crisp break about 5 - 5.5 pounds.
That's the trigger I have in wife & son's AR's and I'd be perfectly happy with it in mine.
If you want it even lighter order a set of the yellow JP Enterprises AR trigger spring kit, drops it down to 3.5 pounds although that might be a little light for hard surplus primers.
You can also mix and match the Kaw Valley spring with the JP Ent. and hit the 4.5 range. Have tried all these combinations in a few AR's.
You can't beat the above for a greatly improved trigger for very low cost, trust me I've tried !
Until the “national freak-out” began 4-5 months ago, LaRue was some of the best products and customer service in the industry, in my experience.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, it’s a frustratingly long wait on the phone to speak with someone, and a frustratingly long wait on “backordered” products.
Even so, you won’t go wrong with anything LaRue.
I've got 4 Geissele triggers. I bought one through a popular Gun Parts company with the name "______ USA". I installed it in my Colt Competition Match Target HBAR. Installation was fairly easy and went to the range. Loaded one round. Worked perfectly. Loaded 2 rounds and it doubled. Geissele is less than 20 miles from my house so I called them and they told me to bring it over. They looked at it and told me it was a used item but replaced it immediately and installed it. Apparently some guy damaged the disconnector to make it full auto and then returned it to the above company. I called them but nothing happened. I didn't have to go through the hassle of returning it. I would have thought that a company as big as the supplier would not take returns on triggers. Geissele made my day and gave me hats and tshirts. The reason I haven't looked at another brand.
ReplyDeleteHey, ain't nobody going to blame you for company loyalty. If a company treats you right it gives you confidence in them and builds trust, and that makes all the difference in the world.
DeleteAye, I'm very loyal to businesses that treat me right. Business that are good to me when I'm small, will probably get my wholesale orders when I'm big.
DeleteI treat my own customers right because I do things the old way. It fosters a loyal base and word-of-mouthadvertising is free; reaching far deeper into target communities than ads ever could.
This blog post is a great example of word-of-mouth and I'm taking notes on good brands for my next rifle builds. Swag, especially functional swag, pays for itself in customers / conversation, it's very effective.
(I'm not in the gun business, just self-employed / OFP.)
- Arc
Geissele's daughter is running ALG defense,whom makes the best trigger for AK series.
ReplyDeleteI recently put one in my Romak and it's extremely nice.
Was over $100 and 6 months wait. Yes six months,but worth waiting for.
As a side thought: taking up the slack is the good way to get a discharge.I wouldn't think it's a proper tactical option.
On a two stage trigger, you take up the slack and hit a very distinct wall. If you don't feel it or can't control it, you're waaay too heavy handed on the trigger.
DeleteHad to pull out a Geissele from one of my rifles because of doubling. Put in a Timney, works fine.
DeleteI'll order a LaRue for another one. Thanks Kenny.
Larue-Only triggers i have used for years.
ReplyDeleteI can second the Larue. I have the single stage on both my 11.5 SBRs. I was a little bit disappointed in the pull weight, thinking it would clean up a bit after a brief break in period, but it was still a tad heavy for my liking so I put a JP reduced power trigger spring in them (left the larue hammer spring) and it got it right where I wanted it. A little bit of uptake, then a clean break with a nice reset.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, due to idiotic NFA restrictions that say I have to have permission to leave the state with my SBRs, but not my suppressors, I built a pistol lower to throw the 11.5 upper on if I want to take it with me and used a PSA kit that came with their EPT trigger, and I gotta say I’m impressed. I’ve only shot maybe 50 rounds with the lower, and it’s very little uptake with a super clean break on it. It’s just a coated milapec trigger, but it is cheap as hell compared to most other options and it’s a great budget piece that I’d definitely use again.
Gator
My AR sports a single stage 3.5# drop in unit, the RA-140 from Rise Armament. I kept all the pieces-parts from the mil-spec trigger, but those are never going back in. I'm quite happy with the '140 ... light, crisp, has a short reset, etc., etc. Cost about a hundred bucks as I recall.
ReplyDeleteI used to run Rock River two-stage triggers on my "regular" rifles but it's LaRue from here on out. For the match prepped rifles, it's Geissele 2-stage National Match triggers. I firmly believe LaRue is 90 - 95% of the trigger for a third or fourth of the cost, but when it's serious, I want that extra juice.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you're anyway near Camp Perry during the national matches, Geissele sets up on "commercial row" and will install any trigger you buy from them on the spot. Also they will have examples of their various triggers that you can try out. They won't be there during pistol week or for the long range events but will be there for the "Board" matches and a while afterward.
I have the Larue MBTs in all my ARs and they're absolutely the best thing you can do to improve the performance of the rifle. The difference in the trigger break from stock is amazing.
ReplyDelete