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affordable AR trigger upgrade?

mosin46

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Aug 11, 2010
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any ideas out there? want to improve my 2 cheaper ARs but not putting $150-300 trigger in a plain jane gun. thought i had seen a seekins product at about $80-can't find them now. have done a large search and many like the ALG seem to be poorly reviewed. tx for any ideas.
 
I have 3 of them, I got them before they had the straight shoe. I personally prefer straight shoe triggers and would love to trade mine out but the triggers feel great and very crisp break.
 
Can't go wrong with MBT's. All my AR's run them. I prefer the straight bow triggers and have mostly switched over my curved to them.

FYI the single stage MBT is more akin to a mil spec trigger. Very clean break but about the same pull weight as a standard mil spec. I've heard mixed reviews on it. I like mine but I'm using it on an AR with a .410 upper.
 
Larue MBT-2S flat here. Awesome trigger, can’t believe it feels this good for $80.
 
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I'm going to have to try one of the LaRue triggers. I just put RRA chrome NM triggers in 2 of my rifles this weekend. They turned out to be amazing triggers after I broke them in.

Could use a JP reliability spring kit on each of them. I don't think I've come across anyone that didn't like the LaRue MBT...
 
I personally have used about a dozen MBT-2 larue even when they were more expensive.
I did see that Trigger Tech has 3 different models of AR triggers.
No experience but I'm going to try one
Probably more expensive than the mbt I'm sure.
Couple of Geissele's no complaints but more expensive.
The Larue's came with two springs, heavy and light.
Choose wisely.
 
LaRue MBT in any flavor you fancy. With the lighter spring. Just echoing the popular opinion here.

Really though it’s damn good.
 
Heavy is for duty weapons, also some military guys are used to it.
 
Trigger control and trigger finger awareness is more important. I’ll take a lighter spring in mine for any use from targets, duty, HD, etc.
 
Triggers I have to compare, rock river national match, old Jp single stage, hiperfire 24c, and used to have a geissle national match. I like the hiperfire more than the LaRue but not enough to put one in each of my rifles. The hiperfire is in my 3gun rifle and I’m slowly working on replacing all my other triggers with the larue. I also just picked up a timney Calvin elite in the px for a precision build.
 
CMC two stage only ones that go down in the pound weight I want for precision rifles. If your wanting cheap for a duty rifle the enhanced trigger kits PSA I is what I use in all my duty and hunting rifles. You can add a JP reliability spring kit for $12.00
 
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Rise makes decent triggers.

Yup, for a cheaper trigger as the OP asked for (not sure why he's getting suggestions for $200+ triggers), the Rise Armament stuff is decent and can be had on sale for less than $100. I have the cheapest version and the 434, both are good.

IMO, these are good choices that fit the OP question:
Two stage
- Larue
- RRA Varmint or NM (difference is just in the springs, easily changeable to whichever you want)

Single stage
- Rise Armament
 
I am just wondering how the Rise RA-140 (can get for $90) or the Rise LE-145 (can get for $98) compare with the LaRue trigger above? How does each compare to each other..good or bad?
 
Velocity.



Badass. 3 pounds, ZERO takeup, crisp and clean break, minimum overtravel, reset is short and beautiful.


Next question.
 
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BCM PNT trigger is actually really nice for a single stage trigger. My brother in law has one and I've been thinking of picking one up for myself.
 
Check out Timney impact ar trigger. I’ve got two. Everyone I know that tried mine got one too
 
any ideas out there? want to improve my 2 cheaper ARs but not putting $150-300 trigger in a plain jane gun. thought i had seen a seekins product at about $80-can't find them now. have done a large search and many like the ALG seem to be poorly reviewed. tx for any ideas.

One easy upgrade is to get PSA nickel polished trigger groups and use JP Enterprises springs. I have 4# crisp triggers that way.
 
One easy upgrade is to get PSA nickel polished trigger groups and use JP Enterprises springs. I have 4# crisp triggers that way.

Sure, but with a mile of creep; that's hardly "crisp". Mil triggers suck, regardless what polishing or coatings they have. By the time you buy one of those and springs, you're halfway to just buying a good trigger.
 
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I am just wondering how the Rise RA-140 (can get for $90) or the Rise LE-145 (can get for $98) compare with the LaRue trigger above? How does each compare to each other..good or bad?

Two completely different kinds of triggers. The Larue is a two stage trigger, meaning a very light first stage with a lot of travel, and then some additional weight on a relatively crisp second stage. The reset on two stage triggers is typically pretty long. The Larue and RRA two stage triggers are good for target shooting, and a lot of people swear by two stage triggers all the way.

Single stage triggers like the Rise Armament stuff are different; there is no initial takeup, just a very short 3.5-4.5 lb pull which may or may not have any detectable amount of creep, and reset is the same short distance. I have not used the LE145, but the RA-140 is pretty decent for an entry level single stage. Since it's all self-contained in a cartridge, it's not dependent on positioning of the trigger pin holes to have a good reliable trigger. Mine has a very small amount of creep but is very smooth, and is nice to shoot. That trigger is miles ahead of your stock "mil spec" single stage.
Sometimes you can get the RA434 "high performance trigger" for not too much more, and it's a definite upgrade and worth the money.
 
Being incredibly like I am, up gold springs and a 1/4" set screw beneath the grip screw. Bob the hammer and have a pretty nice trigger for $12

James
 
I’ve had good luck with the BCM enhanced trigger as well as the Geissele G2SE. The Bcm is ideal if you still want a single stage Mil-Specish trigger whereas the geissele is a two stage more precise trigger.
 
Like a couple have mentioned, the question was for a budget friendly fix. I have experience with most of the triggers listed in this post , but to answer the question. Take the trigger that is in the rifle out, do a little sanding and polishing (numerous online videos) and put in a 3.5 pound JP spring kit. You will have a crisp trigger at 3.5 pounds that will do wonders for a pedestrian AR in my humble opinion. If you just want to spend money then Triggertech is hard to beat, again IMHO.
 
The first reply I posted got screwed up, the jp springs are the cheapest way to make a good trigger. By using the set screw it will take all the creep out of the assembly. You may have to grind the safety a little to make it work afterwards. By cutting the hook off of the hammer it will speed it up, and the momentum will make up for the lighter hammer spring.

After doing this it makes for a very, very crisp trigger with minimal take up.

I've used this method on several cheap builds and it works great. It's no Calvin elite nor elfman but it's pretty darn good
 
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Just ordered a Schmidt Tool 4.5lb 2-stage for 70 bucks. I'll let you know how that works, but from the sounds of it, I may regret not getting the MBT.

I also personally liked my ALG ACT, but that's on a pistol. I've had no issue with ALG other than getting e-mails in triplicate from them.
 
Like a couple have mentioned, the question was for a budget friendly fix. I have experience with most of the triggers listed in this post , but to answer the question. Take the trigger that is in the rifle out, do a little sanding and polishing (numerous online videos) and put in a 3.5 pound JP spring kit. You will have a crisp trigger at 3.5 pounds that will do wonders for a pedestrian AR in my humble opinion. If you just want to spend money then Triggertech is hard to beat, again IMHO.


Some of ya'll have a strange idea of what makes a "crisp" trigger. Have you never tried any actually good triggers?
 
I've had a Geisselle SSA-E for about 4-5 years now I think and I want something lighter. Either its gotten dirty and I need to take it apart and clean it, or my perception of what a "light" trigger has changed. I've really thought about switching over to a single stage, but the Geisselle says its 2nd stage is 1.5-2.0lbs....but it does not feel that light. Unfortunately I do not have a trigger lb gauge.

Tempted to try the Larue just to see if its better or a light percieved pull
 
Just throwing this out there, If you are looking for a trigger that your life may depend on I would not use a cartridge type trigger assembly.
Although they work great and I have and do use them I have witnessed blown primers that get lodged in the cartridge and shut the gun down requiting the
lower to be disassembled to get the stuck primer out.
 
Giessele or larue. The rest use weak hammersprings to accomplish lighter pull. I've had yellow jp springs fail to ignite lc primers, and they wont do good at all in ar10. I like the mbt, price and quality is great, I just wish theyd make the trigger face like a giessele or standard trigger.
 
You cant go wrong with the Larue MBT.

That said there are some less expensive Nickel Boron ones that are very nice.

One of my favorite sub $100 is the JMT Saber

On a side note it has adjustment screws they say not to touch but you can adjust it light enough to bump fire a burst if you tickle it.

15% off all triggers here.
 
@Gustav7 Then I think you are looking for the TriggerTech Diamond. Super smooth to a solid wall and crisp light break. Reset is not as positive on TriggerTech triggers, which can turn some people off from them.

I did not recommend it to the OP because of price.