Triggers are one of the most highly personal decisions on a rifle, and there are a bunch of good options out there to choose from. This plethora of choice was a curse to me when it came to figuring out what my goldie-locks of triggers was going to be. It’s hard if not impossible to quantify much in the way of trigger preference, but I wanted to document my journey for other folks to figure out which trigger they want to go with.
First, you must decipher whether you want a single stage vs. double stage trigger. I am a big fan of Rich over at accuracy tech- and I won’t recreate the wheel here, rather link his article to help decide. http://www.accuracy-tech.com/single-...stage-trigger/
Most options on the market are single stage for our precision rifles. There are not as many double stage triggers on the market at this time (most claim cost and pull weight and market demand as the reasons for this). Below is my trigger compendium and my own editorial on where they fell in my mind. I rate them in my opinion / scales, and would love to hear what you guys think. 1= BAD / 10 = PERFECT. To sum my opinions thus far, they are all good choices, no perfect choice and no wrong choice can be made out of these on the table. This is unfortunately not industry funded (how do I get on that list) ; just a dude who has trigger decision disorder.
Single Stage Options:
Jewell:
We have all felt a jewell. They are on your grandpappies 30-30, and they have been the de facto standard for years. I kind of miss the days where it was essentially a choice between a Timney or a Jewell. I started with a jewell, and still really enjoy the trigger. I personally think it is still a great option, but I think the market has and will continue to evolve moving forward with more options that are starting to crowd out its marketshare. It has the best adjustability of all triggers tested.
Price/value: 7
Availability: 9
Adjustability: 10
Reliability: 6
Crispiness: 8.5
Ergonomics: 8
Warranty/ CS: 7
Overall: 7.93
Pros:
Trigger tech Special:
I am a big fan of trigger tech. They are the newest player to the game regarding rifle trigger manufacturers, but they have some of the best innovation at the best price point hands down. I find the TT special to be a perfect marriage of price and functionality and feel. Probably my best recommendation to the average shooter. One of my favorite single stages I have tested thus far. I tested the PVD (black) curved trigger, and I think I actually prefer this to the pro curved version in the diamond in my finger. I would say the groves make for a bit more forgiveness in finger placement on the shoe.
Price/value: 10
Availability: 9
Adjustability: 8
Reliability: 9
Crispiness: 9.5
Ergonomics: 9
Warranty/ CS: 10
Overall: 9.21
Pros:
Trigger tech Diamond:
I cannot overstate TT as a company. I think the proof is in the pudding also where the majority of the top 10 in the PRS finale were running a TT diamond. I am halfway convinced that they came out with the diamond to have a player in the trigger market north of 200 since we are a bunch of rich gear junkies in the PRS game lol; You know you looked at the TT diamond and its pretty shiny red housing and then the price and assumed it was better. I found both the special and the diamond very similar in terms of feel. The same frictionless travel, the same super crisp, clean break, the same trigger shoe dimensions overall. Now maybe my thoughts are a bit disillusioned since I ran a PVD curved on the special and a pro curved on the diamond. The pro trigger feels quite wide on the finger. It took me a while to get used to this, and I’m not sure that I ever really did. I think I found that my personal preference lies more in the mid range regarding the width of the trigger shoe. I sent the trigger to sheldon, who brought up a good point where he felt the flat trigger would assist him in more uniform, linear reward movement of the trigger shoe. Maybe my preference should tell me something about my rearward pull. The main difference in my mind was that I could get below 1 lb of pull weight with the diamond as opposed to the special. My finger could not feel the tactile difference in feel between the special and the diamond. I would assume it is worth the 100 dollar difference to some, but if you already have a TT special, don’t keep yourself up at night wondering on what you are missing out on with the diamond.
Price/value: 7
Availability: 7 - as of right now; I’m sure subject to change
Adjustability: 8
Reliability: 9
Crispiness: 9.5
Ergonomics: 9
Warranty/ CS: 10
Overall: 8.50
Pros:
Timney Calvin Elite:
I really like this trigger as well. I find the ergonomics to be very nice. It did feel a bit “off” when running a vertical grip on my MPA chassis, and I think the angle and set back of the trigger shoe is best for traditional rifle stocks or a pistol grip with a bit of angle to it. The trigger shoe is a nearly perfect balance of width in my finger. I find it to be very comfortable as it is very subtly curved on the edges of the trigger shoe. From the factory, this trigger has the most pre travel and a slight bit of over travel of all the single stage triggers I have used thus far. It’s not horrendous, but definitely noticeable. But its standout feature-set is its adjustability. You can adjust not only pull weights but also sear engagement and over travel engagement making it one of the more adjustable triggers akin to the jewell; However not externally adjustable which is a bit of a pain. This trigger has a good crisp break, not the most crisp, but solid. I think it is still a very good value option and one of the best in terms of adjustability.
Price/value: 8
Availability: 10
Adjustability: 9
Reliability: 9.5
Crispiness: 8
Ergonomics: 8
Warranty/ CS: 9
Overall: 8.79
Pros:
Timney 517/ 510:
This was one of my first Remington 700 triggers. I started with a flat blade variety (517) and then moved to a curved blade (510). I quickly found flat blade was not my cup of tea ( maybe this might change w/ different chassis options), but I did not find the 517 agreeable to my brain. The 510 was still just a bit wide for my finger and took a bit of getting used to. It is a more traditional trigger curve as well compared to the Calvin Elite. They have machined linear groves in the trigger shoes that feel a bit weird at first compared to a jewell. The biggest drawback of these is that you cannot get them low enough for most of our preference in pull weight. The 517/510 bottom out at 1.5 lbs; and I had to fiddle a bunch with sear engagement to maintain functionality to keep at this 1.5 lbs. pull. I am pretty happy right at 1 lbs for most applications, and found it to be a bit too much pull weight. The break was also the dirtiest of all the triggers I have tested with the most creep and ‘fuzziness’ regarding the actual break, but this is also the most cost conscious choice of any of the other options usually slightly over 100 dollars. If this trigger were on a rifle from the factory, I think it is ok to keep until you learn the rifle, but would not be my choice if I were choosing an aftermarket upgrade, just spend the extra few bucks for any of the other options here.
Price/value: 7
Availability: 10
Adjustability: 9
Reliability: 9
Crispiness: 5
Ergonomics: 6
Warranty/ CS: 9
Overall: 7.86
Pros:
So what’s my top choice of single stage trigger? Lol I don’t know yet. I wrote this musing not only for the community to narrow choices, but also for myself to try and help quantify what I want to stick with, but rest assured there will be more added to the series in the future. The only firm conclusion that I have come to thus for is that there is only good options in the aftermarket trigger game. I lean toward trigger tech on the whole, but subject to change.
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First, you must decipher whether you want a single stage vs. double stage trigger. I am a big fan of Rich over at accuracy tech- and I won’t recreate the wheel here, rather link his article to help decide. http://www.accuracy-tech.com/single-...stage-trigger/
Most options on the market are single stage for our precision rifles. There are not as many double stage triggers on the market at this time (most claim cost and pull weight and market demand as the reasons for this). Below is my trigger compendium and my own editorial on where they fell in my mind. I rate them in my opinion / scales, and would love to hear what you guys think. 1= BAD / 10 = PERFECT. To sum my opinions thus far, they are all good choices, no perfect choice and no wrong choice can be made out of these on the table. This is unfortunately not industry funded (how do I get on that list) ; just a dude who has trigger decision disorder.
Single Stage Options:
Jewell:
We have all felt a jewell. They are on your grandpappies 30-30, and they have been the de facto standard for years. I kind of miss the days where it was essentially a choice between a Timney or a Jewell. I started with a jewell, and still really enjoy the trigger. I personally think it is still a great option, but I think the market has and will continue to evolve moving forward with more options that are starting to crowd out its marketshare. It has the best adjustability of all triggers tested.
Price/value: 7
Availability: 9
Adjustability: 10
Reliability: 6
Crispiness: 8.5
Ergonomics: 8
Warranty/ CS: 7
Overall: 7.93
Pros:
- Old Stand by- plenty of availability from 3rd party distributors
- Crisp clean single stage break
- negligible pre travel/ over travel
- Externally adjustable pull weight
- adjustability king- able to adjust everything externally
- Trigger shoe shape fit my finger well but (see cons)
- decent value for the $
- Trigger shoe is quite narrow. (some might call it a pro- but I had to think more about precisely where my trigger finger fell on the trigger shoe when operating)
- Only option is in gray
- Just look them up on their website; oh they don’t have a website?
- Customer service stories are not very chipper - though I have not had to call them myself
- Reputation for being dirt sensitive (oh god, here they come)
Trigger tech Special:
I am a big fan of trigger tech. They are the newest player to the game regarding rifle trigger manufacturers, but they have some of the best innovation at the best price point hands down. I find the TT special to be a perfect marriage of price and functionality and feel. Probably my best recommendation to the average shooter. One of my favorite single stages I have tested thus far. I tested the PVD (black) curved trigger, and I think I actually prefer this to the pro curved version in the diamond in my finger. I would say the groves make for a bit more forgiveness in finger placement on the shoe.
Price/value: 10
Availability: 9
Adjustability: 8
Reliability: 9
Crispiness: 9.5
Ergonomics: 9
Warranty/ CS: 10
Overall: 9.21
Pros:
- Frictionless release, super smooth
- zero creep
- zero pre-travel/ negligible over travel
- Super crisp break - the snappiest break of any that I have tested
- externally adjustable pull weight
- fairly light pull weight- able to get it down to 1 lbs as advertised
- beautiful click adjustments for trigger weight
- available in black in flat or curved
- One of the best value for the $
- reliable and solid customer service
- cannot get sub 1 lb pull weight
- not as widely distributed thus far
- cannot adjust sear engagement/ over travel
Trigger tech Diamond:
I cannot overstate TT as a company. I think the proof is in the pudding also where the majority of the top 10 in the PRS finale were running a TT diamond. I am halfway convinced that they came out with the diamond to have a player in the trigger market north of 200 since we are a bunch of rich gear junkies in the PRS game lol; You know you looked at the TT diamond and its pretty shiny red housing and then the price and assumed it was better. I found both the special and the diamond very similar in terms of feel. The same frictionless travel, the same super crisp, clean break, the same trigger shoe dimensions overall. Now maybe my thoughts are a bit disillusioned since I ran a PVD curved on the special and a pro curved on the diamond. The pro trigger feels quite wide on the finger. It took me a while to get used to this, and I’m not sure that I ever really did. I think I found that my personal preference lies more in the mid range regarding the width of the trigger shoe. I sent the trigger to sheldon, who brought up a good point where he felt the flat trigger would assist him in more uniform, linear reward movement of the trigger shoe. Maybe my preference should tell me something about my rearward pull. The main difference in my mind was that I could get below 1 lb of pull weight with the diamond as opposed to the special. My finger could not feel the tactile difference in feel between the special and the diamond. I would assume it is worth the 100 dollar difference to some, but if you already have a TT special, don’t keep yourself up at night wondering on what you are missing out on with the diamond.
Price/value: 7
Availability: 7 - as of right now; I’m sure subject to change
Adjustability: 8
Reliability: 9
Crispiness: 9.5
Ergonomics: 9
Warranty/ CS: 10
Overall: 8.50
Pros:
- same as all the features on the special, but lower pull weights
- Mine was the pro curved trigger shoe- assisting with proper square rearward pull
- Very clean super crisp tactile trigger tech break
- Zero creep, zero pre travel
- Excellent ergonomics
- spendy
- red trigger housing might blow your tacticool status
- pro curved trigger shoe feels very wide under finger (see pros)
- Little bit difficult to get ahold of right now, but goes to speak for TT popularity
- Only pull weight adjustable - sear/ over travel are set from the factory
Timney Calvin Elite:
I really like this trigger as well. I find the ergonomics to be very nice. It did feel a bit “off” when running a vertical grip on my MPA chassis, and I think the angle and set back of the trigger shoe is best for traditional rifle stocks or a pistol grip with a bit of angle to it. The trigger shoe is a nearly perfect balance of width in my finger. I find it to be very comfortable as it is very subtly curved on the edges of the trigger shoe. From the factory, this trigger has the most pre travel and a slight bit of over travel of all the single stage triggers I have used thus far. It’s not horrendous, but definitely noticeable. But its standout feature-set is its adjustability. You can adjust not only pull weights but also sear engagement and over travel engagement making it one of the more adjustable triggers akin to the jewell; However not externally adjustable which is a bit of a pain. This trigger has a good crisp break, not the most crisp, but solid. I think it is still a very good value option and one of the best in terms of adjustability.
Price/value: 8
Availability: 10
Adjustability: 9
Reliability: 9.5
Crispiness: 8
Ergonomics: 8
Warranty/ CS: 9
Overall: 8.79
Pros:
- Clean crisp break
- probably one of the easiest to get a hold of
- very adjustable
- nice price point- street price usually lower than MSRP
- nice low pull weights if desired down to 8 oz
- very reliable
- good ergonomics - best set up in a stock in my opinion
- Not the cleanest break of triggers tested
- very adjustable, but not externally adjustable
- Yellow housing for sure hurts my operator status
- a bit much trigger shoe sweep when running a MPA vertical grip.
Timney 517/ 510:
This was one of my first Remington 700 triggers. I started with a flat blade variety (517) and then moved to a curved blade (510). I quickly found flat blade was not my cup of tea ( maybe this might change w/ different chassis options), but I did not find the 517 agreeable to my brain. The 510 was still just a bit wide for my finger and took a bit of getting used to. It is a more traditional trigger curve as well compared to the Calvin Elite. They have machined linear groves in the trigger shoes that feel a bit weird at first compared to a jewell. The biggest drawback of these is that you cannot get them low enough for most of our preference in pull weight. The 517/510 bottom out at 1.5 lbs; and I had to fiddle a bunch with sear engagement to maintain functionality to keep at this 1.5 lbs. pull. I am pretty happy right at 1 lbs for most applications, and found it to be a bit too much pull weight. The break was also the dirtiest of all the triggers I have tested with the most creep and ‘fuzziness’ regarding the actual break, but this is also the most cost conscious choice of any of the other options usually slightly over 100 dollars. If this trigger were on a rifle from the factory, I think it is ok to keep until you learn the rifle, but would not be my choice if I were choosing an aftermarket upgrade, just spend the extra few bucks for any of the other options here.
Price/value: 7
Availability: 10
Adjustability: 9
Reliability: 9
Crispiness: 5
Ergonomics: 6
Warranty/ CS: 9
Overall: 7.86
Pros:
- very adjustable
- cheapest; though I would not call it the best value
- available everywhere like the CE
- proven reliability
- available in black/ silver and flat/ curved
- Riding dirty (see above)
- pull weight only down to 1.5 lbs
- Trigger ergonomics were clunky on my finger
- Break is a bit mushy
- Trigger shoe ergonomics feel a bit less precise with the linear machined grooves
- same adjustability story- very adjustable, but not externally
So what’s my top choice of single stage trigger? Lol I don’t know yet. I wrote this musing not only for the community to narrow choices, but also for myself to try and help quantify what I want to stick with, but rest assured there will be more added to the series in the future. The only firm conclusion that I have come to thus for is that there is only good options in the aftermarket trigger game. I lean toward trigger tech on the whole, but subject to change.
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