triggers

[Guest hyperion]

im posting this in the firearms section as although im an airgunner and not an f.a.c holder (yet) the idea for this post comes from two experiences ive had with firearms and their owners!, although id like to include air gun users in this post too!

 

its not with out some treppidation that im posting this so please bare with me on this one, and i hope that the people involved and every one else will realise im not having a go at any one in peticular or people who use firearms in general, rather that im sharing my experiences in the hope of gaining some extra knowledge!

 

the first comes from my shooting buddy who's been a f.a.c holder since his teens and some one who has my total trust as a safe and experienced shot!

 

we had been out shooting rabbits with the air guns and at the end of the session, not having used one before i asked if i could try my mates HW100 out!

passing it to me, after showing me the gun was unloaded and safe, he warned "be carefull its got a very light trigger", with this in mind i got myself settled and set up to take the first shot!

 

which went off as soon as i put my finger inside the trigger guard, or so it seemed to me!, i hadnt even felt my finger come into contact with the trigger let alone felt any pull or "feed back" from it!, after a few shots i settled into a rythem and shot fairly well even though for the most part i had little or no idea when the shot was going to go off!

 

the upshot of our conversation afterward was that the trigger on his HW100 was set light as it was what he was used to with his fullbore rifles that he uses to shoot targets with!

 

then last night im out lamping foxes with the chap who has the farm next door to my permission, we didnt see any thing worth a shot an at the end of the night he offered to let me have a shot with his .308!

 

be rude not to really!, so we got set up on a small rise over looking a patch of dead ground where it would be safe for me to take a shot!

 

"carefull with the trigger its really light!"

 

after been shown where the safety was and that the chamber was empty i settled the rifle in my shoulder and looked through the scope at the small clump of gorse id chosen for my target!

 

after making sure i was happy and that the shot was safe i cycled the bolt and realined my self with the scope, flicked the safety forward and slid my finger into the trigger guardWHOOMPH!

 

again id no idea that id even touched the trigger and was totally unready to let off the shot and had no idea where it had gone other than it had slammed into the ground some where at the bottom of the dip!

 

although firing a .308 for the first time was amazing and ive just got to do it again some time soon i decided not to have another shot as i didnt feel confident with such an unfamilliar set up, as both the two stage triggers on my air rifles still being set at "factory safe" im used to a first and second pull and a slight increase in pressure to let the shot off and being able to "feel" the shot if you like!, so im not sure if its the norm on fullbore weapons to have a very light trigger or if its me being ham fisted!

 

the questions id like to ask every one is this.......

 

is it common to have a very light trigger set up on firearms or is it down to personal prefference? (and if so what sort of pull weight do you prefer?)

 

and

 

when does a light trigger become an unsafe one?

 

cheers

hyperion

Edited April 27, 2009 by hyperion

[camies 1]

I used to shoot fullbore target and there was a limit on how light the trigger pressure was for safety grounds.

 

Generally modern high end rifles tune down to round 1 1/2lbs trigger SAFELY but I've known one or two to randomly loose off a round when banged round a bit at that setting.

 

Unless there is a negligent discharge which causes harm, the rifle is unlikely to be tested by the police labs though.

 

PCP airguns tend to be set at lighter trigger pressures than springers because most of the springer trigger's (sears) need plenty of back pressure to avoid random discharges.

 

As for what setting, seems that anything goes and it's personal preference.

Edited April 27, 2009 by camies

[SNAP SHOT 194]

In most hunting rifles the norm would be around 2lbs.... anything lighter in most rifles used for hunting purposes are unsafe as far as i'm concerned,

 

i've seen light set triggers go off with the person not knowing where the POI was going to be, or they simply were'nt ready for the shot when it went off.

 

to me these are dangerous in any hunting enviroment,

 

range work i've seen triggers set in ounces.... but there not to my liking.....

 

 

Common sense says to adjust the trigger so that the shooter has total control, and not a guesstimate of when the shoot will go....

 

 

 

 

hope this helps.

 

snap.

[Country Life 0]

I would ternd to agree with this one..

 

I shoot .22lr in comps, the average trigger pull tends to be about 2onz.

Moving up to cntr fire this seams to increase up to an average of 2lb, this as would the magazines put it, "a good pull, not heavey nor too light".

 

A heavy triger will only pull the rifle off target, right handed people will pull shots to the right, as left will pull to the left.

 

at 25m I shoot prone with .22lr Walther KK Match, at that distance the differance from hitting the BULL and missing the entire target is about 0.01 deg of movement at the muzzel.

 

With cnt fire rifles TARGET SHOOTING are also set light, but out hunting the pull goes up to about 2lb maybe a tad lighter, this is because of a safety aspect, walking,crawling,climbing etc are all good reasons to have a moderate trigger pull. you can not always relay on a "safety catch".

 

As mentioned before banging the rifle on the butt does and can fire the rifle, trigger quality is also an issue. But there again your finger should not be near the trigger untill you are absolutly going to take the shot.

 

on the range, yes a light trigger will be god send.

out in the field, a heavier pull is much safer.

 

John

[Effortless 0]

Well,

 

I got into shooting from target shooting, so I'm used to light triggers. However, as camies said, there is a lower limit for fullbore target rifles, which is quite heavy by smallbore standards.

 

I bought a new CZ Varmint in 22LR, and was appalled at the out-of-the-box trigger... massively heavy and loads of creep. I bought the Brookes trigger kit, and used the lightest spring with the thickest sleeve, and it has made a vast improvement. There is still a slight trace of creep, but the trigger is now leagues better.

 

As regards safety, the main concern is a negligent discharge if the firearm is knocked or dropped. If you do modify trigger pressures, YOU MUST TEST THE FIREARM ON AN EMPTY CHAMBER. It is difficult to replicate real-world, all-scenarios, but a few well-placed non-damaging wallops in different directions should give you an indication of safety.

 

Sadly I don't have any quantitative figures for you, but if I can find a spring balance I will measure all my rifles and PM you with the results.

 

Hope this helps,

Effortless.

[Guest hyperion]

interesting replys guys!

 

for me its more about being aware of when the shot is going to go off!, althouth safety is just as important!

 

having possitive feel in the trigger, knowing/feeling just how much pressure it takes to break the seer engagement is how i know my shots with the air rifle are good, if that makes any kind of sense!

 

cheers

hyperion

[RogueTrooper 0]

Point is you know now.

Next time ( trust there will be ), make double sure your weapon and gun hangling is spot on.

 

better still make the shot count

 

Be good

[Guest hyperion]

Point is you know now.

Next time ( trust there will be ), make double sure your weapon and gun hangling is spot on.

 

better still make the shot count

 

Be good

 

 

guess the best way to do that is apply for my fac and get practicing!

 

cheers

hyperion

[jamie g 17]

i have a jewell and its factory set at a 1lb it is very light but safe. it could go lower but im not a target shooter. in my eyes anything under a 1lb is two light for a hunting rifle.