Combat trigger pull weight

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cowboy77845

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I have a couple of pistols I regularly carry. The trigger pull is ok but a friend of mine was dry firing and remarked that the pull was heavy. My thought is that I do not want a target trigger on a pistol I may have to use for self defense. What do you who are involved in serious social work think?
 
It's a matter of perspective. You didn't say what your guns are or what your friend is used to.

For instance, you may carry a Ruger GP100 or a Beretta 92FS with 10 lb(ish) double action trigger pulls, which may be perfectly manageable to you since you are used to them. On the other hand, your friend may carry a Wilson Combat 1911, or a Walther PPQ with a 4 or 5 lb(ish) single action or striker fired trigger pull. That's what he may be used to, so when he try's your DA trigger that is twice the weight, he may have trouble with it.
 
Most of the single action triggers in the safe are about 4.5-5 lbs pull which I find very manageable. Too light is no good for a carry pistol and if presented with the choice I'd go heavier before I went lighter. I DO like the Glock standard trigger on my new 17....has a distinct stop/wall which takes a couple pounds of additional pull to break. The G19 I had years ago was much lighter and the release indistinct during the pull which I never got along with. Trying to hit a moving target involves precise releasing of the shot and the only way I could accomplish that with the 19 was to stroke the trigger like a DA. This new 17 lets me preload against the stop then touch it off when desired which is much nicer.
 
My P2000 comes in around 6.5lbs and that's a good spot for a DAO pull. For a good stretch I carried my Wilson CQB Compact which is a 3.5lb SAO pull. That was also fine, but I stopped carrying that as it was a gun I don't want to donate to an evidence locker in the event of a defense shoot. My HK's are perfectly fine and easily enough replaced if need be.
 
What do you who are involved in serious social work think?
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I think trigger pull is an aid in accuracy. Guns in good mechanical condition go off because people pull the trigger. If one wishes to avoid AD or ND situations maintain trigger pulls that are not lower than the minimum allowed in target sports safety rules. For example the minimum trigger pull allowed for .45 ACP in Bullseye competition is 3.5 lb's. .38's and 9mm is 2.5 lb. One should have a safe trigger pull they are comfortable handling but should develop proper safety habits and keep their finger off the bang switch until they want to fire rather placing their finger on the trigger and expect a heavy trigger pull will prevent an unintentional discharge. If you observe the police covering potential dangerous felons or searching for criminals in buildings in the Cop shows you see that they keep their trigger finger outside the trigger guard.
'
 
There is also length and smoothness. If a trigger pull is smooth and short, it can be a little "heavy" and that doesn't bother me at all. A longer, grittier trigger may be harder for me to fire accurately, even though the weight of the pull is actually less.
 
I like smooth pressing triggers without much of a “wall” to overcome. 4-8 lbs.
 
Personally I find any trigger that is smooth and the action within reason to be easily learned with mind, memory muscle. I have a LCR9mm revolver that I have really come to like to shoot. In fact it is what I call a fun gun. I shoot about 200 rds a session. I have really adjusted to the short barrel double action over the past three years. The thing is, I think everyone should get a short barrel snubbie. I believe they make you a better overall shooter. I also think people focus too much on triggers. Yes, they are important, but training with the trigger you have, and frequency of training is more important. Get use to the gun you carry until the trigger and you become natural together. And all the talk about super short resets. I never ride a reset on any gun. Especially since i shoot more than one gun. I do not want to have to learn each guns reset and do not care to.
And then there is the debatable safety issue. I an on the side that believes that anyone under high intense stress will do a "trigger check" and it is also a fact that all the small muscles and nerves in the body and fingers will naturally tighten. A little longer pull and a little extra weight might just save a life. Light short crisp triggers, well, just not for me, and they will do nothing to make me a better shooter.
 
Jeb Stuart said:
I also think people focus too much on triggers. Yes, they are important, but training with the trigger you have, and frequency of training is more important. Get use(d)[sic] to the gun you carry until the trigger and you become natural together.
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Very sage advice. A good shooter should be able to shoot a bad trigger reasonably well, whereas the finest trigger job in the world doesn't help a poor shooter all that much.
 
entropy said:
Very sage advice. A good shooter should be able to shoot a bad trigger reasonably well, whereas the finest trigger job in the world doesn't help a poor shooter all that much.
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I certainly agree that a good shooter should be able to shoot a bad trigger reasonably well. I would add that a great shooter will be able to shoot reasonably well with a crap trigger. But a good trigger helps everyone. The smoother and lighter the trigger the easier the gun it to shoot well. The person that benefits most from a better trigger is the guy that has problems in other areas, like grip or trigger control. Guys like me.
 
rskent said:
I certainly agree that a good shooter should be able to shoot a bad trigger reasonably well. I would add that a great shooter will be able to shoot reasonably well with a crap trigger. But a good trigger helps everyone. The smoother and lighter the trigger the easier the gun it to shoot well. The person that benefits most from a better trigger is the guy that has problems in other areas, like grip or trigger control. Guys like me.
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You are clearly saying A BAD trigger. I have number of triggers on my guns and the double action and the stronger pull weights are NOT bad. On the contrary. They are great triggers. And great triggers for defensive CCW guns. Say what you want, but I can shoot a heavier trigger as good or better than a Light Crisp trigger on defensive carry guns. Not sure what your meaning was. But just wanted to clarify for the record. And yes, once again, if strictly Target Bullseye Precision shooting is what I am going after, than yes the light trigger is what I want. And sadly, so many CCW owners shoot there small Carry guns as if they are Target pistols which they are clearly NOT. I personally believe that is why the internet is so full of advertising the Light Crisp Triggers in their ads.So many thousands of new shooters that have never owned a gun and or do not train much to begin with.

Yes I agree with you, a smooth trigger, but for sure not entirely lighter, if that were the case we would all be going after triggers that are in the ounces. And yes, I have shot target guns like that.
 
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What I am saying is that a lighter smoother trigger on any gun makes it easier to hit what you are aiming at, period.

I am not suggesting that you, me, or anyone else should have a light trigger on a defensive gun
 
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