Determining Trigger Pull weight.....

[Dave McC]

Via E mail, someone asked me about how to determine pull weight w/o buying a costly tool only needed every other leap year or so. This method isn't my invention, and has been around for quite a while. You need....

A piece of coat hanger wire.

A gallon milk jug or similar container.

Possibly a funnel.

And a kitchen scale that weighs up to ten lbs.

First, make sure the shotgun is UNLOADED, and leave the room where the ammo's kept.

Second, bend the wire into an S shape.

Third,recheck for an UNLOADED condition and place the shotgun butt on a table top at the edge.Hang the wire over the trigger,hang the jug from the wire so it's dangling over the edge and start filling the jug with water, sugar, dry beans, spent primers,lead shot or other pourable weight. Do so slowly, so that once the trigger snaps, you can stop the pour immediately.

Next, weigh the whole shebang,wire,jug,weight on the scale and see what it is. Repeat a few times and take an average.

Ideally, your trigger will be clean and crisp, and under 5 lbs, under 4 is better.

HTH, and if there's questions, sing out...

 

[UK2TX]

Hello Dave McC,

Most household scales are way of the mark, if you'll excuse the pun. I use the same method you suggested except I then take the bottle to the local post office and weight it there, a much more accurate scale than I'm willing to buy.

Regards,

UK2TX

 

[Dave McC]

Mrs McC says the 5 lb scale here is within 1% of actual weight, tested with the same weights used by the Gummint. She had taken it in to the deli she worked at and compared it with a certified scale.

Mrs McC is the finest cook I ever emt, and takes the same pains with her gadgetry I do with shorguns and so on.Some might say she's downright finicky.

However, there are other scales that might not be that exact.We're seeking approzimates here, so an oz or two off shouldn't be considered egregious.

HTH...