Triggers: How light is 1.5oz?

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daniyool

Inactive
I realize this may be a bad question, but I'm going to ask anyway because I'm desperate for help. How light is a 1.5oz trigger? What does it feel like? Is it so light that even a slight touch will set it off? And how about a 3oz or even a 1.5lb trigger? Thank you for taking your time to answer!

Ps.I'm looking into the jewell BR or HVR for punching paper with a remington 700.
 
Most hunting triggers are 4 lbs. 1.5 oz. is dangerous and you couldn't even feel it. 3 lbs. is the lightest anyone should go on a hunting rifle. Target rifles are set pretty light sometimes but more like a 1 lb. or so?
 
While a 1.5 oz trigger pull might be useful in a benchrest rifle setup, it is dangerous on ANY firearm which is mobile and might not always be pointed downrange while loaded. This light weight is easily set off accidentally by the touch of a glove or any article which might come in contact with it during handling. In addition, the negligible amount of sear contact is much more likely to allow disengagement(firing) when bumped or jarred.
I've used a couple of rifles with much too light trigger pulls and both fired accidentally while hunting with gloves on. No one hurt, just a wasted shot that scared the deer simply because I knew there might be a problem and took precautions(but didn't take the time to remove my glove, ooopps).
 
I don't think I could use anything lighter than 8oz. I can't feel it without setting the gun off.

I really think the ideal trigger would be something like the accutrigger with a 4 - 6 oz first stage and like an 8oz second stage.

I think with the length of the 1st stage, you could feel it and then the 2nd stage would release with just a slight pull.

I say that but my Savage has a 2lb 2nd stage and has never been the blame for a miss that I know of.
 
A guy at our club had a 6mm rifle for bench rest shooting. He had an uber fancy rest too. The rifle had a 2 oz. trigger. He let me shoot it and told me not to put my hand near the trigger guard until the cross hairs were on target (totally controlled by mechanical adjustment of the rest). When it was on target I put my finger on the trigger and it went off. I don't recall really putting pressure or feeling it break.

By the way the bullet went EXACTLY where the crosshairs were(100 yds)

Neat I guess but totally dangerous for any other kind of shooting.

Mark
 
Neat I guess but totally dangerous for any other kind of shooting.
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Correct. Bench rifles have the advantage of being shot from just there - a bench. The way in which you use them doesn't necessitate toting it around loaded.
 
I have a Jewel BR that is set at 2oz. This rifle is only ever shot off a bench. I love the trigger but I would never ever have one so light on a field rifle. The position of your hand will also effect the perceived weight of the trigger pull. Almost all of my guns that don't live on the bench have triggers of 3-5lbs.
 
The Jewell BR ( Competition) trigger isn't set up for bolt release or saftey it's more for Benchrest style shooting.

I have some of them and others(Shilen2oz/Rem 2oz) on my target/varmint rifles were saftey or bolt release isn't needed. I like then between 1/2oz to 1oz on a good rest. If you get the varmint one with bolt release and saftey it's a good trigger but if you change springs and get it down to the oz pull weight it's not as smooth as the BR one. I put the varmint one on my 243AI and I did the bottom safety it's a walk around varmint rifle.

One problem shooting the light oz triggers and then you get use to them and you'll find a 1lb trigger going to be heavy. one of the rules at BR match short yardage 6ppc when you have cease fire you remove the bolt and it stays out till the next relay and the rifles are not set up for saftey or bolt release and actions are glued in.
 
ounces

I have two rifles and one pistol that have two ounce triggers. The rifles are both used in Smallbore Prone match shooting. They take some learning to use.... You keep your finger away from the trigger until your sight picture is perfect. Actually, the triggers are two stages..... The second stage lets off at two oz.
The pistol, called a "free pistol" is used for Olympic style precision shooting. It has a set trigger and the gun is fired by allowing the trigger finger to relax and curl into a neutral position on the trigger. That is enough to fire the gun .
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I have my target rifle set at 12 ozs. Last year I sighted in 3 rifles for friends at work. After sighting in there rifles I pulled mine out. What i found was what appeared to me as just resting my finger on the trigger of my rifle it went off. To sum it up. If it is a bench rest rifle you are ok, Other than that you have a very dangrous situation on your hands.
 
I have a single shot 308 that someone done some trigger work on...it's no where near 1.5oz but it's way lighter than my 2# ruger 10/22. On several occasions I've accidently discharged it when shooting from the bench.

I bought it to deer hunt with but it's way to light for that.
 
The (Jard) trigger on my Ruger M77 204 is 13 ounces. The first time many people shoot it, it goes off as soon as they settle in, even when I warn them.

13 ounces is far lighter than most people have ever seen and it's nearly 10 TIMES heavier than 1.5oz.

I would venture to say that most shooters would not recognize that they had even touched a 1.5oz trigger when the gun discharged.
 
My CZ 527 has a single set trigger. The regular trigger is at 3lb. the set trigger is at about 8oz. when you can just feel the trigger It's going off. My CZ 452 .22lr has a AS I have It set to 20oz. 1.5oz is bad news for any rifle short of a real bench rifle.
 
To a guy who would pose a question as was posed by the OP, I'd hazard a guess that he'd find a 2# trigger to be really light and just right. :)
 
To try to put it into perspective as to how light 1.5 oz is, measure out 2 tablespoons of water and put it in a medium sized balloon. That is about 1.5 oz (1 oz of water and approximately .5 oz. for the balloon). Put a little air in it - not enough to make it expand all the way, but enough to make it firm to the touch. Suspend the balloon from a srting and wait for it to become still. Use your trigger finger to touch the bottom of the balloon. If it moves, the gun just went off.
 
Definitely 1.5 oz's is crazy light, (not for the BR rifle )in just a target rifle, I set my Timney's at 2.5 lbs and that setting is wonderful for targets, I seldomly squeeze the sights off my target. But every trigger setting is different and needs to be practiced with.
And to each his own, some of these replies seem to be more PC than instructional.:rolleyes: no need for Kneejerk reactions until the OP says he's been hunting your neck of the woods with a 300 megamag with a fifty rnd magazine and a two oz trigger!!!;)
 
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My rifle is at 1lb i hunt, shoot targets, and will eventually compete with it. For comp i will move it to 2-2.5lbs. But for hunting and target purposes 1lb is fine for me.

Anything below a pound i don't care for.
 
I have a trigger set at 28 ounces on a hunting rifle, I use it for long range shots and am very familiar with it. I would not go any lighter on a hunting rifle. On a target rifle, go as light as you want, but don't chamber a round til you're pointed down range. A good crisp trigger will do more good than a light, creepy trigger....
 
Uber light triggers are ok for bench guns, and possbily some varmint situations, but extremely dangerous in most other situations.

Consider, what's great for tiny groups on the range in shirtsleeve weather is a really bad idea when its 37 degrees, and you've been out for 5 hours. Under a pound? You probably wouldn't even feel your finger on the trigger before you set it off in a situation like that. And gloves? Warm(ish) fingers, and no feel for a light trigger. Same result, and most likely, a miss, or worse, a biad hit, in the field.

You can't even get a super light trigger on a semi auto, the action of the mechanism will jar it off!

The idea of a set trigger is still good, a standard weight trigger for carry, and snap shooting, and a very light set trigger, for when you are in a stable position and can use it. An ultra light trigger, all the time, seriously limits the safe usefulness of your rifle.
 
WOW everyone... Thank you so much for all your insightful replies. I have honestly learned so much just from reading these posts. I realize now just how light a 1.5oz is. Although I would like a lighter trigger, anything that light just seems a bit extreme. Since I normally shoot with a glove on, I think something around 16oz (1lb) would work better for me... Maybe even a bit heavier. And since the Jewell BR doesn't go higher than 3oz, I'll probably have to choose a different trigger. Feel free to correct me on anything or chime in with any suggestions, everyone. Thank you all so much again!



hooligan1 - Don't worry, I will never take this rifle hunting in your neck of the woods. :p In all seriousness, I never use this rifle for anything other than benchrest range shooting, so no need to worry about the danger. :cool:
 
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