Triggers: How light is 1.5oz?

I consider 1 pound to be excellent for a bench/varmint gun. Might be rough with gloves though. I don't use less than about 3 pounds for trekking through the woods with gloves on type guns.
 
My Savage has what it says to be a 1.5 pound trigger. After a year, and half of shooting it. (Close to 12 thousand rounds.) A friend used a trigger pull gauge on it. It measured at 1 pound even. Everyone else that has shot it says it so light they expected to feel slack when it went bang. It is in my book just right for me, and what I use it for.
 
I have a 3lb trigger on one of my ARs. All the rest are either 5lb or mil-spec with the FCG surfaces stoned a bit to make them cleaner - not as gritty.

The 3lb trigger seems almost too light for most people to shoot safely. I get a lot of people who get behind that gun to shoot it and have an AD because they weren't ready for it to go bang so soon.

I find a 3lb trigger just fine for me. I can still manage good tight groups with that gun but I know it won't go off when I put my finger on it.

That happened to me when I was shooting a friend's Thompson's Contender. He had a trigger job done on it by a professional gunsmith and as a result had a 1lb trigger on it. He'd lent it to me to hunt with since I'd wanted to hunt with a handgun but didn't have anything at the time to hunt deer with in a handgun. I saw the deer, put the crosshairs on the deer and put my gloved finger on the trigger. BANG! I never consciously squeezed the trigger. Just putting my finger on it set it off. I DID get the deer but only because I'd already had the sight picture what I wanted it to be before I put my finger on the trigger. That's a 1lb trigger - 16oz!

I couldn't even imagine what would happen with a 1.5oz trigger. Definitely what I'd consider unsafe for the woods and even the range unless you're a highly experienced target shooter.
 
Just ordered the Jewell HVR through my local gunsmith, and asked him to set it for 1lb. I can't wait to try it out! Thanks to everyone again for all your tremendous help!! :)
 
I have a 2oz. trigger on a bench rifle. I don't "pull" the trigger, I rest my finger on the trigger guard and when ready to shoot just slide it back and brush the side of trigger (bang). This particular rifle also has no safety. :eek:

I'd be stupid to close the bolt anywhere but on a bench while pointing at the target.
 
I have a couple of Jewell triggers. The one on my Finnfire .22 LR is set at 1.49 ounces according to my Lyman digital gauge. It's precise and accurate. By changing to one of the other 2 springs that came with it, and turning a screw, it will adjust up to 4.5 pounds.

1.5 ounces means you can sort of tap on the trigger with a cigarette and make it fire. It's safe, predictable, consistent and a joy to shoot. They're a work of art.

www.ada.ru/guns/remington/jewell/manual_en.htm

John
 
I have found that super light triggers don't necessarily improve my target scores. I'll take a 1.5 pound trigger with a crisp, consistant, creep free release and zero backlash over a crappy 1.5 ounce trigger any day.
 
Just ordered the Jewell HVR through my local gunsmith, and asked him to set it for 1lb. I can't wait to try it out! Thanks to everyone again for all your tremendous help!!
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I have used the same Jewell on several Model 700s for the last 15 years or so. For pure target benchrest I could not ask for a finer trigger. Mine is set around the 3 oz range.

I'll take a 1.5 pound trigger with a crisp, consistant, creep free release and zero backlash over a crappy 1.5 ounce trigger any day.
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Same here , but there is no reason why a trigger adjusted to 1.5 oz cannot meet those requirements.
 
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I'm sure a 1.5 ounce trigger can crisp and creep free. I'm just saying that a super light release is not the be all and end all of a fine target trigger.
 
Too light for safety unless you are in a protected environment without anyone else around....guess unless it is a single action revolvler. That's why mussel loaders had two triggers, one to set the action and the other to "tap". Since we are never to put our trigger finger on the trigger until we're ready to fire, a slight of hand will send the bullet especially when there is a stress in the shooter!
 
I started with 4.5 pound service rifle triggers, got used to them.

My match rifle, I found that if I went below 1.5 pounds I would trip the trigger in rapid fire, working the bolt and getting my finger in the trigger guard.

So I thought 1.5 pounds was ultra light. For a centerfire match rifle. Of course I was shooting the thing standing, sitting, prone rapid fire, prone slow fire.

Started shooting small bore prone with a 1.0 pound trigger. That seemed unreal light, had to work on approaching the trigger and not tripping it by bumping.

Now I am working on a five ounce trigger. Actually I have not weighed this Anschutz trigger, it is supposed to be a maximum of five ounces and I have tightened it up to max. You don't touch the thing till you are all aligned on target because it will go off. I only shoot the thing in a slung prone position, and when I am position: everything is set, elbow on ground, buttplate in shoulder, stock weld set, nothing but the trigger finger is moving at the end. I have to be real careful when approaching this trigger.

I found very early not to put the finger in the trigger guard as I roll into position. Used to do that with the one pounder, load, set that elbow, roll into position, finger in trigger guard. Hooked that finger in the trigger guard with the five ounce trigger and it went off a couple of times.

I suppose there are people who shoot 1.5 ounce triggers, I don't know how they feel the things.
 
My advice is to learn to shoot a "normal" trigger well. 3-4 pounds is plenty light to shoot very accurately. Unless you're a bench rest shooter and then the rifle too will very likely be specialized for that purpose as well.
 
I dont know about "breaking thru the woods" with anykind of a trigger...

Dont those guns have safeties?? They should be one except when preparing to shoot and dont put the 'finger on the trigger'(or in the trigger guard) until ready to shoot.

1.5 oz is for BR..

From post #25--you did it just right. I dont know when the safety was moved to FIRE??

That happened to me when I was shooting a friend's Thompson's Contender. He had a trigger job done on it by a professional gunsmith and as a result had a 1lb trigger on it. He'd lent it to me to hunt with since I'd wanted to hunt with a handgun but didn't have anything at the time to hunt deer with in a handgun. I saw the deer, put the crosshairs on the deer and put my gloved finger on the trigger. BANG! I never consciously squeezed the trigger. Just putting my finger on it set it off. I DID get the deer but only because I'd already had the sight picture what I wanted it to be before I put my finger on the trigger. That's a 1lb trigger - 16oz!
 
Shooting with gloves....

In my opinion, if you are wearing gloves (even the thinnest possible) anything with less than a 1lb trigger pull is stupid. And using less than a 3lb with gloves is still begging for an AD, with missed, or worse, wounded game as a result.

No glove is as sensitive as your skin. You have to put pressure on the surface with a glove before you get the tactile feedback to your finger, and that pressure is enough to fire an uber light trigger.

Even your bare finger can get numb from cold, and do the same thing with an uber light trigger pull. Guns with less than 3lb pulls are for warm days and benchrests, not game hunting in the northern half of the country during deer season.

I've got a custom .25-06 with a 38oz trigger. The gun is a medium varminter (no heavy barrel). Its great for long range varmints in spring, summer, even autum, but its not a stalking rifle, and in winter, it stays home.

I have a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt that after being worked on, turned out to have a 12oz trigger. Great gun, been shooting it nearly 30 years. Never had any trouble, but that gun goes off when you think about it. You don't even realize you are pulling the trigger! No one but myself ever uses that gun afield, though I have let a few shooting friends try it on the range, but not without several rounds of dry fire practice first! And they still get "surprised" at least once. fortunately, the single action means its not totally unsafe, in the hands of a skilled operator.

We tend to get focused on how light a trigger is, when what is most important is how smooth it is. I have known several rifles that shot great groups, and who's triggers,when scaled ran in the 4-8lbs range. But they were absolutely flawless, no creep, no overtravel, no backlash, just a smooth clean pull. That is what really matters for accuracy, not the weight alone.
 
I think I may be one of the only Shooters that likes a heavy two stage trigger. The Super Light trigers that I have tried in the past cause me to miss more than a slow deliberate trigger. I really like all the take up, that most shooters complain about. I cringe when I think about anyone taking a file to a trigger or modifying it in any way. :mad:
 
I have a 1.5 pound Timney in my Remington 700 .308, which IS A TARGET RIFLE, AND IS PERFECTLY SAFE!!

My thoughts on the 1.5 OUNCE weight is too light. I like to have enough weight in the trigger pull to be able to feel the edge of the trigger as I place my finger there ready to go. Not really a take up, but same idea in my head. I shoot this method better than having my finger a hair off the trigger. To all you "that's not safers's, this is only done when the scope is on target, and I am ready to fire. NEVER before that.

Biggest thing is learning you equipment, and being disciplined with it to the point that you KNOW when the trigger will break. My M1 Garand is a good example. There is a good takeup in the trigger. I will take up the slack once on target. Hold there until the breathing is correct, and fire from there. Can I do just fine taking up the slack and firing in one motion, sure, but this is meant to be an analogy.
 
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