Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats trigger pull weight

I have a question or six about trigger pull weight. I have several different rifles, most from different manufacturers (Ruger, Kimber, Savage, Remington and one Winchester). Nearly all of them have different trigger pull weights, creep, etc. Out of all of them, my Kimber 223 seems to be the best combination of factors- light, with no discernable creep. Needless to say, I shoot that rifle pretty well.

Lately, my preference in rifles has been running towards the Remington 700- I now have two, with a third on lay-away at the funstore. Someday, down the line, I'd like to pick up a 40x in the rimfire version (sort of an expensive, yet cheap to shoot practice rifle).

What I'd like to do is decide on a pull weight, and have as many of my guns adjusted to that condtion as possible, and the others as close as possible. My thinking is that the more consistant I can get with the rifle conditions, the better I will shoot. Eliminating a variable, so to speak.

To that end, I've begun putting aftermarket triggers into some of my guns. The savage got a Sharp Shooter Supply, one of my Rugers got a new Timney (the other is a V/T and there isn't a aftermarket availble for those yet, that I'm aware off). SSS lists their trigger as having a maximum pull weight of 2 lbs. The Timney is supposedly adjustabe from 1 1/2 to 4lbs.

Now, for the questions. There are several triggers availble for the Remington 700, of which most everyone suggests the Jewell (big, big $$s for these). Can these, or any other aftermarket units, be reliably set to the 2 lbs range? And stay safe? How about the Factory triggers? I assume they don't adjust well to that low of a weight without become "iffy"? How about the Winchester M70? I don't feel that comfortable setting my own triggers, is there someone reasonably priced that I can have this done by? Will I have to send the whole rifle in, or can they do it with just the trigger unit? I did the timney by the "bang it on the floor method" and it stays on safe, but I still don't have great confidence in my own work. The SSS trigger hasn't been adjusted from the factory setting, as I don't have a barrel on the gun yet.

While my rifles are shot mostly from the bench, most will see some field duty also. And I am aware enough that I'd warn anyone thinking of using my guns about the trigger pull conditions.

Alright, feel free to offer suggestions, and constructive criticism. Places to buy, who to contact, anything to help me out here would be appreciated.

Thanks,

CAL9

I set the trigger weight on my rifles depending on function: for the hunting rifles I follow Jeff Cooper and set them at 2.5 lbf (40 oz.).

I don't feel that shooters need to use only one weight of pull on their rifles.

If you are doing varmint work, folks usually go down in pull weight, say to the pound range.

Depending on the target regime, triggers can vary too. Some shooting sports have weight of pull restrictions, and you have to follow those. For benchrest use most of those triggers are running in the ounces range, but you need more than a little experience to run with those dogs. Off-hand triggers need light weight and some other characteristics.

The Jewell is just that. I was reading a Gun Test article that quoted an interview with the designer. It is all stainless steel, and has a range of springs that set range of pull desired (which is then adjusted). I don't own one of these, so you are on your own. I don't think you need a trigger of this quality just to bang away from the bench. How about a nice Shilen? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

You also don't need a 40XR to practice with a .22LR, unless you just want to acquire one (I have had 40 XBBR and 40X rifles). I think you could do very well with one of the Anchutz sporters. I had a Savage/Anchutz that was great, and I passed that one on to a relative. I shoot a Browning reproduction of the M52C Sporter now. The sights and the triggers are where you want to pay attention so that the training transfers from one discipline to another.

I don't trust the stock Remington trigger, so I replace or modify them.

jim

I agree that you do not need the same pull wieght on each rifle. On a hunting rifle to be used in cold weather I generally stay with 3-3 1/2 lbs. On one that will only see warm weather usage, you can go as low as safety permits altough even my .223 is only at about 3 lbs. Kind of thinking about changing that in the near future to get it down in the 1 1/2lb range.

Also keep in mind that different trigger shapes can make "perceived" pull wieght feel different. If you doubt that put a trigger shoe on a Remington 700 trigger without changing anything else. It can make a well adjusted 4lb trigger feel more like 3. At least to my little mind it does <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />, but it is subjective.

Dave.

I like around 2.5 lbs in my hunting rifles and 1.5 oz in my competition rifle.

I agree with Dave and Blaine.

In the cold, or in the mountains - "too light" can dangerous - or at least, unpredictable.

On the bench "too light" can be a pleasure.

I can and routinely do triggers to a pound on rifles, safely. Triggers are a bit of an obsession.
That said, on my own guns I like 2 on varmint rifles, and 4 on medium game i.e. deer type rifles. I like 3 on the TC handcannons I use on deer, 4 was just too heavy for getting a decent shot in uncomfortable rests.
2 is fine on my varmint rifles. I've used much lighter, but just see the need for it.
On the bench, I've never found one light enough <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I have to agree on the above. It depends where you're doing your hunting as to how you decide to set your trigger weight. If I was lucky enough to be hunting in places like California with Jim or Arizona with Blaine, hell, even with Brian in BC, I would have my triggers set lighter than I do up here in Inuvik. I've always thought that a properly tuned 5 lb trigger is perfect for big game hunting. As long as it's crisp I don't mind a heavy trigger. Granted this is not for gopher shooting or the like, but for the bulk of my hunting I'm out in the snow and eventually my fingers get a bit wooden. I like the touch of extra weight to make the trigger pull that much more "positive".

Now that being said, 4 or 5 isn't much of a difference. The best thing you can do is to have a rifle adjusted, shoot it, and if it's not right, get it adjusted again. It's your rifle so whether I like the trigger is totally irrelevant. Unless I have to borrow it on a hunt some time because mine got lost or broke. So don't get it set too heavy.