I’ve been doing a lot of dry fire lately. Today I pulled all my AR’s out of the safe and did some comparing. I tried them in the receivers they were installed in, and I also swapped some, but not all into a Larue trigger jig. Some of you may remember that I did some inquiring about different two stage triggers a couple years ago. At that time, I had tried other AR triggers, but had not REALLY gotten nerdy about them. Well, I bought a few since then. So I thought I would share my thoughts with y’all.
Disclaimer: All of these triggers were lubed with grease. All of these triggers are adequate for duty, home defense, etc, in my opinion. I also use them in competition, although there are better choices for that. So when I say that one has some overtravel, or some creep, realize that that is not a bad thing, and its all relative. Also, when I mention those things, its entirely subjective; I attempted to measure this, but I found that I could not do so consistently.
ALG ACT: A few short years ago, I really didn’t care about triggers very much. Or rifles, really. This trigger did everything I needed. Reliable, safe, and training translates well to standard .gov weapons. The one that I still have breaks at an average of 7.25lbs, and has a little grit in comparison to some of the other triggers in this post. It is smoother than most “mil-spec” triggers, and is very inexpensive. The travel (creep) is not very long and it has very little overtravel, close to zero. This trigger is fast. Edit: mixing and matching (ALG ACT?) NP3 hammers and rando phosphate triggers from my spare parts drawer, selecting for smoothness of the sear surfaces, and using calipers to find the thinnest standard strength springs in my collections, I was able to get one together that is buttery smooth. I put it together in my Larue trigger jig, and transplanted into my 605 not-clone, where I measured the greased pull weights at 6.5lbs and very consistent.
Hiperfire EDT: I have 3 of these; two EDT 2 and a EDT Heavy Gunner. With the light spring, they average 4.2lbs and with the heavy spring, they average 5.2lbs. I prefer the heavy spring. They have some creep, but its smooth, not gritty at all. Two of the three triggers have noticeable (in dry fire; I don’t notice it in live fire) overtravel, more than the ALG, again, not a bad thing. The EDT2 that is installed in my M&P 15-22 seems to have minimal or no overtravel. I suspect there is some tolerance stacking with the non-standard plastic receiver.
Sionics Enhanced Two Stage: I’ve got two of these. With the springs that it came with, the first stage is 1.75lbs and the total is 4.25lbs, 10 pull average. With a Larue heavy trigger spring, I get 2.5lbs and 4.75lbs total. You’ll see a theme here with these weights with the other two stage triggers. The pull is smooth and has about the same overtravel as the Larue, or at least the second one I bought. The first Sionics trigger I bought has very little overtravel. The Larue and Sionics triggers have the most overtravel of my two stage collection. For the third time, not a bad thing, and its relative. This trigger looks like it has copied some aspects of the Larue, and they feel rather similar. Or, more likely, they both copied the same features from another trigger; there’s only so many ways to skin this cat. In another thread, I have said that it resets to the beginning of the second stage, so you get a shorter pull on follow ups. Thats not really true. As I do more dry fire, I have discerned that the first Sionics trigger I bought resets with just a ****hair of the first stage to pull through. The second one I bought resets very near the beginning of the first stage, just like the rest of my two stage triggers. The first one also has very little overtravel. Its a very fast trigger. Maybe its a difference in the receivers. Skip to the last page here: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?209487-Sionics-Enhanced-2-Stage-Trigger/page7&highlight=Sionics%20two%20stage
Larue MBT-2s: Average pull weight is 2.5lbs for the first stage and 4.75lbs total, with the heavier spring. Very smooth, with a very crisp break. Its got a good bit of overtravel. A lot of people talk about how wide the trigger face is, but its really not. Compared to the other triggers here, it is 0-0.03” wider. It feels as wide as it does because there is very little radius at the edges, and it is cut rather square. The Wilson, in comparison, probably has the narrowest feel. On the install, the Larue is cool in that it has a separate disconnector pin, so thats captured. Also, it comes with two trigger springs, and I prefer the heavier one, which I am likely to use with my Sionics triggers, also. I just ordered a few spare heavy springs.
G SSA: The most frequently recommended trigger in internet history. Mine measures 2.5lbs in the first stage and 4.75lbs total, on average. See the theme here? It does nothing badly, and is pretty much the average of these other triggers. It is smooth, and breaks nicely enough. It has some overtravel, just slightly more than the Wilson TTU. About the same as my first Sionics Enhanced Two Stage. Its also the most expensive trigger here, and I’m not convinced it should be. Its a well known quantity here, and is thought to be safe and reliable, so there’s that. The SSA is a really solid $100 trigger, and even at that price, I’m not sure it would top my list. I guess what I’m getting at, is that its pretty average, but has a very exceptional price. Swapping in a LaRue HD trigger spring makes it 3 and 5 lbs.
Wilson TTU “Paul Howe”: Of my two stage triggers, it feels like it has the shortest travel and least overtravel. I would like to say that its my fastest two stage trigger, but I can’t prove that with the timer, because the only times I have live fired it, I did not have any other rifle with me, and it has a different muzzle device. It would make sense that it has less travel, because the cassette design makes it independent of the tolerances of varying receivers. It has the crispest, lightest feeling break in this lineup, although the measured weight does not really prove exceptional. Its just really smooth, crisp, and short. I have also shot a buddy’s rifle with one of these, and was equally impressed. Edit to add pull weight: after very much use, this trigger measures 2.25lb in the first stage, and breaks at 4lbs.
I also tried out the springs that came in some inconel lower spring kits (bought separately) on a couple of these triggers. They resulted in reduced pull weight on both single and two stage triggers. This implies that they are weaker, so I do not recommend them in the trigger. They are still working well for detents.
If I had to make recommendations based on all of this, for duty or defensive use: If single stage is desired, the Hiperfire EDT 2 is pretty good; maybe the best aftermarket single stage for duty. For two stage, Sionics and Larue both work. The Sionics may be less consistent, and I prefer the Larue heavy spring. I’d probably pick the Larue because it is more of a known quantity, and comes with the spring I want.
I would say that the biggest practical difference in the 1 vs 2 stage triggers in the <$100 price bracket is that the initial travel is lighter on these pair of two stage triggers, whereas the weight is more constant in the EDT. For short to medium range shooting pick one of the three, doesn’t matter.
If you want to spend a bunch of money, the best trigger I own is the Wilson TTU “Paul Howe”. It is not the most expensive, but it may be the fastest, and has the nicest break, so it just doesn’t have any downsides.
9/22/2020 update: added pull weights for Paul Howe TTU.
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Originally Posted by GH41
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