First AR

You do not need a new trigger. Remove the factory trigger group. Clean it thoroughly. Apply clean grease to the sears, pivot points and the bottom of the hammer. Reinstall. Dry fire a bunch of times. Shoot a bunch more. That will go a long way towards smoothing out your trigger.

After you've put a bunch of rounds through your AR, you'll come to know whether you need to spend money on a trigger or other accessory.

You probably don't NEED a new trigger, but they don't hurt.

For the $, you cannot beat the LaRue MBT @ $87 right now.

I'm a big fan of stock triggers in AR's. Durability and reliability.

JP Enterprises makes a set of lightened springs you could try for about $10 if the trigger is too obnoxious but the above advice to clean, grease, and dry fire (ALWAYS with the upper installed!!!) is solid.

Get a sling, a good one. I use a VTAC padded 2-point with QD swivels but there are several excellent models from various manufacturers. Make sure you have a place to attach it. I’d suggest watching YouTube videos from the manufacturer before purchase to note their set-up and mimic that unless there are specific reasons not to (if you have a bad elbow/wrist/whatever which might not facilitate what is shown). Expect to spend between $40 and $70 for the sling, $15-$20 for each swivel, and $20-$30 for an attachment point.

Have enough magazines for your class and test them individually before you go to ensure good function. Don’t be afraid to drop them; if and when they break, replace them, they’re inexpensive. PSA sells D&H G.I.s for $7 or Magpuls for a few dollars more.

Make sure you have sights that work for you, flip up, solids, red dot. Just be comfortable with them and their adjustment. Use the large aperture for quick or close shots, the small for precision shooting (if so equipped).

Beyond that, ammo and a light lubricant to keep it running.

The only trigger I would recommend besides a Geiselle is the Larue MBT on sale for $87. You probably should concentrate on the optic you will be using. Vortex gets you a lot of scope/red dot for the $.

Try the trigger group that comes with the gun first.

Are you shooting for groups at 200 Yards or just steel plates?

For the Red dot I would go with a Primary Arms, it has a 50K hour battery life. You can leave it on for a couple of years and it will still work

Some guys use them for Home Defense want to pick them up and not have to take the time to turn on the sight. Under pressure or time constraints that battery life is a plus

I have the Vortex Strikefire and love it. You should be OK with the stock trigger, but for the money you can't beat the ALG ACT trigger.

The old, "Do I need an AR trigger, and if so, which one?" - haha.

ExAgoradzo said:

Do I need a trigger?

Click to expand...

The simple answer is no. Nobody needs an aftermarket trigger. The rifle can be used in the carbine class as is, with the factory trigger. It will function.

But....

The thing is that in comparison to the typical gritty, creepy, and heavy standard trigger, aftermarket triggers are really good. It is really easy to become a trigger snob with the high quality products that are available.

I would say that the best thing to do is first to attend the carbine class and ask others what kind of triggers they use. You want something that you will be happy with. There is no harm in dry firing an AR. Most of your classmates would let you dry fire and try out their triggers if you ask nicely. Use that knowledge base to make your decision later if you want a aftermarket trigger and which one.

The other thing to think about is that different triggers have different specialties. There are lots of choices, depending on your preference, like: Single stage vs 2 stage; "drop in" vs "assembly" - set screws and adjustment, then using loctite on everything; and who could forget the myriad of trigger bow designs (the shape - radiused to straight, thick or thin, smooth or grooved, etc.)

It is a lot to think about. While it's hard to go "wrong," it is easy to pay a lot of money for a trigger that is just "meh." I would just encourage you to not be too hasty or put too much stock in forum recommendations. Others preferences aren't necessarily your own. It may be worth going to a gun store to see if you can dryfire several AR's with enhanced triggers also.

Do you need a new trigger ? Nah.... but a better one ( LaRue is a heck of a deal )
Will make it easier to consistently fire the rifle for precision.

A Mil-spec trigger "needs" a lot more attention to fire precisely.

Lots of guns used to have the dreaded "lawyer proof" triggers on them but in recent years things have gotten much better on many guns. If you are not familiar with triggers ( I'll pretend you know nothing), have someone experienced try it and also put a trigger pull gauge on it. I'd want to know for sure first before replacing it because maybe it ain't all that bad to begin with.

What you need more than an upgraded trigger is an upgraded trigger finger.

I’d take it apart and polish it at least. If it’s on the top end of milspec your gonna want to swap it. It’s really hard to hit good with a trigger with lots of take up and a 10# pull.
Most milspec triggers are serviceable with some break in though, some are actually nice.

I have an ar that came with a very heavy gritty milspec. I polished it, cut a leg down, bobbed the hammer and now it’s a nice clean 5# unit. I’ve been practicing rapid fire at a 12” gong at 100 yards. I believe my hit percentage went up 10 or so points from the trigger work, but it was one of the worst I’ve felt.

I wouldnt swap any spring or anything right before going to a class. Anything that lightens a trigger also lightens the primer strike. So you’d possibly need to take weight off or change the hammer to compensate.

Some good advice posted in here. I’ll echo that shooting and dry firing, along with cleaning and greasing will probably help improve your stock trigger.

Beyond that I’d recommend picking up extra ammo, mags, sling, weapon light, and sights/optic. And shooting!

Good on ya for going to a class! That’s great.

If you're in doubt about whether you need a trigger, then you don't need a high dollar one. If you did, the need would be obvious.
Want, however, is an entirely different thing than need.
I want decent triggers on all my rifles but only need better than factory on two of them.
A combination that will get you a little better than standard without much expense or degrading reliability is the ALG ACT and JP Springs "enhanced reliability" spring kit.
ACT is a "factory" trigger that been made correctly and polished to eliminate the break-in period. The spring kit is made for hard primers, as the standard kit is designed for target guns and may have light strikes with M855 or M193.

ExAgoradzo said:

I bought a Vortex. I have a connection where I was able to get a good deal. Also bought DNZ base/rings.

Thanks for the tip on the sling...another buddy told me to get one, but not which one...

Aye aye on the trigger, but also which two to look at when I do choose to get one.

Thanks guys,
I’ll let you know about the class. I took the def handgun 2 years ago. I’d love to take 4 classes a year!

Greg

Click to expand...

Couple of slings I’d suggest are the Blue Force vcas, a Viking tactical vtac sling, or a proctor wotg sling. I think quick adjust 2 point slings are a good way to go.

ExAgoradzo said:

I’m thinking the best investment in the gun would be a trigger.

Click to expand...

My first AR-15 used for Service Rifle competition was a box stock Colt match Target rifle. It shot fine.

Another competitor at one match allowed me to shoot his match prepped AR-15 with all the upgrades including a match trigger. It was wonderful to shoot and my score was much better for the one stage I shot with the match rifle. After this experience, I upgraded the trigger in the Colt Match Target, then not too much later bought a match prepped Compass Lake AR-15 for Service Rifle.

So, my suggestion is to determine what you plan to do with your rifle. If you plan to just blast away with the rifle, a basic mil-spec trigger will serve you well. If you plans are to shoot some precision work, a better trigger will definitely be an advantage.

Every AR-15 build that I have done recently I've installed a Giessele trigger, generally the SSA model. I like a good two stage trigger but like to stick with Service Rifle spec trigger pull. It is money well spent in my opinion.

There are other good triggers out there other than the Giessele trigger so one has lots of options.

I have a box full of mil spec triggers left over from the various lower parts kits that I have purchased.

I saw a fellow DG the Front Sight rifle skills test with a box stock carbine-length AR, using standard iron sights and a mil-spec trigger. His groups were terrific. It was his gun (not a rental) and he was clearly familiar with it. But the tool was nothing special.

Your class will be about improving YOUR skills with your tool, and even using a box-stock gun won't impede that process.

My biggest complaint with a mil trigger is the long lock time. I use a Giessele SSA-E. About as good as it gets.

A suggestion (given that you're in the PRK): if you want to upgrade your hardware for the class, get somebody to loan you a couple of 30 round magazines. Free people from free states will have extras they'd be happy to give you.

Fumbling with ten rounders isn't a lot of fun.

JeffG said:

I'm a big fan of stock triggers in AR's. Durability and reliability.

Click to expand...

Not as durable and reliable as a Geissele.

The curse of: I have a new gun and someone to me I should install, buy, get a (insert gun part here) because of blah-blah-blah.

I am not trying to be condescending or mean. (Actually I am kind of making fun of myself as I came to this advice honestly). Try what comes with/in the gun, as the other Gents recommended. Get used to the gun. See if the trigger IS a problem before replacing it with what quite possibly be another type of problem.

Here is how it goes, from my experience:
One buys an ABC rifle. One reads, hears or is told that the trigger (or whatever) of the ABC is crap and must be changed. So one buys a several hundred dollar ABC rifle and then buys a couple of hundred dollar 123 trigger (or whatever) and installs it then heads for the range. After a couple of range sessions one determines that something is wrong. Accuracy is not there but “IT CAN’T BE THE EXPENSIVE 123 TRIGGER (ego involved here). It must be something else...”
So one starts replacing springs and parts to get what one wants...
One day the one’s friend is over complaining that he has a trigger problem on his ABC rifle but can’t afford a new one right now. So, one takes the factory trigger that he swapped out and gives it to his friend.
A few days later one’s friend calls raving about how great the trigger is and how thankful he is and invites one to the range the next day. One fires the gun and is surprised and a little sad...because one has spent lots of money and time fixing something that wasn’t a problem to begin with...

Get my drift?

Yep. The first upgrade to any new gun? Ammo. Followed by trigger time.

Pat Riot said:

The curse of: I have a new gun and someone to me I should install, buy, get a (insert gun part here) because of blah-blah-blah.

I am not trying to be condescending or mean. (Actually I am kind of making fun of myself as I came to this advice honestly). Try what comes with/in the gun, as the other Gents recommended. Get used to the gun. See if the trigger IS a problem before replacing it with what quite possibly be another type of problem.

Here is how it goes, from my experience:
One buys an ABC rifle. One reads, hears or is told that the trigger (or whatever) of the ABC is crap and must be changed. So one buys a several hundred dollar ABC rifle and then buys a couple of hundred dollar 123 trigger (or whatever) and installs it then heads for the range. After a couple of range sessions one determines that something is wrong. Accuracy is not there but “IT CAN’T BE THE EXPENSIVE 123 TRIGGER (ego involved here). It must be something else...”
So one starts replacing springs and parts to get what one wants...
One day the one’s friend is over complaining that he has a trigger problem on his ABC rifle but can’t afford a new one right now. So, one takes the factory trigger that he swapped out and gives it to his friend.
A few days later one’s friend calls raving about how great the trigger is and how thankful he is and invites one to the range the next day. One fires the gun and is surprised and a little sad...because one has spent lots of money and time fixing something that wasn’t a problem to begin with...

Get my drift?

Click to expand...

Or avoid the problem altogether by purchasing a quality rifle in the first place.