Revolver brand with lightest trigger pull?

IMHO all factory triggers are awful unless you get a performance center gun from S&W but then its not a "factory trigger" is it.

I do all my own trigger work and I also replace my springs as soon as I bring home a new gun.

A SAA has the best trigger. Good luck finding a revolver with a great trigger. The LCR is probably one of the better ones, but none of the DA revolvers have stellar triggers.

I will say the LCR's trigger is better than many production line triggers.

Personally I love S&W triggers. Every 686 I've ever dry fired has felt great. On that note, the LCR does seem to be the lightest for me. In fact it was so light I was short stroking it, and bought a S&W 642 instead.

I'd say an older Smith & Wesson K or L frame.. never was really into Colt. I did shoot a 6" Python in PPC for a while.. it had been way lightened and smoothed.. so much so it had to use Federal primers to go off in DA mode.. only for range use/a toy.

I've yet to find a factory trigger on a revolver (or possibly any handgun) that beats the one of my Colt Python.

What does your wife plan to use the gun for?

I'd join with Certaindeaf in looking towards a K or L frame Smith. All revolvers will have long DA pulls - the parts just have a long way to move - but those are generally very smooth. And a good gunsmith can slick them up more, if that's what you need.

The LCR is exceptional, it's unlike any other trigger that Ruger sells on a revolver. It is a long but smooth pull - so smooth it can't be staged as I do with my S&W's - it just breaks. But does have a long return also. It's a lot of reason my arthritic wife has no problem shooting it.

I'm on the LCR bandwagon. I have handled many revolvers looking to add one to my exclusive semi-auto collection and the LCR has been the smoothest and probably the lightest DA trigger pull on a revolver I have felt on a new firearm. I think the only factory trigger that was lighter was the obscure S&W 386 Nightguard that had quiet a few rounds through it.

Any of the older model Smith and Wesson's or Colt revolver will have the best trigger pull. So if trigger pull is really a concern find one of the above. As for modern revolvers, it is my understanding that Smith and Wesson's out of the box trigger pull is much better than the Ruger's. I also understand that with a fair amount of dry-firing the trigger on the Ruger will smooth out quite a bit.

The best thing to do is let your wife handle several different models and if possible shoot them, so she can pick the one that feels best to her.

Good Luck.

After installing an Apex spring kit and doing a little honing, the trigger on my S&W 642 is about as smooth and light as you could ask for. I have an LCR and the 642 has it beat all the way around. The LCR does have a nice trigger straight out of the box though. My S&W 686 SSR also has a nice trigger pull too.

Looking for a revolver for my wife.

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YOUR idea or hers? If yours, you need to take her to a gun store and let her handle and rent all kinds that she might like to see what fits her hand thew best and hopefully rent some to actually shoot.

If you two haven't already read www.thecorneredcat.com, it is time to do so BEFORE buying anything

Very true. She'll probably like a Sig P-210. or a Korth. who wouldn't

SMOOTH is far more important IMO, than LIGHT in a carry or self defense gun.


Any good gunsmith can smooth up, and/or lighten a trigger pull.

Again IMO, I'd much rather have a smooth trigger with reliable ignition than an ultra light trigger pull and iffy ignition.

A good gunsmith will know where the line between reliable ignition, and light trigger pull is.

SMOOTH is far more important IMO, than LIGHT in a carry or self defense gun.

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Yup, smooth.

If you want smooth, look for an old S&W K frame. And I do mean old, as in a 5 screw.

Out of thex, I think S&W offers the best trigger. Almost any trigger or aciton including S&W can be improved by a good gunsmith.

I am going to presume that the gentleman who started the thread is referring to a revolver's double-action trigger pull, as all of the better makes have single-action pulls that seldom cause complaints. Since he mentioned Ruger's LCR I will also assume that he and his wife are shopping for one of the smaller .38 Special "snubby" style guns. If I am wrong he can correct me, and I will expand my observations.

Most of the revolvers on the market that meet the above description were designed to have both a single-action and double-action option. While some of them may have an enclosed or shrouded hammer and are expected to be used in the double-action mode only, they are still based on previous designs, and because of this the double-action suffers somewhat.

However recently both Ruger and Smith & Wesson introduced new models that were created from the ground up to have double-action trigger pulls only, and these don't represent any of the usual compromises. The result is the best possible double-action trigger pull with full-strength springs that insure reliability regardless of what ammunition is used, and or/if the guns are neglected. Regardless of what one buys, absolute reliability should be job-one.

Ruger's offering is the previously mentioned LCR (Light,Carry, Revolver; While Smith & Wesson call their entry the .38 Special Bodyguard. Be aware that they're is an earlier model also called the "Bodyguard" which is not the one under consideration. In purchasing a new, current production revolver these are the two I would look at first.

Small size works against having a light double-action trigger pull. Going to a larger revolver is advantageous. But I won't go into details until I have a better idea of what exactly is required.

I've owned smith's for a long time. My neighbor got a lcr and hands down it's much smoother & has a shorter stroke than any j frame.

Colt SF-VI

As triggers go, two guns recently stood out: My Ruger Alaskan and my S&W Model 24. The M24 has a great trigger. The Alaskan trigger was good enough that it didn't warrant a trigger job. It could be slightly improved, but the difference isn't worth a $25 kit from triggershims.com.

To be honest, every N frame I've shot had a good trigger. One of the best, was a 610. IIRC, it was a custom shop gun and had a sweet trigger.
Perhaps too large for most women.

I have a Rossi 720 with an excellent and comparatively light trigger from the factory. Much lighter than my model 10 S&W.