Possible? Tapco AK trigger installed on AR15?

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Yelovitz_503

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I had an idea that it would be kind of nice to put a Tapco AK trigger into my AR 15 (or in a future build). I wanted to know if this is even mechanically possible. I know that the trigger systems on these two rifles are pretty different but could this be a custom job for the gunsmith or is this simply a lofty pipe-dream?

I don't want to debate which trigger is better, for my own personal approach the AK trigger is much better. My AK was the first gun I ever bought, and I have gotten very very good with it. The trigger I have in it is exactly how I like the break and reset to feel, my sights stay flat when I'm firing, and I hit what I'm aiming at even at distance. It's just what feels good to me.

So is this at all possible, or have I come up with something that sounds good to me but cannot be done (wouldn't be the first time)?
 
I'd have to pull out blueprints, but you'd have to pretty much cut the trigger in half, as AR triggers are far thinner than AK triggers. And I don't know if the "wing" on the trigger would fit through the hammer slot on the bottom of the bolt carrier group. You'd also have to drill new holes for two reasons: 1, the AK trigger uses the cross pins in the receiver for the spring to press against, which you'd have to improvise on, and 2 the trigger hole pattern is completely different, which would have to be drilled and existing AK pins cut down to size for the thinner lower. You'd also have to improvise some kind of safety mechanism... Hell, I don't even know without looking at some measurements if the trigger would even fully protrude out of the bottom slot, which would also need widening.

Mechanically it is possible (anything is with enough resources, money and time), but insane and extremely difficult. It'd be a hackjob. You'd be better off designing a new lower to accommodate it.
 
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It's not mechanically nor economically feasible.

Even if you were able to pay a gunsmith to hack up a Tapco trigger and an AR lower receiver (actually he would probably need several of both for testing), somehow get the geometries correct, and end up with something safe (highly unlikely), whatever trigger feel you liked about the G2 would be long gone.

You would be far better served by installing a Geissele trigger in your AR. You would quickly learn that the Tapco G2 pales in comparison. I'm not knocking the G2 - I have one in a Saiga rifle conversion of my own, but it is not in the same league as a Geissele AR trigger (or even some of the better AK triggers).


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Why not just buy a better trigger and drop in one that is made for the AR as Fishbed77 suggested? There are a bunch of nice triggers out there for not much money compared to what a gunplumber would charge to make one.
 
You'd be better off designing a new lower to accommodate it.
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This. However, it's easier than you'd think.

Jack Squat Flat Spot, AR15 Sheet Metal Receiver Flats Kit
6057196.jpg

Weld up one of these, and you'll have full reign to drill wherever you need to, and you'll have full access to the insides of the panels before weldup to thin the metal to accommodate the wider trigger parts (they plates are thick to create a similar profile to an actual AR receiver when joined as is). The AK receiver is much less vertical than an AR, not having the upper/lower thing, so it is possible the AK hammer is too short to reach the FP, or the trigger too short to protrude properly (though you could trim the receiver pieces for relief if you really wanted).

I say go for it :cool:

TCB
 
Realistically, it'd be much cheaper and more reliable to figure out the things you like about the good Tapco trigger, and then research an AR trigger that has those same qualities.

This one is very well regarded indeed, and it is as reliable as an AK trigger:

http://www.laruetactical.com/geissele-ssa-non-adjustable-combat-trigger

$210 is steep, but it would cost you considerably more than that to modify an AK trigger and an AR lower receiver to work together since the geometry is different, and you might have reliability issues since you'd basically have a one-of-a-kind design.

Not to get too far off track, but you might also consider a .223 AK and set it up with a quality rail and optics, if you like the AK ergonomics and trigger better than the AR's but like .223? You can even get adapters to allow .223 AK's to take AR magazines, though I don't know how reliable they are. Unfortunately .223 AK's are much harder to find than 5.45x39mm AK's.
 
I'm a huge fan of my Geissele SSA.

I suppose it's cruel to mention that last week they had all triggers 30% off with free shipping for a little while.

If you can be a little patient they go on sale for $180 sometimes. $230 is the full price/MSRP IIRC.
 
It sounds like the Geissele would be something good to look into. If only there was a place where I could go test out a number of different AR triggers without having to wander around the gun show and try to keep track of what I've seen (that is also assuming I'm getting accurate intel from the vendors there as to what I'm trying).

I think my main draws to that Tapco trigger are the break and the depth of the pull, the AR feels like a single action but I just don't like how far back it is. I'm a person with longer fingers so it feels like there's a whole lot of digit hanging out the other end when I'm in a comfortable hold on that.

It sounds like I may need to just find a comparable AR trigger and accept the differences between these two platforms. Thanks to everyone for the links and ideas, I wouldn't even mind going full MSRP on a good trigger if I knew it was going to be exactly what I want but then we're back to the 'try it before you buy it' issue.

I've checked out some 5.45 AKs, but haven't ever felt the draw to get one in 5.56. It seems like it's hard to find any reasonably priced AK anywhere nowadays: I paid $400 for mine back in 2007 and looking back I wish I'd bought two...
 
sounds like maybe a different pistol grip on the ar might help.
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THIS. ^^^

If all you are trying to do is increase the trigger reach on a AR, you'd be better of dropping $35 on a MIAD grip instead of $200 on a Geissele trigger or ~$1000 on a poorly-thought-out Tapco G2/AR hack job.
 
chris in va said:
I had a G2 trigger in my Saiga. The factory S&W trigger on my AR is a lot better.
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I don’t know which S&W you have but I purchased the M&P15 and the first thing I replaced was the trigger with the Geissele SSA. The Tapco G2 was 100x better than the M&P15 stock trigger. I realize we are comparing two different animals here and you may not need to spend $200 for a decent AR trigger but the S&W triggers are horrible. For me the Geissele did for the AR as what the G2 does for the Saiga. I have a few Saigas ranging from 223 to 308. I run the Tapco Single hook, Double hook and on my S223 only I run the Tapco Double hook with factory hammer. I let the Range Master shoot my Saiga and the first thing he was “that trigger is exquisite” those were his words, not mine.
 
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