LaRue MBT Price Jump

[giggitygiggity]

I just looked on LaRue Tactical’s website and noticed that all variations of the MBT have increased in price from $87 to $118. That is a 36% jump in price which is very disappointing. At $87, the triggers were a great deal. While the triggers are very good, at $118, I’m more inclined to just pony up a few more bucks and catch a Geissele SSA-E on sale or even opt for a drop-in triggers, many of which can be found for around $100.

For me, it takes a lot more commitment to buy a trigger over $100. I think that a price increase that kept the MBTs under $100 would be more acceptable from a consumer perspective.

To be clear, I am not faulting LaRue for the price increase as I firmly believe that companies, especially privately-owned companies, can charge what they want. Consumers have the ability to buy or not buy what they want as well. Furthermore, I understand that companies exist to make money and that perhaps the LaRue had to adjust the price in order to make a profit.

If any LaRue representatives are on here, please realize that the price spike has drastically reduced the appeal of your MBTs. They are great triggers and were my go-to triggers for my ARs, but in the future, I’ll likely use a different trigger.

For other THR members, how does this price spike impact your view of the MBTs?

 

[Gone Hiking]

If that's the case, they're still a great trigger, if no longer the same bargain. (I have them on three guns.) You're also correct, that with the price gap closing between SSA-Es at $176 where I just saw them on sale, I'm absolutely more inclined to pony up for the SSA-E on future builds it would benefit, especially since the MBT, SSA-E, and National Match are actually the only triggers I consider.

 

[Zerodefect]

Meh, it've gotten all of mine through the ultimate upper program. So still cheap.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Meh, it've gotten all of mine through the ultimate upper program. So still cheap.

What is this program that you speak of?

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Im honestly not that impressed with the LaRue. Ive got well-broken-in GI triggers almost as good. I wouldnt buy another at any price, actually.

If Im going to spend $$ on a fancy trigger, itll be a drop-in. POF's is amazing.

 

[Zerodefect]

The ultimate upper is a Larue rifle kit. Excellent quality. $800. Just add a stripped lower of your choice. Easily the best CARBINE kit that I've ever built.

I have two. The pinned and welded 14.5s, are to die for.

What's the catch? 6 month wait. And not customizable anymore than the pulldown menu allows. Although all of the parts are high quality.

 

[Zerodefect]

Im honestly not that impressed with the LaRue. Ive got well-broken-in GI triggers almost as good. I wouldnt buy another at any price, actually.

If Im going to spend $$ on a fancy trigger, itll be a drop-in. POF's is amazing.

While I agree, I think the MBT is supposed to be a safe combat reliable trigger. Not a bench rest trigger.

Currently mines nicer than my most worn Colt trigger. But it took a decade to get the .mil trigger there.

 

[BreechFace]

I’ll still buy them. Have several and they’re great

 

[js8588]

Since I still like them better than any Geissele ever made, I'll still buy one when the need arises.

 

[imac98374]

The ultimate upper is a Larue rifle kit. Excellent quality. $800. Just add a stripped lower of your choice. Easily the best CARBINE kit that I've ever built.

I have two. The pinned and welded 14.5s, are to die for.

What's the catch? 6 month wait. And not customizable anymore than the pulldown menu allows. Although all of the parts are high quality.

The UU kits were victims of the price hike as well. No longer taking orders ("sold out") and listed at $1100. Still a fair price I'd argue, but no longer the screaming bargain it was.

 

[Hartkopf]

Lots of things have doubled in price. Just wait, next week another manufacturer will have a big price increase. And the next week it’ll be another.

As far as LaRue in particular, how long is the wait time for most of their products? Probably long. Many manufacturers can raise prices because demand is still high and there’s always a shortage of some component to hold up production.

 

[ECVMatt]

I just assembled a couple of KISS AR's to leave at my vacation home. I wanted them to be as bullet proof and easy to repair/share parts as possible so I stuck with regular mil-specish GI style triggers. I looked around at some of the "enhanced" GI style triggers and ended up getting BCM PNT triggers. I know they are not in the same league as Geissele or LaRue, but I am very impressed with them so far. Obviously they have some take up, but are very smooth and break clean once you hit the wall. They are much better than the factory Colt triggers that I originally installed. Those will go in the repair kit for future use if needed.

I agree with others though, for that much $$'s I am going with Geissele if I am looking for a higher end trigger.

 

[bassjam]

This makes the RRA National Match that much more attractive at $95-100. I have both it and the MBT2, other than the fatter shoe on the Larue I can't tell a difference.

 

[Nature Boy]

Cost of everything is going up. Steel, aluminum and labor are at all time highs right now. I know there's a natural human tendency to want to blame someone but LaRue wouldn't be first on my list

 

[mcb]

I have one of the MBT-2S and its OK. I don't like the shape (flatness) of the trigger bow. I like my DPMS 2-stage and Geissele G2S better by a fair margin.

 

[I6turbo]

Cost of everything is going up. Steel, aluminum and labor are at all time highs right now. I know there's a natural human tendency to want to blame someone but LaRue wouldn't be first on my list

Yep. Everyone who has their head in the real world knows inflation is rampant (and to a FAR greater extent than the feds say), and there's a lot more to come unless there's such a recession that it knocks back demand. Suppliers of many products have absorbed as much as they can for as long as they can, and are now being forced to pass along increases to retailers or other down-stream customers pre-retail. A lot of items that are imported are being hit even harder now with freight increases on top of raw materials. For example, a sea container from Asia in 2019 cost about $4,600 to deliver to the middle of the US (say, St. Louis). Right now, it's $31,000 to $33,000 and expected to possibly get even worse until mid-2022.

 

[doubleh]

Im honestly not that impressed with the LaRue. Ive got well-broken-in GI triggers almost as good.

That probably means you have worn through the case hardening. Personally I really like the LaRue. It went from about eight-five bucks to about ninety-five sometime ago and now it is one-eightteen. Has anyone noticed that almost everything has had a considerable price increase. Just go buy groceries if you haven't. Don't worry, the other trigger manufactures will soon if not already be joining LaRue in price increases. When the cost of their supplies increases it get passed on to us just like everything else we buy. Since the buying power of the dollar is being seriously diluted by our profligate government spending money they don't have the increases are going to continue.

 

[rust collector]

It is not uncommon for retailers to place a relatively high retail price on goods to enhance the perceived value when reductions occur for sales or multiple purchase discounts. Higher prices could also be a result of materials and labor costs, or a reflection of a high demand in the market. If folks don't think they are a good value, sales will be lost to other suppliers. Pricing is an art and a science, and few of us know to do it right.

 

[ColoradoMinuteMan]

The LaRue just a handful of years ago was actually $125 and if you chose "I can wait" which meant that you waited for the next batch to be made, you could get them for $99. It's as good (some argue better) than an SSA-E which is generally more expensive, so I think the value is still there at current cost.

 

[DustyGmt]

I think they are excellent triggers and couldn't quite understand how they kept the price as low as they did as long as the did. They made it hard for me to buy a geissele at that price. I will say, the flat faced trigger is the only turn off, if they had kept a standard profile trigger I think they would have killed the SSA-E as they almost felt identical, maybe a lil more tactile reset on the SSA-E but very hard to distinguish, certainly not enough to warrant the $240 price tag on the SSA-E vs $90 for the MBT.

I have a preference for Geisseles and like the super dynamic profile triggers, but if you were one of the guys who has a pile of AR's and bought a pile of MBT's to go with em, you were wise, because I didn't figure they would be sub $100 triggers for long and you got a bargain figuring what you pay for triggers of comparable quality.

I tried a few different triggers in my different AR's. As much as I like the MBT though, I prefer my Geissele and honestly prefer my enhanced mil spec. But I would recommend the MBT to anyone, even at $118 or even a touch beyond because it's still a very clean, crisp, predictable trigger and you can take your time and be precise with it, or if you need to have a slap attack and burn through a mag with good control once you get used to it.