B!ngoFuelUSN
Member
I just wanted to provide a review and backgrounder of a new trigger system for my Tavor bullpup. Apologies in advance as this is my first review.
So many of you have been tracking the growth in interest in bullpup rifles. Products from Steyr (Aug), Kel-Tec and IWI have gotten a lot of press and business over the past years. And more are coming from companies like Desert Technical and others.
Suitable for a variety of 'missions' bullpups are straightforward to design and build, but difficult to execute well. One area in particular is the trigger system. Challenging in that there is a lot of machinery connecting that system to the firing system. In most all cases, reviewers and shooters have designated the trigger feel, weight and utility as the weak point in bull pups.
By way of background, I'm not a very experienced shooter but the 'feel' of the gun means a lot to me, have built a few AR's and have always turned to Geissele to provide the best feeling trigger systems I've found. They've been pricey but consistently satisfying.
I purchased a Tavor left-hand 16" (CA edition with a muzzle extension and bullet button) eight months ago. A brilliant piece of engineering overall, the trigger was clearly the weak point in the system design and detracted from an otherwise outstanding rifle. The trigger made shooting the Tavor a challenge. Reviews have stated the weight to be in excess of 12 lbs and surely it is greater than 10. Very hard to be precise with a blunt instrument such as that.
So when I heard that Geissele was going to deliver a trigger pack for the Tavor, the gun went in to the back of the safe, not to be used until I upgraded. That was about five months ago. I hit the Geissele site almost every day and watched as they blew through their delivery dates. I contacted one of their employees and they were helpful and admitted that they are still tuning the product for the best results. I really respect that and was content to wait.
Somewhere along the way I read in one of the web blogs (http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/07/jeremy-s/gear-review-shootingsight-tavor-trigger-unit/) of an individual (Art) who heads Shooting Sight LLC (http://shop.shootingsight.com/Tavor-Rifle-2-Stage-Trigger-Aluminum-Housing-Tav-Alu.htm). I read the review, sent Art some email, found he was an MIT grad who had an interesting 'day job' but had a passion for high-quality rifles and other firearms and was well on his way to delivering on this new trigger pack for the Tavor. Small company, expertly trained CEO, track record of delivering on his day-job and night/passion job so I decided to get in line to buy the new trigger pack when it was available.
Turns out it was within short weeks of one another when Geissele and Shooting Sight shipped. I ordered the more costly (just slightly) alloy trigger pack (the alternative is a Delrin version for $10 less) version and had it delivered in 4 days from order.
It's a beautiful piece of work and I'll leave you to the photos on TTAG or Shooting Sight to check it out. Trigger pack swapping in the Tavor is no more than 30 seconds. A minute if it's your first time. I love FRU's (field replaceable units) that modern designs all exhibit.
The details are (taken from their site):
· 2-stage, giving a predictable glass like break.
· 3lb first stage, 5lb total pull
· Machined from heat treated plate tool steel, for superior metal grain structure.
· Housing CNC machined from billet aluminum and Mil-Spec hardcoat anodized.
· Ultra hard / low friction surface coating allows lube free operation in dirty/tactical environments.
· Polished and honed sear surfaces for butter-smooth pull
All I can say is that the new trigger pack is transformative for the Tavor. Wherein the trigger weight was well over 10 lbs, the two stage 5 lbs pull feels like a target rifle. Yet it is not so light that it is likely to generate ND's. The two stage design likely helps with that. More importantly for regular folk like I, the trigger prevents movement or twitching of the rifle which is not uncommon when you're using a very weighty trigger. And no crunching, no stacking. Just a click-click that you can feel - if you are slowly moving your trigger finger or a nice 5 lb felt pull if you are moving more quickly. It makes a great design in to a great rifle. I couldn't be more satisfied. Prior to the new trigger, the Tavor is a battle rifle in feel. Not a precision instrument, until now. Transformative.
To be fair, since I have not purchased or tried the Geissele, I cannot compare them but hopefully someone else will write a review or a comparison. That would be great. But for now, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
B
Note: I have no professional, business or personal association with Shooting Sight or Art. Just a happy customer.
So many of you have been tracking the growth in interest in bullpup rifles. Products from Steyr (Aug), Kel-Tec and IWI have gotten a lot of press and business over the past years. And more are coming from companies like Desert Technical and others.
Suitable for a variety of 'missions' bullpups are straightforward to design and build, but difficult to execute well. One area in particular is the trigger system. Challenging in that there is a lot of machinery connecting that system to the firing system. In most all cases, reviewers and shooters have designated the trigger feel, weight and utility as the weak point in bull pups.
By way of background, I'm not a very experienced shooter but the 'feel' of the gun means a lot to me, have built a few AR's and have always turned to Geissele to provide the best feeling trigger systems I've found. They've been pricey but consistently satisfying.
I purchased a Tavor left-hand 16" (CA edition with a muzzle extension and bullet button) eight months ago. A brilliant piece of engineering overall, the trigger was clearly the weak point in the system design and detracted from an otherwise outstanding rifle. The trigger made shooting the Tavor a challenge. Reviews have stated the weight to be in excess of 12 lbs and surely it is greater than 10. Very hard to be precise with a blunt instrument such as that.
So when I heard that Geissele was going to deliver a trigger pack for the Tavor, the gun went in to the back of the safe, not to be used until I upgraded. That was about five months ago. I hit the Geissele site almost every day and watched as they blew through their delivery dates. I contacted one of their employees and they were helpful and admitted that they are still tuning the product for the best results. I really respect that and was content to wait.
Somewhere along the way I read in one of the web blogs (http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/07/jeremy-s/gear-review-shootingsight-tavor-trigger-unit/) of an individual (Art) who heads Shooting Sight LLC (http://shop.shootingsight.com/Tavor-Rifle-2-Stage-Trigger-Aluminum-Housing-Tav-Alu.htm). I read the review, sent Art some email, found he was an MIT grad who had an interesting 'day job' but had a passion for high-quality rifles and other firearms and was well on his way to delivering on this new trigger pack for the Tavor. Small company, expertly trained CEO, track record of delivering on his day-job and night/passion job so I decided to get in line to buy the new trigger pack when it was available.
Turns out it was within short weeks of one another when Geissele and Shooting Sight shipped. I ordered the more costly (just slightly) alloy trigger pack (the alternative is a Delrin version for $10 less) version and had it delivered in 4 days from order.
It's a beautiful piece of work and I'll leave you to the photos on TTAG or Shooting Sight to check it out. Trigger pack swapping in the Tavor is no more than 30 seconds. A minute if it's your first time. I love FRU's (field replaceable units) that modern designs all exhibit.
The details are (taken from their site):
· 2-stage, giving a predictable glass like break.
· 3lb first stage, 5lb total pull
· Machined from heat treated plate tool steel, for superior metal grain structure.
· Housing CNC machined from billet aluminum and Mil-Spec hardcoat anodized.
· Ultra hard / low friction surface coating allows lube free operation in dirty/tactical environments.
· Polished and honed sear surfaces for butter-smooth pull
All I can say is that the new trigger pack is transformative for the Tavor. Wherein the trigger weight was well over 10 lbs, the two stage 5 lbs pull feels like a target rifle. Yet it is not so light that it is likely to generate ND's. The two stage design likely helps with that. More importantly for regular folk like I, the trigger prevents movement or twitching of the rifle which is not uncommon when you're using a very weighty trigger. And no crunching, no stacking. Just a click-click that you can feel - if you are slowly moving your trigger finger or a nice 5 lb felt pull if you are moving more quickly. It makes a great design in to a great rifle. I couldn't be more satisfied. Prior to the new trigger, the Tavor is a battle rifle in feel. Not a precision instrument, until now. Transformative.
To be fair, since I have not purchased or tried the Geissele, I cannot compare them but hopefully someone else will write a review or a comparison. That would be great. But for now, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
B
Note: I have no professional, business or personal association with Shooting Sight or Art. Just a happy customer.
