trigger texture/shape preferences?

[B yond]

I've come to realize I really prefer triggers with a glassy-smooth surface on carry/combat weapons, and serrated, grooved, or textured triggers on target weapons.

I also prefer the trigger on my target guns to be more rounded than on carry/combat weapons.

I think this is because my trigger finger engages the trigger at the first joint with the weapons I fire rapidly, and with the pad of my finger on weapons I'm shooting for accuracy.

What are your trigger texture/shape preferences?

 

[9mmepiphany]

I think this is because my trigger finger engages the trigger at the first joint with the weapons I fire rapidly, and with the pad of my finger on weapons I'm shooting for accuracy.

so you're trading accuracy for speed?

you've just stepped into ClicheWorld...

you can't shoot fast enough to make up for a miss

behold the awesome speed of my misses

speed is good, accuracy is deadly...are the ones that come quickly to mind

i've found that students who use that much finger on their trigger have a tendency to pull/push their shots off, because it's harder to pull/press the trigger straight back due to the natural curl of the finger's range of motion. much beyond the pad is usually too much YMMV

i used to shoot smooth triggers too, because i was taught that it allowed my finger to slide across the trigger's face during the trigger stroke. Jerry Miculek teaches the use of the grooved trigger for revolver stroke because of it's constant placement (doesn't move)...i'm working at it

 

[hammerklavier]

If he is shooting 3-5 moa rapidly verses 1/2 moa accurately, then I see little problem with this philosophy.

What is the moa of a three shot burst from an m-16?

 

[9mmepiphany]

what i'm hinting at (i guess too subtly) is that there is no advantage to changing the trigger fingers position and even less to accommodate it with a different trigger face.

you give up no speed with proper finger position, but you compromise accuracy...under pressure, that 5" easily turns into 10"

 

[B yond]

The autos that I carry have a DA first shot. My target weapons are all SA.

I get better leverage from the first joint of my trigger finger, and am therefore better equipped to hold the weapon steady through the entire DA trigger pull. At least that's what I think is going on.

For a short, light, SA trigger on a target gun I like to squeeze the trigger slowly and feel it break, so I use the more sensitive pad of my finger. With my carry weapons I want to squeeze the trigger as quickly and smoothly as possible while maintaining an acceptable level of 'combat accuracy.'

I think having a very smooth surface on the trigger allows my finger to slide a little bit during the squeeze, preventing the muzzle from pulling off to the side and negatively affecting accuracy beyond acceptable limits.

 

[hammerklavier]

There are bad triggers, other than that I don't worry about it much.

 

[B yond]

From The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery By Mas Ayoob:

The surface of the trigger should be glassy smooth, with rounded edges. Grooves, serrations, or checkering on the trigger will trap the flesh of the finger and translate any lateral movement to undesireable lateral gun movement. As the finger moves back, it may change its exact contact point with the trigger very slightly, and if that happens, we want the finger to be moving smoothly and easily across the frontal surface of the trigger.

 

[9mmepiphany]

i've met both Mas Ayoob and Jerry Miculek and they can both out shoot me and probably crush me too...they both have huge arms. i guess it depends on who you want to believe and what you're able to do.

i've been shooting a DA/SA Sig for duty, CCW and teaching and have trained not to let my finger slide across the trigger's face

SA trigger on a target gun I like to squeeze the trigger slowly and feel it break

that's the way i squeeze the DA trigger on my carry gun too, i just speed it up a bit. remember: slow is smooth, smooth is fast

 

[TX Shooter]

I have really never thought much about trigger shape or texture. If the grip of the gun actually fits the hand of the shooter the first pad will lay on the trigger. If you over extend to the first joint the hand muscles are fighting each other to squeeze the trigger. The fit of the gun is more important.

 

[9mmepiphany]

The fit of the gun is more important.

you're right, it didn't occurred to me that someone would buy a gun that didn't fit their hand.

no part of my trigger finger touches the frame when my finger is on the trigger

 

[TX Shooter]

A student brought a new gun to the range about 2 months ago. He was a big man with large hands and a very small 380. He was litterly shaking trying to squeeze the trigger. He needed over sized grips to solve the problem.