Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Posted: 6/14/2016 5:25:30 PM EDT
For a few years I've been using the Geissele SD3G in my rifle. It's treated me just fine and been reliable. Enough so I hadn't bothered to consider a new trigger. Well that changed when I pulled a few different ones at a match. Having a solid wall really made a difference to me. So I went on a search to find a few I'd like to try out.

I picked the AR Gold, Elf Tactical 3gun and the Trigger Tech flat bow along with the SD3G I had. All besides the GA are cassette type triggers. The Elf and TT have screws to snug them up and the AR Gold uses spring clips to hold on regular trigger and hammer pins.

AR Gold.
This is considered the gold standard of triggers by some. I set mine to break at 2lbs 1oz. It uses a pretty unique release mechanism that uses the hammer tip instead of a sear located at the pivot point. It has a very light first stage around 4oz, this is hardly noticeable when running at speed. Even when slowing down for a long shot it's easy to blow right past the first stage and be against the wall. Once it's at the wall you continue to apply pressure at with no trigger movement noticed. At break weight you get a nice crisp release and little overtravel. Reset in my opinion is the only drawback. I prefer more tactile feedback, the gold is very faint but it is very short, so you can skip the first stage and be back in the wall.
Over all it's a great trigger, my personal opinion it's 7-10. The reset being the only drawback for me.
" />

Elf Tactical- 3g
The Elf has a very unique trigger bow. It's almost invisible at certain angles due to its shape. It uses a standard hammer, disco and trigger setup with a drop sear to catch the hammer if it falls.
I had to work on pull weight to find a happy medium between reliable reset and low break weight. It seemed that under 2.5lbs it would occasionally jump the primary sear during fast firing. Thankfully it's has a drop safety that would catch the hammer before it fired again. I ended up at 2lbs 12oz.
The Elf has absolutely zero take up. You put your finger on the trigger and it doesn't move a bit until break weight is met. Overtravel feels very short. Reset is my favorite part. It is very authoritative, almost throwing your finger forward. It's audible as well as very tactile. This trigger is very fast on splits. It did pretty well with groups and well. One note, I did have light strike problems when using CCI 41's. I tried CCI srp and had slam fires, but no light strikes. The easy fix is a new hammer from Elf. The 3G uses a skeletonized hammer. Elf will sell a solid separately which I've inquired about. Just keep this in mind if you prefer harder primers. Just because I had the light strike problem I have to give it a 6. Otherwise it would be an 8.5.
" />

Trigger Tech-
This is a fairly new trigger on the market and the design is very different than other triggers. It uses a roller in a cage that interfaces with the sear. This is what they call frictionless release technology and it really is. When you peek inside the cassette you see that some serious engineering was involved in the design. The trigger is a 2 stage design with the first stage around 13oz. This was the most consistent on the pull gauge deviating only .4oz high to low. I have it set to break at 2lbs. The weight adjustment has a detent that help with repeatability. This was my favorite trigger. Their claim is that it feels like good 1911 trigger, which to me it is exactly that. The first stage is just noticeable enough without being too heavy. Once you are against the wall you really notice the lack of friction. It's as close to zero creep out of the 4. My finger even at slow speed can't discern any creep whatsoever. The trigger goes almost to zero after break and overtravel is very short. Reset for me is perfect. Short and tactile but not so hard that it pushes you back into the first stage. One thing to note is the force the hammer hits with. In the jig it seems to be the hardest of all of them. It reliably ignited 41's all day. They have a curved bow as well as the flat. I prefer the flat and it very comfortable. It has a slight hook on the tip that help to index for repeatable pull. Personally I give it a 10.
" />

GA SD3G-
This was my first nice trigger. I've had it maybe 5 years. As I said this is really all I've know up until the last month. From the factory it has a 2lb 5oz break weight. GA calls it a hybrid trigger and that seems to be pretty spot on. It has a rolling break with no wall. The first stage is about a pound with the second stage being 1lb 5oz give or take. Geissele has described it like breaking a carrot and that is pretty close. It's still a very nice trigger that is very fast. It does fall flat for long shots as you can't prep the trigger at all. Reset is probably the best part. Similar to a mil-spec trigger but much smoother and controllable.
" />
Over all these are all wonderful triggers. You would do well with any of them. My preference going forward is the Trigger Tech. It just feels good to me and that's really what matters.

This is just one mans opinion, so take it for what it's worth. But hopefully if anyone is hunting for a new trigger this can help them.
Link Posted: 9/6/2016 1:35:08 PM EDT
[#1]
Thank you for sharing. I'm looking for a new trigger but don't know anyone who has any of the triggers that I'm interested in. Do you ever shoot in western PA?
Link Posted: 9/11/2016 10:38:44 PM EDT
[#2]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Thank you for sharing. I'm looking for a new trigger but don't know anyone who has any of the triggers that I'm interested in. Do you ever shoot in western PA?
View Quote


I'm in NW PA. I shoot around here pretty frequently
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top