I'm no trigger guru, but I'm curious about what should be expected from a 2 stage trigger.  I put a RRA 2 stage National Match trigger in one of my AR's (got it very cheap from BIL because it wouldn't fit in his PSA PA10 lower).  I've been very happy with it and my groups tightened up since adding it to my better AR.  There's some travel in the 1st stage, then very little before it breaks in the 2nd stage.  I thought this was normal but it's the only 2 stage I've ever used.

I was showing it to my friend, who's a LaRue fanboy (nothing wrong with that, they're very nice), but he instantly dismisses it as crap "Too much travel in that trigger" was his comment....didn't even want to shoot it.

I think LaRue's come with a single stage trigger...could it be that he's just used to that?

He may have a AR Gold in his LaRue, they are 2 stage but the 1st stage is pretty much unnoticeable, very short pretravel and reset, actually shorter and lighter than the 3rd mode of the TAccom.  The AR Gold is not typical of a 2 stage, it is 3 gun type trigger, what Jerry Miculek uses

Some travel is normal for the 1st stage of a 2-stage trigger.  A lot of travel, while subjective, would be annoying.

LaRue's new in-house trigger is the "MBT" or "Meticulously Built Trigger" and is also a 2-stage.  The 1st stage is 2.5# and the 2nd stage is 2#,

http://www.laruetactical.com/larue-tactical-mbt-2s-trigger

My buddy got one and I have to say it is the best trigger I have ever felt. It is so smooth and brakes like a piece of glass. The fist stage is like butter and second is very crisp. It is worth the money.

I  believe In a good two stage trigger with a little travel.  For precision work, you need to be able to feel that "shelf" at the end of the first stage and be able to hold the trigger there for the final break if you want to use the trigger as a safe combat or home defense trigger and also be able to use it at the bench or prone for precision work.

I chose a Geissele SSA-E, which I believe is about 2.3 lbs first stage and 1.2 lbs second stage for a total safe 3.5 pounds pull through under stress, and a light 1.2 pound second stage break for target and precison shooting.  This trigger needs a bit of travel to work properly and to locate and hold the trigger on the shelf for stage 2 break.

For precision shooting with a two stage trigger, I would rather have too much travel in the first stage than too little. I also prefer the first stage to have some substantial weight.

I agree except I like a light first stage

I disagree, I like a short and light 1st with an almost imperceptible 2nd.

 

How would this trigger be good for dual purpose, such as home defense or duty, but where you also want precision shooting capability as well?  Why not have a single stage target trigger if you are going to try to make a two stage trigger act like a single stage?  Accept that it would be unsafe under stress when confronted by an intruder or bad guy with evil intent up close and personal.

It's all personal preference. A match two stage trigger is not for duty or home defense. It is for precision. For a duty weapon you want a reliable single stage.

for a precision build, you want a light single stage trigger and not a 2 stage.  You can get virtually zero creep, no take down and a quick light break with a finely tuned single stage.  That is what you want

I could not disagree more, but that is me. I want a two stage. I only get paid to shoot precision rifles though.

well good for you, I did too at one time but it was with unfriendlies who didn't know what hit them.  Precision builds primarily use single stage triggers and that is pretty standard.  But again, what do I know, I only spent a career training to shoot that one shot.

Thanks for your input however

Same here. What unit were you in? USMC or USA?

AFAIK, most, if not all, of the semi auto precision rifles in use with the US military have 2 stage triggers.  I'm not entirely sure about any of the M14 based rifles, but I know the AR pattern rifles (M110, Mk11, Mk12, etc) utilize anything from KAC to Geissele.  I'd figure that's a pretty important point considering we're in the AR tech section, so I'm not sure what he's talking about when he says "precision builds primarily use single stage triggers."

Now, if he's talking about bolt guns, that's outside my realm of experience.  

Either way, for my own personal use, 2 stages would be my preferred trigger for a semi auto precision rifle.

We are talking about the M4, AR, M16 platform. This is the in AR discussion section. I have spent a lot of time behind a Mk12 and Mk11 and both had two stage triggers.

Yeah, something's funky with his story.  

"Is there such a thing as a 2-stage trigger with almost no travel?"

ya. it's called the S3G trigger.

He called the enemy "unfriendlies"

And hasn't been back since you asked for more info.

haha
RED- no dude just not
BLUE- In what field?  You said that is pretty standard which means it is some what standardized who does that?
ORANGE- The answer to this is probably not much.  In this world there are some people who can shoot very well and still not know much about guns.  There are other people who blow nonsense out of there ass and pretend to know a lot while having little knowledge of actual shooting or are incapable of doing much more than regurgitating what others have said.
GREEN- This is easily fixed.  Back up your claims.  Substantiate who you spent your career with.  You of course won't do this because you haven't trained to do this and will claim it is classified or some such nonsense.  Most precision guys I know who have shot some people quickly dropped the shit about taking that 'one shot one kill' unless it was dictated in the mission.  They know some people need to get shot until they are dead.


Anyway on to the actual question and some stuff around it.

Is there such thing as a 2 stage trigger with very little travel....sure geissele makes several versions that are great.  I happen to be a big time fan boy of there products simply because they are so good.  The SSA-E has been a staple for me for a while now.  The pull on these is about 2.3 then down to 1.2.  These are great precision triggers and one of my favorites to shoot.  I have moved to flat bow triggers and have really liked them.  The SD-C is kind of my go to at this point.  It has a first stage of 2.5 with very little pull into 2 pounds for the second.  I feel like it is something you have to feel to understand and hard to explain.  I can take very precise shots with the trigger and feel like I know when the break will be but at the same time I can rip off a large number of rounds very quickly.  

Don't paint yourself into the geissele only box though.  There are many great triggers out there.  Michael Ware aka septic tank wrote up a great report on several different triggers years ago and most everything in the info is still pertinent.  Geissele has really taken over out of the great performance but there are some amazing triggers out there that most shooters wouldn't be able to identify. you can see that thread here in the upper/lower/barrels and more section

Lulz...unfriendlies.



Every precision bolt gun I've ever encountered also had a 2 stage trigger.

I loved both of my RRA two stages. I retired one after 30k rounds as it was wearing out. Swapped it with a Giselle I got a good deal on.

Also had one in my armalite ar10 SPR with maybe 7k on it and no issues.

ETA - why do fuddoperators always fuck up tech threads

Career in deer hunting?

Lol....I know, you're all hardcore ops

Carry on

Nobody here claimed such, other than you.  We were just attempting to ascertain what you mean by 'unfriendlies' and with what branch you were associated, that's all.


Of course, if you're just full of shit, it's best to keep that kinda crap in GD where the posing and make-believe belong, as opposed to tech threads where actual technical subjects are being discussed.

I train for a different war than you

Just out of curiosity, wouldn't a 2 stage with almost no travel defeat the purpose of feeling those two stages or is there a benefit to it vs a single stage?

Really? Shoot a lot of AI rifles?

I have no idea why someone would want a single stage on a precision AR.

Triggers like the Geissele Hi Speed can be set with an extremely light second stage, sub 1 lb, and still be safe.

A single stage short reset trigger with a sub 3# pull is a recipe for a bump gun.

I sold him one.

He bought one of the police trade-in AIs from a deal my shop worked with a department in Utah.

Good guns. I really like the AE, but wish it didn't have metric threads.

What's wrong with take up and creep on a Precision rifle?

He did only say he trained to do it, he never said he actually employed that training.

Ah ok, makes sense.
Thankyou

Well hey now, the M1 Garand has a 2 stage trigger and was used in some serious, serious combat.
 




 

It's an AE Mk I, and the biggest pain in the butt is finding magazines.  



I've also gotten my hands on a few Sako and Steyr bolt guns, some with really gorgeous triggers.



 

Still Waiting man. I have all the proof to back up my claims. Still waiting