So I'm reaching the final stage of  completion with my chopped up bushmaster lr308. She has proven to be a great shooter so far with everything but old milsurp crap. She has the looks...she needs the feel!!!  The recoil management is already in process. And I have no doubt a nice brake and buffer set will certainly tame this bitch, but this rifle has shown me she can be a shooter out of the box too.. And thus, I need the most important part of this bitch. ..Something really nice to finger!

I have quite a bit of shooting experience with high performance triggers, but have never been a long range buff. I know from my experiences a 3lb trigger can defiantly make a HUGE difference in accuracy at longer range but I have never been a "bench shooter" ...this is my first 308, and I wanna get some serious performance out of this budgetesque half build.

My favorite trigger for my usual kind of  ARs is the timney 3lb. I just love those things. In fact they are in all my 556 rifles.  But they are a very short single stage, and from what I have been hearing, I need a 2 stage.  I have had a build in the past where I built somewhat of mk12 with the ATC ar gold trigger(since sold). Which was absolutely fabulous from what I can remember. The first stage was ultra light and the second was very  light, short an crisp. I could see that being useful too.

I have heard nothing but amazing things about giessele trigs too, but the only model I have used is the SSAE, which was really nice but overall I preferred the timneys, and went that route ultimately in my other builds.

I suppose my top 3 choices are between the usual timney, ar gold, and a giessele, but I'm not sure which giessele is best either for my long range mission,through all the internet static

Can I get  an answer!?!?!? Lawwwwdddd. Hallelujah to the hive!

Geissele SSA-E or high speed national match win hands down

This.

Fastest lock time on the market, you'll get nearly Rem/Savage bolt action lock times with it which is about 70% less than the lock time on a standard GI trigger.  I understand the Timmney to actually be slightly LONGER than GI, but I can't verify that.

Also user adjustable from about 1lb to 4lbs.

The Geissele SSA-E that I put into my .308 build is certainly best for me.

SR GOLD.... I run one on my S.A.S.S.
It's the greatest thing since I first got laid! Seriously it's awesome, most of the weight is in the first stage (which you don't notice... And can adjust) then no creep just Bang! Fully adjustable for over travel.... Trigger weight... Reset.  Also "IF" You happen to knock the hell out of your rifle and it slips off the sear, a safety mechanism catches the hammer, but still allows you to fire in single stage mode! Great if you ever need the rifle for serious work.

What is lock time referring to?  In my past experience, the reason I chose timney over the giessele was because the timney had much shorter reset and I felt I could get a higher rate of fire out of it( on the 556 platform) , unlikely I'll be going for rpm on a 308, but what exactly makes these triggers quicker in lock time?

Also what about the SDE or sd3g, are those the newest models, what makes all these trigger different, it's really hard for me to tell, aside from some being single stages.

Yeah I remember it being like butter. I sold it to a buddy so I'm gonna call home up and see if we can get a range session in to  help me remember how good it actually was.

Love my SSA-E in my 716.

Lock time is the time lapse from the separation of the sear/hammer to the strike of the firing pin on the primer.  The longer the lock time the more difficult it is to not influence bullet path while shooting.  A GI trigger is about 12ms, a rem/savage/win bolt action is anywhere from 2 to 4 as I understand it.  The Hi-speed trigger uses strong springs, lightened and skeletonized titanium hammer to get about a 4ms lock time.

It may not be worth it to you, but it's definately part of a wholistic grouping of parts that lend toward improved accuracy.

Rate of fire will be impacted by the weight of reciprocating parts and buffer spring strength.

Thanks man! And is this lock time decreased by all giesselle triggers or specifically the ones you mentioned?

I love my SSA-E in my 308 AR, I haven't shot a Geiselle match trigger.  You can get a SSA-E for $185 shipped from Trading Place, they are a site vendor and have awesome prices on tons of stuff.

Im in the same boat as you OP.  right now i have it down to the SSA-E or the HSNM-match (or dmr).  the adjusting i have no issue with, i just want a light 2nd stage.  my "problem" is, is the .2 lbs difference between the ssa-e and match worth the $60 difference and will i have buyers remorse if i go SSA-E vs match.


EDIT:  i should add, my 308 is 100% bench rest shooting.

Both Wilson combat 2 stage match trigger and single stage 4' trigger are amazing. ...i have a couple Geissele triggers as well and still prefer the WC triggers.

Me too

Only the Hi-speed triggers will reduce lock time.  The Hi-speed designated marksman reduces it while keeping a slightly higher trigger pull and the 'broken carrot' feel.  The National Match is the lightest pull and most crisp break.  Most other companies sacrifice some hammer speed in order to keep trigger pull weights low.  This is the only one I know of that keeps pull weight low, keeps hammer speed high and is adjustable.  Non-precision rifles do fine with lots and lots of triggers, I think a precision AR needs to trim the glacially slow lock time as much as feasible, and that means only one trigger is the 'correct' trigger for precision ARs.  Lost of triggers are great for all other uses, I have an SSA-E (very nice) and an ALG (waste of money) in other rifles.  I also have an order going out for more SSA-E triggers.

Thanks, just ordered another SSA-E.

I run a 3lb Timney in my .308 AR, works just fine.

you can set them either for carrot, or icicle. my hi speed DMR is nothing like a carrot, i guarantee that.

I picked up one of the Brownell's G2S-E units.  It's exactly the same as an SSA-E (tool steel, wire EDM), just without the laser engraving and a different pin retention on the hammer.

And it's well under 200 bucks.

It's basically an unbelievable value.

am i missing something, cause when i go there its 194.00

Add coupon code 10 off

aww. thank you.  I had beeen set on the HSNM trigger, but for almost $100 less, the SSA-E is more then fine.

Yeah Im digging the HSNM. In stock nowhere though. Im hitting the range on thursday, and actually found a spare timney 3lb skeleton in a parts box last night so Im gonna install and see how she does. Ill report back. I

So if Im understanding you correctly, the decrease in lock time means that with the HSNM for instance...from the time I actually pull the trigger to the time the primer is struck and the round goes PEW will decrease. Meaning its better for bench shooting as it gives you less time for a heart beat to fuck you up. Correct?

$185 shipped is a smoking deal on the SSA-E.  For a gun that doubles as a precision rig and hunting gun, I actually prefer the SSA-E over the HSNM

Sorry I forgot to put the coupon code in my post.  Ya that is an amazing price, people sell them used for more than that in the EE.

I've only used the S3G in my 5.56 AR's, but it really like the KAC trigger in my SR-25...

You are correct in your understanding. If it's really not that a all-out precision rifle then it might not be worth it.  Obviously a good trigger will pretty much always make a gun more accurate than a crappy trigger, but the improvement of the HSNM over the SSA-E might be pretty hard to find unless every other part of the rifle is also dialed in.

As I said, I have an SSA-E on another gun and I like it a lot.  At a carbine class some time ago I experimented with it and swapped out an ALG for the SSA-E and saw my groups shrink quite a bit for both rapid fire and slow fire.  That was my only change, really impressed me.


Did you try buying one directly from Giessele?  If you do they will also send stickers , Velcro patches, hat, etc.

I'm about to pull the trigger on the ssa-e (or sd-e....still torn)  but I was wondering what the lock time is on the ssa-e/sd-e.   I found its 4ms for the HS but can't find it for the other.    I'm also just wondering if I'm going to regret not getting the HS instead.  Again, it is a precision 308.   I mostly do 200 yards but once I upgrade my scope I'll start doing more 500-800 yard stuff.

With the price you're buying it for, if you're unhappy with either one you can sell them on the EE and probably get 100% of your money back.

Will there be THAT big of a difference (noticeable difference) between the 2?  Right now I have a single stage JP and I think it's already a great trigger.   And would the sd-e be worth it of the ssa-e just cause the flat trigger makes it "feel" like it's a lighter trigger?

They both 'feel' like an incredible trigger.  You won't be touching one off with the SSA-E and remembering what could have been.  What you'll do is either upgrade some day and put the SSA-E in another gun and have twice the number of great trigger, or end up buying more of them for your other guns.

I used to shoot some very light trigger when I did bullseye pistol shooting.  Guys who never got used to triggers in the ounces frequently don't like that light of a pull with no creep or over travel, they just aren't used to it.

I think all the other triggers are std GI lock times.

All the Geissele triggers have a faster lock time than the mil-spec triggers due to the reduced weight of the hammers and the full power hammer springs.

I prefer the SD-E for my precision rifles.  Mainly because I want the SHTF reliability of no adjustment screws.

I run SSA-E's, DMR's, and HSNM in all of my ar's.  The ssa-e it's a fine trigger for the money.  HUGE improvement over stock.  I run two DMR's, one in my .308 and onein one of my AR15 lowers that I use for hunting (I often swap lowers depending on if I'm hunting or shooting bench).

I run the DMR in my 308 because it had multiple roles to fill and that trigger its probably my favorite Giessele.  To me, it is similar to the SSA-E, but with a much crisper break and lighter second stage.

I do have a lower (556) set-up for bench and target shooting.  This one has the National Match.  This is by far the lightest break trigger I own.  I have it tuned down to .8/.9 pounds according to my gage.  For a dedicated bench rifle, this is the trigger I would choose.  In fact, after using the NM and DMR, the SSA-E almost feels "heavy"!

Thanks for the hookup!!  I just received a new G2S from them yesterday!!!

Cool deal!  My only complaint about Trading Place Pawn is that they don't stock everything I need.

Just to update. I've made a decision, and went with the SR gold trigger. I was able to shoot  3 ARs side by side with the timney3lb, ar gold and giessele DMR. I preferred the gold trigger from the bipod, prone.  I ended up selling the spare timney I had, an got the SR gold 10% off form brownells! can't wait to get it in and try it in the beast.

Any better AR15 trigger will work exactly the same in a .308 AR.  I've had Rock River Nat. Match, Geissele SSA and now Geissele SSA-E.  I do not want an adjustable trigger in an AR, but that is just my choice.
Geissele also makes some 'value' triggers that are batch tested instead of 100% tested.

Ever looked at a Hyperfire? I like them better than the G. Kinda like having the Timney with an even faster lock time and adjustable way down, if you are a precision shooter. Good stuff.. If you are used to the feel of a single stage, its really the best one out there for under 3lb pulls..

+1 on the ssa-e

Installed the SR gold last night, as well as JP enhanced extractor. Cant wait to get to the range, hopefully thursday. The trigger feels like absolute butter. Soo smooth and light, I hope it transitions to better accuracy.

kinda bummed.  sunday i decided id get the HSNM but it was already late so id wait till i woke up monday morning.  I wake up and the place that had 4 left, was sold out (had it on sale for $235).  oh well, guess ill just have to keep an eye out

Finally was able to take this baby out again!!! The SR gold trigger is fantastic!!! and it appears the jp enhanced extractor is well worth it too!!! I did  5 mag dumps without any issues at all.  Follow up shot speed is just as good as my timney single stages in my 556 rifles, people were looking at me like holy shit is the FA... After the mag dumps I sat down and fired 20 rounds seated from a grip pod, was shooting slightly above moa at the 50yd line with shitty corroded milsurp. I really need to shoot it from a rest or I'll never know its true potential. Can't wait to continue testing. Anyhow, this ammo was really having issues last range session, I'm glad all that is ironed out, the trigger is just icing on the cake!!! Bumps rounds off like its nothing!!! Only issue is my ammo pile is in for a big hit Lol, it goes so easy with this set up.