So is there a cheap replacement for the AK out there? Yes. Is the Red Star Arms trigger the cheapest? No. Is it worth it? I say [b]Yes[/b], from what I’ve seen and felt. They had two AK’s set up with the trigger when I got there, and after the first shot I knew I’d never be able to go back to the awful trigger of my SAR-1. The first one I shot had a two stage trigger that is the standard configuration of the triggers they ship. I ran the bolt and shouldered it, leveling it on the target. My index finger found the trigger as the front site post found the target. As my finger touched it, it naturally picked up the first stage of the trigger which was a slight smooth rearward movement of the trigger towards the rear before I felt the pressure on my fingertip of the second stage. I exhaled and as the second stage broke cleanly, I grinned and shot a few more quick shots in disbelief. No numbness in the trigger finger and it was a night and day difference from the gritty, long, heavy trigger pull of my SAR-1. The second one AK I shot was the same trigger adjusted to single stage trigger pull. It was a pleasure to shoot, and it was almost too good of a trigger to put on a combat rifle!!
The guys at Red Star Arms have really come up with a winner. The trigger on my AK is something I have always hated, and while the Red Star Arms trigger could have been a simple replacement to the trigger system of the AK, they worked their asses off and made a fully adjustable system that reeks of quality. Each trigger is hand polished, hand checked, put into a rifle and pre-adjusted before shipping, and is adjustable for Pretravel, Overtravel, Disconnector Engagement, and Trigger Pull. If you have ever paid attention to gunsmithing news or competition shooting you have probably heard of Ron Power, and the trigger has been designed by some of the greatest minds in the gun business.
You can tell just from looking at the trigger from outside the gun that it is something new. It has a different curve to it, and has a much better feel than the crap that came with the SAR’s. Here’s a picture of my 2 AK’s. The AK on the bottom is a brand new SAR-1 that’s only been taken out of the box for pictures and does not yet have the new trigger:
[img]http://www.student.smsu.edu/s/srv656s/red1.jpg[/img]