When I shot my Colt for the first time, the trigger was long and I could sense it dragging along before it fired. I have to do something, I may try to smooth it up a bit before buying a new replacement. Has anyone tried either of these two reworks?  Thanks.

http://www.sargenthome.com/15_Minute_AR_Trigger_Job.htm

http://www.junkyardgenius.com/firearms/ar-15/ar08.html

First thought:

You might be pleasantly surprised at the results of running a 1000 rounds through a new rifle. Everything tends to smooth out on it's own.



Second thought:

Purchase an aftermarket trigger. Geissele being at the top on the list.



Final thought:

Never fool around with trigger geometry by removing metal from a stock trigger. Nothing good will come of it.  
 

There is wisdom in this.  If you want to keep cost down but try a new trigger, the company below seems to be getting attention. I am going to order 2 of them for some builds I have going.  Palmetto State Armory also has them in stock, I was at the store last week and they had a shelf full of them.  Good Luck!

ALG Triggers

I've done most of the above on several AR's never removing any material off the trigger nor filing on the disconnector, IMO it works very well at addressing your issue when you take the time to set it up right.  I have also replaced the stock hammer/trigger springs with JP's and that adds about $10 to the modification.  No issues thousands of rounds later.  With several kids and a wife my gun budget is a little thin these days to spend it on a $200+ trigger.  The ALG triggers do seem to be a good value that were not around at the time of doing mine years ago.

The first choice of cutting springs never appealed to me, something just not right about it.

And shooting a thousand rounds doesn't cure most if any of what you are feeling.

If its a brand new rifle, it will smooth out after shooting it for a while.

Edit; Unless your trying to shoot tight little groups with magnification, I wouldn't bother with a fancy new trigger group.

i've tweaked several triggers on my AR's and the one on mu AP4 308. vast improvement on all. i never cut more than 1/4 inch off a spring and use a sharpening stone (fine) tto polish the contacts. add a little grease ans go. makes long gritty stiff triggers so much better. trigger parts are cheap so go for it.

I'd rather not wait to run a 1000 rounds thru it and I'd be more inclined to just polish the surfaces and lube them - not into removing any metal.  I think it would be better to pay $45 or $65 for a replacement ALG and still have the original. Thanks.

Alright, that explains some of your thinking to me. Try this.

Separate the lower from the upper. Pull the trigger and catch it with your thumb, then reset and repeat. You can do this while watching tv or something.

I have trimmed a few springs in the past and dremel polished all the surfaces.  I've also tried the JP springs.  They worked for a little while but softened up and I would get light primer strikes.  I bought my first Geissele and never looked back.  It's the first thing I put in any new rifle.  I just pay the $200 and don't even think about any more because it makes so much of a difference in how a rifle shoots and feels.  My favorite....Super Dynamic Combat.

Good luck in whatever you do, however I recommend biting the bullet and just putting down the cash...you won't be sorry.

I have done the 15 minute trigger job dozens of times and it works great.  Once in a blue moon you cut a hammer spring which was out of spec (weak) in then first place and have to replace it.  Most of my NG shooting team mates run this mod.  It is definitely worth the effort.

I recently discovered a version of the junk yard genius method but without removing metal from the rear of the trigger.  The junk yard genius method makes allot more sense.   I will try that next time.

i did the 15 min trigger job on one of my ars.  worked o.k.  a little lighter and no problems at all with "light strikes."

of all the stock trigger groups i've used, only one has been good enough to not mess with. most times the main thing i'll do is polish the contact area on the hammer. that is where the gritty feel comes from. no filing, no grinding just polish the small flat surface. i use 2000 grit wet dry paper and wd=40 to make sure its smooth. just a light buff. then i use a popsicle stick, wet it and use 5 star metal polish to shine it to a mirror finish.the area is so small it's hard to work it properly, thats where the popsicle stick comes in.then some good lube to finish the job. if the trigger itself(not the hammer) is so rough that you need to remove metal to make it smooth, forget it. it's hardened and if you remove the outer hardened layer you'll ruin the trigger.i've bent the springs a touch but don't like cutting on them. just be happy with an improvement but don't expect magic. if you want perfect, spend the money on a good trigger. a 50 percent improvement in feel is achievable in reworking a stock trigger.

I just took the purple polishing stone from my lansky knife sharpener and gave the trigger/hammer contact surfaces a bit of a touch up.  Went from very gritty to smooth as glass.  Didn't effect the weight, but made it much smoother.

Do this, but dab a little flitz with a q-tip on the engagement surfaces. Work it 40 times or so, dab a little more, repeat, repeat, etc. Do it while watching the game or something. A bit of fitz will speed up the process without actually grinding metal off.

I checked the trigger pull with a trigger guage and I'm averaging 8 - 8 1/2 pounds everytime. I have some JB Patse I might try but if ALG Defense has the ACT trigger in stock tommorow, I'm ordering it.

IN STOCK

IN STOCK

IN STOCK

I'm wouldn't recommend ALG triggers. Unless your trigger is outrageously horrible, it will only be a slight improvement and not worth the money. I think I might actually go back to the stock trigger and sell the ALG one while they're the new hotness, the takeup is shorter with the stock one.
If you don't want to spend $250 on a trigger (that's crazy btw) lightly polish the one you have now, try some JP yellow springs, and liberally apply moly grease to all the contact points. You'll be surprised at the difference.

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