Talking triggers

Lets talk about triggers. There is a LOT to triggers. After all, they are what we use to make it go bang, and ultimately what is responsible for most of our inaccuracies when shooting.

I will not be able to cover everything, and may even do multiple posts on the subject. So if I say, there are two kinds of triggers, single stage and two stage triggers, someone will ultimately say “but what about binary triggers?” or something like that. There will always be more than what I am able to cover.

The two main style of trigger designs are rail or linear and cantilever. The cantilever is the most common and is pinned at the top of the trigger shoe and swings from that pivot point.

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You will note in the picture and using the graphic below, that this style of trigger rotates down as it swings back. One of two things happen when you pull this type of trigger. Either your finger has to move downward with the trigger as it goes through it’s arc pushing the trigger and therefore the muzzle down, or your finger has to move across the face of the trigger if you pull it straight back. You can mitigate this several different ways. One of the methods is to use as short a trigger swing as possible. Hence most people shoot better with a short trigger even if they don’t know why that is. It is also why a lot of people like the flat face triggers that allow the trigger finger to roll across it as it swings.

The second is the linear style. These are found primarily on the 1911 style handgun. These are considered by most (including me) to be the best and most accurate following the finger straight back to the rear.

Lets break it down some more. Single vs two stage triggers. A single stage trigger has the same trigger weight from engagement through the break. A two stage trigger has a lower initial pull weight and then the weight increases or ramps up prior to the break. Each has their own advantages.

I will go through the terms of the trigger pull. When the finger contacts the trigger and begins the travel, all of the linkages etc move and the Slack is taken up. The weight of pull increases as the trigger continues into and through the first stage. Then it comes to the second stage where the weight increases again. The remaining travel before the sear breaks (when the trigger releases the hammer or striker to fire the gun) is shorter than the first stage. Stacking can occur where the weight increases through the stage rather than being smooth and even through each stage. Once the sear breaks, the trigger will move to the end of it’s travel. Once at the rear, on a semi-auto, the trigger can move forward until the reset. This is where you can pull it to the rear and it will fire again. If you continued forward from the reset, the trigger comes to it’s forward resting point.

While too short and light (hair trigger) is a thing, generally the shorter the trigger pull the less finger movement and therefore more accurate shooting is possible.

So there is obviously a lot to the trigger and and how it affects accuracy. How the hand, trigger finger and joints move etc that also comes into play if you want to study accuracy and make improvements.