doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Trigger Pulls

Whats the conventional wisdom on trigger pulls.
5 1/2 pound gun. Good dimensions.
Asking for a friend.

What are you using it for?

The clay pigeon guys like ‘em a little lighter, the stomping the cat tails for pheasants guys in deep winter like ‘em a little heavier.

5 1/2 lbs is pretty light. Maybe 3 1/2 front, 4 lbs rear? Different guys have different thoughts on trigger pulls. I don’t mind them a little heavy, if they break without any creep.

Best,
Ted

On the clays field, I just want consistent across all the guns I shoot.

On wild game, as long as it’s less than the weight of the gun, I’m good. If I’m worried about the trigger, I’m not worrying about the right thing.

And people wonder why they miss.

I disagree with CZ about game guns. When you're used to good triggers you are disconcerted by very heavy ones. My Parker DHE 16/20 came to me with 8 to 9 # triggers. After one dove season with it, it was sent to a good trigger man for "reconciliation".

There's no excuse for having a heavy trigger on any gun. If it cannot be corrected, and stay that way, it needs to go down the road.

When I send one out for a trigger job I request 3 1/2# front, 4 # rear. I can live with 1/2# more than that , but not much more. I have done many of my triggers myself, but I do have a very good trigger man for the others.

I never really pay any attention. Light pulls- heavy pulls- I'll get used to it soon enough. As long as it goes bang when I pull the trigger I'm happy. I don't want my mind on trigger pulls, pattern boards or a past due car payment when I want to break a target. Sorry if that doesn't answer your question.

I won a Winchester Super X3 some 15 years ago at the GA State Sporting Clays Championship. I had it for 7-8 years before I seriously tried it at sporting, because I almost always shoot my MX8. I tried it and the trigger was about 6-7 lbs. It was disconcerting for me and would get my mind where it didn't need to be as I called for the bird. I sent it to Phillip Crenwelge and requested he get it to as near 3 1/2 lbs. as he could. It came back perfect.

I used to shoot a couple team sporting events each year, fundraisers, and the targets were usually pretty soft. The last time I shot 100 X 100 at sporting was with that Super X3. A normal human doesn't shoot 100 X 100, even on a soft course, with bad triggers.

You don’t

For some, recoil and trigger pull weight mean nothing.

It’s a very reliable excuse.

I wish you weren't a Grey Man. Because, I'd like to get to know a shooter that was truly immune to recoil, heavy triggers, and still shot perfect scores. I may live in a small world, but I've never met one yet.

You may truly be a one-of-a-kind, CZ.

I don’t think the weight of the pull alone is the best way to answer the question. For myself, and only myself, I’m concerned with a crisp break that doesn’t feel spongy or starts to add load to the engagement when the pull has started. In my guns that usually falls into the 3.5 to 4.5 pound category. I don’t take pull weight in isolation as I see trigger pull as part of the gun speed, shell speed, gun balance, momentum, and recognized lead calculation that we go through subconsciously when we shoot.

Looked at a little .410 that was 5 1/2 lbs with 7 pound triggers..
I cant imagine not being pulled off target with a gun that light and triggers that heavy.
3 1/2 pounds right and 4 pounds left sounds about perfect.