What do you feel are good weight(s) to set triggers at for DGRs...all other things being equal?

Just wondering if there is any sort of recommendation or general rule of thumb that folks follow? 3-5lbs....?

Best,
Dave

David, it will depend somewhat on what you're used to on your other rifles. On a DGR, you're not usually lightly and slowly squeezing one off, as you might when shooting at a varmint 400 yards away, but it shouldn't be so heavy as to affect your ability to release a fairly precise shot when you need to. You're pretty safe in the 3-5 lb range you mentioned. I like 2 1/2 to 3 1/2.

On my DR's, I have front at 3.5lbs and rear at 4.5lbs - or as close to as
the gunsmith can get them.

On my BA rifles, I try to get them all the same - 3.5lbs.

With all triggers, a heavier pull but no creep is better
than lower weight and creep !!!


Whatever you feel comfortable with and try to have them
all the same.

I noticed the triggers last week when using 2 guns of someone else's
the big differences in the triggers.

.

I have mine set at 2.0 pounds, and everyone likes shooting them.

2.5-3# with NO creep.....but my finger never goes near the trigger until blastoff. MOST of your shots with a big bore/DG rifle will be at stationary animals....but when the brown stuff flies, a good trigger pull you are USED to is nice.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
DSC

Saeed....even those videos with the BIG stuff?....they don't look like they enjoy those!!...at least not more than once!!

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
DSC

40 ounces... 2.5 pounds.

I'm with those on the 2-2.5 lbs. end of things, assuming a typical single stage hunting trigger.

To my way of thinking, a DGR should have no greater pull weight than any other hunting rifle. No creep or overtravel are just as important, too.

These qualities make accurate shooting pretty easy at DGR distances (up to about 100 yards), whether off hand or off of sticks.

I should say that I use a sort of "fast, controlled press" method of trigger pulling when hunting. I don't pussy-foot around. I press the trigger straight back, fast and quick, with the ball of my trigger finger.

None of that "squeeze" stuff.

David C, if you want, we can make a plan for you to come on down to the MRA range at Walnut Hill with me sometime, and we'll touch off some big bores with 2-2.5 lbs. trigger pulls, so you can see what I mean.

In my experience, this kind of trigger on a big bore really helps to keep the bullets landing where you point the rifle!

I really like a crisp 3.0 to 3.5 pound trigger on all my rifles.

To my mind a pull of at least 3 pounds forces me to consciously pull to trip the trigger. For me anything much less than 3 pounds feels like it goes off by itself, which I find very unnerving.

I think trigger pull weight is a very personal thing, kind of like length-of-pull. Most people will find 2 to 4 pounds to feel "right" on a hunting rifle.

Would you believe my 600 OverKill is just under 3lbs?!!

Very interesting discussion to say the least.

Seems to me that there is more to a trigger however than just the pull weight.

I really like a trigger that breaks like a small rod of glass, and while my bench rest shooting rifle have single or two stage Jewels that break at 1 pound, there is no long wait while the trigger mushes to the break point.

Once you become accustomed to this, the five pound triggers that the factories lawyers like are virtually unusable. They simply won't go off for me or so it seems.

You can generally tell a Jewel trigger because the safety lever and trigger on M700s are silver as on the single stage trigger on this rifle.

I prefer two stage triggers, but as time has passed they have become less available. They allow you to pull up the slack at a fraction of an ounce then concentrate on the 1 pound let off. With the single stage as soon as you rest your finger on the trigger you are into the pull cycle. My riflesmith reports that Jewel are spending a lot of their time with products associated with the Marksman rifles of the day like the AR15A2 and it's brothers.



Needless to say, you don't go anywhere near the trigger until you are on the target and ready to fire. Then gently engage the trigger and think bang. The result is always the highly desirable surprise break with no displacement of the rifle with the trigger pull.

Jewel has an option for one or two ounce trigger pull. I tried one of these on a Remington 40X and found it to be a bit on the light side. In that vein 16 ounces seem a perfect compromise.

In agreement with most of those above my non-varmint hunting rifles have just under a 3# pull.

Interesting responses!

2.5lbs. looks like a winner...

I must admit I did not expect to hear of any trigger pulls below the 3lb. range. I don't ask me why I had that idea in my head though...

I will have to revisit my ideas on pull weights and see how it goes.

Mike,

I'd love to do a bit of shooting and get your perspective on DGRs & African hunting!

Thanks for the offer!!!


Best,
Dave

Too many years of service rifle competition shooting a 4.5# trigger, even the M40 I deployed for some pretty darn accurate shot placements had a trigger just under 4#. As a result, anything under around 3.5# feels too light for me now in a big game trigger. A good break at around 3.5-4# along with good trigger control best suits my preference.

Best

I like 3 to 3.5 # trigger pulls. My 375 is set a little under 3.5#.

quote:

Originally posted by DavidC:
Mike,

I'd love to do a bit of shooting and get your perspective on DGRs & African hunting!

Thanks for the offer!!!


Best,
Dave

Dave, we will definitely do it. I will be in touch, although I am afraid it may be August before all of this snow melts!

Snowpocalypse, indeed!

Since I shoot a wide variety of rifles all with very light triggers when I step up to my .375 I find the 2.5 pound trigger to be very heavy regardless of the degree of "crispness."

No one has mentioned that the CZ rifles, including the magnums, all have set triggers. Push the trigger forward and a fart later, the gun goes off!
Peter.

For "normal" hunting I like 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. For dangerous game with bolt action 4 1/2 lbs.

My .375 and .458 Win both have about 2.75. Works for me, but I shoot them a lot. The other rifles I own, with the exception of a Bushie carbine, are also set within that range.