In a lifetime of hunting I have absolutely came to prefer crisp single stage triggers of no less than 1.5# and up to 3.5# but I have never once been able to prove to myself that I am hindered from making any ethical shot with a trigger of 4# or even 5# as long as I understand when it's going to break before I attempt the shot.
For context, the vast majority of my shots on game have involved a field expedient rest of some sort, with offhand every once in a great while, and a handful from prone. But I find it incredibly difficult to believe that anything less than 1.5# (others might say 1# or 2# but the principle will apply across the board here) is actually going to increase the proficiency of the man pulling it, in the typical hunting scenario.
Benchrest? Ehhh maybe. Literally any field shooting scenario you might envision? No. Ain't happening.
I'm fairly certain the guys on this forum who shoot multiple thousands of rounds per year will affirm that - once the trigger has a certain degree of crispness and lightness and the user can rely on it to have a consistent pull, there's not even the slightest marginal benefit to going below some certain weight, and that weight probably isn't much less than 3#. And once you’re below a pound or so the chances of discharging because of a cold finger or a gloved finger or a twig or some piece of gear getting tangled as you raise the rifle, has to go up exponentially.
And that would worry me waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy more than any concern about a typical two position safety lever. Or what if you get a twig or piece of grass jammed into the mechanism so that when you take it off safe there’s some residual pressure there?
Muy peligroso, mi amigo.
ETA: see also ‘strain at gnat, swallow a camel’
