Trigger Pull Weight on Hunting Rifle

[Bidwell]

I have a Howa Superlite in 308. The trigger is adjustable but you have to remove this white silicon blob from the screw and voids the warranty. I was looking at the Jard trigger, only trigger I could find that is specifically for the superlite. I called Timney and confirmed that none of their triggers will work. Anyway, the Jard triggers have a very light pull weight. With the max being about 16-20oz. Is that too light for a hunting rifle? I measured my factory trigger at about 3.5 lbs. It still shoots pretty good, but would be nice to have it a bit lighter. Thoughts?

 

[bowrunner81]

Im curious what others think. I like 2-3lb.

 

[180ls1]

I asked this identical question a year or more ago. Most liked 2-2.5, even on an ultra lite build.

 

[TaperPin]

Im curious what others think. I like 2-3lb.

Years ago 2-1/2 lbs was often repeated in gun mags and I bought everything they said at the time, and it has worked well.

Since then I’ve met old guys who shoot a lot of varmints or competition rifles and have lightweight triggers in their big game rifles. Now I can see how a consistent weight between rifles is important. Honest I don’t know how well 2 ounce trigger holds up to a jarring test, but the SAAMI recommendations for trigger testing says light trigger pulls are outside of their testing criteria.

I can’t shoot a heavy trigger, but guys that stay on target while increasing trigger pressure until the rifle goes off seem to do quite well with heavy factory triggers 3 to 4 lbs.

 

[onlybrowning]

I think it varies person to person and is situationally dependent. Back when I used to shoot 4 position small bore, light triggers were the norm. Mine was set to about 5oz and that was about standard. A 1lb trigger was the exception. It was a very controlled environment, inside, and that made a lot of sense for most of us.

I share that to say, what is light to some, may not be to others. Back in those days, a 2lb rifle trigger felt super heavy to me. Not so much anymore. There are a lot variables to consider. I might want a rifle I use for still hunting to be an autoloader with a 3lb trigger, but if I am sitting in a box blind on a field edge, lighter would be great.

Obviously, it goes without saying, it must be safe. You are the only one who can determine what that means to you with each rifle.

 

[Dmoua]

1lb on all my rifles.

 

[Macintosh]

Its a field gun, not a range gun. Cold fingers, gloves, moving with the gun, bumps and dings, overly jacked-up shooter in the moment…all standard. 2.5-2.75lb is a nice light trigger for that. Whether you carry it with a round in the chamber or not, and how diligent you are about that, might also be relevant.

 

[Unckebob]

I have a Howa Superlite in 308. The trigger is adjustable but you have to remove this white silicon blob from the screw and voids the warranty. I was looking at the Jard trigger, only trigger I could find that is specifically for the superlite. I called Timney and confirmed that none of their triggers will work. Anyway, the Jard triggers have a very light pull weight. With the max being about 16-20oz. Is that too light for a hunting rifle? I measured my factory trigger at about 3.5 lbs. It still shoots pretty good, but would be nice to have it a bit lighter. Thoughts?

My trigger pull came In at 3.5lbs as well.

I looked at the two triggers you are considering and noticed they seem to eliminate the three position safety. It matters to me (I really like that feature), but may not to you.

I like my hunting rifles to have a 2-2.5lb trigger pull.

 

[180ls1]

I looked at the two triggers you are considering and noticed the seem to eliminate the three position safety.

It matters to me (I really like that feature), but may not to you.

Isn't there a spring swap that can be done?

 

[juju]

A hair trigger on a hunting sporter will reprimand you if you get slack on trigger discipline.
2 or 3# for me. I can shoot a heavier trigger well if it breaks cleanly the same way every time but it's more of a chore on dynamic targets.

 

[EastHumboldt]

Does it void the warranty on the whole rifle, or just the trigger? If it’s just The trigger I’d go ahead and do it, since you’re thinking about replacing the trigger anyway.

If you do adjust it down, make sure you do a drop test so that it doesn’t go off unexpectedly.

I shoot a lot better with a 2 pound trigger than I do with a 4 pound. YMMV

BTW You have a duplicate of this thread running, which you should probably delete.

 

[kkp005]

2lb for me

 

[HuntHarder]

Preference imo, I prefer 1.5ish lbs on most guns.

 

[Maxhunter]

I prefer 2-2.5lbs

 

[Bidwell]

Thanks everybody. Very helpful.

 

[Bidwell]

Does it void the warranty on the whole rifle, or just the trigger? If it’s just The trigger I’d go ahead and do it, since you’re thinking about replacing the trigger anyway.

If you do adjust it down, make sure you do a drop test so that it doesn’t go off unexpectedly.

I shoot a lot better with a 2 pound trigger than I do with a 4 pound. YMMV

BTW You have a duplicate of this thread running, which you should probably delete.

Thats a good question, I'll try to confirm from howa. I tried asking about third party triggers once and they got a bit hostile and didn't want to answer any question.

Thanks for the heads up! I delete it. Had some network issue and think tried posting twice

 

[Bidwell]

Does it void the warranty on the whole rifle, or just the trigger? If it’s just The trigger I’d go ahead and do it, since you’re thinking about replacing the trigger anyway.

If you do adjust it down, make sure you do a drop test so that it doesn’t go off unexpectedly.

I shoot a lot better with a 2 pound trigger than I do with a 4 pound. YMMV

BTW You have a duplicate of this thread running, which you should probably delete.

My trigger pull came In at 3.5lbs as well.

I looked at the two triggers you are considering and noticed they seem to eliminate the three position safety. It matters to me (I really like that feature), but may not to you.

I like my hunting rifles to have a 2-2.5lb trigger pull.

Oh wow, didn't realize that. Yeah I like my three position safety. Ya know. Think I'm just going to keep my trigger. It's not bad, and I don't want to deal with any safety or warranty issues.

 

[EastHumboldt]

The other thing you can do is adjust the trigger and then put a white blob on the screw to cover your tracks…

 

[Unckebob]

Isn't there a spring swap that can be done?

Yes

When I get a little time, I am going to buy a second OEM trigger online , do the spring thing to it, and replace the original trigger. The original trigger will remain safely, unmolested, in a low humidity environment.

That should avoid any warranty problems with the rifle and they would not be expected to pay for any issues caused by the trigger they didn't sell me.

 

[waspocrew]

I’m usually good with around 2 lbs.