Ar15 Trigger – Image AimSurplus.com
I’ve made my own personal list of my five favorite AR-15 triggers. But remember, this is my list, and based around the type of shooting I prefer to do. Your list might be totally different for all sorts of good reasons. And there are lots of probably great triggers out there that I just don’t have any experience with, and thus cannot say anything about, like the very popular AR Gold Modular Triggers. They get great reviews, and shooters seem to love them – I’ve just never had a chance to try one out in person.
So here are my personal Top 5 favorite AR-15 triggers, with a few reasons as to why I rank them in this particular order.
5. Original Mil-Spec Factory Trigger.
Even though lots of AR shooters can’t wait to drop in a new trigger, there’s a lot to be said for the plain-Jane, factory original. Yes, sometimes you get a creepy or gritty one, especially if you go with a manufacturer that’s not known for mil-spec parts. It works well enough, and there’s very little that can go wrong, as the design has been proven many times over. There’s not much chance it will be so light that you fire it before you intend to due to excitement or stress or adrenaline in a serious situation.
Plus, it’s non-adjustable, and many shooters fall prey to the siren call of the adjustable trigger and adjust themselves into unnecessary problems. There’s always the chance that a perfectly-adjusted trigger somehow slips out of adjustment, exactly when you need it most. Currently, I have three guns with factory original triggers and plans for some more of the same in the future.
For more than 90% of folks who use an AR-15, the correct choice of trigger is either a MIL-Spec standard trigger, or an ALG Enhanced Single Stage. Unless you have a match-grade 20″ barrel and a bipod on your AR, and intend to engage targets primarily at ranges in excess of 300 meters (340 yards) you shouldn’t be considering any of the 2-stage triggers, or any of the adjustable single-stage ones.
For any standard-build AR with a 16″ or 18″ barrel, these expensive triggers will, at best, minimize the effect of your poor trigger discipline, encouraging you not to retrain yourself properly. At worst, they will give you a false sense of competence, which will *NOT* stand the test of actual engagement. ONLY proper trigger discipline, practiced with stern regularity, will keep you on-target in the heat of a live-fire exchange. No custom trigger, nor any super-high tech optical evice, no matter how costly, can replace said trigger discipline when your life is on the line.
This is why, when I train folks in basic and intermediate rifleman skills, I require that the rifle have a standard trigger, and no optics other than stanard iron sights — If you can’t achieve reasonable marksmanship standards with a straight trigger and iron sights, then you haven’t mastered the fundamentals. Intermediate and advanced riflery skills cannot be properly developed by those who are lacking in fundamentals. There are no shortcuts. Period.
So if you’re shooting is inconsistent (or consistently mediocre), and you find yourself buying one gadget after another hoping it will “fix” your difficulties, my advice is this -- strip all the tacti-cool accessories off your rifle, and get back to basics -- dry fire and live fire your basic AR, focusing on the four fundamentals**, until you consistently hit your target at ranges out to 300 meters. Only then should you consider adding aftermarket triggers, holosights, flashlights, etc. to your rifle.
The four fundamentals are --
1. Assume & Maintain a steady position
2. Obtain a Natural Point of Aim
3. Breathing Control & relaxation of non-supporting muscles
4. Trigger control & follow-through on every shot