Need advice from knowledgables, unexperienced with pistol specs

[LLUSMC-SF]

Hi all,
I'm pretty inexperienced with pistol specs and I need to know a good trigger weight for someone with little (and I'm talking extremely little) grip strength. I've heard Glock has a light trigger, but that's the most I've heard. I need to know what's a good weight for a very light trigger before I go shopping for the others specs.

Like I said, not new to shooting, very new to pistols. Need some advice. Any input would be great.
Thanks.

[TGS]

Hi all,
I'm pretty inexperienced with pistol specs and I need to know a good trigger weight for someone with little (and I'm talking extremely little) grip strength. I've heard Glock has a light trigger, but that's the most I've heard. I need to know what's a good weight for a very light trigger before I go shopping for the others specs.

Like I said, not new to shooting, very new to pistols. Need some advice. Any input would be great.
Thanks.

5.5 lbs should be doable, but you could go even lighter if needed. Many pistols can be set up to meet this....HK's light LEM variant, Glocks, M&Ps, P99QA/PPQ, 1911's, DA/SA pistols if DA is not used, ect.

The grip circumference will play a huge role. Something to match their hand size and give them proper leverage/body mechanics is just as important.

[WDW]

What application are we talking about here? Range, competition, carry, duty? The general concensus on what constitutes a "safe" carry weight is 5lbs. and up. My concern is this. If their grip strength is below a certain point, do they even possess enough strength to chamber a round or clear a stoppage? There is alot more to shooting a gun than just pulling the trigger. This person needs to get some examples out in front of them with a knowledgeable person and practice going through the manual of arms for each one. They would be doing themselves a great disservice to buy and use a gun based solely on their ability to simply pull the trigger. The first thing they need to do though, is sign up for a beginners pistol class so they can learn fundamentals of safety, handling, dis/ass of the weapon, and basic shooting skills (trigger control, sight alignment/picture, immediate/remedial action, presentation, escalation of force...)

[LLUSMC-SF]

Thanks for the input. To address the question of classes, safety, function, etc. I should've clarified, I'm not new to shooting pistols, I'm new to trying to buy one that I can shoot accurately. It's for myself, I've got very small hands and again, not alot of grip strength, though I have plenty to chamber a round in an automatic (I won't lie, I've encountered a few that took a lot more effort than I'd like, but I can definitely chamber a round). Thus far, I can't shoot with accuracy because the strength expended to squeeze the trigger causes trembling, which obviously causes not-being-able-to-hit-shit syndrome. That's the reason for the trigger weight concern. I'm just looking for a starting point, and that's a big one that's always been a problem for me where pistols are concerned. And it's not planned for duty carrying, etc. It's strictly for target shooting, so a lower weight trigger isn't going to be a safety issue in this instance.

Again, thanks for the replies, gives me somewhere to start. Much appreciated.

[Default.mp3]

From http://vickerstactical.com/tactical-tips/trigger-pull-weight/



Often I get asked in my classes what is an acceptable trigger pull weight on a carry or duty handgun.


This is a very good question and one that does not get addressed properly in the gun media. The following are my thoughts on the subject;


>As a general rule a serious use pistol should have a trigger no lighter than 4 pounds and ideally no more than 6 pounds. Average shooters will generally shoot a pistol with the same trigger pull weight from shot to shot better than a double action/single action pistol that has a long and relatively heavy first trigger pull followed by lighter and shorter trigger pull for each following shot. A perfect example would be a Glock 17 with a factory stock trigger that weighs approx 5 pounds and is the same for each shot vs a Beretta M9 with a double action first trigger pull of approx 13 lbs and a 5 lb single action trigger for each shot after. Although DA/SA guns can be mastered the average shooter will definately shoot a pistol like a Glock better than a Beretta.


In addition a trigger below 4 lbs can easily lead to accidental discharges under conditions of stress. Remember fine motor skills degrade rapidly and not only does the shooters ability to shoot accurately suffer but because of this a 4 lb trigger will feel like a 2 lb trigger when you are truly in fear for your life. Add into this sweaty hands, rain and/or cold, and possibly gloves and you begin to see why finely tuned match triggers of 3 lbs or less have no place on a serious fighting tool.


Another disturbing trend is for Law Enforcement agencies to put very heavy trigger on their issue service pistol for liability reasons. The most famous example is the Glock New York trigger that weighs approx 8 lbs and even worse is the New York plus that has a trigger pull weight of 12 lbs. Remember if your pistol weighs 2 lbs loaded and you have an 8 pound trigger pull it will take 4 times the loaded weight of the the handgun to make it fire. This means for the typical shooter it is virtually impossible to shoot the weapon accurately under stress. This leads to misses and an unintentional spray and pray approach when in a gunfight. The danger to innocent bystanders is increased dramatically and the very thing that was meant to make the pistol safer ( heavy trigger pull ) actually increases the danger to the public that LE officers are sworn to protect. This sad state of affairs started as a byproduct of LE agencies that issued revolvers and relied on the long heavy double action trigger pull as a safety device. This lead to the unsafe habit of allowing officers to have their finger on the trigger when they should not. Enter a stock Glock 17 with a 5 lb trigger and no manual safeties of any kind and you have a recipe for disaster. A much better approach is to train and if need be re-train officers to keep their finger off the trigger at all times except when presenting the weapon toward the target. Always keep in mind that a mechanical device is a poor substitute for safe gun handling.


Proper trigger manipulation is key to accurate pistol shooting – some like me argue it is the most important factor when learning to shoot a handgun. For this reason alone trigger characteristics and pull weight deserve careful consideration when selecting a weapon to bet your life on.

Perhaps you could dry fire a bit at the gun store and figure out what's light enough for you?

[JHC]

Walther PPQ for the win! Try the trigger out on that puppy.

[digiadaamore]

Walther PPQ for the win! Try the trigger out on that puppy.

As a member of the new legion of members who now carry a ppq everyday, i second its the best trigger, but, i think you may want to define the role of the gun in the future a little more. you may want to take it to the range now, but you might be surprised to find how quick you think it would be a very good idea to have your weapon with you everyday. the reason i say this is that for someone very new who may have a more expanded role for the gun in the future it might be best to go with something like a g19 0r m&pc that you could shoot at the range all day but then if you transition to a bigger role gear will be plentiful and inexpensive to test out, as new folks often need to do, as well as having a gun sized a little easier for carry

[B.K.]

Thanks for the input. To address the question of classes, safety, function, etc. I should've clarified, I'm not new to shooting pistols, I'm new to trying to buy one that I can shoot accurately. It's for myself, I've got very small hands and again, not alot of grip strength, though I have plenty to chamber a round in an automatic (I won't lie, I've encountered a few that took a lot more effort than I'd like, but I can definitely chamber a round). Thus far, I can't shoot with accuracy because the strength expended to squeeze the trigger causes trembling, which obviously causes not-being-able-to-hit-shit syndrome. That's the reason for the trigger weight concern. I'm just looking for a starting point, and that's a big one that's always been a problem for me where pistols are concerned. And it's not planned for duty carrying, etc. It's strictly for target shooting, so a lower weight trigger isn't going to be a safety issue in this instance.

Again, thanks for the replies, gives me somewhere to start. Much appreciated.

Have you thought about giving a rimfire pistol a try (aka .22)? Sounds like something like a Ruger Mark III, 22/45, etc. might be a good starting point. If you're truly just looking for a target gun, this would be cheap to shoot, allow you to work on the fundamentals and if needed, you can get the trigger tuned to a pretty light pull. Also, you'll have much less recoil to deal with.

[peterb]

Have you thought about giving a rimfire pistol a try (aka .22)? Sounds like something like a Ruger Mark III, 22/45, etc. might be a good starting point. If you're truly just looking for a target gun, this would be cheap to shoot, allow you to work on the fundamentals and if needed, you can get the trigger tuned to a pretty light pull. Also, you'll have much less recoil to deal with.

The Ruger Mk II/III trigger isn't bad stock, and the Volquartsen drop-in trigger and sear make it even lighter. Other .22s such as the Buckmark should be similar. I just had a chance to handle the new Ruger SR-22 pistol, which might be a better fit for small hands than the older models.