What is your definition of a "good" striker pistol trigger?

[olstyn]

After putting 250 rounds through a Canik TP9SA, i'd say it has the best striker fired trigger I've ever used - and I shot it alongside a Glock, M&P, and a HK VP9. Nice break, short tactile reset. I ordered one on the spot.

Not terribly surprising, given that the Walther P99 and PPQ are widely regarded as having good triggers. (The TP9SA is a clone of the P99 with the double action mode removed, which basically makes it a clone of the PPQ.)

[JHC]

I've been thinking about this just lately. I think the gen 4 triggers are very shootable, and can't figure out why some people swap the gen 3's into them. I am pretty trigger insensitive though, and am a big believer in learning to shoot what the gun came with.

Having said that, I'm curious to try the Zev duty trigger, given how they have pretty much taken over the segment of the market that means anything to me.

I find them adequate also. I do like them with the minus connector a little more. I've never gone down the path of aftermarket components or swapping trigger springs or lightened striker springs though. Factory minus connector is it.

I want them all to be as reliable as can be and satisfactory for street or range.

[Up1911Fan]

I've been thinking about this just lately. I think the gen 4 triggers are very shootable, and can't figure out why some people swap the gen 3's into them. I am pretty trigger insensitive though, and am a big believer in learning to shoot what the gun came with.

Having said that, I'm curious to try the Zev duty trigger, given how they have pretty much taken over the segment of the market that means anything to me.

I actually really like my Gen4 triggers with a factory minus connector.

[JonInWA]

I have a Gen 3 G17 with a superb (smooth, crisp breaking) OEM standard connector and coil trigger spring...

I have a Gen 3 G21 with a dot connector with a coil spring....

I have one Gen 3 G19 with a earlier Gen 3 smooth trigger triggerbar, a NY1 and a minus connector...

I have a second Gen 3 G19 with a Gen 3.5 triggerbar, a dot connector, and a coil trigger spring...

I have a G34 with a NY1 and a minus connector...

The "best" out of this melange is probably the OEM set-up on the G17-but a lot has to do with a very fortuitous mating of the OEM connector and triggerbar (and thousands of rounds, and thousands {probably tens of thousands} of dryfire iterations...

The nice thing about Glocks is that they're easily tuned by parts swaps, quality lubricant application, and light polishing (or simple use over time).

Best, Jon

[Lyonsgrid]

Just picked up (2) new Gen 4 19's and I'm playing this trigger set-up process...

So far (dry fire) the best set up for me is:

-Older Gen 3 smooth face trigger bar (w/o "bump" and "hook")
-Factory "-" connector
-Old style Factory NY1 (black) the ones without the coil.

[okie john]

After some discussion on triggers in the PPQ/VP9 thread, and discussing a 320 trigger with a buddy this afternoon, it occurred to me that there is a range of perceptions on what constitutes a good striker pistol trigger for carry/duty and for gaming. I have some ideas, which have evolved over the years, but I am interested in how others define a "good" striker trigger?

One of the things that I've learned from reading your posts is that we have to consider the situation, the trigger, and the technique together.

The classic definition of a "good" trigger (between two and four pounds pull weight, with minimal movement before and after the shot is fired) is fine when you're talking about hunting or target shooting. It's ideal when used with the surprise break, and when you're shooting a metal-framed weapon.

As you've pointed out, the surprise break doesn't work as well on a polymer-framed SFA pistol. These guns have different triggers, so they call for the rolling technique you've described. I'd say that for a polymer-framed SFA pistol, a good trigger is one that offers a) no more than two stages, and b) a pull weight between four and six pounds that remains constant or nearly so for each stage. The quality of how it breaks or rolls or snaps or whatever is personal preference.

Nearly all of the better SFA pistols on the market do this in one way or another, so from there, it's up to us to understand that we're not shooting a classic trigger/pistol, and to learn to shoot the SFA trigger well.


Okie John

[GJM]

One of the things that I've learned from reading your posts is that we have to consider the situation, the trigger, and the technique together.
Okie John

I wished my wife listened to me as well as you.

[Dagga Boy]

I am in the good for what camp. I like a trigger with very consistent movement and where it breaks with a distinctive change from slack to being in the ignition. I am very oriented towards the people management under stress and the prisoner taking aspect over pure ease to shoot without sight disturbance. That is clearly different than other folks goals. I like the VP9 over most in this role, and I like my Glock triggers that Don Ellis does for me with a little bit more take up than stock. If ind the PPQ to have a "better" trigger, but not for what I am looking for. It is a gun I could easily see getting bangs when I am not ready for them and saw this first hand during some drills where I was pressing the trigger while coaching for another shooter. The PPQ doubled almost every time. The owner reported that it did the same thing in another instructor class as well. Easy to shoot, but easy to shoot.

[RevolverRob]

Well, I have different opinions than most. I pretty much like consistent, smooth trigger pulls. I want them to be firm with an evenweight that lets me know I am pressing them, starting at the beginning of the press. Weight should remain even throughtout the pull and break should be clean and crisp, without being jarring in the weight change when it breaks.

Most stock Glocks and M&Ps are shootable, but I always feel SFAs to be 'spongy' that is sort of a squishly feel to them, that is not firm or consistent. My last M&P had the FSS Apex trigger and still felt spongy. Every Glock I have ever felt, feels that way at least stock. The thing I don't like about the sponginess is that I feel the trigger changes dramatically based on finger placement and I definitely do not like that.

-Rob

[Kevin B.]

I've been thinking about this just lately. I think the gen 4 triggers are very shootable, and can't figure out why some people swap the gen 3's into them.

I prefer the Gen 4 trigger to the Gen 3 as well.