September 27, 2024
By Frank Melloni
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Americans like to make things their own, even if it requires a bit of work. From homes to vehicles, we are fans of customizing things to suit our needs. For these reasons, it’s unsurprising that the AR-15 holds the No. 1 spot as the best-selling rifle. Aside from doing nearly anything you can ask of a firearm, customizing one is like playing with a Mr. Potato Head without the messy business of gender assignment. When it comes to changing parts, there is no greater effort-to-outcome yield than swapping the trigger. This job only takes a few minutes and can make your firearm faster to fire, easier to shoot more accurately, and in some cases even safer to carry. Join me as we look at seven of this year’s top contenders and why you should consider them for your next build or upgrade.
1. Rise Iconic This one sits at the top of the list because, well, I helped design it. Call me arrogant if you like, but after you press it just once, you’ll understand. I’ve always been on the fence about two-stage triggers and never cared for their elongated travel. Rise made the Iconic to fill the two-stage gap in their lineup and did so with their single-stage mindset — let me explain. Most two-stagers get the job done by combining both portions of the press into a single mechanism. While this certainly works, it paints the product into a corner because they have to trade between pull weight and crispness. The Rise Iconic is essentially two independent triggers rolled into a self-contained unit. The outcome is the best of both worlds, featuring a sharply defined wall and a clean break at a measured 3 pounds, 7 ounces. In practice, it feels like a traditional two-stage trigger: pressing the front blade into the second blade creates that secondary resistance. However, after it’s stacked up, it breaks like a politician’s promise and still features that snappy reset that Rise is known for. Installing it is no different than a traditional AR trigger, and our test sample carried a total pull weight of just 3 pounds, 4 ounces. MSRP: $300
2. TriggerTech AR-15 Bursting onto the scene with featherweight crossbow and bolt-action triggers, our neighbors to the north quickly got petitioned to spin their efforts toward the AR-15. Applying some of the same tech that put them on the map, the AR-15 Diamond trigger unit was born. The idea was to make it feel like a 1911 trigger with a quarter-pound takeup before the second-stage wall. So technically, it’s a two-stage trigger, but so few shooters will feel that. This self-contained, drop-in trigger system replaces all of the typical parts and uses the same pin set that came with your firearm. TriggerTech took an extra step to add two “snugging” screws to the base of the unit to help it overcome the slight variances that are found in lower receivers. My favorite feature of this trigger is that not only is the pull weight adjustable, but lightening it up doesn’t affect hammer force. I was also fond of the ease of adjustment, as all that’s required is cracking the receiver open and twisting the top-mounted screw. Back in the day, I used to do the “$15 trigger job” by lightening the hammer spring but, in doing so, the gun had to be committed to certain types of ammo. The TriggerTech setup alleviates this practice, as I was able to wind it down to a pull as light as 1 pound, 3 ounces and still reliably ignite the hardest primers on the market. On the other side of things, I was able to tighten the screw to achieve a measured pull weight just shy of 5 pounds. That weight range will satisfy any shooting activity, so it’s hard to go wrong with this one. MSRP: $290
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3. Geissele SSA-E X In a world where duty weapons must remain stock, it really says something when U.S. Special Forces run your triggers. Geissele earned its reputation for reliability through the rigors of combat in the hands of those that keep us free. Of its latest renditions sits the SSA-E X, a traditional two-stage trigger system that provides the features we want while remaining virtually bombproof. Although installation requires lining up a few parts, it doesn’t require the removal of the pistol grip and safety to get it in, so that means we are looking at the same time devotion to installing this setup as a fully-encapsulated design. The included slave pin holds everything together as you tap in the trigger pins. This takes away that ship-in-a-bottle feeling that accompanies the installation of an original-style AR trigger system. Once I had it in, I measured a first stage weight of 2 pounds, 3 ounces and a final break at 3 pounds, 4 ounces. While there is undoubtedly a wall, I found it extraordinarily soft and easy to pass without even noticing. The reset, on the other hand, is quite perceptible, as the trigger rockets back into place after just 3/16 of an inch of forward travel. This would make an excellent addition to a hunting rifle or a home-defense carbine while making them more fun to practice with at the same time. MSRP: $325
4. Timney Daniel Horner Signature Oddly enough, the oldest company on our list has made a trigger for one of the newest forms of competition involving the AR-15. With more than 75 years of experience under their belt, Timney knows a little bit about triggers. Therefore, when the time came to build one for Multigun National Champion Daniel Horner , they were the obvious choice. In the hand, it’s a glaringly overbuilt design, intended for this fast-paced sport’s high-volume shooting and the elongated practice sessions in preparation for it. Undoubtedly, Timney went with the enclosed setup to ensure that it stays free of sand and dirt, as a typical match pit is full of loose earth, and there are plenty of occasions when you roll among it. Installation was simple: remove the old trigger parts, grip, and safety and drop in the new unit. It was an exceptionally snug fit, and after cranking down the shimming screws, it essentially became one with the receiver. The pull weight on this trigger is indeed adjustable, and we measured a range of 1 pound, 4 ounces to 2 pounds, 14 ounces. Regardless of weight, it had a super short reset of less than 1/16 inch that wasn’t excessively forceful. This is an important feature to have in a light match trigger, as something too snappy might cause a second-round negligent discharge, ejecting you from the match. MSRP: $318
5. LaRue MBT-2S Ironically, the least expensive trigger on our list comes from the company best associated with high-dollar rifles. The LaRue MBT-2S (or Meticulously Built Trigger, Two-Stage) offers an affordable upgrade for the AR-15 owner who wants peak performance but is working with a tight budget. That should not read “cheap,” as this trigger is anything but that. Casting a stone at MIM parts, LaRue boasts that this kit is built from solid S7 tool steel, making them literally as tough as a hammer’s head. Installation wasn’t half bad, as the disconnector is permanently set in place, alleviating the need to align four holes and drive a pin through them. Upon completion, I measured a first-stage pull weight of 1 pound, 15 ounces and a final break at 4 pounds, 1 ounce. For those that prefer a little more effort to discharge a weapon, a secondary spring is included to beef it up to a little more than 6 pounds. While the weight represents a major improvement over mil-spec, the break is drastically cleaner and didn’t exhibit even the slightest amount of overtravel. Furthermore, the reset was also anything but government, as it snapped back into action after just 1/8 inch of forward travel. MSRP: $99
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6. Rock River Arms NM Ultra Match Rock River Arms made a name for itself through the company’s National Match AR-15s. Although the barrel gets the lion’s share of the accuracy credit, bullets only go where intended when a clean release precedes their launch. Therefore, selling those triggers as stand-alone units only makes sense, and now we have the opportunity to drop the best into any AR we wish. The RRA NM Ultra Match is intended for the sport of NRA High Power or Service Rifle. As such, it is built to skirt the 4.5-pound weight restriction. Installation was about the same as any conventional AR trigger, except these folks are also wise to the benefits of attaching the disconnector to the rest of the trigger. After slapping a 20-inch upper onto my lower, I tested it using an NRA Official Trigger Weight System (available from brownells.com), and it indeed passed. A deeper delve revealed a first-stage weight of 1 pound, 8 ounces and a total weight of 4 pounds, 9 ounces, making it barely match legal. The fastest firing in this sport is only 10 rounds in 70 seconds, so reset wasn’t a significant concern in this trigger. However, it was quite positive and only required ¼ inch of travel to put it back into action. MSRP: $140
Testing these triggers left me with a genuine issue: not having enough rifles to field them all. However, I was able to narrow down a few applications and believe each has a unique feature set that makes one more suitable for a given task than the other. From hunting to home defense with every type of competition in between, this sweet sextet will optimize every AR-15 in your safe.
