Measuring trigger pull

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Yung.gunr

New member
I just read a thread about when trigger pull is too light and it got me thinking about measuring the pull on my guns.

What is the best way to measure the trigger pull? Is there a special scale you have to have? Is there a good rule of thumb? Say maybe if you hold the rifle (barrel down) by the trigger and it fires it is too light?

My Savage has the Accutrigger, I have a Mosin that I have been thinking about doing some cheap kitchen table work on and I have not yet shot my new Saiga, but I hear their triggers are not the best.

So I may be looking to test and possibly work on them.
 
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MLeake

New member
A trigger pull gauge anchors at one end and hooks on your trigger at the other. It has a spring you pull against until the trigger breaks, and typically a round face with a dial as on an old scale.

I have used one, but it belonged to a friend. Suspect you could order one from Brownell's, MidwayUSA, or CheaperThanDirt.
 
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lefteye

New member
Trigger pull measurement gauges are (or at least, when I bought mine, were) not that expensive, but I wouldn't buy one until I had several firearms to justify the purchase. For a hunting rifle 2 1/2 to 3 lbs, my preference, is light.
 
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WWWJD

New member
I cheated; used the water weight method on my 700. I believe I picked this up from either Art Eatman or kraigwy here on the forum. Water weighs 8.345 lbs per gallon, or 0.065 lbs per fluid oz.

I fashioned a hook out of a clothes hanger and hung a wide mouth jug from it directly behind the rifle (muzzle up). Keep adding water until the trigger breaks, measure out the amount in a measuring cup.. do the math. Repeat 3 or 4 times for an average. My 700 X-Mark Pro won't go below 3.5 lbs.

Good free solution. :)
 
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hounddawg

New member
I cheated; used the water weight method on my 700. I believe I picked this up from either Art Eatman or kraigwy here on the forum. Water weighs 8.345 lbs per gallon, or 0.065 lbs per fluid oz.
Click to expand...


I do something similar. Instead of water I use bullets that I have onhand for reloading and then weigh them afterwards on a postage scale.
 
A

arizona98tj

New member
I bought a Lyman electronic trigger pull gauge and use it. Sounds dull compared to all of these other methods. That being said, it will measure down to a tenth of an ounce.
 
A

Art Eatman

Staff in Memoriam
Yeah, some string and a half-gallon plastic milk jug lets you weigh to around 4.25 pounds. If a trigger pull is more than that, I'd call it Yuckville. :D
 
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Palmetto-Pride

New member
I use a digital fish scale I bought from Wal-Mart it mesures in oz and pounds cost around $25.00. It has a hook on the end that I just pull against the trigger just look at how high it gets when the trigger breaks.
 
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MLeake

New member
geetarman, a pint in a Red Solo Cup would be about a pound. How to balance it without spilling, though?

Hmmm....
 
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hounddawg

New member
I use a digital fish scale I bought from Wal-Mart it mesures in oz and pounds cost around $25.00. It has a hook on the end that I just pull against the trigger just look at how high it gets when the trigger breaks
Click to expand...

that is pretty smart, easier than my bag of bullets trick. Ebay has some cheap ones that can be had for less than 5 bucks. Considering it is a tool I will only use once or maybe twice a year I might have to get one.
 
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deepcore

New member
Rifle Basix sells a spring model gauge on their site for $23.95 shipped.
I hung a pound on mine and it read a pound. Same at 2 pounds.
Works for me.
 
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johnbt

New member
The trouble with the Lyman digital scale I have is that it only measures up to 12 pounds and there are some guns out there with heavy triggers. So sometimes when I'm hanging around at a range letting folks measure their triggers, I'll pull out my old tubular brass fish scale for a laugh. It measures in 4 ounce increments up to 25 pounds and has 30+ years of tarnish and sea spray on it.
 
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Pahoo

New member
More than one way to skin this cat.

The trouble with the Lyman digital scale I have is that it only measures up to 12 pounds and there are some guns out there with heavy triggers.
Click to expand...
WOW, perhaps for working with RPG's. Launchers. I have two spring trigger scales and one dial scale. My dial scale range is 0-6 lbs. One spring scale range is 0-10 Lbs. Don't buy the cheapest RCBS spring scale, as I did and sent it right back. Don't have the Lyman digital but my Smith does and it looks pretty neat. ... :rolleyes:

Whatever you get, make sure it has the feature to "capture" the let-off weight. Getting down to onces is another good feature. Just make sure that whatever you are measuring, is anchored securely to your bench, stand or vice. Log a before and three afters to confirm your trip point and take an average of the three. You may find that the same trigger, will trip at different points but variation is very small. .... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
C

CTS

New member
I have the the cheapest RCBS scale that you speak of and, you are right it is a POS. I measured the trigger pull on my M70 Winchester last night using the water jug and string method described above and then weighed the jug with a postal scale. I knew it had a light trigger pull, I was really surprised to find out it was only 1lb 8oz.
 
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Mike38

New member
I bought this set off auctionarms.com about ten years ago for building a M1911. I think I paid around $10 for them, and have been told I stole them. Official NRA weights, the only ones allowed to be used for competition. Anything from 2 to 4.5 pounds in 0.25 pound increments.
 

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