What is “Trigger Weight”?
If you spend any time reading gun magazines or other websites, you’ve probably come across the term “trigger weight”, usually expressed in pounds. You’ll see something like “this gun has a strong, 8 lb trigger” and such. Does that mean that the trigger weighs 8 pounds? Not exactly. Let’s spend a few moments to talk about trigger weight and what it means for you.
Side note, did you know that the abbreviation of “lb” for pounds is an abbreviation for the Libra constellation which is depicted as scales?
Fun facts aside, the trigger weight has tremendous influence on the performance and accuracy of your gun. When you hear someone talking about that trigger weight, that’s ultimately referring to the amount of force you’re going to have to apply to that trigger in order to fire the gun. The weight is greatly influenced by not only the manufacturer of the gun but the style of gun as well.
Depending on the gun, the details of how a trigger works varies in certain ways. For example, in a double action revolver, the mechanism that pulls the hammer back and then releases it is significantly different that the mechanism that releases the striker on a striker fired gun. Ultimately, however, the trigger has a series of springs and levers that will result in a firing pin being driven into the primer of a bullet cartridge.
Typically, you’re going to find the lightest trigger weights in single action guns where the trigger just releases the hammer. One of the things that makes the 1911 such a legendarily sweet shooting gun is that short, light single action trigger. Most 1911 pistols have a 4-5 pound trigger pull which requires very little strain to fire.
On the other hand, a big double action gun, where the trigger both pulls the hammer back and then releases it, are usually going to have a pretty hefty trigger pull. The Smith & Wesson Magnum 500 Revolver, when used in double action, weighs in at a beefy 11 pounds.
When you have a big, heavy trigger, you’re going to have to work harder to pull it. This can result in inadvertent shaking due to the strain which is ultimately going to hurt your accuracy. There’s a compound problem here as well. A very heavy pull is often times accompanied by a long trigger pull as well. This is especially evident in double action guns. When you combine that heavy pull with a long distance the trigger has to go, your accuracy can suffer even more. Some guns even have varying trigger pull weights depending on how far you’ve pulled the trigger. This is referred to as “trigger stacking”. The trigger can start off light but as you get closer and closer to the break point, that trigger weight gets heavier and heavier. It’s another factor that can really hurt accuracy.
So if you want a super accurate gun, get one with a super light trigger, right?
Kind of…well..not really…well…yes and no. It’s complicated. A light trigger will certainly help but there are numerous other factors in play that influence the accuracy of a gun. Things like barrel length, sight radius and more. Those are all factors related to human use and ergonomics. In the grand scheme of things, every gun is very accurate. The shooter itself is that influences it from there. That’s an entirely different article, however.
I should note that there is a safety aspect to trigger weights. It’s widely accepted that a long, heavy trigger pull is naturally safer than a short, light pull due to the reduced chance of accidentally firing the heavier trigger. On paper, that’s right. In practice, it’s a different story. Take, for example, the incident a while back where police officers in New York exchanged gunfire with a criminal. There were civilians shot that day as well and it was originally attributed to the criminal shooting at people as he was trying to get away. Investigations showed afterwards that all the civilian injuries were from the police officer’s guns. Why? New york requires that all police issues guns have a 12 pound trigger weight. Every gun that comes into the NYPD to be distributed is modified to have that absurdly heavy trigger. I don’t care how strong you are, in a high stress situation, a pull that beefy is going to remove much needed accuracy.
In the end, trigger weight really is a matter of preference. Some, like myself, prefers a light pull. Others love a nice heavy trigger. It’s your gun, find what you like. Just be aware of what effect it might have on your shooting.
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