Coyote Hunter
Single-Sixer
My new Ruger Elite 452 trigger arrived today. It came in a frame with trigger group, safety and a palm-swell grip that feels pretty good - certainly better than the standard grip that came on my S&W M&P .300 Blackout or my Rock River LAR-15 .223/5.56. Cost was $107 and shipping from Cheaper Than Dirt.
I did the work on my Rock River trigger, against much advice, so I have no one to blame for it being ruined but myself. While smoothness and pull weight were much improved, I removed too much metal from the wrong places and the trigger was unsafe for two reasons. The first was that if the trigger was pulled while in the Safe position, switching to Fire caused the hammer to drop, which would have resulted in a discharge if a round was in the chamber. Just as bad was that the rifle, if loaded with the safety in the Fire position, would have fired two shots for each stroke of the trigger. The first would be on the rearward motion as per normal. Holding the trigger to the rear and cocking the hammer (as would happen when the bolt cycled) would result in the hammer being released again when the trigger reset to the forward position. Yup, I screwed it up good.
The first thing I did after opening the package was to dry fire the Ruger trigger while it was in the frame. The first stage felt a little rough, not really gritty but not as smooth as the 2-stage I put in my S&W (and at $150 paid more for as well). The second stage had just a bit of creep but broke cleanly. One thing I noticed right away was the trigger shoe was not as smooth as the Rock River factory shoe or the shoe on the aftermarket 2-stage trigger I put in my S&W M&P. (Don't ask what it is because I can't tell you. I bought it new at a gun show for $150. The seller had it in a test-fire frame and it felt very good compared to the S&W factory trigger, which was considerably better than the Rock River factory trigger. I've had it for several months now and still like it but have no idea about the manufacturer's name or the model. I do recall I had never heard of them before.)
I had read several reports that the Ruger's first stage in the frame was a little rough but that roughness disappeared after the trigger was installed in a real lower. Test firing the Ruger trigger while in the frame confirmed the slight roughness of the first stage. The second stage has a bit of creep but broke cleanly. After swapping the Ruger trigger with the bubba'd trigger in my Rock River I dry fired the lower probably 60 times while watching Jaws 2. (No, I wasn't shooting sharks, just getting a good feel for the trigger. And yes, I was catching the hammer with my off hand.) I have to say there wasn't any discernible difference between firing it in the Ruger frame or the Rock River lower. There is still a bit of roughness in the first stage - not what I would call gritty but not super smooth, either. There is still a bit of creep and it still breaks cleanly. While I don't have a trigger pull gage I'd guess the second stage is about 4 pounds.
Overall I am quite happy with the Ruger trigger. My Rock River will never be a competition rifle and, hopefully, never see CQB use. Rapid fire, if it ever comes other than for test purposes, will most likely be 2-3 shot strings at moving targets or varmints. The trigger is good enough that I can pull through the first stage pretty easily for those purposes and yet still has enough resistance at the second stage that accidental discharges are much less likely than with a pure target trigger. At the same time it is smooth, crisp and light enough that it won't be a significant hindrance for target shooting.
If I could make changes to the trigger it would not be in the pull weight but rather to eliminate the slight roughness in the first stage and reduce the creep slightly (I like a tiny bit of creep). The most important change, though, would be to smooth out the face of the trigger. That is something I may do with my Dremel or a wooden dowel and some fine sandpaper.
The real test is whether I would buy another. For that the answer is "Maybe". In general I like the feel of the Brand-X 2-stage trigger in my S&W, although it has a little more creep than the Ruger trigger. (The smoothness of the trigger shoe has a lot to do with the better overall feel.) If the choice was $107 for the Ruger or $250 for something else, I'd take the Ruger. For $150 I might take another Brand-X. (Might have to take the S&W apart and see if there is manufacturer name or model on it.) In any case, the Ruger trigger is a vast improvement over the S&W and Rock River factory triggers I've had experience with.
(The grip and safety that came on the Ruger frame were left there as I haven't decided whether to swap them onto the Rock River or not. I do like the feel of the grip. A lot.)
I did the work on my Rock River trigger, against much advice, so I have no one to blame for it being ruined but myself. While smoothness and pull weight were much improved, I removed too much metal from the wrong places and the trigger was unsafe for two reasons. The first was that if the trigger was pulled while in the Safe position, switching to Fire caused the hammer to drop, which would have resulted in a discharge if a round was in the chamber. Just as bad was that the rifle, if loaded with the safety in the Fire position, would have fired two shots for each stroke of the trigger. The first would be on the rearward motion as per normal. Holding the trigger to the rear and cocking the hammer (as would happen when the bolt cycled) would result in the hammer being released again when the trigger reset to the forward position. Yup, I screwed it up good.
The first thing I did after opening the package was to dry fire the Ruger trigger while it was in the frame. The first stage felt a little rough, not really gritty but not as smooth as the 2-stage I put in my S&W (and at $150 paid more for as well). The second stage had just a bit of creep but broke cleanly. One thing I noticed right away was the trigger shoe was not as smooth as the Rock River factory shoe or the shoe on the aftermarket 2-stage trigger I put in my S&W M&P. (Don't ask what it is because I can't tell you. I bought it new at a gun show for $150. The seller had it in a test-fire frame and it felt very good compared to the S&W factory trigger, which was considerably better than the Rock River factory trigger. I've had it for several months now and still like it but have no idea about the manufacturer's name or the model. I do recall I had never heard of them before.)
I had read several reports that the Ruger's first stage in the frame was a little rough but that roughness disappeared after the trigger was installed in a real lower. Test firing the Ruger trigger while in the frame confirmed the slight roughness of the first stage. The second stage has a bit of creep but broke cleanly. After swapping the Ruger trigger with the bubba'd trigger in my Rock River I dry fired the lower probably 60 times while watching Jaws 2. (No, I wasn't shooting sharks, just getting a good feel for the trigger. And yes, I was catching the hammer with my off hand.) I have to say there wasn't any discernible difference between firing it in the Ruger frame or the Rock River lower. There is still a bit of roughness in the first stage - not what I would call gritty but not super smooth, either. There is still a bit of creep and it still breaks cleanly. While I don't have a trigger pull gage I'd guess the second stage is about 4 pounds.
Overall I am quite happy with the Ruger trigger. My Rock River will never be a competition rifle and, hopefully, never see CQB use. Rapid fire, if it ever comes other than for test purposes, will most likely be 2-3 shot strings at moving targets or varmints. The trigger is good enough that I can pull through the first stage pretty easily for those purposes and yet still has enough resistance at the second stage that accidental discharges are much less likely than with a pure target trigger. At the same time it is smooth, crisp and light enough that it won't be a significant hindrance for target shooting.
If I could make changes to the trigger it would not be in the pull weight but rather to eliminate the slight roughness in the first stage and reduce the creep slightly (I like a tiny bit of creep). The most important change, though, would be to smooth out the face of the trigger. That is something I may do with my Dremel or a wooden dowel and some fine sandpaper.
The real test is whether I would buy another. For that the answer is "Maybe". In general I like the feel of the Brand-X 2-stage trigger in my S&W, although it has a little more creep than the Ruger trigger. (The smoothness of the trigger shoe has a lot to do with the better overall feel.) If the choice was $107 for the Ruger or $250 for something else, I'd take the Ruger. For $150 I might take another Brand-X. (Might have to take the S&W apart and see if there is manufacturer name or model on it.) In any case, the Ruger trigger is a vast improvement over the S&W and Rock River factory triggers I've had experience with.
(The grip and safety that came on the Ruger frame were left there as I haven't decided whether to swap them onto the Rock River or not. I do like the feel of the grip. A lot.)
