Trigger pull

It’ll probably be a long while before I get my 1911 setup to my arbitrary and whimsical specifications, due to the ever-escalating price of, well, everything. But I like to think that since this’ll be the gun I carry decades into the future — or at least until I get obsessed with something else — then I can afford to take my time, save my pennies, and enjoy the planning process. I’m in for the long haul, and the Glock serves just fine in the meantime.

And since I’m taking forever, I get to spend months and months considering things like optimal trigger pull weight. (For the uninitiated, trigger pull weight refers to the amount of pressure, in pounds, required to break the trigger and make the gun go bang.) Which I have been doing.  And Caleb at Gun Nuts Media has been helping me out, posting this:

One of the most common topics of discussion on gun websites, magazines, and TV shows is the weight of the trigger pull of gun X.  Usually heard as “my CQB Tactical Destroyer has a 2.5 pound trigger pull!” or “I had to use a fish scale to measure the trigger pull of the Hi Point it was so heavy”.  Many pixels have died to bring us this information, and yet for whatever reason people seem to think a light trigger pull is almost a badge of honor.  I recently met a guy that was talking about how he had his Glock trigger down to 2.5 pounds or some absurd number, which made me wonder “why?”

The rest.

And referring me to this:

Having a very light trigger pull on a gun you use for duty, concealed carry, or home defense does not make you a tactical ninja operator. But it might make you the girlfriend of a thrice-convicted felon named Thumper when you go to prison for firing a shot unintentionally under stress.

Ridiculously light trigger configurations have become cool among many gun forum regulars. Whether it’s a 3.5# disconnector in a Glock or a “competition” trigger job done to other guns, far too many people are running around with guns in a condition that even the manufacturers consider unsafe for combat.

Does that lighter trigger pull help you shoot better? Maybe it does. But practice will help you shoot better, too … and without compromising safety. More importantly, that lighter pull probably isn’t going to make you shoot better under stress. It will make it a lot more likely you’ll have an accident, though. Remember, we’re not talking about calm range practice. We’re talking about being more scared than you’ve ever been before, a gun in your hand, worried that someone is about to end your life.

The rest.

This 4 1/2 pound trigger pull set from Cylinder & Slide looks awfully enticing.