What Does The Brain Trust Like For Trigger Pull Guages?

September 08, 2021, 09:14 AM

Interested in really knowing just what are the trigger pull weights on my handguns. Now, being into 1911's, can also use to check extractor tension.

Ratings at Midway, Brownells, etc. don't appear very helpful, with people rating simple $20 mechanical gauges as highly as $60 electronic gauges, which hardly makes sense--unless cost is part of their equation.

I don't wish to spend more than I have to, but I don't wish to waste my money on spending less than I should, either.

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher

September 09, 2021, 08:49 AM

sigfreund

Probably not what you want, not least because of the cost (and availability), but this is a nice set that provides (I believe) the most accurate results (2# and up). There may be other free weight sets available for the purpose, but I’ve never seen any.

https://www.brownells.com/guns...4.aspx?sku=678017000

September 09, 2021, 08:55 AM

ensigmatic

Thanks, sigfreund, but, yeah: A bit spendy for my needs. I was thinking more along the lines of one of the Lyman or Wheeler gauges.

September 09, 2021, 09:13 AM

USAFA71

I use the Wheeler Engineering digital gauge. Think I got it from Midway last year, but wouldn’t bet money on that! I am very happy with it. It even can with a calibration certificate listing test values vs actual values at 3#, 5#, and 9#. I find it very consistent, provided you are consistent in using it. Pulling back at an angle will give a slightly different weight than if you pull perpendicular to the trigger. It will only vary by a few ounces, but it will vary. I also like that It will give a running average of the pull weights, and you can accept or reject any single pull before it averages them, if you feel that you didn’t do one properly. Don’t remember what I paid for it, but if you are really interested in knowing what your trigger pull(s) are, this will work wonderfully for that. It also taught me that my “calibrated” finger was not very reliable or accurate in guessing actual trigger pull weights, and that factory triggers I thought were too heavy, or light, were actually much closer to factory specs than I thought. Hope this helps.

September 09, 2021, 09:13 AM

USAFA71

quote:
Originally posted by USAFA71:
I use the Wheeler Engineering digital gauge. Think I got it from Midway last year, but wouldn’t bet money on that! I am very happy with it. It even came with a calibration certificate listing test values vs actual values at 3#, 5#, and 9#. I find it very consistent, provided you are consistent in using it. Pulling back at an angle will give a slightly different weight than if you pull perpendicular to the trigger. It will only vary by a few ounces, but it will vary. I also like that It will give a running average of the pull weights, and you can accept or reject any single pull before it averages them, if you feel that you didn’t do one properly. Don’t remember what I paid for it, but if you are really interested in knowing what your trigger pull(s) are, this will work wonderfully for that. It also taught me that my “calibrated” finger was not very reliable or accurate in guessing actual trigger pull weights, and that factory triggers I thought were too heavy, or light, were actually much closer to factory specs than I thought. Hope this helps.

September 09, 2021, 09:51 AM

ensigmatic

Thanks, USAFA71. The Wheeler digital gauge does seem to get the best reviews of them all, most consistently.

Maybe I'll just go with that and be done with it.

ETA: Or perhaps not. Common complaint is they often arrive with their displays full of scratches. That would drive me up the wall.

I think I'll forgo a trigger gauge for now.