Looking for a inexpensive gauge to check a few triggers. Just for a few personal firearms.
Is a mechanical slide gauge type reasonably accurate?
Looking at something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Trigger...mFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

I'd save up another 50 bucks and buy a Wheeler Pro. I've owned my share of off brands. They just don't hold up.

I have a inexpensive slide style gauge and it works just fine.
No batteries to go dead. I just check the trigger pull several times to make sure I get a consistent reading which I would do with a digital gauge.

I have this one

Lyman 7832248 Electronic Digital Trigger Pull Gauge,Multi https://a.co/d/bTogRXY

It’s more, so on and so forth…. But I can read the thing easily. 9v battery, I think I’m still on the same one ( but I don’t leave it in ).

^^^^ That’s what I have and use. Had the mechanical one from Wheeler and it was junk.

I have 3 gauges. One electronic and two mechanical....none of them agree.

I wouldn't bet the farm on any of them for accuracy. Now a days, I pay more attention to creep, crispness and overtravel. JMO...

quote:

Originally posted by mike28w:
none of them agree.

That’s an interesting comment, and actually something I’ve long wondered about.

When searching online for a method of measuring trigger pulls using actual hanging weights, there are numerous references to the “NRA Official Universal Trigger Weight System,” including organizations that specify it must be used to confirm minimum pulls for competitions. It doesn’t seem, though, that the kit is actually available for commercial sale anywhere. There are many links that mention Brownells as a source, but it’s out of stock there, and, I would suspect, is going to be forever.

I have that “system” myself, including extra 5-pound weights that allow me to measure even very heavy double action revolver triggers. I’m convinced that such a system will be the most accurate: if 2 pounds, 8 ounces of weights trips a trigger, but 2 pounds, 7 ounces doesn’t, then I’m pretty confident in saying that the pull weight is 2.5 pounds. But only “pretty” sure. Because of the different mechanical advantages involved, for example, if it’s possible to put pressure on the very tip of a trigger, that will show a lighter pull weight than if the pressure is in the middle of the trigger and closer to the receiver or frame.

Ultimately, though, what does it matter if a gauge or weights are absolutely accurate? It does if someone claims that you can’t use your favorite 1911 in a match because its pull weight is too light, or perhaps in a lawsuit that claims an accident occurred because a manufacturer’s gun had a “hair” trigger. Otherwise, though, the figure that a gauge gives us is mostly just to satisfy the gun owner. What will matter is how the trigger feels to us: too heavy, too light, too creepy, too rough, or none of the above. The only exception is if we’re trying to tune a trigger: I’ve made an adjustment, did that affect the pull weight? Small differences can be difficult to detect by feel, but a gauge can tell us if we’re headed in the right direction. As long as it’s sensitive enough to do that for us, it will seldom matter if the reading is accurate in an absolute sense.

I have the RCBS spring gauge, it’s ok. I’ve been eyeballing the Lyman electronic, but no big need for a better one.

Then as more a hunter, I kinda know a good trigger when I feel it. For me 2.5- 3 lbs is about right. I usually use thin gloves when hunting, very good feel.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by SigJacket:
I have this one

Lyman 7832248 Electronic Digital Trigger Pull Gauge,Multi https://a.co/d/bTogRXY

It’s more, so on and so forth…. But I can read the thing easily. 9v battery, I think I’m still on the same one ( but I don’t leave it in ).

I have the NRA weight set. Another guy has a set too. They do not weight the same. Close. But mine lifts triggers his won't

Have the cheap Wheeler but don't use it anymore - using the Digital Lyman as mentioned above >>> much better.

Lyman digital. I've had one for years and as others have said, I am on the original battery. You have to be sure and place it on the same point on the trigger.

quote:

Originally posted by Hamden106:
I have the NRA weight set. Another guy has a set too. They do not weight the same. Close. But mine lifts triggers his won't

That seems odd.

Have you checked the weights themselves to see whether they are accurately marked?

Your post prompted me to check the individual weights of my set. I have a food scale for weights in that range, so it’s not as if it’s NIST-certified, but it seems to be pretty accurate in general. All of the weights from 1 ounce to 1 pound read as being exactly correct. The 2, 3, and (two) 5-pound weights all read 0.1 - 0.2 ounce less than their nominal values (for example, 4 pounds, 15.85 ounces), but I don’t consider such small variations (assuming the scale is correct) to be significant.

quote:

Originally posted by SigJacket:
I have this one

Lyman 7832248 Electronic Digital Trigger Pull Gauge,Multi https://a.co/d/bTogRXY

I have a slightly different Lyman electronic one and have been happy with it. It's the only trigger gauge I have and so I have to way to verify its accuracy. But it is consistent over time for each trigger I've used it on.