SIGforum
AR trigger replacement. How easy or hard?
January 23, 2022, 08:22 AM
joatmonvAR trigger replacement. How easy or hard?
Both Colts with factory triggers.
I have shot some ARs with aftermarket triggers but I confess, all I've really known is factory mil spec triggers in mine.
What am I getting into? Need special tools?
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January 23, 2022, 08:32 AM
casAs easy/hard as taking the fire control parts out and putting new ones in. Have you done that?
Some after market triggers can need really small allen wrenches to install, but I've never seen one that didn't come with them.
January 23, 2022, 08:36 AM
sprg03-A3Just installed a Larue in mine. Very easy to do.
January 23, 2022, 08:39 AM
joatmonvquote:
Originally posted by cas:
As easy/hard as taking the fire control parts out and putting new ones in. Have you done that?
Some after market triggers can need really small allen wrenches to install, but I've never seen one that didn't come with them.
I have never changed a trigger on any firearm.
I'm somewhat mechanically inclined but I have 0 experience with rifles.
I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not.
January 23, 2022, 08:47 AM
casThen my suggestion would be hit Youtube and watch some videos on assembling lowers.
Not terribly difficult and possibly one of the easiest guns there is to do it on.
January 23, 2022, 08:53 AM
joatmonvquote:
Originally posted by cas:
Then my suggestion would be hit Youtube and watch some videos on assembling lowers.
Not terribly difficult and possibly one of the easiest guns there is to do it on.
Sounds like a plan. Thank you.
I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not.
January 23, 2022, 09:00 AM
smschulzPractice make perfect, no better time to learn.
Not terribly hard but can be a pesky task.
You can do it!
January 23, 2022, 09:05 AM
ChowserJust make sure to put the springs in the proper orientation when installing the new one.
Not minority enough! January 23, 2022, 09:16 AM
sourdough44Yes, watch a few videos, you’ll be fine. Just go slow, hard to do any damage.
Many of the new triggers are even easier, they are often completely assembled, no loose springs to put in place or anything.
The last two I put I were ‘Velocity Triggers’ simple ‘drop in’, 2 pins.
https://velocitytriggers.com/p...c-ar-trigger-curved/ Often for me, 3-3.5 lbs is about where I like to be for the range, hunting, & even prairie dogging I can get by.
January 23, 2022, 09:30 AM
joatmonvWatched a few videos, doesn't seem to hard. Some used an AR block to punch out pins and some did it on their kitchen table.
Pretty sure I can do it.
Thanks for all the replies.
I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not.
January 23, 2022, 09:53 AM
parabellumThe trigger is a piece of cake. The hammer can be a bit harder.
January 23, 2022, 09:54 AM
Oat_Action_ManNo need for a block for this task. Just use a roll of tape.
The real magic trick is getting a slave pin. Makes the task absurdly simple and not at all fiddly.
As said, just make sure your springs are correctly oriented.
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January 23, 2022, 11:19 AM
Sig209super easy (and i am not overly mechanically inclined)
great videos on youtube to coach you through
from Midway / Brownells, etc
(just do in where you be sure not to lose any small pieces...)
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Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
January 23, 2022, 11:35 AM
2PAKI replaced the trigger on my SCAR 17 and had never done that type of mod before in any rifle. Watched the video's on YouTube and gave myself plenty of time to finish the job.
Plan B, if unsuccessful, was to take the lower and trigger parts to my local Gunsmith in a baggie and claim my usual gun incompetence and pay the Piper to fix it.
January 23, 2022, 11:42 AM
Slippery PeteOn a scale of 1-10 of hardness, I'd give it a 2. The first time can be tricky lining things up, but you'll get it after cursing Stoner a time or 2.
January 23, 2022, 11:53 AM
nhracecraftIt's pretty easy, but requires some 'technique', though the learned dexterity from doing your first one will make doing the second one a lot easier.

I recommend watching the Bill Geissele video(s) as he really breaks down the process very well. When I did my first one I watched the videos on a tablet (twice). I kept that tablet right there with during the install and replayed certain segments as I felt necessary while I proceeded.
SSA Install - Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTHUqjxLqnsSSA Install - Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p5eWOwRzDISSA Install - Part 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY5ns6FM0ME
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January 23, 2022, 12:04 PM
IndianaBoyDepends on which trigger you get. Some of the cassette style self contained triggers are very very easy.
Some of the others are a little more difficult. None of them should present a problem if you are the least bit mechanically inclined. Almost every manufacturer has good instructions up to and including (usually) a video on how to install their particular trigger.
January 23, 2022, 03:15 PM
m499If you've never done it before, I would definitely try one of the self-contained units that are pretty much drop-in after you knock the two pins out. Otherwise, depending on manufacturer, you got to deal with getting the trigger spring and sometimes even the disconnector and disconnector spring all configured correctly.
January 23, 2022, 04:52 PM
hrcjonyou need a punch. and it really helps to have a slave pin, but a smaller punch works almost as well. Self test... can you dissemble a firearm? Can you fix anything mechanical? If yes then you are GTG. There is literally nothing you can do on this that hurts anything, so if you screw it up like not getting the springs right, you just take it apart, study a bit more and do it again.
“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
January 23, 2022, 07:26 PM
bubbatimeFor what it’s worth, I’ve seen the pins walk out at the range probably ten times in home built AR15’s. And every single one of them was because they installed the hammer spring backwards.
I have never seen the pins walk with a proper hammer spring installation.
MAKE sure the hammer spring is installed correctly.
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