Your quinessential trigger squeeze

Having a good, crisp trigger that breaks like a glass rod is perhaps only half of what it takes to get off an accurate and reliable shot. The other half is having the best trigger squeeze that works for you. While it seems like a simple matter of just squeezing the trigger rather than jerking it (even though some claim they're more accurate when they jerk the trigger), it brings to mind at what rate should the trigger be squeezed until the trigger breaks.

I'm one who can squeeze a trigger so slowly that if it has any creep to it, I will find it. While a slow squeeze seems best, can it become so slow that it decreases accuracy?

same here.. I can detect the slightest bit of creep with others can not, it drives me NUTS to have ANY

If you run out of air before the trigger breaks, that is too slow.

The trigger is the go button on the rifle. It is the first thing I recommend doing to a rifle to help with accuracy. Having a little creep is ok, if you know to pull through it. The main thing I need to know is where the trigger breaks. Having a light trigger weight with no creep is great. But if it does have creep, know where the trigger breaks to go off.

On everything I shoot, I will prep the trigger, then shoot. If the rifle has some creep with a 2# trigger, I take out the creep and get 1 to 1.5 lbs of trigger pulled, then finish off the rest to to shoot. Same thing for a light weight trigger or a heavy trigger.

1-2#

I too can feel the smallest amount of creep.

I'm not practiced enough to judge triggers, but I have seen many an exotic deer escape unharmed from people who seem to take eternity to, as Chad put it, make the rifle "go."
I don't know if too slow decreases accuracy, but it can lead to an empty cooler.

I like a 2 1/2-3 lb trigger...that breaks CLEAN. I hate creep.


anything under 2 1/2 is too light for my hunting rifles and anything over 3 lbs is too stiff

My apologies for not being more clear in my OP.

My intended focus was not on trigger pull poundage but on your preferred method for squeezing the trigger. I've edited the title of my post accordingly.

The earlier comment about being able to "pull through" any noticeable creep was a good one but does bring up the question as to how that is being done. Are you squeezing the trigger so slowly that the trigger moves and reaches the end of its creep without firing, or are you squeezing just a little faster so the creep is passed through with no notice of it?

^^^ This. I will squeeze the trigger up to the point just before it breaks. Once I reach that point, I will finish off the squeeze when the rifle is perfectly aimed for the shot I'm taking. Some triggers have no creep and no wall. Meaning, the trigger is solid stiff, and with a slight squeeze, it will go off. Most triggers have a slight take up and come to a "wall", or a point where the trigger will not go rearward any more, and squeezing more past this wall will break the trigger to fire.

Each trigger is different. I have several Jewell triggers and each one has a little different "feel" during the squeeze or firing process. One has a softer break, meaning the trigger has a touch of creep, but breaks without coming to a "wall". You reach a point in the soft pull and it breaks. My other Jewell has almost no creep, and comes to a "wall", then a little more pressure breaks. My TRG 42 is a 2 stage trigger. Stage one you take up the slack. Once you take up thew slack, you come to a wall for stage 2. Stage 2 is like a normal trigger, and a slight squeeze will break the shot. Some people do not like a 2 stage trigger. I have a 2 stage Jewell on my AR, which I absolutely love. When AR shooting, I think it's a great trigger for the type of weapon it is.

When shooting anything (pistol or rifle), I try to take up the creep or slack, find the wall (called prepping the trigger), then break the shot when ready.

Excellent post. I need to chew on your wall concept for a bit to make sure I follow it.

Another big thing is proper follow through. After the shot goes off, the finger is pressed to the rear of the trigger all the way, then the finger is lifted after the shot. I see bad form on this all the time. The nano-second the gun goes off, the shooter bounces their finger off the trigger as fast as possible. That's pour follow through. It's like a baseball pitcher stopping his arm the second the ball leaves his hand.

I was talking to a sniper once, and he tells a great story about a bad guy he had cross hairs on. He had about 1 1/2 lbs squeezed on a 2 lb trigger, waiting for him to make a wrong move. That's knowing your trigger!!!

Another sheriff I shoot with had the rapper DMX at gun point with the safety off and the trigger prepped with his MP-5. (no comment on this one!)

So your squeeze is not a single linear pull but one that has two stages where you squeeze to a point and stop, then begin squeezing harder until it breaks, correct?

I want my trigger finger 90 degrees to the trigger, trigger placed on the fatty pad of my finger, and squeeze straight to the rear. The most important thing to me is where is the "wall". I'll prep the trigger to the wall, and then finish the shot when I'm ready. This is generally within a few seconds. The problem with some factory rifles with a stock trigger is, the wall takes a ton of effort to get past. You feel like you squeeze and squeeze, and finally it goes off. I hate these triggers. This is why I recommend a trigger tuning to help with accuracy.

The trigger squeeze is the same, no matter what firearm I am shooting. If the finger is not 90 degrees and pulled straight to the rear, the shot will go right or left. The most common problem I see is shooters barely have their finger on the trigger and the finger is at an angle and they are pushing the trigger to the left and rearward at the same time. This will cause the shot to go right.

Yes. If it is an aimed shot where I am taking my time to make an accurate shot, I will "prep" the trigger, then finish the squeeze when I'm ready for the round to go off.

If I am working a moving target in training or comp, then all bets are off- I'm bolt rippin'! But if you practice it enough, you will do it anyway. This is why dry firing is so important. Set up your rifle where you can dry fire (SAFELY, of course!), and dry fire the snot out of it. Dry fire it where when you pull the trigger the cross hairs do NOT move a bit.

And good questions, BTW!

I had a good reply all thought out but Chad stole my thunder. His descriptions are absolutely proper. To consistently shoot well you must be able to break the trigger clean at the precise instant you want it to break.

My perfect trigger is one that I have enough time behind that I can get on target and think “now” and the rifle fires. If this is not happening for me then I have not had enough time with that trigger. As Chad said dry fire or enough rounds down range and you will be able to fire without the crosshairs moving.

I want zero creep ideally. Definitely sub 2.5 and if for bench work only under 1.

The only factory trigger I don’t screw with or replace is a Tikka. And I unscrew it to its factory safe stop or go to a lighter spring. My second favorite is the older 4 screw savages. They are very tune-able but can be unsafe if you do not exercise proper caution.

Chad covered it all.

Today I shot two different rifles, my competition 6.5 Creedmoor and my rental rifle 7mm-08. On each rifle, I dry fired 3 times, before any live rounds. Reminding myself of each rifle's trigger. And each dry fire, I slowly added pressure, found the wall, slowly added pressure until it broke, keep squeezing after it breaks (follow-through).

Once live rounds were added, they shot great. I had cleaned the 6.5 Creedmoor and was re-fouling. At 100 yards, I managed sure enough 1/4 to 1/2 MOA.

"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast".

What are we gaining from the follow-through, after the projectile has left the tube?

The payoff is the steadiness and repeatable mechanics that are gained by staying in the shot. That doesn't stop with the trigger but the rest is a topic for another discussion.

Having your mind set to follow-through, and not move the rifle during the shot, concetrating on what you're doing, instead of what you're about to do is the difference in a 1/4 MOA rifle shooting 3/4 MOA or a 1/4 MOA rifle shooting 1/4 MOA. You can affect that bullet while it is still inside the barrel, belive it or not.

You'll see

Slapping the trigger has adverse affects. Try it and see the difference.

Slow and steady is nice if it happens that way. I hunt off of foot, so runnin targets are common. A jerk on a runner across rough terrain is probably happening, but thinking about it during this time dont happen. Just happens. Long range shots require a light and easy touch. Pretty simple. Pretty sure duck hunters dont ease into it.

Reading these posts, i see rhe draw to two stage triggers. I only have one two stage trigger. It sounds like most people, myself included, shoot a single stage (with some creep) trigger like its a two stage.

If it has creep they probably do. But being one who is sometimes susceptible to flinching, I prefer a light, single stage trigger with zero creep. That way, there is nothing going through my mind that in any way reminds me to anticipate the shot going off.

But when shooting a rifle with creep, the two stage trigger squeeze seems to make a lot of sense.

FiremanJG helped me quit the trigger slapping. Didn't affect my accuracy but took me totally out of my sight picture. Not good to make sure you watch the animal upon bullet impact. Not good shooting steel when you need to know POI to adjust for wind and elevation.

I notice creep a lot when I am bench shooting. I can’t stand any and will replace a trigger that has any if I target shoot with it. However when I am hunting I never notice any creep at all. Even in triggers that I know have a good bit of creep. So I quest the bottom line is that if a trigger has some creep and I use it for hunting only, I don’t really worry about it.

I'm pretty sure alot of novice shooterz have bad practice on the trigga. Seen it with release aids and triggers on powder burners. I know a chick that is doing a better job of over coming the close her eyes when she shoots situation. It took some preachin and practice. If nobody steps in and helps, they will just keep doing their norm. Which can be horrible.

I bought a cheap Savage Axis, 6.5 Creedmoor. Diddled with the trigger and now have it at 2#. Lightest trigger pull of any rifle in my safe.
In my case, the lightweight trigger pull is taking some practice. I have learned to keep my finger AWAY from the trigger until the crosshairs are locked on the target.
If you have never tried a truly light trigger pull weight, you might be disappointed with your results...

I think my Tikka trigger is around 2-2.5 lbs with no creep and it's perfect for me. I'd want it lighter for benchrest shooting. For weekend target shooting and steel pinging, it's perfect.

My Ruger AR 556 trigger is atrocious, on the other hand.

I think its been covered. Follow through is important so you don't jerk your gun and affect bullet flight in anyway, similar to foolow thru with a bow, or a basketball shot, or a golf swing, or a throw...

My triggers are set to give a ever so slight travel/creep but break crisp. I didn't have to mess with the trigger on my Cooper, but I re did the trigger on my savage .243 (timney), and dropped a two stage (Giselle SSA-E) in my AR. The AR is used for hunting pigs and coyotes a lot, and the two stage helps when I am timing shots with other people (can gather up the first stage and be right on the second stage for a crisp fire) but also allows for some safety when stalking or walking in. I love a trigger right around 2-3lbs and that is right where all my triggers are, although the AR second stage is sub 2# but the overall is a bit over 3#. Not hardly a big deal when shooting moving targets as there is such little slop in the trigger compared to the stock 6-8# slapstick...

I need to do some trigger jobs on my pistols tho, haven't gone there yet and they aren't pretty. But they still shoot pretty well due to proper trigger pull and being good weapons.

I have toyed with this approach and found it to work very well, especially with triggers that have some creep. Another way of looking it is to say you're priming the finger muscles and then breaking the trigger with a secondary squeeze that breaks straight thru any creep without any notice of it.

However, it does seem to worst best on triggers that have higher weight to them so that the "wall" of the trigger is deeper into the squeeze.