Deliverance from Trigger Hell to Trigger Heaven at SHOT Show
While at SHOT Show, I visited nearly all the major pistol manufacturers, and tried out their latest polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols. To my dismay, these pistols (from a half-dozen different makers), all had one thing in common — really unpleasant triggers. The triggers were mushy, “sproingy” (my term), with a heavy (and sometimes rough) “stagey” pull that was not consistent through the pull cycle. Trying one gun after another, my reaction was always: “Yep, another awful trigger”. Most of the striker-fired guns also had a sloppy slide to frame fit, so they clanked around as they cycled. I’m sure they would function reliably, but I felt I was sampling staple guns, not fine firearms.
In Search of A Better Trigger
Disheartened, I left the main exhibit hall and descended to level one. There, like a beacon, I saw the STI logo, and ranks of metal-framed, hammer-fired pistols. I picked one up. I worked the slide — it operated oh-so-smoothly, like it was on ball bearings. The grip safety functioned perfectly when I wrapped my hand on the grip — no conscious pressure was required and I didn’t feel an uncomfortable bump in the web of my hand. The safety just did its job effortlessly.
I asked an STI rep if I could dry-fire the pistol. “Go right ahead” he said. The first thing I noticed was that the take-up was smooth — butter smooth. There was no grittiness, and the take-up pull was constant. When you got to the break point, resistance increased, and at just about 3 pounds of pressure, the hammer fell with a precise release. No staginess (rising/falling pull weight), no “sproingy” feel (like a cheap coil spring compressing and then snapping), just even pressure and “click” the hammer falls. This was trigger heaven, compared to striker-fired trigger hell.
As I was at the STI booth, a young fellow came up next to me. I noticed, from his name badge, that he was from Austria, home of the Glock. He said “You know I have had Glocks for years. Then one day I said ‘Why am I doing this to myself, why am I putting up with this?’. The triggers are scheiße — I can’t stand them, and the grip shape is wrong. So I sold my Glocks and bought one of these [an STI] and now I am very happy.” He held up an STI and said “Now this is how a pistol should be made!” I smiled and said, “Isn’t it ironic that it has been more than 100 years since John Moses Browning invented the 1911, and his design still works so well?”
Here are two of the STI Pistols on display at SHOT Show. They are both built to very high quality standards, and they both have smooth-running slides and crisp, near-perfect triggers.
STI Target Master
The Target Master is built on STI’s 1911 Government-length frame with 30 lpi checkering on the front strap. The safety controls are STI ambidextrous thumb safeties and STI high rise, knuckle-relief beavertail grip safety. The 6″ slide features a lowered and flared ejection port, tri-level adjustable sights, and STI front and rear cocking serrations. The barrel is a 6.0″, fully-supported and ramped bull barrel. The Target Master comes standard with a STI two-piece steel guide rod, Commander-style hammer and patented STI Int’l trigger system. The STI Target Master ships with one 1911 Magazine.
STI International Edge
Integrating patented 2011 technology with classic 1911 design, the STI International Edge is a high capacity pistol that carries John Browning’s design into the 21st Century. Since its introduction in late 1997, the STI Edge has become the standard for USPSA/IPSC Limited Division competition. Built on the STI Modular Steel 2011® frame with polymer grip, the Edge delivers the traditional features of a 1911 with the benefit of high capacity magazines. The Edge frame preserves the 17° grip angle (like the original 1911). The design allows for double stack magazines without over-sizing the circumference of the grip.
Along with its distinctive full-length dust-cover frame, the STI Edge features traditional front and rear cocking serrations. The Edge comes standard with a stainless, high-rise, knuckle-relief grip safety, stainless ambi-thumb safeties, and a stainless, fully-supported and ramped bull barrel. The Edge ships with one 126mm magazine.
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Tags: 1911, 2011, Glock, J.M. Browning, SHOT Show, STI International, Striker Pistol
Wow, that’s a great advertisement for STI, hope they paid well. The comparison of polymer striker fired pistols to a 1911 is ludicrous. Let me know when a 1911 has become as versatile in size, weight and caliber selection as the average line of Glocks or comparable manufacturers. I like my 1911 as well as the next guy, but although they have a better feeling trigger, they aren’t the solution to every situation.
Editor: Chris, STI is not an advertiser and hasn’t paid this site a penny in cash or barter. STI does, however, make pistols with really good triggers, and exceptionally nice fit and finish. We believe the gun industry press has ignored the unpleasant truth of just how annoying the triggers are on most polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols. This “ugly truth” has been “swept under the rug” because most of these polymer pistols are otherwise reliable, affordably priced (and versatile as you note). The point of this story was to inject a little dose of reality into coverage of today’s pistol offerings. BTW, a striker-fired pistol CAN have a very nice trigger pull — witness HK’s P7M8, one of which I proudly own and shoot.
Is any military or police unit using the STI as a sidearm?
Agree totally on the trigger issue btw. It is the difference between an X and a miss sometimes and why I changed my USP to an STI.
I’m not saying that STI isn’t a quality firearm with an excellent trigger, or that the typical polymer gun couldn’t use improvement.
I just think this isn’t an apples to apples comparison. If it was a striker fired polymer pistol with an improved trigger then it would make sense. Of course STI’s guns have a better trigger, most 1911 pistols do.
The trigger on my Remington R1 feels better than that on my G19, but I adapt to the difference and shoot both equally well. And a lot of professionals shoot quite well with the stock guns, although they may be tuned.
I definitely would expect a better trigger on a $2,000 gun compared to a $500 plastic carry gun. I love the DAO trigger on a Sig hammer fired pistol, and consider it one of the best for myself. To each their own.
To answer Mr. Rikky Lee, the danish Jægerkorpset uses STI as ther sidearm.
J – Thank you very much. This is good news (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsmen_Corps_(Denmark)) for a great pistol.
Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t this a comparison of two totally different types of firing mechanism? A striker setup isn’t a fully cocked hammer right? It requires the force of the trigger pull to cock the remaining portion of the hammer with each pull of the trigger. I would expect this to have more of a heavy feel to it when compared to a fully cocked trigger unit that is just waiting for the trigger to break for firing the shot.
Kind of like saying a double action shot in double action is a much heavier pull as compared to a double action that has already been cocked.
I am a rifle shooter mainly and use target match 2 stage triggers but I own a few striker pistols and they seem ok to me for their intended purposes.
Editor: First, a striker design doesn’t have a hammer. Second, you don’t have to set the striker with the trigger pull. In fact, with a Glock, you have to rack the slide to set the striker for shot one (you can’t just pull the trigger to reset the striker if the gun isn’t loaded). Striker designs CAN have a clean crisp break — just try an HK p7m8. The only reason we have tolerated the mushy, gritty, annoying triggers on striker fired pistols is that people have assumed this was required to have durability, short trigger reset, and the same pull weight on every shot. In fact you can have all those things in a striker-fired pistol and still have a decent trigger, but the gun designers have, for the most part, failed at delivering that. Part of the reason is that the Glock has set the bar so low, that people have learned to accept (and even expect) mediocrity. Hence the gun designers feel that they have achieved their goals if their striker triggers are “as good as a Glock” even if that is a very low standard.
Fellas,
They are semiautomatic centerfire pistols, and since most readers are not using their pistols for military or police applications, whether they have been adopted for either of these would seem to be irrelevant. Yes they are different designs, but IMO that does not invalidate a comparison of triggers. While the STI is not your typical 1911, any of them may have their triggers worked on to produce quite nice pulls. The same cannot be said of (many) of the plastic guns. Both have their places. The market has spoken on that, but this is an article that from its title forward is directed at differences in the quality of semiautomatic pistols’ trigger pulls, and so it seems logical that one would choose the extremes to write about.
how about we step into the most recent decade and take a look at what was actually new at the Shot Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jTomsQAi10
just gotta know what you are looking for.
Steve: That’s a great link. I’ll try to run down more info on the new Korth semi-auto with fixed barrel and roller locking.
Dear Editor,
Excellent article, despite the sniping of a couple blowhards here. Keep ‘em coming!