Comments on: Deliverance from Trigger Hell to Trigger Heaven at SHOT Show

By: mark223

mark223 — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 04:36:41 +0000

Dear Editor,

Excellent article, despite the sniping of a couple blowhards here. Keep ‘em coming!

By: Steve-o

Steve-o — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:11:31 +0000

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.

By: Boyd Allen

Boyd Allen — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 16:02:23 +0000

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.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:19:54 +0000

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.

By: Rikky Lee

Rikky Lee — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:00:33 +0000

J – Thank you very much. This is good news (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsmen_Corps_(Denmark)) for a great pistol.

By: J

Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:28:20 +0000

To answer Mr. Rikky Lee, the danish Jægerkorpset uses STI as ther sidearm.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 21:23:56 +0000

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.

By: Rikky Lee

Rikky Lee — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 20:21:51 +0000

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.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 19:20:43 +0000

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.