surprise_i'm_armed wrote:Forum:
Can y'all please chime in on the ins/outs, pros/cons, of trigger pulls?
I'll give my opinion. Remember I have been a gun owner for only about 1.5 years and had not shot any guns prior to buying my first pistol in 2008.
You have basically trigger weight, which you know.
Take-up is the amount of slack in the trigger before it begins to engage the mechanics of the trigger, sort of free-play.
Over-travel is the amount that the trigger can be pulled beyond the point at which it breaks.
Then there is the general feeling of the whole travel including how it breaks.
There is also some amount that most triggers must be released before they are reset, and if this is a large amount it can affect your feeling of being able to fire a second shot quickly.
And of course many will debate the overall travel distance of the trigger, as well as the actual feeling of the surface and shape of the trigger itself.
OK, so the pros and cons:
In my humble opinion, the thing that defines whether a trigger's feel, shape, pull length, weight, etc. are a "pro" or a "con" has almost completely to do with what you are used to. For example, I am used to heavier DAO pistol triggers. A hunting rifle is very, very uncomfortable for me to shoot, and a SAO pistol with a light trigger is even more uncomfortable for me to shoot.
However the typical "pros" of a light, short trigger pull is that it is light and short, so if you are used to light, short trigger pulls, then you will find these triggers comfortable and easier to keep on target. The "cons" of such a trigger is that maybe an AD is more likely for various reasons, mostly having to do with the fact that accidents that result in a complete pull of the trigger are much more likely when the trigger is light weight and has a very short travel.
The typical "pros" of a hard or long trigger pull is that it may be less likely to result in an AD. And the typical "cons" are that if you are used to a light, short trigger pull, then you will have to learn a new skill to shoot one of these accurately.
I rarely hear anyone tout the "pros" of any noticeable trigger take-up or over-travel. Those are "cons". Sometimes if there is an excessive amount of take-up, then you may tend to "stage" the trigger, or pull it part of the distance before you are actually ready to fire, and this is basically not a very good habit to get into.
As far as pounds of trigger pull, I assume a light trigger would be preferable.
Preferable if that is what you are used to. However, if you can adjust to shooting a DAO long or hard trigger, then the perceived reduction in AD probability might be a costless benefit.
If so, why would a Smith and Wesson Sigma have such a hard trigger?
Same reason a DA revolver has a hard trigger. Sigma has a 9lb or so trigger. a DAO revolver may have a 12lb trigger. The length of travel is about the same. Only real difference is that the Sigma trigger tends to flex a little bit (it's plastic).
But the reason is to reduce the chances of an AD. That's one reason anyway.
The other reason is that a Sigma is truly a DAO pistol, as a revolver can be DAO. That is, the striker is completely cocked by the trigger action. It is not partially-cocked by the slide movement like a Kahr or Glock. So the trigger must necessarily have enough resistance to compress the striker spring in order to cock the striker, much like a DAO revolver must twist the hammer spring to pull back the hammer with the trigger pull. A lighter trigger in a Sigma would necessitate a lighter striker spring, which may result in lighter strikes. To get the trigger in the Sigma down to 5lb would probably require a striker spring that would not ignite most pistol primers.
In a Glock or Kahr (and probably others), the striker is cocked part of the way by action of the slide so some leverage can be applied to the remainder of the pull to gear down the trigger pull and result in a lighter trigger action. A Kahr has about a 7.5 lb trigger and Glocks can go down as low as 3-4 lb with the right mods.
It seems that a hard trigger would adversely effect your aim.
It would, until you practiced and learned to control it. However, if you are used to shooting pistol with a SA target trigger then certainly you are likely to aim funny with my Sigma. :)
Actually I think the main reason that hard triggers get such a bad rap is because shooters have learned with rifles early in life and have an expectation of a very short, light trigger. The main reason, IMHO, the Sigma gets such a bad rap for the trigger is because of the frequent comparison to Glock in terms of the features and functionality of the gun, but the trigger is much different than a Glock trigger. So compared to the competition, it seems awfully hard. But if you compare a Sigma to a hammerless revolver, it's not that bad. My dad has an H&R .22LR revolver that has the world's hardest DA trigger pull. I bet that thing is 20 lb. Makes my Sigma feel like high-end hunting rifle trigger.
Some handguns are better for some things (eg. Competition ) and some are better for others (eg. self defence ). It is something you learn to live with or spend a lot of money on trigger jobs. 
