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Anybody ever do, or have done, a trigger job on their AR-15?

I did. I bought a Ruger SR-556. The trigger was single stage, although not terrible. I bought a drop-in 2 stage replacement (I think a Ruger). Installation was easy, took only a few minutes, and is a huge improvement.

Swapping triggers is easy. That's what I do. There are a ton of good, decently priced drop-in triggers out there. It'll just take minutes to swap. When installing the hammer on a trigger that's not a one-piece, it is best to cock it back before putting in that pin. It may sound dangerous, but it's pretty stable and much easier to install the pin that way.

But as far as a DIY trigger job, I tried one yesterday. Because of the size and shape of the trigger parts, I found it harder to do a decent job on the hammer seer compared to doing pistol trigger jobs. I ended up doing it at the wrong angle, cut too much off the corner because of it, and now the seer may slip while resetting. Oh well. It was worth a shot. Other than that oops, it does pull and reset with little to no grit. Is it worth it? Only for the experience. Would I do it again? Nah. Not worth the time or effort like in a pistol like a 1911.

If you want to stick with a GI trigger, you can get a Franklin Armory LPK. They have a polished trigger/hammer/disconnect that is buttery smooth with no grit or takeup whatsoever.

Added a Velocity trigger to my SIG M400. Very noticoble difference

While not a trigger job, the first thing I did after getting my two AR's was install Geissele triggers

I have CMC triggers installed in 2 rifles, but it's really not necessary to spend that kind of money.

ALG Defense (part of Geissele) makes a couple of less expensive triggers which have gotten a lot of good reviews.

ALG Defense Quality Mil-Spec Trigger Group

ALG Defense ACT Advanced Combat Trigger Group

mupepe wrote:While not a trigger job, the first thing I did after getting my two AR's was install Geissele triggers

I would recommend them if you can afford it. There are lots of choices if you just want improvement over the stock trigger.

Beiruty wrote:Added a Velocity trigger to my SIG M400. Very noticoble difference

I "second" the Velocity trigger. Simple drop in, great improvement, put it in a DPMS AR15.

I am very happy with Timney, and yes you can do it yourself.
https://www.timneytriggers.com/shop/tim ... igger.aspx

I have JP, CMC, Timney and Velocity triggers in several of my rifles. I like Velocity over the others but lately have been doing trigger jobs myself. Velocity is the way to go.

I did a trigger job on my Stag 3 using the mil spec trigger, just took the creep out of it didn't spend a dime on it

Just more gun nuts putting hair triggers on their death machines...

Thanks guys. Joe Bob has the KAW Spring Kits for $20. I think I'll give 'em a DIY try before I spend another couple hundred bucks on somebody's drop-in trigger kit.

I have two ARs with modified or aftermarket triggers. One is simply an OEM milspec trigger that has been tuned a bit by bending some springs, and very lightly smoothing out some contact surfaces. It is better than OEM, but not great. The other is a drop in aftermarket unit from Timney with a 3 lb pull that breaks like a glass rod and has a ridiculously short reset. The modified trigger cost me nothing but the time. The Timney trigger was $237.90, and worth every single penny. There are other drop-in trigger units, like from Geissele that are in the same price range as the Timney, and there are others that cost less, but I can't speak to their quality because I have no experience with them.

Here's the qualifier...... If you have a $500 AR15, it probably isn't worth a $238 trigger upgrade. OTH, if you have a real expensive AR (I have several thousand $$ in mine), then it deserves a really good trigger. My advice is this: just get used to the rifle. Shoot it a bunch. Get familiar with the manual of arms. The milspec trigger isn't great, but it isn't the worst trigger in the world either. You might be better advised to put your money into optics and furniture upgrades first, and only upgrade the trigger when you've got all the other basics covered.

That's just my opinion, and worth exactly what it cost to read it.