So I’m pondering AR-15 triggers.

The main goal? A better trigger for the “hunting” AR, something that’s easier for the kiddos to manage.

I actually think the Rock River Arms NM 2-stage would be good for this, and doesn’t cost a fortune. And it just so happens I have one in another AR. So what did I do? I went the no-cost route and swapped the triggers. Now the RRA NM 2-stage is in the “hunting” Bushmaster, and the Bushmaster factory trigger is in my RRA “fighting” AR.

I had Daughter try things out again, and at least in doing some dry-fire here at home she’s much happier with the RRA trigger in the Bushy. Works for me!

Funny thing. With the Bushy trigger in the RRA, the trigger feels better. It’s still heavy, but the grittyness is gone. Maybe the disassembly of the triggers dislodged something? Maybe a little shaving of steel was caught in there? I don’t know, but I didn’t do anything except remove and install the triggers (no buffing/polishing or even a simple cleaning). Frankly it feels not too terrible to me now!

I’m really trying to reign in my spending, especially on guns and gun-related stuff. While this setup still leaves me wanting a bit better “fighting” trigger, I’m pretty sure I can live with this setup for now. Problems are solved, I’m satisfied with results, and it didn’t cost me anything other than a small amount of time. Sure down the line I’ll probably look further into triggers, especially because it’s an eventual dream to build my own AR from the ground-up. But for now, I think I can put this problem to bed.

Oh, and I cannot recommend The AR-15 Complete Assembly Guide by Walt Kuleck with Clint McKee enough. The step-by-step instructions and copious pictures (all taken from the right angles) really helped with the disassembly and reassembly. Made it a snap!

I don’t consider Bushmaster to be a “top tier” AR maker (that’d be folks like LMT, Noveske, Colt), but hey… it works, it fits the bill, and it was all that was available at the time. Certainly the Bushmaster Super Light Carbine that I have will suffice as a hunting rifle, due in large part to that super-light profile. So in the end, I’m thankful for what I have. However, I’m not completely satisfied with what I have. The main sticking point? The trigger.

It’s long, it’s heavy, and it has a “gritty” feeling. I don’t like it. Sure I’ve done a lot of dry fire with it and that helped, but it’s still fundamentally the same trigger. Of course, I’m a bit spoiled because my other AR has a Rock River Arms National Match 2-stage trigger which is so very sweet. While the Bushy’s trigger would be fine for a “fighting rifle”, it’s not an ideal trigger for a hunting rifle. In fact, the main user of this rifle will be my kids and it’s most evident the trigger on this rifle is the toughest part for them.

Aside: Daughter got to handle and dry fire a Wilson Combat 6.8 on New Years Eve. She knows how that Bushy trigger is, so the moment she pressed the trigger on the Wilson all she could say was “Sweeeeeeeet!” 🙂  Yes, it has a very very nice single-stage trigger.

While buying an aftermarket trigger isn’t the most expensive thing in the world, I am trying to sink as little money into this rifle as possible. I don’t want to risk making the rifle unsafe, but if I can improve the trigger in some way I’d like to do that.

There’s the famous “15 minute trigger job“. I’ve heard mixed reports on doing this and any sort of “stoning/grinding” of the trigger parts because you are removing metal and that could cause dangerous failure down the line. Here’s a video of the trigger job, plus a bit more. I cannot comment on if this is a good thing to do or not… again lots of people come down on doing this.

his part 2:

Now, let’s look at some videos from Brownells.

An introduction to AR-15 triggers:

Installing a drop-in trigger (a Chip McCormick single stage):

Installing a Rock River Arms NM 2 Stage trigger:

M4Carbine.net has a write-up on various AR triggers.

So as I look around for trigger solutions, the same names come up over and over. One name that keeps coming up is Bill Springfield. Apparently he can do a trigger job on the factory trigger and make it quite good for little money and a fairly fast turnaround time. There’s much talk about his work, all positive reviews, and I’ve not read of any problems with what he does.

At this time, I’m thinking about trying one of Springfield’s triggers. I’m not sure if I’ll send my trigger for him to work on or buy one of his triggers… still to be determined. But triggers are on my mind and this posting is just me thinking aloud. 🙂

Clips vs. Magazines.

Horns vs. Antlers.

There are endless stories of deer being killed with a rifle chambered in .22 LR. So if a little .22 LR is sufficient to kill a deer, why do we need anything more powerful? Isn’t .243 Winchester good enough? Isn’t .30-06 Springfield good enough? Why do we need this big-ass rounds like .300 Win Mag, and 7mm magnums? It’s not like they can make the deer any more deader.

Basically, shooting at longer distances.

An article from Field & Stream on the topic.

High velocity by itself does not kill anything, nor does it kill anything faster than standard velocity.

I started out believing devoutly in lots of speed, but 40 years later, having shot creatures of all sizes with just about everything that goes bang, I’ve never been able to find any correlation between bullet speed and sudden animal demise.

[…]

Not only do super-speed cartridges not kill any faster, but there are distinct disadvantages to them as well. First, let’s consider recoil and muzzle blast…. Second, when you get bullets traveling at 3000 fps and over—these days, way over—even the strongest and slowest-expanding of them makes a mess of whatever it hits…. Third, barrel life for the super-speed cartridges is considerably shorter than it is for standard-velocity loads.

[…]

Given all these drawbacks, why is it that high velocity keeps getting higher, and new and horrific super loads keep appearing? Because nothing makes hitting at long range easier than a good dose of feet per second. If you think you will need to take a shot at 300 yards and over, high velocity is your very best friend.

[…]

However, speed alone will not solve all your problems in hitting at long range. You also need resistance to wind drift and momentum, or the ability to sustain velocity way out there. The way you get it is by going not to light bullets that give the highest initial velocity—but to the heavier slugs in a given caliber, and to bullets that are streamlined.

So what it comes down to is context and selecting the appropriate tool for the context. If you’re out hunting big elk in the Rockies, 300 yard or more shots are likely and so a big gun helps. Here in Texas, 200 yards might be the extent of it and consider I’m working on a .223 Remington load for Texas whitetail and feral hogs. Heck, my father-in-law, who is a lifetime hunter, says that he’s tried just about everything out there over the years and he finds the .25-06 about the best thing for Texas hunting.

Like all things in life, you can pick the wrong tool for the job and still get the job done. But picking the right tool for the job often yields to the best and most satisfactory end results.

You hear various mantras about shot placement when hunting for certain animals.

“Only shoot them broadside.”

“Take out the shoulders, they won’t go anywhere.”

“Headshot.”

“Right in the neck, takes out the spine.”

“Texas heart shot.” (bleah)

I don’t think there’s any one and only right way, other than the way that puts the animal down as quickly and humanely as possible. What that is remains the subject of much debate.

What I think ultimately gets you there isn’t just having some blind or relative notion of where to shoot. That is, it’s not just about “broadside, just up the leg” because that only tells you how to shoot in that particular instance. If that shot doesn’t present itself, you’re out of luck or you may end up taking a marginal shot. I think a better course of action is to understand anatomy. If you can know the animal’s actual anatomy, you can adapt and make better, more informed decisions about what is presented to you and if it’s a good and ethical shot.

Whitetail Deer Anatomy

Take a look at the pictures from deerhunting.ws’s anatomy page (I’ve made a PDF of that page, in case it ever goes away). I like how it shows the animal, the muscles, the organs, the circulatory system, and the skeleton. Layers, so you can better understand how all the parts fit together. Plus they keep an outline of the animal’s body around so you can learn relative placement of these things.

This article on about.com discusses some of the possible shots. Every hunter will have their own assessment of “what is ethical” and this article provides a good starting point for the discussion.

Feral Hog Anatomy

Found this picture:

I’m not sure where the picture came from or who made it (if you know, please let me know so I can properly attribute it). It’s a good illustration of their anatomy.

TexasBoars.com has this great write-up of pig anatomy, including pictures taken of an actual pig in various states of field dress so you can really see how it looks on an actual pig. This is very important because you need to learn where that “shield plate” is. They also have another picture at the top of this page that shows the kill zone.

Another good article from the California Hog Blog. It shows not only a good kill zone (and also discussions of neck shots), but also argues against the head shot.

Steve at The Firearm Blog has a posting about hunting feral hogs with night vision.

As of this writing Steve’s posting actually has a mix-up regarding the hog hunting businesses, but a bit fortuitous as he writes-up the Night Hogs outfit that I went hunting with back in July 2009. I notified Steve via a comment, and hopefully he’ll remedy things soon.

I’ve actually had some thoughts about calling Randy and Gerald back up and doing another hunt. Just not right now… too cold. 🙂