Why Should you Replace or Upgrade the Trigger in your Favorite 308 AR or AR-10?

There’s a few reasons! Unless you bought a premium AR-10/308 AR rifle your factory supplied trigger was simply meant to be suitable to fire your gun. Gun manufacturers have long recognized that an easy way to keep a guns price down was to include an inexpensive mass produced trigger. Many shooters simply will not pay an up charge for a quality trigger from the factory. A few manufacturers have gone on to say that they expect customers to replace the factory stock trigger.  Ill repeat what I said earlier ” your factory supplied trigger was simply meant to be suitable to fire your gun“. Finally there’s manufacturer liability. There’s an old expression that firearm triggers are designed by lawyers. The theory is a heavy trigger is a safe trigger.

All those aforementioned reasons are more of an explanation of why your factory trigger sucks and not reason enough to replace the trigger. The reason you should replace your trigger is simple. The better your trigger pull the more accurate you and your rifle will shoot.

Trigger Pull Effect On Accuracy

A heavy, gritty inconsistent trigger will result in poor accuracy. The reason is you, the shooter, will end up moving the rifle as you do your best to stay on target. A trigger needs to be light, smooth and the trigger break should be clean, crisp. A quality trigger break is often compared to breaking a glass rod.

Upgrade Your Trigger Before Your Barrel

Replacing/Upgrading your 308 barrel before your trigger is a complete waste of money! Today most factory 308 AR barrels are pretty decent.  In fact the barrels are often capable of better accuracy than a casual shooter. There’s a lot of peer pressure to run out and buy a premium barrel. Do yourself a favor and don’t buy in to it until you replace your trigger. The trigger is the EASIEST and LEAST EXPENSIVE accuracy upgrade you can perform on your 308AR or AR10!  Replacing your trigger is the single biggest accuracy improvement you can do.

What is the Difference Between a Drop-In Trigger and a Standard Trigger for AR Rifles?

A Drop-In Trigger consists of a housing per-assembled with the AR fire control system parts such as the hammer, trigger, sear and springs. The installer simply “Drops the assembled fire control unit in to the AR Lower Receiver”!

A standard AR trigger requires the fire control group parts to be installed individually!

What’s Better a Drop-In Trigger or a Regular Trigger?

There is no definitive answer as to whether a drop-in trigger or regular trigger is superior. Both styles are available with outstanding trigger pulls and premium prices. Both trigger styles have strengths and weaknesses.

The drop-in triggers are easier to install than standard triggers. Standard triggers are said to be more reliable because they contain less parts. Drop-in triggers are well suited to most domestic applications. The simplicity and openness of a standard trigger would be a great asset for maintenance and reliability in a combat environment. The self-contained housed approach of the drop-in trigger features more confined components that could be harder to keep maintained in combat.

I don’t personally see myself in combat. Both styles of trigger are fine for most applications

Examples of Drop-in Triggers, Examples of Standard Triggers

Note: I tend to use AR drop-in triggers due to some physical limitations of my hands.

Can I Use an AR-15 Trigger In My 308 AR, AR-10?

Can you use an AR-15 trigger in a 308 AR/AR308 or AR-10? The answer is Yes!, No! and Maybe?

• Yes! – Many AR-15 triggers can be used in the 308 AR platform
• No! – Some AR-15 triggers will not function safely in the 308. They were not designed for the substantially heavier recoil of the .308 Winchester Cartridge. Using one of these triggers can result in uncontrolled full-auto magazine dump. Injury and death an result. Some will also not strike the primer hard enough for reliable ignition of the chambered round.
• Maybe – Some AR-15 triggers do not properly fit the 308 AR and AR-10 platforms. Users have been known to dremel the hammer and/or the receiver.

I have reached out to many aftermarket trigger manufacturers and vendors. Some DO NOT recommend their triggers in 308 rifles despite users reporting successful operation in the field. There reasons fall in to the “No” category above.

Personally I only use and recommend triggers verified compatible with the 308AR/AR-10 by the manufacturer or vendor. There are plenty of great triggers. No need to risk personal injury to save a few bucks.