AR Triggers

An Introduction

What is a trigger? The answer seems obvious, but it has more depth than you might think. A trigger is both an initiator and a safety feature. Triggers have come a long way since the beginning of firearms. Understanding your AR trigger can make you a better shooter.

In this article:

• Trigger overview

• AR trigger components

• How an AR trigger works

• Purchase considerations

• Pulling the trigger

In the days of hand cannons (look them up on Wikipedia at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_cannon ), a trigger was an external ignition source applied directly to the gunpowder through a small hole. The ignition source could be a match, a burning taper, or anything hot enough to ignite the gunpowder. Triggers progressed from that through matchlocks to wheellocks to flintlocks to modern triggers. Modern triggers release a firing pin that crushes a primer against a small anvil inside the primer. Modern firearms use springs to drive the hammer that strikes the firing pin. Crushing the primer against the anvil ignites the primer and then the gunpowder.