This TriggerTech Primary trigger breakdown will tell you what sets this trigger apart from the competition.
There are plenty aftermarket trigger companies to choose from when it comes to bolt action or semi-automatic rifles. From Mil-Spec to hair triggers for shooting in competitions or shooting from a bench.
Companies such as Timney, Shilen, and Jewell also offer great options for aftermarket trigger options for the Remington 700 as well as other rifle platforms.
TriggerTech is relatively new to the scene but is making quite an impression among the professionals. They pride themselves on quality and innovation.
I recently put one of their Primary models on my Remington 700 project to see if they really knew what they were doing. More about my long range hunting build here.
The factory trigger from Remington on my ADL Tactical model was the same old XMark trigger they have used for years. Not adjustable, plenty of creep and over-travel, and far too heavy to use for any kind of accurate bench shooting.
When just pulling the trigger moves the entire rifle, making a good shot becomes a lot more difficult.
Since the TriggerTech Primary trigger is designed in the same basic style they have used for years, many options can be installed within minutes. After a basic function check, you’re on your way.
Even though it’s an easy enough job with the proper tools, we always recommend taking your work to a qualified gunsmith. When it comes to the trigger of your rifle, one can never be too safe.
The TriggerTech Primary trigger housing is made out of aluminum. All the pieces are well machined and laser engraved with the company name and the model of the trigger. No rough edges or burrs left over from the machining processes.
The safety is ergonomically shaped with nice serrations on it for extra grip. When you reach for it, there is enough surface area to provide a nice positive feel as well as an audible “click.”
TriggerTech offers models in both matte black and silver for the Primary trigger. The black has their PVD coating.
PVD stands for Physical Vapour Deposition, and is a durable coating thats is very hard which is applied to external stainless steel components to give them a clean black color.
The trigger also features a stamped logo on the outside of the safety lever. The safety is a matte metal finish and really looks great. Some people may prefer black. They offer both curved and flat triggers in brushed metal and coated black configurations.
The bolt release on the trigger I received seemed a bit sticky to start with, but I couldn’t find any information about it happening to others so I plan to see how it works out in the future.
It is a bit thicker than the factory release and mounted in a more effective manner resulting in less flex and a much better feel than the factory Remington triggers.
The bolt release has been a questionable spot for a long time with the factory triggers. The TriggerTech Primary mechanism provides a nice positive, reliable operation of the bolt catch in my experience with them.
The trigger shoe is available as either curved or straight. You can choose the one you like, but I have used curved for 20 years and don’t see a reason to switch it up now. The trigger is the same matte finish as the safety.
If you’re looking for a tactical trigger, you may want to go with the flat version. The TriggerTech Primary trigger is much wider than the factory one and felt great on my finger. The ribs are spaced well and the trigger has a great design and feel overall.
Directly in front of the bolt release tab is the only adjustment for their single stage triggers, the all important pull weight. The Primary model is adjustable from 4 lbs down to 1.5 lbs using this single screw and an Allen wrench.
I find that the heavier weights are great for hunting with thick, warm gloves. When you’re going for that 1000-yard shot, you don’t want the trigger weight being more than your barreled action.
TriggerTech’s Special model goes even lower – perfect for varmint hunting and ringing steel in any competition. If your rifle is used generally for competition, then you may even want to try their Diamond trigger.
This bad boy is adjustable from 32 oz all the way down to 4 oz. Each improved model costs a little more but still seem very affordable compared to competitors. TriggerTech also offers them in right- and left-handed configurations.
When adjusting the TriggerTech Primary trigger weight, each click of the screw is supposed to be 1oz of pull weight. This feature makes it very easy to go from hunting to bench shooting and back again.
On the lighter end of the weight range, the clicks were much less audible. The higher the weight, the more audible and tactile the clicks.
I just set it to feel with my good gloves on and knew it would turn out better than my factory trigger regardless of if I had it down to 1.5 lbs.
I had already removed my barreled action to place into my MAGPUL Hunter 700 chassis. After almost putting everything together, I realized it would be a disgrace to not include a trigger as well.
Time to get out the old punch and hammer for the two pins holding the factory trigger to the action.
The TriggerTech install was a breeze due to the trigger’s sealed sear design. Less than 10 minutes after getting my hammer out, I was putting it away.
After a few function checks, it was time to assemble the rest. I used my Wheeler Fat Wrench to torque the barreled action to the new chassis for the first time.
It was a beautiful moment. Another check and it’s time for the range.
TriggerTech is a Canadian company that began their journey making trigger systems for Remington 700s and crossbows. More recently, they have started making different models for the AR-15 market.
What really sets them apart from the rest of the trigger manufacturing world is their patented FRT or Frictionless Release Technology.
Trigger designs from other companies use sliding friction between the sear and trigger during operation. TriggerTech’s FRT technology uses a roller between the sear and trigger. This improves the break when releasing the sear by reducing friction.
Think about traditional trigger systems. A nice flat sear, pushing against the flat hammer to keep it from falling.
All of the springs in the system impose a lot of tension, putting a lot of pressure on the smallest amount of surface area.
As you pull the trigger, your finger must overcome both static and kinetic friction built into this style of system. The contact area between the sear and hammer gets smaller and smaller, which increases the amount of pressure on those surfaces. Until it slips.
The more sear overlap you have, the safer the engagement between the two becomes. More overlap will make it less likely to fall accidentally.
However, more overlap directly means more pull distance required to fire. This is known as creep and is usually frowned up in any aspect.
To get the trigger pull as crisp as possible with the traditional friction design, you have to limit overlap as much as possible while balancing safety. Essentially, making a trade between the two.
To remove the friction between these surfaces, TriggerTech placed a free floating roller between the sear and trigger.
One reason these triggers are so consistent shot after shot is because the company starts with a near zero resistance design, and then they engineer the appropriate weight into the system.
With their use of the FRT system, TriggerTech basically eliminates the compromise between performance and safety. The sear engagement does not change regardless of adjusted trigger weight.
This allows them to make a 5 lb mil-spec drop-in trigger still feel nice and crisp as well as keeping the 4 oz Diamond trigger on your precision rifle just as safe.
With the AR-15 platform, TriggerTech changed how the entire game is played with this technology. Generally, the trigger has to move 5x more than the sear to overcome the friction in the standard mils-spec system.
With the FRT in the housing, the TriggerTech Primary trigger can now move even less than the sear and acts like a lever. This is why TriggerTech has some of the best feeling triggers in the drop-in market, even with more overlap than the competitors.
TKR is for what they call the Ticker, which pivots freely and keeps over-travel to a mere .030”. They say it is for the feel of the break as well.
According to TriggerTech, the Remington 700 should be as low as .015”, which is quite impressive. It feels great the entire time. There is no creep like with a 2 stage trigger.
I don’t personally feel any travel at all, just building steady pressure until *click*. The nice clean break with near zero travel.
CLKR is for the “clicker” technology that allows you to finetune your trigger weight. There is also a safety mechanism that prevents the trigger from locking if it gets over-tightened or even removed.
To help with corrosion resistance, not only do they have the anodized aluminum housing for the components, but they made the trigger out of 440c stainless steel.
With these features combined with the low friction of the FRT system, TriggerTech has done a lot to minimize maintenance and failure points common to the factory triggers as well as some aftermarket trigger designs.
Seems like an excellent reason for them to offer their Lifetime Warranty with their products.
One should note that the 1 oz per click is not exact. The click is to be used only as a reference tool.
The best way to adjust to an exact pull weight is by using a scale. The clicks seemed to be more accurate in the middle of the adjustment range.
This seems like a minor issue, as I don’t know anybody that adjusts their trigger back and forth every time they go to the range. The CLKR seems like a great tool to know about how much you have adjusted the weight.
The consistency of this system was pretty one of a kind. Across all of our tests, there was very low variation in reading on my scale. I don’t have a digital, so including any mechanical error in my spring style, they were within 1/10th of a pound.
After testing at the range, I settled at just over 3 pounds of pull. Using my thickest gloves, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a surprise when it came time to pull the trigger. What feels good at the bench might feel different in a blind when it’s 10 degrees out.
The adjustment screw is much more difficult with the rifle assembled. Now hidden by the trigger guard, the turns on the screw have to be very short; however, it’s certainly still possible to turn the screw with the rifle fully assembled.
May be a better idea to do a rough adjustment with the barreled action removed from the stock and finetune once everything is where it’s going to be.
The real question becomes: does any of it make a difference? With the TriggerTech Primary trigger installed on my new build, the testing began.
I took a scale to the trigger and was amazed at the consistency right off the bat. It didn’t matter if it was at the high end of adjustment or the lower end of adjustment – as far as my scale could tell it was exact every single time.
I believe this is due to their FRT roller system. Even their cheapest model shows the amazing qualities of their design. The Primary has zero perceivable take-up and the break is outstanding.
At around $150 from TriggerTech the price puts them right in the range of the Timney triggers, but still less than a Jewell. These triggers are not to be trifled with and we intend to use them on more of our future builds.
As of now, TriggerTech does not offer triggers for any bolt action other than the Remington 700.
They do, however, offer several models that will drop into your mil-spec AR style rifle. These models range from a fixed 5 lb to an adjustable that will go down to 2.5 lbs.
We have not yet had the pleasure to review these products but will try to bring them to you in the future.
The .015” of over-travel must be right, because you feel none of it. Crisp, clean, and consistent every single time. The curved shoe feels great on the finger and much more comfortable than the factory feel.
If you want a reliable and consistent trigger for years to come, the TriggerTech Primary trigger may be just the right option for you. This trigger is very budget friendly and is packed with features for it’s price point.
TriggerTech offers unique and feature-rich products that are sure to please even the pickiest shooter. I look forward to future products from them and hope I get the chance to geek out over their newest nextiest pew pew accessory.
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