yep. i switched to an empty chamber years ago. still plenty fast if need be and quiet enough for my purposes.
Trigger drop test
- Thread starter turbo_guy
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Sneuses
Well-Known Member
Turbo-
I was taught to never under any condition drop your rifle, but rather protect it as it may mean your life according to my drill Sargents in basic. If you did drop it you could expect to have a very bad experience for that day and the rest of your time basic. Sorry just my experience.
Mike Matteson
Well-Known Member
The older stile M-98 bolt action has be firing pin lock that can't be moved unless by hand and turned 180drg. You can rub it all day and it won't move. That only rifle I carry with a round in the chamber hunting elk. Everything else the carrying the rifle in shoulder position can move the safety off.
Range or hunting, firing with a 12" drop is an issue that should be corrected.
Lenny Foffa
Well-Known Member
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- Mar 6, 2017
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Shame on me, but I never did a " Drop Test " on any of my Rifles. I'm Learning a lot from this thread. I use a digital trigger pull gauge to give myself about two pounds, 4 ounces, or Two pounds 6 ounces of trigger Pull, for the Weatherby Mark5s. Slam the bolt closed 5 or 6 times really hard, to check if it tripped. If I am being driven to the blind in a Vehicle , no round in the chamber ever; If I'm hunting my way to the blind, using a shooting stick as I slowly walk, there will be a round in the chamber, and the safety will be on. So My question becomes , if you drop the rifle on its Butt Pad from 20 inches, and it trips, do you just keep adjusting the trigger up until it will not trip??
Ga6570
Well-Known Member
consider what height you carry the Rifle/gun. it is several feet off the ground. if you slipped, tripped or fell, how far would that rifle drop in that fall. in my opinion this should be in the forefront of consideration when determining your drop test. we do drop tests to verify a safe gun.
with my rifles i do 3' to 4' drop tests. holding vertical and dropping onto the butt on carpeted floor. catching the barrel after it hits floor and bounces. if it fires when doing that i would not feel safe to hunt with it. and would adjust it until it did hold when dropped from 4'.
i don't have any guns that are dedicated range guns. but this is how i do my rifle setups and testing.
most of my triggers are crisp and between 14oz and 2# - knowing my trigger makes me a better shooter.
i invested in a lyman trigger gauge a few years back. well worth it.
be safe! shoot straight!
with my rifles i do 3' to 4' drop tests. holding vertical and dropping onto the butt on carpeted floor. catching the barrel after it hits floor and bounces. if it fires when doing that i would not feel safe to hunt with it. and would adjust it until it did hold when dropped from 4'.
i don't have any guns that are dedicated range guns. but this is how i do my rifle setups and testing.
most of my triggers are crisp and between 14oz and 2# - knowing my trigger makes me a better shooter.
i invested in a lyman trigger gauge a few years back. well worth it.
be safe! shoot straight!
Last edited:
OP clarified it was NOT for hunting
Ga6570
Well-Known Member
My response still has merit. Thanks!!
Mike Matteson
Well-Known Member
If I am climbing up or stepping up to a tree or tower blind. My rifle is unloaded. Period. If I happen to drop it. There no way it can go off. Why you would need a round in the chamber to start with is beyond me! I wouldn't enter a ground bling with a round in the chamber either. Another is climbing through a fence. I was taught to place the rifle on the ground away from where you are climbing through at. You can place the firearm on the other side, but not carrying with you as you climb through the fence. hunter safety 101.
As a teenager I know of kid that didn't pay attention to that and shot himself in the chest climbing through the fence. He lived, up never was quite right after that. He die several time on the way to the hospital, and was revived each time. Lucky I guess if you want to call it that. Another kid shot himself in a finger. We called him the finger hunter after that.
As a teenager I know of kid that didn't pay attention to that and shot himself in the chest climbing through the fence. He lived, up never was quite right after that. He die several time on the way to the hospital, and was revived each time. Lucky I guess if you want to call it that. Another kid shot himself in a finger. We called him the finger hunter after that.
I can't imagine dropping a rifle from 4' onto its butt pad. I can only imagine the potential damage that could be caused to the bedding, stock in the tang area, etc…. Especially a wood stock or ultra lite composite stock I would think it would destroy it. If it's a 20lb bench rifle maybe but still…..
As stated early in the conversation a trigger that is set within its design limits should not go off, period.
What trigger and what weight is it set for?
What trigger and what weight is it set for?
Doom2
Well-Known Member
SAAMI Z299.5-2016 is a voluntary standard that specifies drop tests. It contains specific requirements and would be difficult to do at home.
Also note: "The requirements of this Standard are not appropriate for firearms primarily intended for formal target shooting, and therefore this Standard does not apply to firearms whose trigger pull is designed to be less than three pounds (1.36 kg)".
As an active RSO I see all kinds of rifles and shooters. There are rifles with triggers that I am sure would not pass a 12" drop to concrete but I don't consider them unsafe. They are used by benchrest shooters, only loaded when safely aimed downrange, and used by individuals that have excellent trigger management. Safe gun handling is paramount. These rifles are never carried, transported, or moved loaded for obvious reasons. I would consider this trigger unsafe if I were the shooter because they are so light that they fire as I touch them.
Rifles routinely fired off hand prone or sitting, carried loaded, or casually used should be able to pass a user drop test along with a jar test and a hard chambering test. It's also important to verity that the rifle will not fire when the satay goes from on to off, especially if the trigger was pulled while the safety was on. It should also be remembered that triggers are mechanical devices and as such are susceptible to failure.
None of this should be considered as legal advice, it's strickly common sense.
Also note: "The requirements of this Standard are not appropriate for firearms primarily intended for formal target shooting, and therefore this Standard does not apply to firearms whose trigger pull is designed to be less than three pounds (1.36 kg)".
As an active RSO I see all kinds of rifles and shooters. There are rifles with triggers that I am sure would not pass a 12" drop to concrete but I don't consider them unsafe. They are used by benchrest shooters, only loaded when safely aimed downrange, and used by individuals that have excellent trigger management. Safe gun handling is paramount. These rifles are never carried, transported, or moved loaded for obvious reasons. I would consider this trigger unsafe if I were the shooter because they are so light that they fire as I touch them.
Rifles routinely fired off hand prone or sitting, carried loaded, or casually used should be able to pass a user drop test along with a jar test and a hard chambering test. It's also important to verity that the rifle will not fire when the satay goes from on to off, especially if the trigger was pulled while the safety was on. It should also be remembered that triggers are mechanical devices and as such are susceptible to failure.
None of this should be considered as legal advice, it's strickly common sense.
