Henry Rifle Forums

How light is too light?

I suppose if a rifle is dropped on it's butt and the gravity+shock of the drop pulls the trigger, that would be too light.

That's sort of a personal preference thing. The cure for that is an adjustable trigger, which I don't think anyone makes for a Henry. Someone should, imho. One rifle I have is adjustable from 2 1/4 to 5 lbs via a simple screw. I like the light trigger setting for it, but it's a precision .22wmr bolt gun, not a hunting gun although it could certainly fill the small game role.

Anyway there's more to it than just weight. A lot can be gained just from smoothing things up so there's no gritty feel, and has a crisp release. A good smith can do that for you.

Too light a trigger will startle the shooter and make him jumpy causing his confidence and accuracy to suffer.
My old dad had BP rifles with those set triggers. He loved a hair trigger on a target rifle. Hunting and general use, not so much.
It depends on the application, I suppose.

I am used to my trigger pulls being about 2-2.5lbs. Though I have bump tested all my rifles I do not worry about dropping them and having them fire as I have never dropped a rifle after the safety was off and i was ready to fire. The weight of the trigger pull is only part of what I think a good trigger pull is. Trigger creep and how it stacks can make it tough for offhand accuracy. The shape of the stock makes a difference for me, with a straight stock I am pulling the trigger up and back that requires more force than a rifle with pistol grip where I am pulling the trigger straight back.

I think it comes down to what you want and what you are used to.

I like light triggers. Right now, my H006M is right at 1.25 pounds with negligible creep.
I've gotten used to it, but it is light enough that I am leery of loaning it out to friends.

If you restore, modify or build firearms, you might find the SAMMI Abusive Mishandling manual useful. It has instructions for conducting your own drop or jar tests. Down load it here: https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/20 ... 4-2016.pdf

I'll take smooth over light anytime, with the least over travel permissible.

Some may disagree, but for for field or hunting rifles, I find 3 to 4 pounds to be safe. At least, that's my comfort level. Less than that is for target rifles.

I always liked 2 stage triggers as found on almost all rifles used in WW II and some after. I like the "additional" safety, but I always felt that it helped me make a long shot. I'm certain that's all in my head, but anything that helps is fine with me.