JoeBob's AR15 Grip Screw Trigger Adjuster problem

dan158

New member
It does not take play out of trigger..
I decided to play with the mmr hunter and stripped it down b
Bedded the barrel to a new upper that has dust cover and forward assist..
I bought a adjustable gas block from JB also but it wouldn't fit under the stock handguard.. Anyway, I got the grip screw trigger adjuster.. It doesn't seem to work.. I can screw the small L head screw in and tighten till the safety doesn't work then back off enough so it does. I still hve a lot of creep in the trigger... Any ideas what is going on?? Thanks... Dan
 
Take a feeler gauge set and a can of dykem and measure how much sear engagement you have. The Mil-Spec trigger needs to have 15-20thou of engagement even with the rebound-limiting set screw (this is NOT a safe hunting trigger or "battle trigger," but the minimum for a bench trigger). If you have more than 20thou, you can take material off of the circumference of the selector (where it engages the trigger) to let the tail of the trigger raise more OR take material off of the circumference of the hammer boot, perpendicular to the sear surface (this has to be done squarely). You'll always feel that 20thou of creep, however. A guy has to balance out the disconnector release with the sear break - if your blocking screw gets so high your disconnector won't clear reliably, AND you still have over 20thou sear engagement, that's when I would take material off of the hammer "boot".

OR... Instead of filing the circumference of the selector, most guys cut a round into the top of the trigger to get that extra clearance. The biggest trick there is to ensure the disconnector still releases properly (which can be dressed to release higher too).

I don't usually pay for the drop in grip screw, I just use a separate set screw. I turn the selector to safe, run the screw up until the selector gets tight, back off just a fractional turn to let the selector turn freely. If my disconnector and reset functions properly, AND I still have over 30thou, I'll consider cutting down the hammer "boot".

The set screws are an improvement, but not a perfect solution. It's still a mil-spec trigger, and still needs sufficient sear engagement, and the trigger travels farther than the sear arm on the trigger - so you're going to feel it.
 
Or better yet, go get a quality trigger you like and trust so you don't have to worry with all that. You'll save yourself some headaches trying to get it right when you can get a better trigger. I don't have the experience VT has and would not be comfortable messing with my trigger.
 
Sorry about the issue! The Trigger Adjusters do work, however, how well they work will vary based on the trigger you are installing it with. Most customers yield a much better trigger pull than factory when installing the trigger adjuster. However, they can't completely overcome poor machining or tolerance issues. IE: They're a great upgrade for a milspec trigger but won't compare to a $200 trigger by any means.

It sounds like the tolerance stacking in your trigger may be yielding less desirable results. As "Varminterror" suggested, the trigger may need to be modified in order to see better results.
 
Mine worked out great with a RRA st trigger. Its kinda funny how many people try it and want to know what it is and how much i got into it.
 
Originally Posted By: steve garrettWhy are you messing with grip screw triggers a rra is like 75 bucks. I bought 2 last year for 62 bucks each I put a RRA N.M. on mine with reduced power springs KAW from Joebobs and am going to get the Varmint in the RRA next. The Milspec triggers just don't do it for me.
 
ALG Defense triggers from JBO are an excellent "budget" trigger.

My last build used Stoner "enhanced" triggers with Wolff springs. These are noise maker "battle rifle" type builds and not hunting rifles. I was quite impressed with these triggers for their cost...they did take just a bit of cleaning with CLP and a Scotch-Brite pad.
 
Originally Posted By: steve garrettWhy are you messing with grip screw triggers a rra is like 75 bucks. I bought 2 last year for 62 bucks each

Because there was a lot of hype how they help take creep out of trigger... Also I got the kaw reduced springs in bundle.. Both for 20$.. Dan
 
The screw can take out a lot of the creep, and greatly improve a mil-spec trigger. JP springs tend to run around $12, set screws are 38cents at local hardware stores here, so I call that "package" a $12.38 trigger job... For that price, with a mil-spec LPK, a guy can get down around 4-4.5lbs with a much, much shorter trigger travel. A guy should be able to get down to 25thou with no to minimal modification of their trigger or selector, which is a big improvement over the typical 60-70thou common to mil-spec triggers. You'll notice the creep on an AR trigger a lot more than you might in some other models, simply because of the heavy weight, gritty feel, and positive sear angle. Many of the lower cost "enhanced" triggers on the market are nothing but mil-spec/standard triggers with polished sear surfaces and a neutral sear angle - no reduction in sear engagement, no reduction in weight, just less grit, and less work fighting the hammer spring.

$12.38 is a lot cheaper than $75, or even $62. It's still a positive sear angle, and still considerable travel, but there's no other trigger you can buy which will produce a short creep, 4.5lb trigger for less than $20. A nice feature of the adjuster screws is the ability to return the rifle back to a pure mil-spec state within seconds, which is an advantage over the hardware store set screw I typically use for mil-spec, po'boy trigger enhancement.
 
I'm pretty happy with my trigger adjusting screw. I started with an Anderson LPK with the stainless trigger and hammer. Dealer was selling them for $38 out the door here. I polished the hammer, trigger, and dis-connector with a Wyoming stone then lubed with TW25. Installed JP springs. I'm getting 3 LBs on the nose with my scale with no creep and it hasn't missed a beat on reliability so far. It was just kind of a winter experiment for me to see what could be done without spending a bunch on a trigger for an everyday gun. I've got other ARs with good triggers but this thing turned out sweet. I don't think the regular LPK with the black trigger & hammer would turn out as nice. That stainless really turned out nice plus the hammer is bobbed right out of the box.
 
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I honestly prefer my milspec trigger with the adjuster and polished parts over the RRA varmint trigger and the AR velocity trigger. My buddy just had his AR Gold trigger delivered and I havent gotten to play with that yet but I will soon.

I have mine turned down a lot, the saftey engages but only about 70% of its normal travel, I basically turned it down just so the disconnector would release. I've banged my gun around trying to get the trigger to go off without a trigger pull and it hasn't misfired. Even dropped the gun hard enough to break my Leupold and the trigger held.
 
I was trying to buy some gasblocks from them tonight but I can't seem to check out online from my phone. Very frustrating. I finally just gave up on the order.

Sent JoeBob a pm and he helped get me straightened out.
 
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Originally Posted By: JoeBobOutfittersSorry about the issue! The Trigger Adjusters do work, however, how well they work will vary based on the trigger you are installing it with. Most customers yield a much better trigger pull than factory when installing the trigger adjuster. However, they can't completely overcome poor machining or tolerance issues. IE: They're a great upgrade for a milspec trigger but won't compare to a $200 trigger by any means.

It sounds like the tolerance stacking in your trigger may be yielding less desirable results. As "Varminterror" suggested, the trigger may need to be modified in order to see better results.

The adjustable grip screw, with the blue springs, (kaw valley?) and serious polishing results in 4# trigger pull on a few of my ARs. Good stuff, JoeBob!

All my lpks are from New Frontier so wherever they get or make their parts, they're pretty decent.
 
I ordered the screw and kaw spring set for a friend of mine.. He has a DB AR and when installed the kit in his lower, He has the very least creep and breaks real nice.. So it is the trigger in mine that needs cleaned up.. Night and day difference... Dan
 
Originally Posted By: dan158If used this on a 2 stage trigger, will the 2 stage become a single or will the safety not work?? Thank you.. Dan

no idea on the questions. but i dont think it was meant to be used for a 2 stage trigger.
 
Originally Posted By: dan158If used this on a 2 stage trigger, will the 2 stage become a single or will the safety not work?? Thank you.. Dan

They were made for the two stage milspec triggers. If you turn the set screw way up you will get a single stage trigger, you will also likely run into safety problems. The directions say to adjust the set screw until you can no longer turn the safety, then back the set screw off just enough for you safety to function. Following the directions will leave you with less of a trigger pull but depending on your exact trigger you may be left with a small about of you're original first stage or you will end up with a single stage trigger with a good amount of creep.

I now have my trigger adjuster set screw in deep enough that my safety lever with only travel half the distance and the disconnector of my milspec trigger with just barely release the hammer after cycling. I like it quite a lot, I've got a milspec trigger that I polished and put the adjuster screw in, I have bobbed my hammer slightly and put in a light weigh trigger spring in but left the original heavy hammer spring. My trigger has basically no creep to be felt but it's still a bit heavy, maybe ~6lbs. My buddy has a velocity trigger and AR gold trigger, this weekend I put around 100 rounds through his two guns plus another 150 through my gun, I would honestly say that I would not pay more than $30 to upgrade to ether of his triggers from mine.
 
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