AK-Trigger Work, Single Hook 74

[meaty-btz]

I've done some work on my 74's single hook trigger and I took about 2# off the pull and it is smooth as silk...

Two things remain for me to be really satisfied.

Shorter take up (I was conservative and will go back for more).
A more positive sensation of the break-point.

And that is what I need some help on. Right now it is polished smooth and it really is smooth.. so smooth I can't feel the end of the take-up. It's just smooth as glass right through the break.

Maybe that is good.. maybe that is bad.. I just feel it is more towards the bad because I can't stage the trigger very easily.

The only part I worked on was the Hammer, interestingly enough. I only did a light de-burr on the trigger hook as it had some crappy machine work and some burrs that needed to be removed but the actual interfacing surfaces on the trigger hook were already worn to a mirror finish.

[meaty-btz]

Hmm Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

The trigger tested at 5.7-6.5#.. likely from the gouge and bur in the trigger hook and the small raised ridge on the edge of the hammer hook. Now it tests at 3.5-4#. The pull is perfectly smooth, almost sensationless (over polish? It isn't mirror shiny, just close).

Honestly it feels really nice to have that smooth of a trigger but there is no sensation of approaching the break point.. when it breaks it is clean.

Did I polish it too smooth on the hammer? On the trigger hook I removed the bur from the gouge (piss poor machining) and that was it. No metal removal otherwise.

The question is there a way I can give myself a way to stage the trigger.. aka put some kind of feel back in right at the break point?

[meaty-btz]

Well I took it back apart today and did some more work. I worked on the deburred .. sear.. I think it is called. When I deburred it, it of course got a little rounded so I reworked it to a sharp edge but without any lip or bur and that brought back the a tiny amount of feeling. I can now sorta stage the trigger. The break point is still a little difficult to feel but I guess that goes with a single stage trigger with a very smooth pull..
I am satisfied. Tested the trigger pull again and it came out to between 4 and 3.8#. It breaks perfectly in the same spot every time so nothing is "wrong". I am just used to triggers telling you.. break is "here". Maybe those were all two stage or triggers with burs on the mating edges.

[Alex$]

do be very conservative with the filing and polishing...

I did some "minor" trigger work to clean up the pull and weight. Go too far and you have a setup that will "bump fire" itself into an auto...

[nachoyumm]

do be very conservative with the filing and polishing...

I did some "minor" trigger work to clean up the pull and weight. Go too far and you have a setup that will "bump fire" itself into an auto...

Sounds like a feature to me, haha. But seriously though, anyone know of a good guide for ak triggers?

[meaty-btz]

No problems with bump-fire. I just made it like glass smooth and as a result the "feel" you get just before the break is gone. That feel is the increased pressure you need to overcome the little metal bur that almost every factory AK trigger has there. It's just a left over from machining.

I am still thinking of going back and adding a tiny step to the hammer right before the break.. I mean tiny. But as it stand the trigger pull is so nice and smooth it really isn't that much of a problem.

Yes this trigger setup makes it easy to bump fire. All I need to do is put my finger halfway out (so the hammer resets after each shot) and a little loose in the pocket and I can have some fun. But the goal wasn't to do that. The goal was to make a perfectly light trigger pull on the AK. I got that. Just no easy staging.. which may be good. We are used to staging the trigger but if the pull is so easy, smooth, and consistent than staging isn't really needed.

[Swagman00]

What little there is to work with on that single hook can quickly dissappear with wear. Have you considered a double hook G2 down the road?

[meaty-btz]

What little there is to work with on that single hook can quickly dissappear with wear. Have you considered a double hook G2 down the road?

Yup. The single hook introduces some interesting notes.. along with the poor machining of Bulgarian AK shops.. would you believe my hammer is "twisted" It has a slight twist on it. Likely from the pressure of being hooked only by a single hook and crappy alloy.. it is pretty "hard" based on my work.. but that or it was just machined wonky enough to be twisted.

Doesn't effect function.. but you can see it.

The Tapco has another advantage in that the.. hmm name.. disconnector? is taller and so on a "hold-back" reset there is less trigger travel and jump from it popping off the disconnector and catching on the sear. I like that feature because you can set the takeup to closely match the disconnector disengagement so you can hold back the trigger on each shot and get a very fast, very clean,trigger reset. Even with the stock one I can already do close to that.. but the geometry is better on the G2. That would make the trigger more close to my glock so my training on both will closer. My technique to keep motion down on my glock is to keep the trigger depressed and do a shortreset fire motion once the sights return to center. I enjoy that and would enjoy that on my AK.