Been out of the loop for a while. Which are considered the best triggers?
Is Geisele (sp) still the top of the food chain?

Depends on what you want. I know a lot of 3gun shooters use AR Gold or Timney Calvin Elite with a few hyperfires thrown in.

And before anybody pipes up with the "cassette drop in triggers fail, jam, are junk" crap, if that were true, no one would use them. I've run thousands of rounds through my Calvin Elite and have never had a problem with it.

I've had a couple different SSA-E's and they were OK. A little heavy, a little creepy. Not terrible, not great.

I can't speak to the larue mbt, I'm sure they're better than a mil spec group, but how much better than a spring kit from JP, I don't know. A $12 spring kit and a mil spec trigger group is good enough for my loaner/ blaster rifles.

Agree with other statements.

There are a lot of good triggers. Cassette and standard configurations have all worked well for me. The cassettes never jammed and this was even on one rifle that was piercing or blowing primers regularly (AR10 chambered 6mm Creedmoor).  

For 2 stage:

In the cassette realm Triggertech and Elftmann were nice. I stuck with AR Gold in my precision AR15's and reluctantly gave my Triggertech and Elftmann to family members who really like them. The only thing I find on the AR Gold's is that the trigger is kind of thin. The CMC I had was not bad, but I didn't care for the fit in the receiver(s). Yes I tried it in multiple brands of receivers.

Triggers that install more traditional, I have run RRA's NM, KAC's 2 stage, LaRue MBT's along with Geissele SSA-E, SD-E and HSNM's. My precision AR10 are all running HSNM's.

I have also run a few single stages. Mostly cassette style. They all seemed to work pretty well, I just found I prefer 2 stage triggers more.

I have stated before and will do so again. The LaRue offering is not bad for the price, but that is about it. They don't compare to SSA-E's or HSNM G triggers. They may compare to the SSA or others, but I don't know as I have never had any of those. They do have a good reset, but all 4 of mine were gritty on a slow reset. The flat face of the trigger makes them feel clunky and chunky to me. I posted they were a good deal for $90 on the LaRue website, but there were better option in my opinion albeit more expensive as well. That review did not last long since it was not a 5 star praising of the MBT. That was a bit disconcerting since I had other LaRue equipment that wasn't bad.

If you have friends at the range or know some of the regulars, see if they have any triggers and will let you try them. I used to let people try any or all of mine. You may find one you prefer and save yourself from spending a fortune trying out different triggers like I did.

Triggers are a real personal preference.

This. What I prefer will quite likely not be what you like or not ideal for your intended use. Since you asked though, my favorite "do it all trigger" is the SSA-E. Doesn't make it right for you, but for me it's great.

I've had good results with the Schmid 2-stage NiB trigger. It's 1/4th the cost of a Geiselle but is the Geiselle really 4x the trigger? The Schmid is definitely better than any stock trigger.

I like a Geissele SD-E trigger 2 stage trigger on a scoped AR that's expected to reach out with accuracy.

For more pedestrian activities, on Red Dot equipped AR's and the like,  I favor single stage triggers like the Wilson Combat TTU (4lb), or the Rise Armament LE 145 (4.5 lb). Both are cassette style, but have caused me no problems to date.

Both have drop safety features that provide an extra measure of comfort.

IMHO and YMMV

What does the OP expect from his trigger?  Light pull weight?  Minimal creep?  Minimal over travel?  Will he be shooting for groups, drills, competition?  His question is far too general for anyone to give a definitive answer.  


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LaRue MBT2S is $115
Geissele SSA-E is $196

For “duty” type rifles I use the L.
For “range” type rifles I use the G.

ETA: one of my L needs to go back to Texas because it won’t reset.