OT: Which US made AK trigger group to install?

ratas calientes · December 27, 2002, 11:39

There are a couple of SAR-1 AK-47s in the family. Both assembled by Century. The US-made Century triggers on both are horrible. One had the distinctive trigger slap, and I did the recommended repair on both rifles. Went shooting in the cold yesterday. Even with the trigger slap repairs completed, the triggers seemed worse than ever - most likely made worse because of cold hands.

The question: There are two US-made non-adjustable AK trigger groups I have found that I can choose from. The first is made by Gordon Technologies, and is a double-hook design. The second is a single-hook design, referred to as the "AK variance design"

, made by FSE. Is there any real difference between the two? Price is the same.

You opinions are welcome.

Ratas

Doubleought · December 27, 2002, 12:37

ratas,

I've heard good things about both, but the FSE set would be true "drop-in". You would need to cut an additional groove in the bottom of the receiver to accomodate the double-hook Gordon Tech. trigger.

While you're at it, check out Red Star Arms' FAL-style hammer/trigger pin retaining plate. It will make assembly/disassembly way easier! BANDIT sells them on his website.

**idsubgun** · December 27, 2002, 13:10

Yeah, I second the Red Star HTS.

flashx · December 27, 2002, 15:30

Ill triple the Red Star hts My buddy Tec-9 fixed me up with one and its slicker than snot on a door knob!!!

ratas calientes · December 27, 2002, 16:20

I put in Red Star Arms pin retaining plates a week ago into both rifles. What a relief that was. The one time I managed to put in the shephards hook, about a month ago, I almost went NUTS!!!

So, I got that taken care of.

As for Red Star Arms H/T/S, I have only found their adjustable set - which I don't want - a little too much $$$ for my needs. Do they have a non-adjustable one? I can get the others (Gordon Technologies or FSE) from TAPCO for ~$40 ea.

Ratas

NewtoFals · December 27, 2002, 16:40

I put in the gordon tech dual hook in my mak90.
No trigger slap and nice crisp pull. Then again the original trigger had no trigger slap and a nice crisp pull.

No modification and the 'dropped' right in.

madecov · December 27, 2002, 18:04

I have the FSE for my SAR 1
I purchased it from TAPCO, it has not been installed yet. I am not 100% on this but the SAR rifle's are all stamped receivers and use the single hook. The double hook are for the milled receivers like the Bulgarian SLR series of rifle's. I wanted to replace the trigger group in my SAR because of the horrible trigger slap. The FSE set is reasonably priced and if it is as good as the FAL trigger sets I'll be very happy.

I just felt that the Red Star set is a little overkill in a SAR that cost me under $300.00

Brian in MN · December 27, 2002, 18:49

I have a Gordon Tech double hook in a Yugo. It is okay except that they, Gordon, took off too much metal to eliminate trigger slap and it is possible to push the selector too far up past "safe".

I was told by the vendor that I bought it from that Gordon makes both double and single hook sets and that they are not interchangable. I tried swapping around single and double sets and found this to be true.

I purchased my set from AK USA. They should have both double and single Gordon sets in stock for $39 delivered.

They also have unissued Russian 4 cell mag pouches for $15.

I bought a Romy .30 cal with an FSE set which had been installed by Century; (Thank the Lord for small miracles) it seems to work just fine though I have far less than 500 rounds through this rifle.

Brian in MN · December 27, 2002, 18:51

Quote:

Originally posted by NewtoFals
I put in the gordon tech dual hook in my mak90.
No trigger slap and nice crisp pull. Then again the original trigger had no trigger slap and a nice crisp pull.

No modification and the 'dropped' right in.

Did your Mak 90 come with a double hook set?

NewtoFals · December 27, 2002, 19:52

Yes.....all chinese come with double hooks.

Tec 9 · December 28, 2002, 10:23

I've pretty much used every version on the market. The Red Star Arms one is by far the best value. All pieces are milled from bar and fully adjustable for a $30 premium over the cast/non-adjustable competitors. That $30 is money well spent. I like whatever is in the Robarms guns too...quite nice, but not adjustable or milled.

Warning: I work for them, but I didn't let that taint this review..they're the cat's meow!

FlashX: Glad you liked it!

take care,
Tec

RS39 · December 28, 2002, 12:06

You can get a good drop-in trigger set for half the price of the RSA set. But the RSA set is adjustable for pull weight, single or 2-stage, length of pull, and overtravel. You can't even get an AR trigger to do that at twice the price. And a cleaner trigger pull with a cleaner shot release will help your accuracy also (depending on how crappy yours is now).
I suggest starting with 1 RSA set and decide from there for the other AKs.

TnT2c71 · December 28, 2002, 13:28

Get the Red Star Arms T/H/S. Easy to install and full functional.

ratas calientes · December 28, 2002, 20:52

Thanks for all of the input folks. I just ordered one FSE set from a fellow FALer for a great price. I'll try it out and go from there.
Happy New Year -

Ratas

**W.E.G.** · December 29, 2002, 08:59

Indeed the Century h/t/s is horrid. It actually has a slap-snap. Two whacks per shot to the trigger finger. Which sucks for a rifle which should be a real fun bullet hose.

I ground on the part of the sear that caused the "slap." I think I eliminated the slap. But, it still has a hearty "snap" when the the sear re-sets.

Princeton · December 29, 2002, 11:42

I had that horrible trigger slap with both my SAR-1 and SAR-2 rifles. I made the above mentioned fix. No trigger slap but the trigger still felt like crap.

Later on I saw the ad for the Red Star Arms trigger set and decided to give it a try in my SAR-2 and Wow what a difference it made. The trigger pull is absolutely incredible. Installing it right from the package its feel was very good but a bit of minor adjusting made it great. It has been totally reliable.
I immediately ordered a set for my SAR-1.

Doubleought · December 29, 2002, 21:44

Quote:

Originally posted by gary.jeter
Indeed the Century h/t/s is horrid. It actually has a slap-snap. Two whacks per shot to the trigger finger. Which sucks for a rifle which should be a real fun bullet hose.

I ground on the part of the sear that caused the "slap." I think I eliminated the slap. But, it still has a hearty "snap" when the the sear re-sets.

Gary,
Red Star Arms sells a replacement disconnector spring that might help that problem. It's made by Wolff Gun Springs. Five bucks each! Maybe the Wolff spring will eliminate the "snap".

I did the same trigger-slap fix for my SAR-1, only I removed the entire hump from the back of the disconnector. No problems so far. I also polished things up and shortened the hook on the trigger, to eliminate most of the creep in the second stage. I can post some pics if anyone's curious.

Jeff

December 27, 2002, 11:39	#1
ratas calientes Registered FALaholic #: 1841 Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Mexico Posts: 7,819	OT: Which US made AK trigger group to install? There are a couple of SAR-1 AK-47s in the family. Both assembled by Century. The US-made Century triggers on both are horrible. One had the distinctive trigger slap, and I did the recommended repair on both rifles. Went shooting in the cold yesterday. Even with the trigger slap repairs completed, the triggers seemed worse than ever - most likely made worse because of cold hands. The question: There are two US-made non-adjustable AK trigger groups I have found that I can choose from. The first is made by Gordon Technologies, and is a double-hook design. The second is a single-hook design, referred to as the "AK variance design" , made by FSE. Is there any real difference between the two? Price is the same. You opinions are welcome. Ratas __________________ Ratas Calientes (Hot Rats) Rats are people too! Last edited by ratas calientes; December 27, 2002 at 11:41.

December 27, 2002, 13:10	#3
idsubgun "Comfortably Numb" Bronze Contributor FALaholic #: 3100 Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Idaho Posts: 9,194	Yeah, I second the Red Star HTS. __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum "If you wish for peace, prepare for war"

December 27, 2002, 16:20	#5
ratas calientes Registered FALaholic #: 1841 Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Mexico Posts: 7,819	I put in Red Star Arms pin retaining plates a week ago into both rifles. What a relief that was. The one time I managed to put in the shephards hook, about a month ago, I almost went NUTS!!! So, I got that taken care of. As for Red Star Arms H/T/S, I have only found their adjustable set - which I don't want - a little too much $$$ for my needs. Do they have a non-adjustable one? I can get the others (Gordon Technologies or FSE) from TAPCO for ~$40 ea. Ratas __________________ Ratas Calientes (Hot Rats) Rats are people too!

December 27, 2002, 18:04	#7
madecov Registered FALaholic #: 6539 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 1,378	I have the FSE for my SAR 1 I purchased it from TAPCO, it has not been installed yet. I am not 100% on this but the SAR rifle's are all stamped receivers and use the single hook. The double hook are for the milled receivers like the Bulgarian SLR series of rifle's. I wanted to replace the trigger group in my SAR because of the horrible trigger slap. The FSE set is reasonably priced and if it is as good as the FAL trigger sets I'll be very happy. I just felt that the Red Star set is a little overkill in a SAR that cost me under $300.00 __________________ In god we trust........... All others are suspects. There are no problems in life that can't be fixed with High explosives or small arms. $10.00 transfers in the Houston area.

December 28, 2002, 20:52	#14
ratas calientes Registered FALaholic #: 1841 Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Mexico Posts: 7,819	Thanks for all of the input folks. I just ordered one FSE set from a fellow FALer for a great price. I'll try it out and go from there. Happy New Year - Ratas __________________ Ratas Calientes (Hot Rats) Rats are people too!

December 27, 2002, 12:37	#2
Doubleought Registered FALaholic #: 815 Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,107	ratas, I've heard good things about both, but the FSE set would be true "drop-in". You would need to cut an additional groove in the bottom of the receiver to accomodate the double-hook Gordon Tech. trigger. While you're at it, check out Red Star Arms' FAL-style hammer/trigger pin retaining plate. It will make assembly/disassembly way easier! BANDIT sells them on his website.

December 27, 2002, 15:30	#4
flashx Registered FALaholic #: 3293 Join Date: May 2001 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 596	Ill triple the Red Star hts My buddy Tec-9 fixed me up with one and its slicker than snot on a door knob!!!

December 27, 2002, 16:40	#6
NewtoFals Registered FALaholic #: 6083 Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: TEXAS Posts: 960	I put in the gordon tech dual hook in my mak90. No trigger slap and nice crisp pull. Then again the original trigger had no trigger slap and a nice crisp pull. No modification and the 'dropped' right in.

December 27, 2002, 18:49	#8
Brian in MN Registered FALaholic #: 289 Join Date: Jul 2000 Posts: 4,927	I have a Gordon Tech double hook in a Yugo. It is okay except that they, Gordon, took off too much metal to eliminate trigger slap and it is possible to push the selector too far up past "safe". I was told by the vendor that I bought it from that Gordon makes both double and single hook sets and that they are not interchangable. I tried swapping around single and double sets and found this to be true. I purchased my set from AK USA. They should have both double and single Gordon sets in stock for $39 delivered. They also have unissued Russian 4 cell mag pouches for $15. I bought a Romy .30 cal with an FSE set which had been installed by Century; (Thank the Lord for small miracles) it seems to work just fine though I have far less than 500 rounds through this rifle.

December 27, 2002, 19:52	#10
NewtoFals Registered FALaholic #: 6083 Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: TEXAS Posts: 960	Yes.....all chinese come with double hooks.

December 28, 2002, 10:23	#11
Tec 9 Registered FALaholic #: 1163 Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: PA Posts: 322	I've pretty much used every version on the market. The Red Star Arms one is by far the best value. All pieces are milled from bar and fully adjustable for a $30 premium over the cast/non-adjustable competitors. That $30 is money well spent. I like whatever is in the Robarms guns too...quite nice, but not adjustable or milled. Warning: I work for them, but I didn't let that taint this review..they're the cat's meow! FlashX: Glad you liked it! take care, Tec

December 28, 2002, 12:06	#12
RS39 Registered FALaholic #: 5655 Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 682	You can get a good drop-in trigger set for half the price of the RSA set. But the RSA set is adjustable for pull weight, single or 2-stage, length of pull, and overtravel. You can't even get an AR trigger to do that at twice the price. And a cleaner trigger pull with a cleaner shot release will help your accuracy also (depending on how crappy yours is now). I suggest starting with 1 RSA set and decide from there for the other AKs.

December 28, 2002, 13:28	#13
TnT2c71 Registered FALaholic #: 7623 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 58	Get the Red Star Arms T/H/S. Easy to install and full functional.

December 29, 2002, 11:42	#16
Princeton Registered FALaholic #: 7684 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 35	I had that horrible trigger slap with both my SAR-1 and SAR-2 rifles. I made the above mentioned fix. No trigger slap but the trigger still felt like crap. Later on I saw the ad for the Red Star Arms trigger set and decided to give it a try in my SAR-2 and Wow what a difference it made. The trigger pull is absolutely incredible. Installing it right from the package its feel was very good but a bit of minor adjusting made it great. It has been totally reliable. I immediately ordered a set for my SAR-1.

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