Geissele Trigger Review
Geissele SSA – Trigger Review
By JohnyMac
The best I could get out of my 2008 manufactured Colt 6920 at 100-meters was a 3-inch plus group. I knew it wasn’t the rifle but sadly me. What was I doing wrong as all of my hunting rifles are 1 1/2-inch or less groups at 100-meters? Then one day I was up at my buddy’s shop who is a class III, FFL dealer and I brought up the question to him. He pulled open one of his safes, grabbed an SBR AR-15 and said, “try that trigger.” The trigger was a sweet two-stage trigger that broke around 4-pounds to my minds eye. I asked him what it was, and he told me a Geissele SSA (small pin). I followed up with, “how much?” He told me $250- or so and I promptly grabbed my chest and said, “I can’t afford that.” He laughed and said, “you get what you pay for.”
Jump ahead a couple of months and I found myself at NC Scout’s RTO Advanced class in stormy & cold North Carolina. He had his everyday AR-15 out showing off his ACOG sight (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight) and I asked if I could dry fire his rifle. He said, “sure.” I squeezed the trigger and I was met with a nice trigger squeezing experience. I naturally asked him, “what is the make of your trigger?” He replied, “Geissele.” Damn I thought. This is the second time I have had an opportunity to try out an other than OEM trigger and both times it was a Geissele.
Just recently I was reading a long-range shooting review on my site Unchainedpreppers.com from a member and good friend who trains with many notable gunslingers around the country. I asked him what trigger he was using in the rifle he used in his last class. He posted, ” a Geissele SSA-E.” Damn Geissele again! He went on to explain he uses that trigger for his long-range rifles but for his CQB SBR rifle he uses the Geissele SSA trigger “In a CQB situation it is a little more forgiving when putting pressure on the trigger.” he wrote. Last, he then warned me that my earlier manufactured Colt took larger pins Vs. your typical AR of today.
There you go, I now have heard Geissele triggers from three different folks – all I have a great deal of respect for – over about a ten-month period. Was the good Lord directing me or was it coincidence? Well I do believe in our Lord & Savior and I do not believe in coincidence, so it was time to get more information on a Geissele trigger.
At the end of March of this year, I sent an email to Geissele Automatics asking what trigger they recommend for my Colt 6920. I included with the email what I planned on doing with the rifle and to my surprise, I received a reply the same day. This is not the usual in the firearm industry as many of you know. The customer service representative recommended the SSA-E or SSA with a large pin for my rifle. At about this time Mrs.Mac and I inked our income tax statements and pleasantly realized that we were getting a few bucks back from Uncle Sam. Then out of the blue came an ad from Geissele announcing a 20% off sale on ALL of their triggers. Things were just falling into place and I could not ignore the divine direction I was receiving from above and I ordered the SSA trigger, large pin.
The trigger arrived eight-days after I ordered it. In the envelope with the trigger assembly was a whole bunch of swag (See in the articles Feature Picture). Now almost all firearm related companies send you a window sticker or key chain. Not Greisselel, they send a fist full of cool swag. Barely able to control my excitement I ran up to my radio shack (AKA The Loft) and then to my computer. I went to YouTube© and looked up Installing Geissele SSA trigger ; low and behold there was a video addressing this task. I watched the video and planned my trigger swap out. More on that later.
I love my Colt 6920. That girl has seen a lot since I purchased her in 2008. It has seen dust, mud, and the bottom of several streams. I have put thousands of rounds down that barrel and it has never failed me. I have put cool tools on that rifle too with no objection from her. All in all it is a true workhorse of an AR. I knew I could shoot better than 3-inch plus groups with her; hopefully, a new trigger would help. My OEM single-stage trigger pull on the Colt rifle with an average of five pulls, measured using a Lyman electronic trigger gauge, was 6-pounds 12-ounces.
Using PMC X-Tac 62-grain M855 ammo and my new DeadAir Sandman-S (Review coming shortly), I shot three groups of three rounds for grouping purposes, at 100-meters. Along with the suppressor, I was using a Burris AR-536 optic and was shooting from a nice heavy wooden bench located at my buddy’s property. As you can see by this following picture, my grouping was good but lacking something.
Once I shot that first grouping, I went into my truck with the AR’s lower, a 3/16th punch, and the new Greissele SSA trigger. As I saw in the aforementioned video, I took the old trigger out cleaned out the empty AR lower with some Hoppes-9 and installed the new trigger. The whole process took me 20-minutes. It would have been quicker but at first, I was installing the hammer wrong. Figured out the error of my installation and got that hammer installed correctly. Added a drop or two of EWL Slip-2000 oil where the directions recommended I do so, and the job was done. Easy-peasy-japanesey. The breaking weight of the two-stage SSA trigger using the average of five trigger pulls, measured with my Lyman electronic trigger gauge, was 3-pounds 8-ounces.
Back out to the range with a new target placed, I shot again, three sets of 3 rounds. As you can see by the following picture of the target the grouping was better but was it $240- better?
At about this point my buddy showed up from work. He walked over to find out what kind of mischief I was up to. I explained to him that I was not really getting better groups with my new Geissele trigger. He chuckled and said, “ya’ got to get use to that two-stage trigger with a lighter trigger break. You have gotten use to that old OEM trigger you have been using for years and have to retrain your muscle memory.” He left to change and while gone I put up a new target. He reappeared with a new home brew SBR he had built, and we played with that for a while.
Finally, we got back to my rifle and started shooting 3-round sets at a 6-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch steel gongs about 125-meters away. Between his SBR and my Colt we were making those gongs sing not unlike a balcksmith forming a horse shoe. At this point my buddy asked me if I was getting more use to the two-stage trigger and in fact I was. As ammo was getting low and I had promised MrsMac I would be home an hour earlier than the current time, he suggested I take my last set on the target I had put up earlier.
Although I was not shooting sub 1 1/2-inch groups I typically do with my hunting rifles, I defiantly saw an improvement and I surmise the more I shoot with the new trigger the better my groupings would become. With that statement set aside where the Geissele SSA trigger really shined was the speed I could sling lead down range accurately compared to my older single-stage OEM trigger. I encountered this when shooting at the gongs. As fast as I could pull that trigger, I was slinging lead down and I cannot remember once that I missed a gong. While with the original trigger I was a heartbeat slower and missed on occasion.
In conclusion, is the trigger worth the $240- ($300- for a large pin model less 20% off sale) price tag you may ask? Before I answer that question, I would like to try out a few other brands. The challenge is finding one with a large pin. I have a few more AR’s to convert from the original OEM trigger to a new one – I do see the benefit in doing this though. Suggestions and comments from American Partisan readers are encouraged and appreciated.
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20 Comments
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I think you need to try your new trigger out with different types/sizes of ammo. My wife had a Mini that grouped from 1.5 inches to shotgun patterns. The best was Black Hills 68gr OTHP. The worst was M855 (usually over 8 inches).
You are 100% NOG!.
Since I wrote this article I tried out some different rounds. For example, IMI && gr. Razor rounds brought my group in considerably.
Thx Brother.
If you’re really wanting to try out some other triggers, it would likely be cheaper to build a new lower with normal size pins.
If you’re patient and wait for sales (and it sounds like you are), you can find stripped lowers for $30-40, a quality parts kit for another $30, and a Larue MBT-2S trigger for $87. Or heck, just get a PSA lower kit for ~$90 and toss in the Larue trigger. Altogether you should be spending less than you will on just the Geissele trigger. https://www.larue.com/category/parts-accessories/lower-parts/triggers/
Some say the Larue is not quite as good and others say it’s as good or better.
Great idea vyt1az!
Thx brother!
Johnny,thanks for your views and since considering other triggers give the Larue MBT 2 stage a try,can be bought for 89 bucks and breeze to install,comes nicely packaged with a 4 and believe 6 pound hammer spring for harder type primers(and,obligatory sticker!).I do not deal well with “change”,and is taking a bit to get used to 2 stage but very nice break and just operating trigger,me shooting about the same and needs work(not triggers fault though,tis me!).I replaced stock also with some I believe PSA’s singles with nickel boron and a lighter spring,that I loved and saw improvement immediately,no more grungy feeling break,,this was about 35 I believe.As time permits will give the Larue more of a break in period/learning curve and post me thoughts.A friend who competes successfully tried it and thought was a great trigger,he also did some micro adjustments on me scope,sigh…..,still learning.
James, I will check out Larue and may buy one if they have a large-pin model. My XYL’s AR is a 6920 too.
“.,still learning.” Yes we all are \”/
Thx Brother!
Eh,just hit the Larue site for s7g’,clearly says for “small pin only”,hmmmm…….,have a accurate drill press with basically zero chuck wobble?!
LOL James.
My class III buddy is a gunsmith too. He suggested drilling it out also.
I just may pick up a completed lower like vyt1az! suggested.
On another hand…I have a 1911 TRP that Springfield-Armory sent me in 10mm to review. Plus all of my other homesteading chores to do once I get back from NC Scouts/mechmedic TC3 class. So it will be a late summer project.
Enjoy your Saturday night.
When I was a teen my first nine air gun was a Remington bolt action 22 and at 25 yards I could put them all under a dime. Great trigger. Now I use velocity drop in 4 pounders for all my rifles. Built like tanks and I have a spare. Great article!
Sammy S,
I still have my Marlin single shot too with a old Weaver 4x scope. I can too get quarter sized groups at 25-meters. I love that rifle.
Thx Brother.
Thank you JohnnyMac for the post, and thank you again for the heads up on the Geissele trigger sale. I took advantage of the sale as well an got the SSA-E trigger. Yes, lots of swag!!
TN Flash, Great prices from Geissele on and around holidays. Independence Day is coming up ;-)
Take care Brother.
For the money the Larue MBT cannot be beat. Period. It’s well under half the cost of the Geissele- even when on sale and delivers probably 95% or more of the quality/feel. All of my SPR rifles have them as do several of my standard rifles. Worth the money.
Thank you Will; However, Larue does not offer triggers with a large pin. :-(
Thanks Brother for reading and commenting on my article.
4.5
Great write up JMac! I am a huge Geissele fan… I run the G2S in my stuff. It is much better than stock but a little less than what you got!
Thanks Wynn. That means a lot coming from you.
God Bless Brother.
I have used the Giessele SSA-E in a number of builds and have been very impressed with their function, feel and reliability . I’ve also used stripped lowers from Palmetto State Armory many times(currently on sale for $29.99) with great success. I’ve tried numerous cassette type triggers from Chip McCormick, Timney and Velocity. I’ve also used the Rock River 2stage match as well. They all give a noticeable improvement over oem triggers. While the SSA-E is my favorite,the cost is not. The Velocity trigger gives an excellent single stage pull at about$130. The stripped lower, lower build kit and a complete upper from PSA go together to make a very serviceable rifle for under $400. The addition of a better trigger really makes a nice improvement and for me is really the only upgrade I feel that I need.
Hey Doc…
Some good suggestions on lower priced triggers. I also agree that changing out a OEM trigger, regardless to which one you chose; will improve your performance.
Thanks Brother!
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