AR 15 FCG replacement

[Asmodeus6]

And by replacement. I really mean "replacement". I wore mine out...

Do not, repeat, do NOT - EVER - EVER buy Rguns SS LPK...
(Aim surplus sells it without the "Rguns" name attached. Just as a "SS" LPK.)

And just in case you missed the public service announcement... DON'T BUY THE SS RGUNS LPK!

My silly thought was that I was going to be shooting ALL corrosive ammo through the gun and I do not ever clean my FCG. I've never really had to in an AR15. Maybe once ever year or so I'll pull the lower down and clean it out. Put a dab of grease on the sear. And wipe the hammer off with a paper towel when I clean the rest of the rifle. I have the little receiver rug thing and it keeps all the dirt from getting under the FCG and doing any harm anyway. So I thought, SS. Seems like a good idea then right? Answer: NO.

1800rds and it started bump firing real easy. Like unintentionally when you'd try to very slowly break the trigger. Keep in mind this was in an AR pistol, and it's not really as stable as a rifle. (I know, rifle section, but all I want to talk about is triggers) So this CAN happen even when things are all in working order. I figured with the much more thumpy 7.62x39 it was the increase in recoil and me trying to break a shot real slow. I've had that happen even with AK's when I'm too busy focusing on the trigger pull and not on my grip on the rifle.

That is not the case here.

I knew it was going to be trouble* when I put it together and it was gritty as shit. (And I had to take a grinder to the bolt catch to get it to fit it in the fucking lower) The trigger would "hang" if you pulled it, but not all the way until it broke. So, I put a dot of weapon shield grease where it grabs the hammer and dry fired it a few hundred times. I put a rag on the bolt catch and sat there watching TV and tried to iron it out. It didn't really get better. Kinda made my DPMS FCG feel like a "national match" trigger actually.

After doing this I pulled the FCG to inspect it. Whoever cut the sear surface, or molded it, whatever - did a shitty job. It was only catching on part of the trigger, and at an angle. Simply resetting the hammer had also left indentations in the trigger surface as well. (By hand, imagine what a real round was going to do) At this point I knew it was only going to be a matter of time. But I needed a FCG - so in it went. Around 500rds in it stopped being atrociously foul to pull. I was just blasting away with cheap Tokarev, so who cares anyway right? I wasn't shooting that long distances, and close up I could put bullets on top of each other with it.

Fast forward a year or so. I rebuilt the gun in 7.62x39 after selling the TOK upper and it's game over FCG in <100rds.

Close inspection and fooling with the lower by hand proves I can get the hammer to fall releasing the trigger the right way. (From hanging on the disconnector)

So that junk is getting pitched.

What do I buy? I do not want a 2 stage, I do not want anything with any different geometry than the original trigger. I'm OK with a "normal" FCG.

I obviously don't need an entire LPK either. (To just buy a GI trigger) But buying the hammer and trigger from Midway is like $33 plus a disconnector.

Add shipping and well...

What about Spikes "Battle Trigger"? I can pick one of those up for $55.

That's nickel boron coated. Which does two things; prevents corrosion, and adds hardness.

But I am not a drinker of the Spikes Aid... So what does the PAFOA think?

I'm going to spend about the same amount of money on DPMS stuff from Midway, and if not, close enough that with shipping I will spend the same amount of money or more.

I'd just buy a LPK and save the rest, but I already bought extra's of everything a long time ago. I don't really need extra extra extra's...

So the Spikes trigger seems like a good idea. I want to shoot the gun NOW - but I absolutely refuse to put it back together until I have a new FCG for obvious - obvious reasons...

Thoughts on Spikes Battle Trigger? Anything wonky, or failures I need to be aware of?

[Asmodeus6]

I ordered the Spike's trigger group. Hope it doesn't suck.

Guess we'll see.

[edritchey]

I ordered the Spike's trigger group. Hope it doesn't suck.

Guess we'll see.

They are nothing special but should hold up I've used them without any problems (so far).

EDR

[GrumpyBear]

Asmodeus let us know how it works out please.I've been looking at them to replace the fcg on my 5.45 AR (gritty trigger).

[dudish]

I have the same opinion of r guns ss LPK. I am not planning on buying anything else from them with that poor quality.

On the plus side, I have used spikes regular LPKs with and found outstanding quality. Better than any other LPK I have used. I would happily buy any other trigger they produce.

[The_War_Wagon]

Friends don't let friends buy cheap-azz AR gear.

If The War Wagon hasn't heard of it, it's probably not WORTH owning...

[Asmodeus6]

In reference to what?

The LPK or the spikes trigger?

[Asmodeus6]

Ok I received the trigger today from Joe Bob's.

Put it in immediately - packed the range bag and headed out.

The setup;
KNS pins - YES, they matter. They are buttery smooth, and help ANY trigger.
Spikes battle trigger
XP hammer spring

Results, uh, pass the Spike aid... this is exactly what I was looking for.

Even with the XP hammer spring really weighing things down. It was still a very clean break for a GI-esk trigger group. The other bonus was that every edge was smooth. EVEN on the trigger itself. (The part you pull!) Slippery almost. The SS LPK trigger was so bad, but it was ALSO sharp. I had to take a dremel to the trigger edges itself to keep from it being uncomfortable. What a hunk of shit! This on the other hand is exactly what I wanted.

Worth the $55 it cost. No question.

After looking at the sear surface on the old trigger the problem was obvious... It looked like this...
--_______--- except that would imply it wasn't worn at an angle also. Again... what a hunk of shit.

Final word.

Keep in mind I wanted a 'normal' AR trigger. AND it was the first trip out. That being said it is clearly better than most worn in 'standard' AR triggers right out of the box. If I didn't have that heavy ass hammer spring in there I think it would be light years better. But for me it's extra insurance since I'm shooting surplus ammo. On a 'normal' AR I would run JP's springs with it and I think it would be a nice setup for me. I was able to get 99% or so reliability with a standard hammer spring - but I wanted 100. I have a 100 with that spring in there so I'll just get used to it. It has less creep than a normal trigger as well.

If it's HALF as reliable as a normal trigger, I think this is a clear choice for a normal AR trigger. It's like if you went through 50 LPK's in a gun and picked the best 5. This would be like buying from those top 5. The coating is supposed to improve lubricity and slow down wear. So I think it will take longer to wear in, but also last longer. Hey if it only lasts 1800rds, at least they will be a lot more tolerable. For what it is, this is a good trigger. It is not a match or a 2 stage trigger. It is cheap, coated with nickel boron, and about as good as picking through LPK's until you found better and best, and then chose that one. For $55 it's worth what it costs.

[Noah_Zark]

Rep for an excellent review.

I don't have any experience with the Spikes trigger, but I know that I would not choose stainless steel for trigger material. Never send stainless steel to do a tool steel job.

For the same reason I'm not a fan of titanium firing pins. Sure, the reduced mass makes for faster lock time, but the reduced mass makes for lighter primer strikes.

You might also consider a premium tool steel hammer. Both the hammer and the trigger are the two principal components of the FCG, and if the Spikes trigger is harder than the hammer, look for the hammer to start wearing in several hundred rounds.

Noah

[Asmodeus6]

Rep for an excellent review.

I don't have any experience with the Spikes trigger, but I know that I would not choose stainless steel for trigger material. Never send stainless steel to do a tool steel job.

For the same reason I'm not a fan of titanium firing pins. Sure, the reduced mass makes for faster lock time, but the reduced mass makes for lighter primer strikes.

You might also consider a premium tool steel hammer. Both the hammer and the trigger are the two principal components of the FCG, and if the Spikes trigger is harder than the hammer, look for the hammer to start wearing in several hundred rounds.

Noah

It's a complete FCG Noah. So the hammer, trigger, and disconnector are all the same material. It ALSO came with a hammer, trigger, and disco spring, and the actual trigger and hammer pin as well. For $55. It was basically a drop in FCG set. (All nickel boron coated)

So your fears should be abated about two different materials. As there is no question in my mind SS would vaporize against this material, even if it is naturally lubricious.


On a side note; I put another 120rds through the gun yesterday. Figured I'd get everything dialed in. I checked my zero across two different kinds of ammo. 124gr HP and 123gr FMJ Yugo. I put up two repairable hi viz targets and used my bag for stability and just worked on getting everything where it needed to be. 35yds is my 200yd zero. (Sighted in @ 35yds I only have 3"+/- to 150yds. Between 150-200yds I have to stack on 5" of drop. But for me, between 0-150yds this zero leaves me point of aim. For a far shot past 200yds with this round I'll end up lobbing rounds like mortars - and it's not what I had planned for the gun anyway. (It's a 7.5" barrel. And a cheap citadel one at that.) I was able to put rounds on top of each other many times at 35yds with it so that was good enough for me. (It's an AR pistol, shooting surplus...) The first 80 I was going back and forth between the different brands and the large aperture. For the last mag or so the tiny aperture to balance that into the equation as well. I have a HARD time seeing a 6" pasty at 35yds honestly. The front sight post is the width of the target! I was framing it with the width of the FSP and the neon yellow/green border of the target itself. To get rounds to land upon one another it took controlled breathing and careful squinting guess-tamation to where I needed to be. All this fooling around makes me think a bore sight is in my near future.

But honestly I was happy with the results.