Every year the good folks at LaRue Tactical put on a great holiday sale. This year you can pick up one of their fantastic AR triggers for $89 or $79 each when you buy up three of them. Only $79 for a good AR trigger is a very good deal, but $79 for one of the best triggers on the market….

That can only mean one thing. It’s almost Christmas and LaRue Tactical loves to troll Geissele.

The above Instagram post was gone when I refreshed the feed. Apparently they thought better of it.

The caption might be a smidge confusing, but the point is that a LaRue trigger is half the cost of a Geissele trigger…when the Geissele is on sale at over half off. So, according to “convince the wife math,” that’s over 100% off! She could argue with this “math” but she won’t. She’ll just look at you like you’re stupid and walk away.

There’s no way LaRue has normal margins on their MBT triggers even if they have in-house EDM machines, which they do. I’m convinced LaRue has priced the MBT trigger so low just to stick it to Geissele.

The Geissele SSA has an MSRP of $349 and is $159 when on sale and the Larue is $79. It’s worth mentioning the Geissele trigger is a MIMed part, meaning it’s injection molded metal which greatly reduces the cost (and quality) per part.

Larue uses EDM’d S7 plate steel which is as good as it gets in the trigger world. Sure, Geissele triggers are very good products, and a MIMed part is quite acceptable. But with an MSRP of $349 I don’t want nice, or acceptable.

Available with a straight or curved bow. Gift wrap is even a free option.

Mark, if you are reading this, please bring back the UU kits and look up 375 Raptor. Bill, I bet you are more of an 8.6 guy.

 

 

 

36 COMMENTS

    • There is an extremely high demand and large market for ultra cheap drop in triggers. I’m trying to engineer one myself with parts manufactured in Vietnam (they don’t know they are for gunz :D) China, and the former republic of Yugoslavia. Then I just slap them in an aluminum housing, ready to drop in your freshly machined 80% lower. The goal is $12.99. #CapitalismIsAwesome.

      No, they aren’t QPQed, or polished to a mirror shine, etc. They will be a little bit gritty, but they’ll work!

    • “they come in cute little plastic boxes.”

      What do you do when an elephant comes in your window?

      Swim! 🙂

  1. This is the MBT-2S-SB (in the pic), LaRue has thousands of these. As they come its a 4 – 5 lb trigger pull (they rate it 4.5 lb, I’ve got two of them and one is just a bit under 5 lb and the other just a bit over 4.5 lbs so there is some variance in the trigger pull vs what they advertise), they include a heavy spring to make it 6 lbs if you want to do that.

    Personally, for a decent lower trigger pull and and a quality trigger upgrade I like my Rise Armament RAVE 140 Drop-in Triggers, single stage. But if you want a double stage trigger the Larue MBT-2S-SB trigger is good quality with a lighter trigger pull (vs the standard mil-spec type AR trigger) and makes a good upgrade for the budget at this price.

    • the difference in my Larue MBT-2S-SB triggers for trigger pull is in the first stage, the second stage on both mine are as advertised at 2 lb.

    • I have a Rise in an AR10, model I no longer recall. I prefer the drop in t4riggers to the two piece set up since you don’t have to fight to get them in. The Rise is a very very nice single stage trigger at an excellent price point when I bought it–about $100.

    • Doubt it could touch the ALG Ultimate or Enhanced either, but I’ll never know because LaRue won’t touch any of the models I own that ALG provides for.

      And I would love me some S7 hammers, as long as I don’t have to mill them down for compatibility. Would be a treat with a certain Ti firing pin I have.

    • All my triggers cost $12.99 – used.

      All of you are insane, paying $300… $150… even $79 on a trigger.

  2. Never bought anything made by LaRue. Must have been a reason, though none come to mind.

    • Personal reasons? Everything on their site is 30% higher than the competition on the exact same product.

      Otherwise, majority of their own products are for a platform I’m not particularly enthused about. Have 2 AR types, one because it fit’s nicely in a backpack and packs a reasonable punch. The other, because .300 WM, and only one of the two rifles in that caliber with a 20 rd. capacity (and SA).

  3. Outside of a precision rifle build what is the reason for a $300+ trigger? The only thing I have been running is $50 nickel boron treated mil spec with a 4.5 pound break. Not a single time have I felt the trigger has been the weakest link in training. Is it for trigger snobs or if you are at the point of Jerry Miculek where you are the machine? Is this part of the trigger snob era who say Glock triggers are unbearable?

    • What do you do for training? Because once you start trying to hit things farther away quickly, the trigger starts mattering a lot more. I say this having everything from coated $50 triggers to not quite a $300 trigger in my rifles currently.

      But for 3-gun type competition, what you are paying for generally is a light, smooth trigger that reduces or eliminates creep, yet still lights off mil-spec primers reliably. Oh and that for close in targets you can run like you do your pistol triggers.

      Like many things, there’s diminishing returns for the dollar at some point, and you have to pay to play. Mostly in the really expensive triggers, you are paying for ignition to not get spotty while minimizing creep at the general minimum pull weight of 2.5-3lbs. You tend to hit the minimum pull weight well before things get super expensive.

      My $0.02 is that if you are fine with a 2 stage trigger, the larue triggers are worth the bump over the coated mil-spec kits with better finish and QC. It’s a good place for a budget minded all around nice gun. The mil-spec + coated triggers are the absolute floor IMO. They are just too much of an improvement on the random mil-spec LPK trigger lottery. (worst I ever got there was a nice gritty 8.5lb trigger).

  4. LaRue Tactical?

    Being in Texas, I’ve attempted to give them my business, twice. The attempts around three years ago.

    Both purchases were for QD optic mounts and done on their website.
    In both instances the mount was shown in stock and my payment was processed immidately.
    After a week of waiting for shipping info on each of those purchases, I placed a phone call to them.

    The exchange went something like………….

    Me: Calling to get info on my order #……

    LRT: Oh, that item is not in stock.

    Me: My account was charged for the item.

    LRT: Our system charges at time of purchase.

    Me: Your website showed it in stock when I placed the order.

    LRT: That ‘in stock’ status shown on our website was incorrect.

    Me: Ok, when will these mounts be available?

    LRT: No idea.

    Me: Then when is LRT planning to release a production order for them to be produced?

    LRT: No idea.

    Me: Will they eventually be produced again in the future?

    LRT: Yes.

    Me: Do you expect it to be in a month, six months, a year, two years, five years?

    LRT: No idea.

    Me: Please issue a refund on my purchase.

    Both optics were eventually mounted in SPUHR (made in Sweden) QD mounts. Both purchases were made online with a SPUHR retailer in Montana.
    Both were in stock, and delivered to my door in three days.

    The SPUHR mounts were around 30% more expensive, but SPUHR quality is unsurpassed, and the items were available.

    The takeaway?
    Fail to maintain online inventory status, charge customers for items not shipped, then provide absolutely NO ETA for those items customers have already paid for, and your customers will go away.

    • Their products are very well made, but I do not like the design of their optics mounts. The levers are rotating wedges like a window latch and apply a lot of force to a very small area on the rail. Enough to force to remove finish and gouge metal. You also need a wrench to adjust tension when setting them up, unlike the clamp type system that ADM or Scalarworks uses.

  5. “Me: My account was charged for the item.

    LRT: Our system charges at time of purchase.

    Me: Your website showed it in stock when I placed the order.”

    I have zero-point-zero tolerance for bullshit like that.

    Thanks, they will never get my money, unless I see it for sale retail… 🙁

    • Double Tap ammo did the same thing to me last year.

      I ordered a few cases of ‘in stock’ 45 Super/45acp +P+, my account was charged, called them 3 weeks later for tracking and was told they don’t have the ammo in stock.
      Told them to refund my account and I have no problems with a funds ‘hold’ for the amount until the order is ready to ship.
      Was told their order system won’t do fund ‘holds’. The order had to be cancelled to issue the refund.

      Buffalo Bore has gotten all my 45 Super ammo business since.

      • Good to know, thanks.

        Pre-auth is fine to ensure funds are available to cover the transaction. Saves bunches of time and quite a bit of materials from waste.

        Only valid reason for charging immediately is a drop ship from the manufacturer. And that should be made damned clear to the customer what is taking place, and only after comms with said manufacturer to ensure inventory prior to the order. If on back order, doubly so, with the customer fully aware of all aspects before the decision to commit.

  6. No short reset trigger either. Everybody and their brother makes a 2 stage around that price point. Geissele makes a short reset they sell thru Brownells. Hundred and fifty bucks is steep but its a great trigger when using the light spring included in the kit. Why doesnt LaRue make a short reset single stage?

    • Same here. Very pleased with their products and service. I have two of their 2 stage triggers and couldn’t be happier.

      But if anyone wants to blow money on a designer label knock yourself out.

  7. Everyone know the saying, opinions are like assholes, everyone’s got one. As such, here’s mine:

    The proof of a trigger is in the use and feel. I wanted a SINGLE STAGE and my buddy who fancies himself an AR builder was buying and using RISE Armament for his builds. I examined them and wasn’t particularly impressed. Later at my LGS, they mounted up a few triggers and after trying them, none beat the single stage trigger of the Geissele. I put the Single-Stage Precision (SSP) M4 Curved Bow in my build and love it. Is there better? Probably but who’s going to actually test a butt-load of triggers? We read reviews and make a choice based on the best information available.

    Everyone and their neighbors drunk uncle wants to get their slice of the American Pie and market some AR gizmo, be it forward handguards, charging handles and so on.

    I found big name products I like and built myself a very nice AR .300 pistol including a Trash Panda hanging off the business end wrapped with a Burn Proof Cover.

    If a person buys what they want and not simply what they need, they’ll usually be happy.

  8. I own the SSA and the lower priced G2S (regularly about $150) and both are head and shoulders above the two LaRues that I also have.

    The LaRue suffers from a fairly large amount of creep. This isn’t noticeable when shooting quickly, but when trying to make a precise off hand shot, it is a bit frustrating.

    Bottom line. Not even close.

    In fact, I think the Rock River Arms Varmint and Match triggers are better.

    • One last thing. I’m talking about their 2 stage trigger. I can’t comment on their single stage.

  9. While there are objective measures that can be made, e.g. trigger pull gauges, trigger “feel” is highly subjective and how you experience it also depends on how your rifle is set up and how you use it.

    The LaRue triggers are inexpensive enough, it’s worth it to take a flyer on one and give it a try, especially if you’ve never had anything but a mil-spec trigger. See if you like it; if not, sell or gift it to a buddy.

    Me, I find them to be just about the best value per dollar for AR triggers, and think they have the best feel until I get to more than twice the price; but that’s just my opinion.

  10. “….Larue uses EDM’d S7 plate steel which is as good as it gets in the trigger world…..”

    Is this the current popular opinion?

    I’ve always been under the impression that EDM’d A2 tool steel that’s been nitride heat treated is the best choice for trigger material.

    Full disclosure, I use POF EFP ‘single stage’ 4# triggers. After a slight modification, they break at just over 3#. Zero creep, under 2mm reset.

    • Pshaw, 3#? You’d likely appreciate the (modified by Trommix) Ultimate in my fav shotgunm, which took a fair amount of further modification to work. Clearance for the carrier mostly.

      1.75# with 1mm reset, breaks like the thin glass of a niiiice 1911. 2# with the additional spring (also modified to work in this gunm, they don’t stock because BHO requires flipping to the opposite side of the axis pins and re-bending the spring legs. Torch required).

      Must get off the trigger because riding the reset, she’ll bump fire gripped tight. Not many get to try her out, few have the presence of mind to handle a shotgunm like that. You probably, not many others.

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