Jeremy absolutely loves ELF triggers — check out his world famous AR drop-in trigger roundup to see why — but at $259 and up the cost of entry is high. Looking to expand their reach, Elftmann has just released its new ELF-SE trigger at a much lower MSRP of $169. By simplifying the aesthetics of the trigger shoe and hammer and switching to a standard bearing system, they reduced costs while maintaining performance and light weight. A full TTAG review is pending, and Elftmann’s press release follows:
ELF-SE Drop-In Trigger Now Shipping!
The ELF-SE Drop-In Trigger maintains the Elftmann reputation for quality, craftsmanship and customer service in an affordable package. The mid-weight hammer combined with our exclusive .043 double double wound polished piano wire hammer spring provide reliable ignition and fast lock time. Made of wire EDM machined, hardened A2 tool steel and lightweight aircraft-grade aluminum.
Extremely short takeup, clean crisp break and very short, positive reset. Non-adjustable 3.5lb pull weight, non-skeletonized trigger shoe and no bearings…but we’ll put it up against any trigger made — except our performance series utilizing sealed bearings. Ultra-Light housing is standard – Total physical weight of entire unit is just 2.3oz
Available with a curved or straight shoe.
Product Description:
• Fits any mil-spec AR-15 (Large pin Colt available)
• Absolutely Drop-Safe
• Pull-weight is approximately 50% lighter than that of a standard AR-15 trigger, providing a great combination of speed and accuracy
• 3.5lb pull weight — non-adjustable
• Exclusive double double wound hammer spring
• Very short pull and reset allows for rapid follow up shots and greater accuracy
• Sturdy trigger assembly designed for rugged, trouble-free use; Made of lightweight aircraft-grade aluminum and hardened steel
• Unique design of disconnector allows full 1/4” width eliminating possibility of wear and double-firing
• 100% made in America with a Lifetime Guarantee!
• Ultra-Light housing is standard – Total physical weight of entire unit is just 2.3oz
I took Jeremy’s advice over that of my local gunsmith (recommended Hiperfire and said Elftmann triggers “don’t last very long”) for a 6.5 Grendel target build I’ve got going. Have to say, the Hiperfires felt pretty gritty to me on my local guy’s builds anyway. Don’t know about the Elftmann yet (went with the match curved model) as I’m still assembling parts.
Jeremy also successfully sold me the JP Enterprises Flash Hider and Lancer Carbon Fiber fixed stock (different builds) based on some of his other reviews.
I have had 3 ELF triggers. I’ve replaced every one of them with CMC.
That can happen. CMCs tend to be reliable due to the slop built into them. I too got rid of my elftmann. I stick with the RISE Armament triggers now. Just got my hands on their new RA-434 trigger. A bit more affordable than this elf trigger with better features.
I’m picking up a CMC 2-stage for the lady-friend’s trunk gun. Any particular reason you prefer them to the ELFs? I’m still within OpticsPlanet’s 30 day return window…
As tac mentioned above, reliability after about a year of use. They all had problems resetting.
I hadn’t heard of issues until JWT mentioned it to me. I have two different ELF triggers with fairly high round counts and no problems at all. Jon said the disconnector wore down on his and the hammer would no longer catch if the trigger was depressed. The bluing on mine is worn where the hammer and disconnector interface, but there doesn’t appear to be any other physical change.
I know a lot of purchasers end up frustrated because they don’t tighten the set screws that snug up the trigger inside of the receiver or they try to adjust the pull weight too low. In both cases it can cause the hammer to fall upon release of the trigger. This is the case with the vast majority of drop-ins on the market. In many ways I think it can be a mistake to offer pull weight adjustment for this sort of trigger design, and there’s something to be said for the simplicity of, for instance, the Wilson Combat trigger that uses stiff springs to snug it up, which the end user cannot mess with, instead of screws that the end user has to tighten themselves.
The CMC is a fine trigger but it’s way down my list. The trigger pull, reset, and general consistency of those things is just significantly better from a whole mess of other options like the Wilson Combat one, Rise Armament, the new KE Arms SLT-1 (which is great so far), the Velocity, Timney and, really, nearly all of the other drop-ins. CMC is a proven, reliable design but I find it a bit sloppy and I think it should be less expensive considering its construction.
do yall not like Geissele?
2 stage vs single-stage. Wouldn’t be apples-apples.
I have a Velocity. Completely changed the gun and my shooting.
How about a ttag across-the-market trigger eval akin to the muzzle device tests done last year?
I found that if you over torque the set screws on the elf trigger it will cause reset problems, as in it won’t reset without pushing on the trigger or moving the selector, I just ‘tuned’ mine up, and have a strong audible reset now but haven’t done a live fire test yet.
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