A couple weeks back we published a review of the TAC-CON 3MR trigger, and needless to say the PR guys for TAC-CON weren’t pleased. As with most things in life, there are two ways that companies can handle negative reviews, the “good” way and the “bad” way. The good way is to work with us and give us more information to try and explain what we may have missed, bring new information to light and try to change our opinion. That’s something MasterPiece Arms is doing with us this weekend and, when done in good faith, has every chance of actually working. The wrong way to handle a bad review is to call the reviewer, explain that they’re an idiot, claim they didn’t read the instructions, that they’re a crappy shooter, and swear off all future contact. The folks at TAC-CON have chosen door #2 . . .

Their approach to our less-than-ideal review has been a master’s course in how not to handle bad news. I decided that it might be worth dissecting the experience as an illustrative example to help other companies avoid this same situation in the future.

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from the PR guys at TAC-CON voicing their displeasure at my write-up and asking me to call them. That’s not unusual after a less than stellar review, and I was happy to listen to whatever critiques they may have. We aren’t perfect, and as with all of our reviews, if there are any factual inaccuracies we want to correct them as soon as possible. So I re-read the review and called the number, expecting it to be like the scores of other similar conversations I’ve had in the past.

Nope — this one was different. I want to re-construct the phone call here for your reading pleasure, and point out how getting mad at the reviewer and digging yourself a bigger hole isn’t really a good idea.

First, a quick note about reviews in general. When I review a new product and it’s a novelty of some sort, be it a new type of stock or a new trigger with a different set of functions, I try to limit myself to the information commonly available from the manufacturer. My point of view is that if the manufacturer didn’t bother to make the function of the device clear to the end user, then that confusion should come out in the review so people can know what to expect when they buy it themselves. The average person usually isn’t able to call the head of R&D for for the company and discuss the intricacies of their products, so naturally the quality of the promotional materials and instructions factor into the review.

In the case of the 3MR trigger, there isn’t a single scrap of documentation that I could find either in the box or on the manufacturer’s website explaining how the trigger works. I saw a promotional video, but nowhere was there an instructional video on how to properly use their device. In fact, the following paragraph is the most information I could find about the trigger:

The 3MR is a drop-in 3-mode fire control system with Safe, Semi-Automatic, and Tac-Con™’s patented 3rd Mode. The 3rd mode has a positive reset that dramatically reduces the split times between shots. The positive reset characteristic is achieved by transferring the force from the bolt carrier through the trigger assembly to assist the trigger back onto the front sear. As a result, this gives the firearm the fastest reset possible. Both semi and 3rd mode positions exhibit a non-adjustable 4.5 pound trigger pull weight.

There is no description of how to use the trigger, no instructional video on its proper use…nada. Even if you go to their YouTube channel, there’s still no additional video other than the “hey look at this cool thing” promotional video we’ve seen before.

TAC-CON disagreed. The following is a simplified excerpt from the conversation we had over the phone:

Nick: There’s no instructions on how to properly use the trigger or how it works.

TAC-CON: Yes there is.

Nick: Uh, no, there’s not. There was nothing in the box, and there’s nothing on the website. There are just some promotional videos on your YouTube channel.

TAC-CON: You’re wrong, there is an excellent instructional video on the website. You didn’t do your research properly. Maybe you just don’t know how to shoot a gun.

Now, I’ll readily admit that I’m not the greatest shooter in the world. I do know how to work a gun though, and I’ll eat my hat if anyone can find an instructional video produced by TAC-CON and on their website detailing the operation of the trigger. In my view, TAC-CON claiming that we’ve screwed something up and are using their product incorrectly is about as ridiculous as Steve Jobs saying the iPhone’s reception issues are because people are holding it wrong.

TAC-CON also claimed that I was confused about ambidextrous safeties and other replacement parts not being available, but they don’t list any on their website. Unless there’s some super secret website specifically for this trigger that I have somehow missed, that is. There are a lot of things they claim are on their website yet I can’t seem to find any of them.

The next complaint TAC-CON had about the review was that we were comparing their product to the wrong triggers.

TAC-CON: It’s a 4.5 pound trigger, and you’re comparing it to triggers much lighter than that.

Nick: Yep. What’s wrong with that?

TAC-CON: But military and law enforcement need that 4.5 pound trigger to meet their specs. Comparing it to lighter triggers isn’t a fair comparison.

Nick: Most of uur audience isn’t military or law enforcement. We’re mostly a consumer blog. Your product is designed to make people shoot faster, correct?

TAC-CON: Yes.

Nick: I compared it to other triggers designed to let people shoot faster. Yours was more expensive and didn’t work as well.

TAC-CON: That’s not fair.

This I’ll leave up to y’all in the comments. I don’t think that it’s unfair to directly compare two products designed to achieve the same goal, but apparently TAC-CON thinks it is. I can even replicate TAC-CON’s claimed cyclic rate of fire with my Geissele S3G trigger, and that costs about half as much as the 3MR. Nevertheless, claiming that directly comparing your product to its logical competitors is “unfair” seems like an admission that the product isn’t up to scratch to me.

We aren’t a blog directed at military or law enforcement folks, we’re a consumer blog. At least, that’s how I see us. TAC-CON claims that their product is being used by all kinds of military units and law enforcement organizations. That’s wonderful for them, but it doesn’t impress me. Just because some police chief likes their product doesn’t mean that it gets an automatic five star review — they still need to earn that on their own merits and compared to the rest of products in the field.

The biggest issue for me with the trigger, though, was the price. TAC-CON didn’t seem to understand why.

TAC-CON: You knew it was a $500 product going in. Why did you request it if you knew how much it was?

Nick: Because I wanted to give it a chance? We don’t automatically give good reviews to products just because they’re expensive.

TAC-CON: But you knew how much it cost before you asked for it, if you were going to give it a bad review you shouldn’t have asked for one.

Nick: How can I know the results of a review before I even try the thing? It might have been worth the money, but in this case it was not.

It seems that they way the TAC-CON folks see it, the cost of an item shouldn’t factor into a review — we should review products in a vacuum, ignoring their price tag. I disagree. Price doesn’t always play a big role in the reviews we do, but when the difference is drastic enough — for example, being twice as expensive as a competing product that performs as well or better — that factor needs to be taken into account.

Apparently their opinion was that if I wasn’t prepared to give the trigger a glowing review, I should never have contacted them in the first place. It’s an opinion that would have made sense in the days where Guns & Ammo was the only game in town, but with the rise of the gun blogs, the days of paying for a good review are long gone. Well, they are here anyway.

The biggest issue they had, however, was that I called their trigger a “gimmick.” They didn’t like that characterization of their product and saw it as an unnecessary dig against them. It’s a fair cop, but it’s also accurate. Under what set of circumstances would this device be useful in a defensive gun use, or a shooting competition? All it does is let you chug through ammo faster on the range in a new and interesting way.

In my review I gave the 3MR trigger a 2-star review, and I stand by that. The review guidelines I set out when I started as the Testing & Reviews Editor are pretty clear that 3-stars is “average,” and if this trigger was priced competitively with the other “go-fast” triggers out there it would absolutely meet that standard at the very least. But add in the lack of documentation or information and the two star review is pretty much spot-on in my opinion. It’s not a terrible review, it’s a slightly below average rating from a website that actually uses the entire rating spectrum — this isn’t some game review website where an 80% is like a one star review, we use the entire range.

The reason I’m writing this article isn’t necessarily to name and shame TAC-CON for exhibiting a pretty piss-poor response to criticism, it’s to illustrate to other companies how to deal with bad press. This entire situation could have been avoided (and we would even have been open to a re-review in the future) if they had just said the following words:

[GOOD EXAMPLE:] Nick, I understand you didn’t like the trigger, can I give you some more information about it and put you in touch with some people who can explain its use a bit better?

That’s all they had to say and I would have been 100% on board. We’ve heard similar responses from many other manufacturers in similar situations.

You may remember MasterPiece Arms as a company that I haven’t exactly been kind to in the past. Instead of impotently venting their anger at us, Masterpiece Arms wants to show us that we’re wrong and that their guns are quality products. The result is that we’re spending our own money to fly down to Georgia this weekend to meet with them, hear what they have to say, and see if our opinion of their guns holds up. We are absolutely open to re-examining our opinions in the face of new information.

On the other hand, there’s this:

TAC-CON: I don’t like your review, and you’ll never get anything from us ever again.

We don’t respond well when companies try to bully us into giving them a good review.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

136 COMMENTS

    • This follow-up makes me even less interested in this device than before. I didn’t know much about it, and assumed it was a “slide-fire” type device that let you do fun bump-fires.

      Now I see its literally just a trigger that resets a little faster? Ehh.

      FYI – this trigger has an MSRP of $500. I just bought a nice piston RIFLE for $600.

  2. Nick, love their last response, never ever, yep not the smart way to handle your review.

    • Agreed, it sounds like they’ll go down the rabbit hole and out of business if this is how they handled criticism. For that matter, if this is how they handle a less than good review, imagine what their customer service is like when a mere consumer has an issue with their product.

      • Actually, I have a strong hunch that they have been taking a lot of flak from a lot of customers and this review was probably the straw the broke the camel’s back. Unfortunately for Nick, they vented their frustration at him.

        Another very real possibility: upper management has been actively misleading the CEO or their investors about the nature and quality of their product and now the truth is coming out. That would tend to make some upper management and public relations people quite cranky.

  3. Excellent article, Nick. With the trend of companies trying to take action against bad reviews by suing the people making those reviews,it’s great to see someone state what a company should not, and in the case of MasterPiece Arms in this example, SHOULD do when faced with a negative review.

  4. Well, how unfortunate for them that you accept reviews from TTAG readers. Maybe they shouldn’t sell to anyone just in case.

  5. I would love to see someone like Yankee Marshall or nutnfancy review this just to listen to them trash it.
    the 3mr seemed gimmicky from the beginning and a 500$ price tag shows me that they are going after the suckers who don’t know the can put a Geissele in for half the price and get better rate of fire. IMO this is tacticool at its (almost) worst. some mall ninja will buy it just to have a 3rd position on the fire control and i think that is the market they are going for. when nick requested the trigger they should have said that

      • As much as I like him, hickock45’s vids are way too long too. I get halfwat through most of his vids then get bored. I much prefer iraqveteran8888.

      • I can’t make it through a nutnfancy review. Too long, too rambling, too unfocused.

    • I have seen at least 3 other sites review this trigger. They all have said the exact same thing: that it’s a gimmick that you have to figure out how to work on your own. I was considering one of these and having to figure out its operation on my own would not stop me from buying it, but knowing that the company is run by jackass sure will…

      • “I was considering one of these and having to figure out its operation on my own would not stop me from buying it, but knowing that the company is run by jackass sure will…”

        I really, really wish companies understood this better.

        I’m the same way.

        • It makes a difference. I visited a client yesterday at her home. In addition to actually talking to and connecting with her, I discovered that she tried unsuccessfully to take down her baby gate at the basement stairs. I happily offered to remove it for her which took me all of one minute and she was most appreciative. Keep in mind that I was at her home for business totally and utterly unrelated to her baby gate. I quite literally have a client for life in spite of intense competition.

        • I just decided “Taking down her baby gate” is euphemism for sex. I’m using that from now on.

  8. If they keep making products like this one, I doubt you would ever request another product anyhow. I’ve yet to see a positive review in this trigger and I almost bought one, thankfully I saw a review, did some more research and realized it would have been a waste of my money. Thanks for your reviews and follow-up, keep up the great work

  9. Because Military and LE can buy full auto out of the box, why would they need “poseur” auto fire via a trigger?

    Lets face it, its mass consumer gimmick giggle switch. So not sure what their point is on the military/LE thing??

    • I was thinking this; are they being hostile because they perceive this blog as anti-cop? The comment about “most of our readers are not law enforcement or military,” is THAT what put a stick up their butts?

    • I think their not-so-subtle point is that “If it’s good enough for MIL/LE, then it’s good enough for you, punk.” Great work by the PR geniuses there.

    • Yeah I question if there’s a big demand for this in LE\Mil. Privately owned by LEOs\Soldiers? Sure. But agency purchased or approved? ehhhhh…..

      • I wonder the same thing. MAYBE law enforcement who don’t carry a full auto gun, maybe. But Military? No. We had to have anything not issued by the Army that we wanted to use on our weapons approved by the commander. And internal components? No, not going to happen. Maybe it was just my unit/MOS, but I don’t see it happening. I wasn’t exactly SF, but I was still in an MOS where we got a bit of action. Also, Army/Air Force/Marine rifles all are standard with a 3 round burst feature, and Navy guns have full blown full auto, so why would the military have any use for a trigger that would allow you to squeeze the trigger faster? When we push our switch all the way we don’t need to squeeze faster, just hold the thing down. If anyone can think of a good reason I’d be interested in hearing it.

    • Just to expand on this .mil & L.E. thing…
      There is NO WAY they are selling “this” drop trigger to the .mil folks….why would .mil put a “semi only” trigger in a M-16/M-4 select fire weapon? […crickets…]

  13. How will they stop you from doing reviews, all you will have to do is spend your own money. Why would military and law enforcement need or want this trigger, they get actual full auto guns. All this trigger does is make it easier to blow through money faster.

  18. The fact that they tried to pitch you that this trigger had to meet military and LEO specs when those are the very two groups that have the least possible need for it is pretty laughable and throws their credibility right out of the window. What Military on earth uses bump fire? What Law enforcement organization can afford a $500 AR add on but can’t buy their own full auto M4s? Its pure cabbage.

  20. Tut tut tut. And I thought that H&K hated you and thought that you suck. That is shit customer service for you. If they acted like that towards me I wouldn’t and couldn’t have showed your level of restraint and patience.
    Tac-Con- …Maybe you don’t know how to shoot a gun.
    Me- I DO IT FOR A F**KING JOB YOU…
    or:
    Tac-Con- But you knew how much it cost before you asked for it, if you were going to give it a bad review you shouldn’t have asked for one.
    Me- I don’t have f**king foresight you dumb t**t! I try to be reasonable and give it a bloody chance!
    Tac-Con- I don’t like your review, and you’ll never get anything from us ever again.
    Me- Fine by me! Fine by me! If I want to review something I’ll just f**king buy it myself you dumb t**t!
    As you can tell I don’t have a lot of verbal restraint. I also don’t like adults who act like petulant children. Tap-Con should not employ petulant children.

    • “A fanatic is a man who won’t change his mind and won’t change the topic.”

  22. “…as ridiculous as Steve Jobs saying the iPhone’s reception issues are because people are holding it wrong.” Oh yeah, I remember that. Forgive me God for holding the iPhone the wrong way.

      • God had a problem with Jobs claiming he was him, so God called him to his office early to have a little chat.

        • Yes, hahaha. I myself postulated that Jobs sold his soul to a crossroads demon to get rich and famous off of apple. Think about it, Apple was a nothing company in the 90s and early 2000s then suddenly the ipod explodes out of nowhere, now, also, he died roughly about 10 years or so after this explosion. 10 years is the standard time given to humans after they sell their souls to a demon. He also died quite “suddenly”, he was fine, then suddenly had some kind of “condition” and died shortly after. Probably eaten by hell hounds.

    • The Cult of Mac was strong in my department back then. All of the Apple faithful thought it was fine since they were being given those stupid bumper case-things to supposedly remedy the situation.

      • Still a cult… I have people who ask me, “What do you as an IT guy recommend so I can have a tablet and print on the network here?”

        “I’d say the Microsoft Surface. Not the RT version, but the version with Full Windows 8, so we can install the drivers needed for the printers. The iPad can’t print to the network, as we did not set up the server for handling that. California tried it and it turned out to be a huge waste of money, and only about a third of the offices could use it there.”

        Two weeks later I get a ticket: “User needs assistance setting up printing on iPad.”

        I call them to explain that we can’t set up printing for iPads.

        “But the guy at the Apple Store said that it should be able to print.”

        “Get him to set it up then, because like I told you before, we don’t support printing from the iPad”

  23. I look forward to hearing about the updated interaction with MasterPiece Arms. I’ve found their customer service to be very good.

  24. Actually, Nick, you should give them an additional 1/4-* just for the entertainment value that they are now providing.

  25. They seem like a bunch of dicks. Good or bad product I don’t purchase or shop from a place where the people are a bunch of dicks and “Know it alls”. Just like the car world the gun world is full of these types.

  27. Welcome to Bachelor Season 18….sounds like when crazy girl Andi went off the rails on Juan Pablo…

  28. ROFLMFAO…To be perfectly honest, I didn’t like the trigger from the get go, never have seen one, never have fired a rifle with one installed, don’t/didn’t have to, it’s a gimmick, a $500 gimmick…hats off to Nick, and a BIG thumbs down to TAC-CON…
    I don’t know about the “TAC” part, but they sure have the “CON” part right…

  29. The other failure on their part in my opinion is they did no research about TTAG. If they had spent any time checking out the site and some of the reviews of other products they would know you don’t pull any punches on reviews or anything else. If they had they may have declined to send it for review.

    Handling the review the way they did is just not very smart, and your post makes it clear they need some PR help.

  30. I’d like to see a Gun Tests review. Im sure they will get around to it. They don’t even have paid sponsors. They are the NPR of the gun world.

  31. If that’s how they handle customer service, it’s no wonder their product is a joke. Even with the gun industry booming, these guys will drive themselves out of business in no time.

  32. The trigger is a gimmick I agree with this blogs review. The price is also insane, Geissele builds top quality triggers and charges a healthy price for them. But $500 is nuts, what’s the trigger machined from unicorn bones? That’s straight up HK pricing their!

    I’ll stick to bump firing my SSA if I want to waste money making noise, don’t need to spend $500 to do it.

  33. I read the original review and found it fair and unbiased. I don’t think anyone who is familiar with the AR platform expects an ATF approved “select fire gimmick” to preform like an M16/M4 and you did an adequate job protecting the uneducated.

    The thing I don’t understand is this 1,890 word follow up post. Yes, the TAC-CON folks may have been unreasonably protective of their product, probably to the point of misrepresenting it, but cat fights don’t amuse me.

  34. Wow, it was painful to have to read through the conversation summary. It read like you were arguing with 5 year olds. To summarize their argument, “You are stupid, it’s not fair, Nuh-uh, it’s MINE – you can’t talk about it, and go away I hate you!” Sorry to learn you weren’t able to talk to any grown ups.

  36. The funny thing is, the review wasn’t even all that harsh. You laid down your cards and said “I don’t think this thing is worth the money”. That’s hardly a super personal critique of TAC-CON.

  37. Yeah, they’ve pretty much torpedoed themselves on this one. Lots of other reviewers have shown that you can shoot as fast with any quality competition trigger for less than half the price. Also the argument that it’s 4.5lbs to be consistent with M&P is kind of illogical.

    -D

  38. TTAG – 1
    TAC-CON – 0
    >:)

    Does TTAG reviews take in customer service at all? Maybe a call about some random “issue” should be added to the review and testing process. Obviously do not announce who you are, you’re just some FNG calling in with a question. Maybe TAC-CONs score would have gone down to a 1 😉

  39. I’d call this the “American Rifleman effect.”

    Manufactures are used to having reviews of their products sound like a) a drool fest of OMG its the best //RANDOM FIREARM OR FIREARM ACCESSORY// ever created by anyone since Browning himself or b) OMG you have to buy this, it’s a pretty close second to the 1911 from //FIREARM MAKER WITH LARGEST AD THIS MONTH// or c) it is quietly passed back to the manufacturer as “we just don’t have room this month’s issue.”

  40. Honest reviews are why I come to sites like this. Thanks for calling a spade a spade, and also for letting us know how these companies take the criticism, as it says a lot about what kind of people are running them.

    • tx, kindly do us all a favor of jumping back into the pond of slime you came from and then crawling back under that rock you live under.

      Thank you.

      I am smug. I admit it.

      Nick is one of the most honest and refreshingly candid reviewers on any forum I’ve ever read.

      Go away.

  42. I mentioned a few things after the review about my experience with the company at the SHOT range day.

    I’ll say it a little more bluntly this time, the guy that at least appeared to be the inventor/owner/grand poo-bah seemed like a complete tool. I have no doubt in my mind that it was who you might have been speaking to.

  43. The TAC CON crowd can suck it.

    They put out a product which is an overpriced piece of crap. It is marketing hype at its finest. It is joke. I personally contacted the company which told me that the rate of 600 rounds per minute is possible in the hands of “experienced users.” OK, TAC CON, put up or shut up.

    Post a video with a shot timer in the frame demonstrating one of these “experienced users” achieving 600 rounds per minute.

    Anyone who learns to ride the reset on even their mil-spec AR trigger can get VERY good results. I’ve documented this before, but here, once more, the following video is not using bump firing or any sort of editing. Notice the speed of controlled pairs and triple taps, then the faster longer sequences. Again, this is a stock mil spec trigger, no modification. Watch this and then ask yourself why in the world you would ever want to spend $500 on the TacCon.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_G7xNhpEkE

    • Highly agree. This company just reeks of douche bag. Like those gun store you go into and they try and tell you what you want. Also agree with you on the bump fire trigger- stupid and pointless. Train with a semi auto good enough and you can achieve pretty much the same thing. Only thing better than that is a legit giggle switch.

    • Ive been watching your reviews for about a year now and reading TTAG about as long. I was very interested in the tac-con trigger. I thought it was a great “fun trigger” on my ar. A solid semi-auto trigger for home and self-defense and a second selection for burning through my ammo on a fun range trip. Well, after reading this and reading several other reviews, I will never purchase anything from these prepubescent fools.

    • That is nothing like full auto and nothing like what the Tac-Con is capable of doing. I’ve played with it quite extensively and it’s a STEEP learning curve but their trigger is a performer. That said, their response makes me question the people running the show.

      I know they aren’t gun industry guys but this is basic PR for any adult in the world.

  45. I tried to get one to T&E but I don’t have a shop and custom build. They told me you had to buy 5 at 400.00 ea. THX glad I waited because all I have heard it that they ARE GARBAGE

  46. Eh, besides having an audience, why should anyone let you review their product. You really aren’t very knowledgeable.

  47. Why would the military be using this thing? We have 3rd burst and/or FA on our M4s that we almost never use. Threatening not to give you anything (like an over-priced, under-performing trigger) sure is scary! Good review, seems accurate to me. Best case, they provide excellent training materials and the average user practices in order to achieve 500+ RPM for $500…still underwhelming compared to a S3G at less than 1/2 the price.

    …not that there are any training materials or average users getting those speeds..

  48. Finesse. The art of schmoozing. Diplomacy. A clue. These guys have none of the above.

  51. You know how Tac-Con is a joke? It has “Tac” in it. And seriously, why as a civilian or civilian law enforcement do you need to shoot fast? The only time I can see a need for rapid fire is in 3 Gun Comps, maybe.
    Focus on accuracy over speed because you are responsible for every round you fire.

    • “Comments have been disabled for this video” …. re. the Daily Motion video.

      Still no proof put up that the trigger system provided a cyclic rate of 600 rpm

      Sorry, TacCon, the fail continues.

  53. I do not agree with how the reviewer handled the situatio. This is behind the industry scene and it is highly unprofessional of the reviewer to share with the world. The intent was malicious and I see it as a muscle flexing.

  54. From a consumer perspective, this is generally what I base future purchasing from companies on: Customer Service. I understand that things go wrong or break or whatever the issue may be. How you deal with it as a manufacturer determines if you keep me as a customer. I run 11 different ARs and none of them will have Tac-Con triggers in them after reading that. I was still going to purchase one, and even though I respect Nick’s opinion, I still wanted to try it for myself but after seeing that your response, no thanks.

  55. I don’t get the hype. I can bump fire my M4 clone off the shoulder without any gimmicky do-dad. And 500 clams? Rubber bands are CHEAP!

  56. You could always tell them you’ll give the trigger to another person at TTAG to do a comparison review.

    And if that means the Tac-Con will have TWO bad reviews on TTAG, so be it…

  57. By way of follow up, TacCon has been thoroughly trashed repeatedly on M4Carbine.net and AR15.com, the two most widely read AR15 related gun forums on the Internet.

    So, TacCon, I’d say you should just hang it up.

    Geissele had us covered long before you arrived and if/when they release something similar to your product, it will far better anyway.

    Save your $500 folks.

  58. Military and law enforcement are using this? Really? Because they can’t easily get a real full-auto? Right… Full on gimmick product, price, function, and marketing, full on gimmick.

  59. Boy, it sounded soooooooo sweet to begin with all those months back. I have to admit that I pre-ordered one at the end of January as soon as it was announced at the Shot Show. I waited and waited, no trigger. Eventually, around the middle of March I was told to expect my trigger withing 3-4 weeks, I started reading more reviews since some triggers had actually made it into some dealer and consumer hands and based on those, I decided to cancel my order around the end of March, beginning of April and I am sooooo glad that I saved that $500.00.

  60. Yep. Just like your Boberg XR9-S review. First one sucked, but they worked with you and two re-reviews later I had one on pre-order.

    • MAC isn’t so much a reviewer anymore, as an overviewer. He’s become less and less critical of products as he’s gone deeper into the industry, going so far as to start his own gun shop. I miss the old MAC.

      • still… watch the video. He seemed to have no trouble at all figuring out what the product does unlike Leghorn and also had no problem using it as intended. He did say the $500 price tag is a bit much but still… he at least was able to figure out exactly what the products function is.

  62. Thank you I was about to shell out my hard earned money for this but after reading this I will look into other triggers again thank you

  63. On a side note, as a veteran LEO, I agree, just because some Chief approves or buys this product is not a ringing endorsement. However, I have a hard time believing any of these triggers are in use with any LE Agency or the Military for that matter. Why drop $500 extra into a gun when Agencies and the Military have access to burst or FA options? Makes no sense and I doubt these triggers are even selling at all.

  64. i’ll stick to my economical CMC 3.5# trigger. for the price of 1 tac-con, i could get 3 triggers.

  66. Sounds a little like the reviewers ego was a little damaged. Watch out, I’ll try to humiliate you if you talk back to me. Take that as a warning manufacturers.

  67. There’s no way in hell the military is buying this thing. If the company is seriously making that claim, I want to see the documentation.

    Also… I could see a couple of 5-officer departments buying it, but no major agency with a single lawyer within spitting distance is going to want to be in the same room as one of these.

  68. I like my triggers perfect and I will spend the money on a trigger to get that perfect target but a 4.5 lb trigger that goes for $500 that’s unadjustable, that’s a terrible mismatch.

  69. I’ve been thinking of buying one. How many people slamming this product have actually tried it for themselves? Just sayin, I like to come up with my own opinions personally. The reviews are intresting, but seem very trendy themselves. The grownups stopped telling me what to think 20 years ago. Maybe the response could have been handeled better (if that is in fact how the conversation went), but that does not mean it is a trash product.
    I don’t own one, never shot with one, never worked at TacCon or any gun industry, but I am a grown man who can make my own decision. Thanks for the info. Feedback is a gift. But this is not the only place for reviews.
    BTW- I notice you all piggyback on the negative, yet everyone ignores when something positive is mentioned. That sounds trendy or gimicky to me. Just Sayin (*Crickets*)

  71. Well that is your opinion sir and I can say I’m biased because Im the preferred dealer in Texas.I’ve sold over 40 of these while I do carry Timney,Gesiselle,High standard,etc.The bodoes not come with instructions because the choice of whether you want to learn to shoot accurately and faster.Your “Opinion based on your own ignorance” proved your own point…Question “Why did it cost 500$ and you still bought it”.Your answer “I wanted to try it”.Well I think you should “try it”MORE because they’ve preformed flawlessly and in every AR I personally own and starting to sell at least 1 or 2 a day to the states by mail….BTW If your not like this guy and his opinion call 281-328-2800 or visit http://www.highnoongunrange.com we will accept cc over phone and send next day air UPS 480$ Even– Tax included and shipping.You decide.

  72. I met these guys in Arizona last week. Down to earth group of guys. My trigger works great. No adjustments needed, Np3 coated internals, very crisp break. Still keeping my Geissele and Timney but I shoot this one the most.

  73. Years ago, I started using the Second Life virtual reality simulator (yeah, some call it a “game”, but there’s no goal and nothing to win, so it’s not a game), and found that lots of people make simulated weapons of all sorts there. It’s fun to use them in all sorts of situations, and they can even be of some use when dealing with a troll.

    You can get a job in Second Life, working for another player, and make in-game money that can be converted into real dollars. Or you can make products and sell them, and convert that in-game currency into real-world money. For a while, I had a “job” writing product reviews for a virtual magazine. I reviewed all sorts of weapons, from pistols to helicopters to starships, and it was a lot of fun.

    But I ran into a guy like this TAC-CON dimbulb when I did a review he didn’t like.

    Firstly, he approached me to do the review. He wanted to give me a free copy, but I said no, I prefer to buy them myself to avoid any conflict of interest. Then he started buttering me up by suggesting I could get a sales spot in his area for my own products, and he’d give me a good deal. Again I declined, for the same reason.

    I reviewed his product, and it was NOT a good review. I went through it methodically, and listed all of the pros and cons…but the cons far outweighed the pros. When this guy saw the review, he went ballistic. On my BOSS. He claimed I used it wrong. That I didn’t read the documentation. That i don’t know how to properly review things. He claimed it was a case of libel, and threatened LEGAL ACTION.

    Legal action. For a bad review on a virtual product in a virtual environment.

    After we stopped laughing, I wrote him a very nice letter, but he was too steamed to listen. I shrugged and went on with my life.

    Shrug, and go on with your life. There’s no pleasing these entitlement snobs, who think everything has to be “fair” — which means, if you give someone else a good review, you have to give THEM a good review, otherwise it’s UNFAIR. They don’t ever consider maybe making the product better, so they’ll get a better review. Nay, nay, it must be YOUR fault.

  74. You were dead on in the review and response.

    I really wanted their trigger just to make the third mode ARRR on my Spikes lower something unique.

    Bought the Geissele S3G for less money.

    Most damning yet polite review was Jerry Miculek’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXnFdS1sVDE

    If he can’t make it shoot fast nobody can…

  75. I seen one for sale locally. I went to their web site to read more and see exactly what this would do for my AR.
    I found the exact problem the review points out. Not enough info, was I looking at just a better trigger, a way to burn through ammo in a like way of a full auto? I found more out by reading the comments than the mfg. web site.
    I will stay away from this item.

  76. It’s been my findings that most reviewers here on TTAG spew the same old gun magazine style non-reviews and don’t really know their ass from a hole in the ground.

    • To be clear, I have never used a Tac-Con trigger nor am I in any fashion affiliated with the company, However, if you still claim that there is literally know information on this trigger on the web, then your “research” is faulty if not intentionally skewed at best.

      There is is a plethora of information available on this trigger and how it functions.

  77. This iproduct reminds me of the Tippmann Reponse tigger on their paintball guns. I know…The paintball gun and a real gun are not in the same category, but my point is this: The response trigger does the same thing as the Tac Con 3MR trigger. It provides positive feedback to the trigger finger. It takes a little time to learn the pulse for that feedback, then you learn to operate the trigger in a proper manner. After that, muscle memory kicks in and allows the operator to make the trigger do what it was designed to do. The trick is to educate yourself on how to operate it.

  78. Boy, i gotta hand it to you guys. I was on the fence about purchasing a Tac Con 3MR trigger but am extremely satisfied that I looked up some reviews. Not only from here but a few other sites as well and there are large groups of people that agree it is a gimmick, and a very expensive one at that. It only reinforces what I eventually found out about this high priced product…that it’s high-priced and there are many superior products out there that do what the TAC CON 3MR does but BETTER and for MUCH LESS money. Thank you everyone that reviewed it. You saved me a “circular file” purchase. This Armed Forces Vet thanks you!

    Cheers!

    PS – I bought a Geisele trigger and absolutely LOVE it.

  79. I’m a little late to reading this. But I couldn’t agree with you more. I bought one of the 3mr’s haven’t used it since I tried it out and the trigger pull was 8lbs not 4.5. The 3rd mode didn’t work that great. You’re right a gimmick.

  80. Nick,

    I know this is an old review but I am just now deciding to get the Tac-Con 3MR. Having read this article and the one preceding it, I didn’t get as much real information from them as I usually do from one of your articles.

    The first article you published, there didn’t seem to be any inference to any positive benefits. You appeared to have made up your mind when you sat down to pen your first article to trash the trigger as an expensive gimmick with no redeeming qualities.

    Then when the manufacture point out what I see as very obvious omissions, you take offense and trash them. If anyone is digging a hole, you appear to be the one holding the shovel. I am sure your fan boys will vehemently disagree…but like you, I am just calling it as I see it.

    I can’t think of another article of yours where after reading it, I didn’t gain some valuable insight about the product until now. At list price it is expensive, I knew that information before your article…so no real insight gained. I knew there were other triggers just as fast, due to fast resets and lighter trigger pulls. Once again no real insight gained.

    One thing that created my interest in this trigger over the other fast triggers is I wanted a trigger that would provide a faster reset on demand. All the other triggers you compared the Tac-Con to were in comparison to Tac-Con’s 3rd position only. You failed to grasp the reason I, and others may be interested in the Tac-Con. It is not the third position capability itself, as you have pointed out that can be accomplished with other great, less expensive triggers.

    I am interested in a trigger that can perform as a standard milspec trigger when I want it to and then with the flick of the selector switch go to a shorter reset trigger for quicker follow up shots. The triggers you listed cannot do that. They are what they are…good triggers. But do not have the ability to switch between milspec and performance on demand.

    When the manufacture tried to point out to you the demand for that specific capability you blew it off as though it didn’t have any merit. You were wrong. I have most of the triggers you mentioned in several of my guns and while a few of them may be equal to or surpasses the Tac-Con trigger when it is in the 3rd position, none of them have the ability to switch back to milspec trigger pull via the selector switch.

    Sure you can say you have no desire to do so, and that is fine. But it doesn’t negate there may be plenty of us that do. The other thing I wanted to point out was the price. You were comparing the MSRP of a new to the market trigger, to that of others that had been around awhile. I found that to be a little unfair as most new products when released, are over inflated, and unusually come down in time. Btw, the current readily available price has come down considerably since your article. I am getting ready to place an order for one at $279.95.

  81. Contact Response
    david,
    Thank you for contacting Tac-Con USA!
    We will be putting in a refund for you on this order. It will take about 4 days for the credit card company to get this done. Please do not order from us in the future!

    Robert
    623 282-1881
    Tac-Con
    Thank you,
    I purchased a trigger and paid for expedited shipping after 4 days with no shipping notification and email asking why my order has not shipped because I was unable to access my account to find out for reasons unknown. This is the response I received from tac con. wish I read this review before I purchased thought public should know

    • I tried to order a trigger and got the same reply from some guy named Robert!!! He said and I quote “Please let us know if you would like to cancel your order, we have customers that will greatly appreciate your sacrifice,” when I sent an e-mail asking what the problem was Robert sent an e-mail back saying my order had been terminated! He stated that he had spoke to me on the phone and it was taking him away from processing orders. I never spoke to anyone at Taccon on the phone!!! These guys do not want to sell their product!!! I would never do business with them!!! It’s funny how this Robert person has no last name on the web site and how there is only one number to call, which no one ever answers!!!

  82. I ordered one with the instructions that the order was strictly contingent that it was NOT on back order. They called me and assured me, on the phone, that they would ship within a week. That was a month ago and I still have not seen my trigger and they will not refund my money. This company SUCKS!!!!!!!

  83. I was at a gun show in Phoenix yesterday, and the dude running the booth was a dick. Was sold out of the stuff, but was pushing for me to by a trigger. Never asked me any questions about what type of gun I have. Told him I would come back and take a look more when he has a trigger, his goes “Hummm how did I know you would say that” Happy i found this review, for sure will be staying away from them.

  84. I wish I had found this review prior to purchasing their trigger. Although the price for their 3MR may have come down ($314.99 with shipping), their customer service is absolutely abysmal. I ordered my trigger nearly three weeks ago, and have received neither trigger, nor any indication they’re shipping it. I’ve attempted to contact them three times (only via their webpage since they never answer their phones and have an automated message talking about their “high call volume”) with zero response. They had absolutely no problem taking the funds for the trigger from my bank account immediately, so I would expect the same form of expedited response to a paying customer simply requesting an order status. Word of warning about Tac-Con: DO NOT ORDER THEIR PRODUCTS. There’s absolutely no guarantee they’ll deliver.

  85. I see this company has not changed, leaving customers in the dark about their orders. After waiting almost 3 years for this company to start offering the AK Raptor again, I decided to give them a try again, what a mistake. I cannot believe this company treats their customers like they do and think nobody is going to comment on their service. The same happened to me, that happened to Deogracias Ngo, per his comments. I ordered my AK Raptor back in Oct. 2017 and waited the 6 to 8 weeks for the delivery, which was stated when I placed the order. After 8 weeks, I called, but nobody answered, left messages, that were never returned and sent numerous emails via their webpage, with no responses. I was finally able to get someone on the phone in Dec. of 2017 and was told, that they were having Vendor issues, that supplied them the parts and was told it would be another 30 days before my order was shipped out. Again, after 30 days, still no order. Again, I called, but nobody answered, left messages, that were never returned and sent numerous emails via their webpage, with no responses. After finally having enough, I sent them another email stating, that since my order was not delivered on the agreed date per your companies policies, I would like my money for this order refunded. If I do not receive a reply via email and by phone within 5 business days, I will report this transaction as Fraud to my Bank. After I sent this email out, I received an immediate reply, stating that they were refunding my money for my order, which was done in 5 business days. It is funny, that all of the emails I sent to them regarding my order and this company never replied to any of inquiries, but as soon as I stated I was going to report this transaction as Fraud to my Bank, I received an immediate response and money was returned with no questions asked nor issues. If this company would have responded the way they did in refunding my money for the order, I would have waited for my order, but they have lost another customer, not due to their products, but their customer service.

  86. Man, I wish I head read this article before I bought their shit trigger. I recently built a couple AR pistols with multiple uppers (two 5.56 and two .300 BLK) and one of my local gun stores offered this trigger. I tried dry-firing it on the owner’s AR pistol and liked the feel, so I bought a couple. Took them to the range and was able to get three mags of .300 BLK through, switched to 5.56 and it broke on the first round. Hammer locked by the disconnect and wouldn’t release. Thought I got a rare dud, grabbed my other lower with the second 3MR trigger and tried my other 5.56 upper using a different BCG – failed on first round. Took them back to my local gun store, showed them what happened and they couldn’t believe it. I brought in my uppers and lowers and showed them everything and they were as stumped as I was, but were able to get their TACCON dealer or rep on the phone and they offered to take them back, so I swapped out my failed triggers for new 3MRs. Went back to the range a week later and same-same – failed on first 5.56. Haven’t tried the fourth trigger, just bought a 4lb Velocity AR Trigger assembly to replace it and it ran great on both .300 BLK and 5.56. I’ve used the TACCON website support form to try and get the failed trigger replaced or refunded, but no reply after a week. I will never buy any of their products again and don’t recommend anyone buy from them again. I’m also a walking, talking bad review and actively tell other shooters I know and meet about this experience. Horrible product and horrible service for a component that clearly can fail when you need it most and could mean the difference between life and death, not just a bad moment at the gun range. Hopefully they’ll be out of business soon.

  87. I am SO Glad I read this review.
    Was thinking about replacing my current BFS3 as it is not a consistent trigger. From this review alone, I think I will just save my money and by more ammo 😛
    P.S. BFS 3 trigger sucks as well. Time to simplify my fire control group!

    Thank you for your honesty with this review.

  88. After reading the first few paragraphs that was enough for me. Not only was the $500 price tag out of order but there are much better products for a much better price from much better companies out there Tac con was incorrect and handled this event improperly

  89. I ordered one after seeing them at the shot show on tv. I put an order in and Payed $500.00 and waited. After about six months the 3mr came I was excited I installed it I observed how the reset worked went to range
    and it sucked. I had Wilson Combat Two POF’s and either will dump a mag just as fast. I felt lied to . If you look at the better business bureau they have more complaints than customers. I gave it 1 star because the cost is a joke.

  90. Damn, i was about to decide if I should buy 3 of these Tac-Cons or 3 of the Diamond TriggerTech triggers for Christians presents and one for myself.
    If this is how they react to criticism, I cannot support them or bother giving their product a try.
    Basic f’ing business skills.go a long ways! Who does that to someone reviewing their product?! Shouldn’t they WANT to hear how they can improve their products? Well I just went and ordered the Trigger tech triggers.
    I hope Tac-Con see’s this, you are loosing customers with your bull shit business practices, it sounds like they need to go through freshmen “intro to business,” again.

  91. I would like to counter the bad review. I bought the trigger when it first came out. Very easy to install if you have little skills with the AR platform. I have used this trigger for years and it works very well in both modes, nice crisp trigger in first mode, second mode is consistent and as fast as you want to make it with a little practice. It does work well, never had a single jam, or miss fire. I was about to buy a second trigger and the above reviews will not change my mind. I would like to make a comment on the Franklin armory binary trigger, stay away, worked with it for days and always the same result, it will fire in the safe mode!!!!! Contacted the MFG and they will not refund if removed from the package. I removed it and and never will allow it to be used, I threw it out, to dangerous,

    The tac con trigger is a good trigger, give it a try you will be pleased.

  92. I have one of these. There were instructions included and a video on youtube. Works excellent for controlled pairs or fast mag dump.

  93. Now I’ve been out of the military for quite some time now, 2006 to be exact, but the military doesn’t procure crap forced reset triggers. We use the ones that come in the firearm. It’s either semi-auto or 3-shot burst, unless it’s a machine gun like a 240B and then it shoots full auto. This guys a completely ignorant employee and I hope that he was fired. He harmed the company.

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