AFTE Store - Manufacturers Firearms Workshop: Trigger Pull Methods

At the 1985 Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists’ Annual Meeting, M. James Kreiser of the Illinois Department of Sate Police, Bureau of Forensic Sciences set up a Firearms Workshop which covered trigger pull methods of firearms. The group experimented with different methods that are used by firearms examiners and firearms manufacturers to determine the amount of force required for the firearm to discharge. A 5 station exercise was designed to draw attention to the different methods and make one aware of the variations in results. This exercise was not designed to identify one method as being better than the others. Those in attendance were split into four groups and each group was given six firearms with which to conduct their experiments. Trigger pulls were recorded in ranges of 1/4 pound, i.e., 8-8 1/4 lbs.