How To Measure Your Trigger Pull Weight Without A Gauge

Some people would like to know what the trigger pull weight of their gun is but don't have a trigger pull gauge and don't have a gunsmith nearby to measure it for them. In that case, here is a simple way to determine the trigger pull weight of your gun within a couple of ounces.

First, obtain a lightweight plastic gallon jug (such as an empty milk jug) and a measuring cup. A small funnel would also be useful. You also need some string and your EMPTY gun.

Now begin measuring water and pouring it into the jug. One cup is 8 ounces, so two cups would be a pint which is 16 ounces. After you've put two cups (16 ounces) of water in the jug and with the jug sitting level, make a mark on the outside of the jug at the level of the water. Then put a "1" beside this mark to represent one pound.

Then add another 16 ounces of water and mark the jug and label it "2". Continue with this method until you fill the jug which should take 128 ounces and would equal 8 pounds. Now you should have a jug with marks for each pound from 1 to 8.

Now take some string and tie it to the handle or neck of the empty jug and make a loop and put it around the trigger such that the jug will hang freely (without binding) below the butt of the gun.

Now all you have to do is start adding water slowly to the jug as you hold the gun with the muzzle straight up in the air and the weight of the jug and water suspended from the trigger. Of course, the trigger of the EMPTY gun must be cocked first. Continue to add water slowly until the hammer falls. While adding water, don't make any sudden jerks or movements of the gun or water jug since this will create an impact load and give false results.

Once you've found out just how much water it takes in the jug to pull the trigger, then simply sit the jug on a level surface and read the level of the water according to the marks you previously made on the jug. Once you've read the weight according to the marks, I suggest that you add 2 ounces to your reading to compensate for the weight of the jug and to correct for weight of water which is about 8 pounds 3 ounces for one gallon.

That's all there is to it. Do this procedure several times since the trigger won't likely break at the exact same weight every time. This method will give you a pretty close reading (within 2 ounces in most cases) and that's about as close as most trigger pull gauges.