straight trigger shoe vs. curve trigger shoe

[miachop]

Anyone with experience using straight face trigger shoe (MEC, Tec-hro) vs. curve trigger shoe?

Seems most higher end air rifles use straight face trigger shoes. There must be some advantage in using straight face trigger. As for the replacement trigger price, straight face triggers are much higher priced than curve trigger shoes.

For air pistol, would the straight face trigger shoe give you a more discrete feel of pulling force then the curve trigger shoe? I was thinking if it does, I would fill up the curve with epoxy putty into a straight trigger face.

[John Marchant]

One possible reason for the straight trigger shoe on an air rifle is that it allows you to rest the finger anywhere on the shoe with a more uniform "feel". As air rifle triggers do not have to pass the trigger weight, if the placement of the finger is nearer to the tip this would mean that a reduced finger pressure could be required to release the shot.
The process of trigger control/action tends to be more of a deliberate action on an air rifle when compared to air pistol.
With a straight trigger on an air pistol, you would potential have slightly less finger contact area, which could be detrimental to precise finger positioning, which is required to ensure that all vector forces are being exerted in the same uniform direction for every shot release.
If you use a rifle trigger shoe, you may need to create a trigger weighing reference slot to enable the trigger weight to be repeatably tested.

[JamesH]

a curved shoe means you can pull it up or down, a straight one means you can only pull it perpendicular to the face, in theory...

[joker]

Both the responses here are very interesting and well put - I have often pondered this point - the straight triggers are too expensive for me to experiment with.

[scerir]

Seems most higher end air rifles use straight face trigger shoes. There must be some advantage in using straight face trigger. [...] For air pistol, would the straight face trigger shoe give you a more discrete feel of pulling force then the curve trigger shoe?

There is another problem here, the compression of the finger pad. Well this depends on the weight of the trigger mechanism, of course. But in general one must first compress/collapse the finger pad (no action on the trigger blade then) and then one starts to pull the trigger blade. This may be an important factor with air rifles and free pistols (due to their peculiar trigger weight). With the air pistols I do not know but it seems to me that a straight face should collapse the finger pad faster ....

[JamesH]

Seems most higher end air rifles use straight face trigger shoes. There must be some advantage in using straight face trigger. [...] For air pistol, would the straight face trigger shoe give you a more discrete feel of pulling force then the curve trigger shoe?

There is another problem here, the compression of the finger pad. Well this depends on the weight of the trigger mechanism, of course. But in general one must first compress/collapse the finger pad (no action on the trigger blade then) and then one starts to pull the trigger blade. This may be an important factor with air rifles and free pistols (due to their peculiar trigger weight). With the air pistols I do not know but it seems to me that a straight face should collapse the finger pad faster ....

A straight face also feels 'harder' since there is less contact area and more of a pressure point on the finger to achieve the fixed trigger release force.

A wide, flat trigger is a solution, but then pressing one side or other causes shots left or right...

[redrider]

I have recently put a TEC-HRO Touch on my LP10. I much prefer the feel as the diamond pattern gives me more positive finger placement feedback.
The weight does feel a bit greater though. Can't say yet if it helps me shoot better but the adjustments are much better than the original.

[vin]

I would like to try a strait shoe on my Benelli Kite.
Would any of the triggers on this page work:
www.intershoot.co.uk/acatalog/Triggers.html
The clamp style seems to be the same... but the size would have to be close enough...

Thanks,
Vin

[Hemmers]

Most clubs rifles I've come across have a more-or-less straight blade.
There's a very slight curve, but pretty straight as below:
http://jga.anschuetz-sport.com/bild.php ... height=120

By contrast, my Anschutz 1913 came with a shoe that's like a C-shape.

I quite like it as there's a little notch at the deepest part of the "C", so I know my finger is in the same place for every shot, whereas with a straight blade it could be higher or lower with very little indication to suggest otherwise (if I'd laid my hand on the pistol grip differently for instance).

Hadn't really thought about the idea that it would make it easier to apply pressure at an angle, but then with the notch at the back, if my finger isn't in the right place, it means my hand isn't right on the stock, so the shot doesn't go anyway until that's remedied.

This is on rifle of course, but a similar principle applies to pistol, provided you've got your trigger set up right so the curve allows you to squeeze straight back. I can see the alternate advantage of a straight blade as well though. I did see one guy take a tiny little clipping off the end of a paperclip and hot glue it onto his straight trigger. Allowed him to place his finger in the exact same place every time.
It was a very small bit of clip, so you weren't putting all your weight on it to squeeze! It was just enough to feel where your finger should be!