Saturday, March 3, 2012

Ghost Rocket 3.5lb Trigger Glock Install

Let me start out by saying this loud and clear.  There is nothing wrong with the standard Glock trigger!  They work well and as intended.  Is there room for improvement?  Yes, always!  I personally became curious about a product by Ghost Inc. called the Ghost Rocket 3.5lb with a 'trigger control tab' which is designed to reduce trigger reset travel.  That reduction and the low cost of the accessory made it something I wanted to try out.

Make the jump to go over my review of the installed product.



The product is designed for swapping out with the stock trigger connector which is very easy to perform.  Where it's tricky is in making the adjustment to the trigger control tab (TCT) which must be done by you or a gunsmith.  Being a military armorer myself, I had all the proper tools needed to make the adjustments myself so I elected to give the product a try. 

The primary thing you need is a fine file and maybe some armorers stones to give it a nice clean polished finish.  Brownell's has a kit with the same items I used. Having a Glock dis-assembly tool or 3/32" Pin Punch and the Armorers Plate is also very handy and highly recommended.

If the prospect of making an adjustment worries you, they have a polished 3.5lb disconnect that drops in without the tab to adjust with some of the same benefits as the Rocket minus the shortened trigger reset.

Rocket 3.5lb Trigger Connector with TCT before fitting.
The benefits advertised are:
  • Faster and more accurate shooting
  • Lighter and shorter trigger pull
  • Eliminates trigger over-travel
  • Reduced trigger reset
  • Self cleaning
In my installation I agree that the product lives up to it's claims.  I never understood the logic of heavy handgun triggers (not saying Glock has one).  I hate to say it but I've trained people who had difficulty pulling the trigger on some pistols more than about 15 rounds in double action only.  I can always see it, they start getting shaky and their sight alignment starts to bob around and their accuracy suffers.  Another problem is that the shooter while pulling that heavier trigger, they pull off target due to bad grip or finger placement.  A lighter trigger can be beneficial in reducing that fatigue which improves accuracy, new and experienced shooters alike.

The elimination of trigger over-travel and a faster reset is also beneficial in getting faster follow-up shots.  I always preach heavily on proper trigger follow through and reset.  I see immediate accuracy improvements once people start practicing trigger reset.  In the 'Rocket' when the TCT is shortened you get a very short reset and the further you continue to adjust the tab the more reset travel it gives.  Just remember, too short a reset can be dangerous, causing unintentional second discharges when the weapon recoils if you aren't careful on the trigger.

With my stock trigger, I could feel some take-up in the trigger before getting to a defined break where I knew just a tad more pressure would fire.  The reset was crisp but long feeling.  With the Rocket, the take-up is eliminated and the trigger is much more consistent through the pull.  The reset feels softer and less defined in the 'click' but is now much shorter.  I'm sure I can always further cut the TCT to make it more distinct but that would give it more reset travel as well.

Overall, I'm very happy with the modification.  I elected to make an alternative angled cut to the TCT as described on the Ghost Inc. website.  The connector was cheap enough and since it was my first one I figured I had room to experiment.  The difference in cuts is up to you, the angled cut seems a little nicer feeling to me.

In conclusion, I like what the product provided.  It made a difference and I'd install it on any future Glock I purchase as well.  The cost was minor at $27 for the Rocket and $10 for the take-down tool and armorers plate together.


* * *  COMMENTS ABOUT INSTALLATION PROCESS  * * *

If you've never detail-stripped a Glock before don't worry.  It is by far one of the easiest handguns to detail strip and reassemble.  3 pins and some leverage is all you need.  The video below is an excellent walk through of a detail strip.

Ghost Inc. also has a set of instructions for the Trigger Connector install which I highly recommend you follow. My advice is to follow the directions and don't take shortcuts.  File a little and re-check.  It takes a good number of 'file and reinstall' cycles before getting the sear to fire.  I would urge you to resist using a Dremel or similar tool.  Remember, once metal is filed away it's gone.  A Dremel can cut too fast or leave odd angles if not used with extreme care.

Get the Armorers Plate for the install, it's cheap, and it makes it much simpler to make your filing adjustments and tests. Without it, you will need something very thin but rigid enough to depress the sear through the slide cover plate so that the pistol can be disassembled for the next round of filing.  A jewelers screwdriver should work.

Once the sear fires, consider taking it down a little more before polishing the TCT if the reset is too short.  I don't want the reset so short that there is potential of snapping off an extra round by accident during recoil.  Do some dry fire practice cycling the slide and feeling the reset and decide for yourself if it needs more adjustment.  Patience will yield a much better result!

Ghost Rocket (left) after adjustment

4 comments:

  1. Heya this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs
    use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
    I'm starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    Feel free to surf my page bosch power tools

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's pretty easy and fairly close to WYSIWYG. By fairly close I mean that you might need to play around sometimes to get it to look exactly how you want from the editor. Just jump in, you'll pick it right up.

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  2. Hey, I just purchased this product for my model26. Did you install the kit or just the connector? Any thoughts on the kit (it comes with a 4lb Striker Spring, 6lb Trigger Spring, and a reduced power safety plunger spring)? I've read conflicting reports that the connector alone is fine and ones that say the whole kit should be installed. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I went with only the connector. For me, it gave good enough results and I don't feel like I'm compromising anything in the action. While you can make a great 'race' type set-up with the whole set getting changed, I feel like you trade off some reliability in the striker striking with enough force. If you go the full kit route, it is dead simple to revert if you don't like what it gives you.

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