Is there any reason at all to choose between either the original A1 Aluminum trigger guards or the newer Plastic ones?
The replacements reduce or eliminate “AR knuckle”.
The magpul plastic one is pretty smooth.
If you’re talkin about the oversized trigger guards, specifically the Magpul versions, go with the metal option. I’ve used the MOE trigger guard for almost two years now. It’s much better than standard, but it still has a little more pinch than the Magpul Enhanced trigger guard.
The standard flat trigger guard is inadequate with the options out there now and the ease and cost of replacing it.
For 8 dollars I would drop a Magpul moe in. The stock tg sucks and should be banned:). The polymer one I feel is adequate. If money is no object the aluminum will be good, although I have never found the need to get it
The disadvantage of the MOE is that it cannot be folded like the original, which functions as a Winter trigger guard. I have the MOE on some of mine and will keep them, but I wish they would fold, to retain that functionality.
Magpul made a folding version of the aluminum Magpul enhanced trigger guard. They don’t make it any more AFAIK but they did for a while. If you are interested, I have a couple (unused) that I’ve been meaning to put up for sale. I have not tried one myself.
Go with the Magpul aluminum enhanced tg.
The MOE doen’t quite fill in that little gap as it should, still getting knucked with mine, wish I had spent the extra coin.
I’ve been shooting ARs for 24 years in the Army and never had AR knuckle nor even heard about until I joined this forum, the stock GI trigger guard works just fine for a majority of shooters.
The aluminum Magpul trigger guard wouldn’t even begin to fit my LMT lower without lots of grinding/filing on both ends (& re-painting) so I’m waiting for a KAC trigger guard to arrive & I believe it can be dropped for gloves like the original.
If you do enough damage to BREAK the plastic one, you’ll PROBABLY have broken the REST of the rifle, too! :o
Seems to me that the plastic trigger guard is the answer to a question that nobody asked. I’ve been shooting ARs for years and never had an issue with the standard trigger guard. And as stated above, it’s designed to be folded so that you can still use the trigger with heavy gloves or even mittens.
I snagged the Wilson aluminum guard.
Really smooth and solid.
Its mostly aesthetic. But I like it.
It is a cost-saving substitution.
The KAC retains the folding function while adding the curve most desire. To do so, the gap(which is what most of the complaints are about) is also retained. Get a gapper.
The plastic guard is an exact duplicate of the aluminum. It would be a teeny tiny but welcome change if the edges were radiused.
If one has ever seen:
A stock TG fall off the rifle and into the snow…
A shooter get their golved or un-gloved trigger finger caught between the tip of the trigger and a standard TG, which can be painful and can cause an AD/ND whether it’s painful or not…
…then it’s somewhat easier to conjure in one’s mind an instance in which some cat capable of critical thought would ask the question: Might a fixed TG with more room designed into it be a better idea than a TG that requires partial disassembly to create more room?
After-market TGs (and oversized integral TGs, say, on lots of billet receivers) are not merely cosmetic, and for a lot of reasons other than “AR knuckle,” which can also be dealt with by stuffing some or all of a foam earplug into the gap, or by wearing a cheap pair of Mechanix gloves.
Do you always shoot with gloves?
If you butt your fingers up against the trigger guard on a standard folding trigger guard and you shoot all day you will get a raw middle finger from the uneven surfaces at the junction of the trigger guard ears and the trigger guard.
Certain replacement pistol grips fill that gap.
Since its plastic, you can sand it however you want. Its probably better that way since different lowers can have different sized trigger guard ears.
The earplug idea… Thank you.
I have 1 lower w/ the Magpul Aluminum TG, and 3 w/ the MOE TG. I see/feel virtually no difference between them.
.
Has anyone had or heard of the MIAD’s all in one Grip/TG having a problem?
I’ve been using one a year or so and like how it gives more room and gets rid of the need for a Gapper.
Just wondering…
.