A legendary Berryville, AR, gunmaker that practically covers the bases when it comes to firearms, Wilson Combat has everything from ultralight hunting rifles to double-stack, single-action guns like the new Project 77 series. Alongside guns, Wilson Combat also offers a wide variety of parts and accessories including high-end drop-in triggers for AR-15 and AR-10 pattern firearms.
Wilson Combat TR-TTU-H2 Overview
Wilson Combat offers a few different premium AR drop-in triggers in the Tactical Trigger Unit (TTU) family. The entirety of the TTU line comes encased and pre-assembled in an enclosed cassette. This makes installation extremely easy and convenient, more so than having to wrangle the stiff hammer spring along with the actual hammer while trying to line them up with the lower receiver’s trigger pin holes—an exercise that I’m sure a great many of Shooting Illustrated’s readers are probably well-versed with. Every TTU also includes its own trigger and hammer pins, and Wilson Combat strongly recommends using these when replacing another hammer/trigger off the lower receiver in question.
All critical parts in Wilson Combat’s TTU triggers are made from H13 tool steel, a tough and durable steel alloy that’s extremely resistant to cracking, fissures and thermal fluctuations. Besides its toughness, H13 is also known for its excellent “polishability.” Wilson Combat uses its CNC machinery to cut trigger parts in-house and prior to assembling them, all components machined from H13 are coated with a DLC (diamond like coating) for an additional layer of protection against the harshness of being a part on a hard-use carbine.
The Wilson Combat TTU-H2 was conceived with the help of Paul Howe, a notable firearms training instructor and U.S. combat veteran. Though Wilson Combat offers many styles of TTU, the H2’s (H, because of Mr. Howe) purpose is to provide a two-stage hard-use trigger that has no problem detonating hardened military rifle primers and maintains the ability to positively reset after each shot, which is why TTU-H2s are outfitted with extra-power hammer springs. Their breaking weight is specified to be between 4.5 to 5 pounds to ensure reliable ignition. The width of the trigger face on the TTU-H2 (and the other Wilson TTUs) is a tad wider than the typical AR-15, which gives them a match-trigger feel.
Apparently, these types of triggers are considered not ideal for duty type use, so Wilson Combat includes very stiff bias springs that keep constant tension on the TTU-H2’s hammer and trigger. As extra insurance, the slots for the hammer and trigger pins also include D-shaped springs that securely hold the included pins in place. Also noteworthy is that the disconnector geometry found in these units was inspired by the 1911’s own disconnector.
The TTU-H2 Meets The Conroe
A few weeks ago, I mentioned “The Conroe” in my Lucid E7 review. The Conroe is a large-format 5.56 mm AR pistol whose 12.5 inch upper was built in collaboration with Big Tex Ordnance. Currently, the Conroe’s upper is configured for general-purpose shooting and is wearing a SIG Sauer Romeo4XT-Pro 20mm red-dot sight, with a Law Tactical ARIC carrier sitting inside the receiver. The lower has Law Tactical’s new RAP (Rail Adapter Plate) installed, and clamped to the RAP on this bufferless build is SB Tactical’s folding aluminum FS1913 pistol brace.
My experience with the ARIC has shown me that it runs best with ammunition that run at 5.56 NATO pressures. Keeping in that mind, this large format pistol isn’t set up for precision, as it wears a thin aluminum brace and uses 1X reflex sight, I figured The Conroe’s lower receiver would be an excellent candidate for the Wilson Combat TTU-H2. After all, a very light trigger is irrelevant for this build, and the TTU-H2’s heavy hammer springs reliably ignite stiffer NATO spec primers.
As advertised, installing the TTU-H2 was very straightforward. I just had to finesse the rear supporting “bias springs” that tension the cassette to ensure everything was lined up with the lower’s trigger-pin holes. After the initial installation, the trigger pull felt heavy but consistent. While dry-firing, it’s easy to “sense” the strength of the hammer spring as it slams home into the carrier. And while shooting, the trigger behaved like it should; by that I meant that the reset gave me no issue.
Even though I’ve been dry-firing this pistol, nothing replaces the harshness of a bolt-carrier slamming back into the hammer, because I noticed that the trigger pull started to feel lighter (but consistent) after a few magazines of live rounds, and I suspect some of the carrier’s lubricant also found its way into TTU-H2’s nooks and crannies. My digital trigger pull scale reported that ten trigger pulls averaged out to 3 pounds, 14 ounces. It’s important to keep in mind that measuring trigger pulls with digital scales is nuanced. Changing the point of contact along the trigger’s face will change the number. I try to put pressure on the exact spot where I put pressure with my finger. Moving my scale higher up on the trigger does increase the reading to the low 5-pound range. Either way, Wilson TTU-H2 trigger will remain this smooth while still being able to smack hard NATO primers, and that’s just what I want.
Visit Wilson Combat’s website for additional information on the TTU-H2 or other Wilson Combat Tactical Trigger Units.
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