Background
The CG-Jackson trigger is a Robert Chombart design, like the RPA Quadlock and the Millennium actions. The design has been around awhile, first being made in Australia and then in Great Britain where Peter Jackson refined Chombart’s prototypes and put them into production as the Jackson Rifles trigger. The trigger has been produced and sold in Europe as the Jackson "Universal Match Trigger" for over three years now and it has gained wide acceptance.

Chombart was eager to see his design sold in the US. Unfortunately, Great Britain’s restrictive export laws make the export of finished triggers to the US very problematic. Compounding the problem, current exchange rates would make them very expensive in the US. Chombart then contacted Tom Myers of Cincinnati, Ohio, put him in touch with Jackson and discussions began in the spring of 2007. Myers, a well-known Highpower competitor, runs a precision machine shop, in Cincinnati, Ohio and had all of the specialized machinery needed for full scale production of the triggers. Tom now sells the triggers via his company, X-Treme Shooting Products.

As an initial test, Chombart and Jackson had Myers make some sample sear levers on his wire EDM machinery. Those who know Myers won’t be surprised to learn that the sear levers were better than what Jackson Rifles was currently getting from their local supplier. It didn’t take long after that for a deal to be struck for the triggers to be manufactured in the US in their entirety. No expense has been spared in manufacturing. The trigger features a hard anodized aluminum case, stainless steel fasteners, ball bearings at all friction points and D-2 tool steel sear levers heat treated to 58 Rockwell C and wire EDM cut to .001" tolerance. The CG-Jackson trigger has 3/16" tool steel sear levers, which can stand up to a lot more abuse than a rimfire trigger. While failures of Anschütz triggers on centerfire actions aren’t common on a properly done installation (for instance by Warner Tool Co.), there are many less professional installations out there that have had problems. I think the CG-Jackson trigger may avoid the potential problems seen with some Anschütz installation. The CG-Jackson offers a more robust trigger with the same or better feel and a drop-in installation.

Installation
I installed the CG-Jackson trigger on a Remington 40X action for this review. The installation was very simple. The trigger pins are installed before the trigger itself, which makes holding the bolt stop and spring in place much simpler than with a conventional arrangement. Once the pins are in place, the trigger is hooked on the rear pin, pivoted into place and the tensioning screw tightened into the captive nut on the front pin. This arrangement ensures that the trigger is positively located in the receiver with no movement whatsoever. Consistency of trigger operation is materially enhanced by this feature.

For all of its benefits, that front tensioning screw presents one difficulty; albeit a minor one. The stock inletting will typically have to be deepened in the area of the screw. On my stock, it took a 0.150" cut on a mill which was accomplished in ten minutes including set up time. The cut could have been made with hand tools or even a Dremel tool for those who are so inclined. Myers has announced that he will also be producing a version of the trigger without the tensioning screw, using conventional pin mounting, for those who prefer not to do any inletting.

Performance
The CG-Jackson trigger is available in a range of pull weight from 500 grams to 1600 grams (about 1.1 lb. to 3.5 lb.). I requested a 500 gram version as my preference is for a lighter pull. However, through a relatively simple spring change, any weight within the range can be set for any trigger. The installation instructions include very detailed adjustment procedures should that become necessary. In my case, all that was needed was a small adjustment of the optional overtravel adjustment.

Dry firing the trigger several dozen times before going to the range showed a perfect consistency in the weight of pull and the feel of the trigger; I looked forward to some live fire with it.

I shot a 60-shot, 500-yard prone match with the 40X in 6BR and the CG-Jackson trigger and was very satisfied with its performance. In tricky conditions, I shot a 597-36X with a 3900 round old 6BR barrel. The trigger performed flawlessly, with no detectable variation in the weight or feel of the mechanism. I asked several other competitors at the match to try the trigger and they were all very favorably impressed with it. The next day, I shot another match with a centerfire action with an Anschütz trigger; there was a noticeable difference, and it was certainly in favor of the CG-Jackson which broke with a cleaner feel. While this test was somewhat limited, about 70 rounds fired with each trigger over two days, the CG-Jackson trigger showed its capabilities and I believe it will be the one against which others are measured in the future.

The CG-Jackson trigger comes with a gold anodized trigger shoe in one of two forms--either a deeply curved model, or a straight model that can be reversed to present a slightly curved surface. My trigger has the straight version and it was comfortable; however, I opted to replace it with an aftermarket shoe of the same pattern as I use on other rifles. The CG-Jackson trigger will accept any trigger shoe made for Anschütz triggers; accordingly, you will have no trouble finding something that fits your desires as there are dozens of aftermarket Anschütz pattern trigger shoes.

Price and Production Availability It's Pricey, but Costs Less than an Anschütz Conversion The most expensive CG Jackson trigger is the Remington with safety and bolt release; MSRP is $330. For the plain version without safety and bolt release, MSRP is $300. This trigger is designed to go head to head against the Anschütz for highpower rifles. With dealer cost for an Anschütz at over $300 and then the cost to modify the rifle and hang the trigger, the CG-Jackson is very cost effective at $300 vs. over $500 for a potentially weaker Anschütz conversion. Production Myers is starting production with the Remington version (including many custom actions such as Nesikas, Pandas etc). He is also now producing RPA Quadlock triggers. He has a completed prototype of a Remington tactical trigger that fits in on 2 pins (like a factory Remington or Jewell) and will have a 3 position safety. Production for that one is slated for this summer. He is also working on the Winchester Model 70 for later in the year. Barnards are on the horizon but since they come with a decent trigger, it probably won't happen until next year. CLICK Photos to Enlarge Image Remington 40X no safety Remington 700 PSS with safety and bolt release Stolle Panda (Rem Clone Trigger) Nesika Bay "K" (Rem Clone)

TOPICS: Trigger, CG, CG Universal, Jackson Rifles, Robert Chombart, Tom Myers, Millenium, Barnard, RPA, Quadlite, Quadlock, prone, highpower, two-stage, trigger shoe, Anschutz, match, br, benchrest, bench rest, 6BR, 6mm, 6mmBR, 6mm Norma, Remington, 6PPC, .243, accuracy, accurate, barrel, twist,bullet, caliber, gun, gunpowder, gunstock, powder, primers, reloader, reloading, RCBS, Dillon, CCI, rifle, rifling, scope, target, target shooting, precision, high-power, shooting sports, Jewell trigger, 300m, 600 yard, Palma, 1000 yard, 1000yd.