HIPERFIRE EDT Trigger Review (Designated Marksman)

Are you looking for an affordable trigger that's a solid upgrade over a Mil-Spec trigger? We might have found a great option.

In this Hiperfire EDT review, I'll try to answer all the questions you have about this trigger.

Hiperfire EDT Review: Basic Information

The Hiperfire EDT (Enhanced Duty Trigger) series comes in three primary options: the EDT Sharp Shooter, the EDT Designated Marksman, and the EDT Heavy Gunner. All of these triggers are single stage semi-automatic triggers, and like all Hiperfire products, they're made in the USA.

Each trigger comes with two hammer springs to choose between, offering a 4.5+ lb pull weight or a 5.5+ lb pull weight.

As the "Enhanced Duty Trigger" name suggests, these triggers are primarily marketed as upgrades for duty rifles or for personal defense rifles.

While this is unlikely to be relevant to most of you reading this, I'll note that Hiperfire also offers a select-fire EDT trigger.

Why I'm Reviewing This Trigger

I was first introduced to Hiperfire triggers when I purchased the Faxon FX5500 Ultralight AR-15, which comes with the Designated Marksman trigger. This rifle has become a favorite of mine when I make it out to outdoor ranges (the muzzle brake is too obnoxious to shoot indoors).

Many of the parts Faxon used in the FX5500 are now go-to parts for my AR builds when I'm not testing other parts for the sake of reviewing them. As I've discussed in our best AR-15 stocks guide and best lower parts guide, I'm a huge fan of the MFT Minimalist Stock and Radian Talon Safety Selector.

My love for this rifle did not stop there, however, as I've also really enjoyed the EDT Designated Marksman they chose to include with it.

I decided to buy another Designated Marksman from Brownells for the sake of this review and as an upgrade to a rifle we recently built using all of our favorite budget parts. This rifle, shown below, was built with a BCM Mil-Spec trigger.

I chose the Designated Marksman rather than a different EDT because I'm a huge fan of the way it feels compared to more curved triggers. In other words, I bought another one of these triggers because I already really liked the one I had, so much so that I wanted to give it a dedicated review.

What's Included and Installation

Here's what shows up when you buy a Hiperfire EDT:

• Trigger
• Hammer
• Disconnector
• Green Hammer Spring (4.5+ lb)
• Red Hammer Spring (5.5+ lb)
• Two 0.154" Diameter Pins
• AR Disconnector Spring
• AR Trigger Spring
• Drift Pin
• Assembly Pin

Installation of the EDT trigger is essentially what you can expect from any standard AR-15 trigger. I didn't include it in the picture, but you'll also receive very clear and detailed instructions, which really help during installation.

As you can see from the picture above, the disconnector, disconnector spring, and trigger spring are already put together and held by an assembly pin. To install, all you have to do is push the drift pin through your lower receiver, pushing out the assembly pin, and then follow the drift pin with one of the 0.154" pins provided.

You can then choose from either the 4.5 lb or 5.5 lb hammer springs, place it on your hammer, and then push a 0.154" pin through your receiver and the hammer—the same way you would for any stock AR-15 hammer.

I did have to remove my safety selector (which requires removing your pistol grip) to be able to install this. All together though, removing the old trigger assembly and installing the new one only took about 10-15 minutes.

This was all done in my office while watching a podcast, using just the drift pin and a screwdriver (to remove the pistol grip). If you have access to roll pins and a rubber mallet, it would make removing an old trigger and installing this one a bit easier.

Pull Weight and Trigger Pull

After completing the installation with the green 4.5+ lb hammer spring, I measured the trigger pull weight with my Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gauge. I measured it 5 times and got an average of 4 lbs and 10.4 oz. It's also worth noting that the recorded weights were very consistent, varying by just a few ounces.

Since I did this in my office (without a vise, etc.), I didn't have enough hands to record video of my measurements, so you'll have to take my word for it.

If anything though, I'd expect the recorded average to be a bit high considering the lack of a vise. Remember this is also a brand new trigger, so the trigger pull weight could decrease slightly as it gets "broken in".

The EDT in my Faxon rifle, which has been shot about 5,000+ rounds, averaged out to 4 lbs and 11 oz, though there's a silver hammer spring used in that one so I'm not even sure what the pull weight is supposed to be.

As you can see in the video below, there's a slight pre-travel with the trigger, though it actually took me a few tries to pull lightly enough three times in a row to display it.

There is also a strong reset felt at the initial starting position after covering the full distance of the pull.

Comparison to a Mil-Spec Trigger (BCM PNT)

For comparison, let's take a look at the BCM PNT Mil-Spec trigger I replaced. In my experience, this is actually one of the best Mil-Spec triggers.

Before removing it from my rifle, I recorded the average trigger pull weight of 5 pulls (again using my Lyman gauge). It averaged out to 5 lbs and 8.7 oz.

I'm actually incredibly surprised by this because the EDT trigger feels a lot lighter. A LOT lighter.

Perhaps it's that 14.3 oz makes more of a difference than you would expect, or maybe it's the shape of the Designated Marksman trigger, but I can definitely shoot a lot faster, more comfortably, and more accurately with the EDT compared to the BCM PNT.

I'm a huge BCM fanboy, so if anything, I would be biased towards BCM, but the difference between these triggers is night and day in my opinion.

The EDT For a Self-Defense Rifle

This is the point of this Hiperfire EDT Trigger review where I'm going to answer your most pressing question: Is it a good choice for a self-defense setup or a duty rifle?

Well on the subject of my love for BCM, let's take a look at my current self-defense and all around AR-15 set up. If there were a zombie apocalypse tomorrow... or if someone just broke into my house, this would be my choice of firearm.

It has an 11.5" BCM upper, BCM BCG, and a Geissele Super Dynamic Combat Trigger.

The $240 Geissele double stage trigger is awesome, but after taking a closer look, I'm actually considering swapping it for the far more affordable EDT Designated Marksman.

First of all, I'm beginning to think I prefer a single stage trigger to a double stage trigger for a weapon I want to rely on for home defense. When firing multiple fast shots, I have the bad habit of letting double stage triggers travel too far on the reset, past where they need to for follow up shots. This negatively affects the speed at which I can fire multiple shots.

I could, of course, train past this, but it's difficult when I'm constantly shooting different guns. A single stage trigger also feels more natural to me and therefore might be better for a high-pressure situation.

So why not buy a higher-end single stage trigger from Hiperfire or another top manufacturer?

The pull weight of the EDT feels about perfect to me for high-pressure situations. It's light enough for multiple fast shots, without diving into the realm of being a "hair trigger" that I could pull by accident under pressure. Again, I likely could train past this and practice good trigger control, but you never know what might happen under pressure.

I'm going to run some drills to compare them my next time out to the range, but it really does seem that the EDT could be optimal as a self-defense or duty trigger.

Hiperfire EDT Trigger Review Summary

The Hiperfire EDT series of triggers are perfect for home defense or as duty triggers. They're a huge upgrade over even the best Mil-Spec triggers without being "too light" like some triggers that are better kept to competitive shooting.

Speaking of competition triggers, after using the Hiperfire EDT trigger for thousands of rounds, I'm excited to test out some of Hiperfire's higher-end trigger options.