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In my Glock 19 review, I mentioned that I don’t necessarily take a manufacturer’s word for the specifications of a gun. That is, I have some basic tools around to measure things for myself. I’m not exactly 100% on every review measuring every little detail, but, for the most part, I check things over myself.
In the interest of openness, and if someone wants to measure their own stuff, here’s a list/review of the tools I use.
Table of Contents
Lyman trigger pull gauge.
It’s pretty much what it says. You extend out the rod at the top. Turn it 90°, and pull the trigger with it. I do five pulls, then push that little AVG button and it gives me average of the five pulls.
It has a max test weight of 12 pounds. That covers everything I have, including a Taurus Judge.
You do have to be careful to try to pull the same (not fast) speed and angle every time but it’s not hard. It does work best if you have a clamp or vise to put the gun in to minimize your input changes.
CLR, unsurprisingly, clears the memory for a new set.
I’ve tested all my review guns, and most of my others, using this gauge. Except one: my NAA Mini-revolver. I just couldn’t fit the end of the rod onto the tiny little nub of a trigger on that one.
I turned it on for this picture; it has an automatic turn off. I haven’t sat here with a stop watch but I’d say about three minutes is when it turns off.
I bought this in March 2021, and I’m on the original set of two AAAs that came with it. Note on that; they seem to have changed it a bit. When I looked on Amazon, it now says it works on a single 9V, which is not included.
>> Get at Amazon <<
>> Brownell’s also has them <<
Etekcity kitchen scale.
This is a basic kitchen scale. I’m sure its designers had no inkling it might be used to measure firearm things. But it works well for this. The only thing to watch out for is that you have a number of units available. It works best if you’re on ounces, since very few firearms fit in the milliliter or fluid ounce categories. The T1000, maybe.
Operation is beyond simple. Button on the left turns it on/zeroes it. Button on the right sets the measuring units. It turns itself off after about 30 seconds.
It does come with two AAAs, and, like the Lyman, I bought it in March 2021, and haven’t changed the batteries.
>> Pick up at Amazon <<
Neiko digital caliper.
Also, pretty self-explanatory. It lets me measure precisely and easily.
All the controls are what you see. ON/OFF, ZERO, and the mm/inch switch. The knob at the top will lock the caliper in place. The wheel looking thing at the bottom right of the boxy part is just a roller.
You can see the battery compartment just to the right of the screen. The battery itself is an LR44. It came with two and I’ve already replaced one; they are actually pretty inexpensive batteries, at least on Amazon.
The only catch I’ve run into is user error. For some reason I want to put my thumb on the battery compartment to move the slider. That’s not a good idea. I’ve had to go track the battery down off the floor several times. Use the little knurled part next to the roller on the bottom of the slider.
I bought it the same time as I bought the prior two tools. Its automatic turn off is about five minutes.
>> Buy now at Amazon <<
Tape measure.
Yep. Just a basic tape measure. The calipers only go out to 6″, so if something is longer/taller than that I have to use the basics.
Not really much to say about this; you almost certainly already have one somewhere. This particular one is a 10 footer, which will measure anything I have or am likely to get. For handguns, even one of the little key chain 3 – 6 footers would be plenty. Something like this one on Amazon.
Conclusion.
As you can see, none of these are terribly expensive or difficult to use. The only one that requires a modicum of skill is the Lyman, and that’s more about consistency, consistency, and practice.
If you want to do your own measurements, then go pick one of these up. Even if I wasn’t writing reviews, I’d find them interesting. Especially the trigger pull gauge.
