How to prove a trigger is safe

Purple shoulder

Purple shoulder

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I'm just curious what kind of tests make you guys feel a trigger is safe after its been worked on. Im not talking about the safety, but the trigger/sear function. Other than carefully dropping on the but stock, what can you do. I used rubber bands to pull the trigger to the point of nearly breaking and then firmly thumped the stock on the floor. This is a hunting rifle, and therefore must be 100% safe.
 
Slam the bolt closed. Engage safety and test function. With the bolt closed, lift the handle up and slap it down sevral times. I never bother pounding the butt on the floor since it will have little effect on some triggers while it is the downfall of others. Also, it is not a scenario which is likely to happen in the field. If I have reached the point of having to butt-stroke a grizzly, the rifle is probably empty! To me, the primary concerns are that the rifle ALWAYS cocks, the safety ALWAYS works, and the rifle ALWAYS fires when I want it to. Can't ask any more of a trigger. I have other tools more suitable for pounding on the floor so I don't ask the trigger to allow me to use a rifle for that purpose.
 
I should have mentioned I did slam the bolt closed many times to ensure it always cocks, saftey always works, always fires etc. as you suggested. I don't plan on ever banging the stock on anything, I just want to ensure its not going to fire if jarred while hunting. Thanks for the reply.
 
After I adjust a trigger, a drop test is one of the tests I perform to ensure there is sufficient sear engagement. While this might not replicate normal handling, hunting rifles can take some hard knocks in the field, and to me, the drop test provides an additional layer of confidence, that the rifle will only fire when the trigger is pressed. Done correctly, there is no chance of damaging the rifle; I'm not suggesting that a rifle with a plastic butt plate be dropped on a rock or a concrete floor, so I don't see much downside to the practice. The argument that inertia created by a drop test can trip a trigger with greater than usual mass is valid, and even if I neglected to understand that had happened, I'd just end up with a bit more sear engagement than is necessary. In a worse case scenario, I'd get frustrated with the trigger, call it junk, and buy a $400 replacement. But then I'd be happy, the trigger emporium would be happy, and my rifle would pass the drop test.;)
 
I do a slam test, safety test and drop test.

Slam test so striker doesn't follow down. That one is my most common failure but that's because I was crowding the limit in the first place.

Safety test is set safety, pull trigger then flip it off fast and repeat until I get bored. It doesn't hurt to work the bolt a few times in there too. I fixed a few that failed on release, most were brought to me that way. Recently I found a bad safety on a Sako, and it wasn't really because of the trigger adjustment. Even worse it was my own. If I pulled the trigger hard it dropped the striker. Turned out to be the soft piece of sheet metal that passes for a trigger block being a hair too narrow. The fix is to take it apart and hit it with a hammer. Fun to say, not as much fun to do.

I do a drop test, which is just bouncing it on the recoil pad a few times and flipping the safety off briskly. It doesn't cost anything, and at least I know I've done all I can do. The hits aren't very hard, partly because most of my favorite rifles have striker blocking safeties that eliminate the trigger from the equation in the first place.
 
On triggers I have worked lighter and crisper (2 to 2.5 pounds) I slam the bolt shut hard and as quickly as I can... that must hold. I tap lightly on the cocking piece with a light hammer... that must hold. I do the same working the safety on and off. In my opinion it is always up to the owner/operator to control the muzzle and his finger and take more than reasonable care when there is one in the chamber.
 
Similar to what others have already said, instead of a drop test I use a rubber mallet on several key areas - hard enough to simulate a very high (chest / head high) tumble or drop.
 
Try cocking the rifle (unloaded !! ) and then set the safety. Pull the trigger hard and then release the safety with your finger off the trigger. Over the years I have encountered several rifles which would fire upon releasing the safety when tested this way.
 
Drop test is necessary. Several of then. If your rifle has negative sear engagement the sear will slip a little bit with every impact until it goes off. This should be rectified.
 
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