I just finished my 500th trigger job and the number kind of hit me

I've been doing this for about eight years now, mostly working on hunting rifles and some competition stuff. I was cleaning up my bench yesterday and counted all my work orders, and it came out to exactly 500 trigger jobs. It made me think about how much muscle memory I've built up for different sear angles. Do you guys ever track a specific type of work you do, and does it change how you see your own skill level?

3 comments

3 Comments

murray.abby1mo ago

Honestly, counting jobs seems like a weird way to measure skill. Tbh, you could do 500 mediocre trigger jobs and still have bad habits. Muscle memory just means you're fast, not that you're good. Real skill is about fixing the weird problems that come up once in a thousand guns, not just repeating the same easy task.

nina14718d ago

Reminds me of a guy who rebuilt the same carburetor for years. Could do it blindfolded in ten minutes, but put a different model in front of him and he was totally lost.

lily_dixon271mo ago

Counting jobs like that shows a real dedication to the craft. It's not just about the number, it's about the consistent quality you've delivered over time. That kind of milestone builds a quiet confidence money can't buy.