stop ledge 54 on hammer 30 as link 32 rotates about link pivot pin 38 fig8 shows a close up view of end of the first stage of rearward travel of trigger 20 as shown in fig7 fig9 amp 10 show the second stage of rearward travel of trigger 20 now that the link 32 can no longer rotate relative to the hammer 30 the continued rearward travel of the trigger 20 causes the link nose 40 to slide up the cocking notch 31 of the trigger 20 when the link nose 40 finally clears the cocking notch 31 the hammer 30 is released to travel forward powered by springs that have been compressed in hammer spring plunger 36 during the first stage of trigger travel in preferred embodiments of the invention the force required to pull the trigger to the end of the first stage is approximately 5 pounds the load thereafter immediately increases to approximately 8 pounds just before the hammer is released this three pound difference provides a clear tactile indication to the shooter that the hammer is in pending release so the final aim can be made just before the weapon is fired trigger assemblies of the invention thus provide the gunner with improved hit probability over those that do not provide the tactile feel of impending release one of the major features of trigger assembly 18 is that it accomplishes its task within a very small front to back.