After copying it repeatedly in various online discussions, I finally decided to clean up my HK LEM vs. SIG DAK comments and post them here as an article. For those who are trying to decide between the two, hopefully this quick guide will help you determine which is the best choice for your personal shooting goals.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
I love my DAK P239. But I had to learn the trigger. Two resets. Nearest one is quick, but give std DA trigger weight. The longest one gives the sweet DAK trigger!
Nice article, great info, thanks Todd
I think the best trigger would be one with a nice mechanical action “feel” like the classic Sig line, new p250, or other high quality German actions from the 80’s but in the “form” of the LEM trigger: consistent poundage with the initial long lightish staged take up for increased margin of safety. Such a trigger does not exist?
HKs current LEM triggers tend to be imprecise, “mushy,” and not very mechanical at all but not nearly as bad as their DA/SA or DAO offerings. The Sig DAK while feeling more mechanical and precise is ruined with the dual stage reset (the first way too heavy!) that is positively not logical to me–their improvement is the P250 long double action only? That P250 trigger has a nice feel but that long reset and take up every time is lousy for real practical performance on follow up shots. The point of the better thought out LEM it seems is too have the “safety” benefits of the DA long first stroke without the poundage being too much so one can have the benefit for rapid fire and precision shooting of SA only hammer systems. Sig should have seen this and done a better job. SRT on the Sig is an improvement but offer this with a DAK improved to be like the LEM like trigger not just DA/SA!
Walther improved on striker actions with their now coined Anti Stress trigger which can be run in a LEM trigger like long SA mode. (I wonder if Todd has shot this system?) But also has a Quick Action with is essentially (I think) a higher poundage glock like trigger.
A large issue with the mechanical SA with manual safety actions/triggers like the 1911 (which everone goes gaga over for shootabilty) is the having to actuate the safety on and off and the trigger being perhaps too light for LEO work if you are a burly bit of an oaf. If you forget the safety you may be toast for firing or reholstering and it also can slow down a presentation. LEM replaces the manual safety with the takeup, external hammer (for safe reholstering), and high enough poundage at the break point.
BTW Anything over 8 pounds really really defeats good shooting characteristics IMO–which paradoxically makes it harder to remain safely on target! Why HK does not make the variant 4 available in the US with the 6lb trigger seems weird. Glocks are ok with the 6lb why does HK have to add the extra lbs with the long takeup which Glocks dont have in the first place?