Layman opinion follows: I've never encountered the term in Ohio gun laws. Is there a particular reason why you think there might be a legal definition?
I have yet to come across the term in any form of law... As far as I know it has yet to be mentioned. I know for a fact that AZ makes no mention of it. I'll check it out though, gimme a sec...
Just finished a search of the Westlaw database... "hair trigger" has no legal definition, however, the term has been used in cases, federal and state, in reference to firearms with less than a 2.5lbs trigger weight. Some states may have laws governing a minimum trigger weight... (please see disclaimer in signature)
Considering that gun people can't agree on a definition, a consisten legal definition would be nearly impossible.
Last time I went to Florida, my great uncle took us to the range. He let us shoot his kimber custom 1911. He didn't tell us it had a "hair trigger", scared the living crap out of me!!!! Jesus!!! Ever wonder why some ranges gave holes in strange places... Thats why... After the first shot though, it was fun shooting. I might lower the trigger weight on my glock at some point. (and no, none of those holes are mine, my finger stays off the trigger till I'm on target).
I'm pretty happy with the ghost 3.5 and the wolf 6# spring, but I may still tinker with it to drop some of the "snap"
@ rivalarrival....nothing specific, I intend on replacing the trigger and bar on my ccw (lc9) to shorten the travel. But that makes it an altered weapon which could be a problem if the weapon is ever used to stop Joe schmuckatelli from doing things he shouldn't be doing.
How could that "be a problem"? To me, altering a trigger to make it lighter is making that weapon more accurate. Therefore it could save your life due to better placement. I've never found any case law that addresses this issue.
Just for you guys, I have legal writing this term. So for my class paper I'll do one about altered firearms and court cases. Settle this question once and for all.
I don't buy into this "altered weapon" crap. The only time an altered weapon will matter is if the shooting wasn't justified.
The trigger jobs I do for most are 3.5# jobs and that's far from what I would consider a "hair trigger". I haven't seen anything anywhere about laws governing trigger pull weight.
No legal definition I know of. Biggest issue with any shooting that the lawyers look at is any altering done to the stock weapon. If there was anything done (ie: light trigger, removal of safeties or safety equipment) it opens up a negligence/liability case which is civil and can lead to monetary damages being awarded. Z-
