I have been jones-ing for a target trigger since I bought my DPMS 308B, but I too placed reliability over tight groups. I polished out the stock contact points on the trigger assembly with my rouged strop. That converted the feel of my stock trigger from a notchy "rough sand in the Vaseline" feel to "a smooth mile long pull" with a fairly crisp break. All in all better than stock, but far from ideal when you are attempting to tighten groups.
At a recent range trip, one of the centurion shooters next to me was punching dime sized groups with his DPMS 308. After leaching some of his millennium of shooting experience including discussions on best loads and trigger options, he asked me to sit down and give his DMPS 308T trigger a tug. IT WAS AWESOME and broke like a glass rod. Needless to say I was stunning that I was not pulling on a customer target trigger. He asked me if I would pay $50 for that trigger and I nodded gleefully as if one of Heffner's Playmates had just asked if I would like to see her nude.
What I was pulling on was a $50 Bill Springfield - TriggerWork.net trigger job. The elder had added the extra 3.5lb trigger pull option for bench target work, but I chose standard 4.5lb pull.
The process is simple. Pull your trigger assembly, follow the directions on his site, and what you get back is a tuned trigger that offers both stock reliability with custom tuned target trigger performance. I sent mine on Monday and had it back from within 4 days. Typically he says a week, and not sure how this is possible unless he has a shop in the back of the Post Office, but it was a stunning fast turn around.
The take-up is accomplished by a tuned weld spot at the back of the trigger bar and the hammer trigger lockup is hand tuned to provide a tight crisp trigger pull without noticeable take-up. What Bill does is not highly complex but it is highly talented. An idiot with a welder and a metal file is similarly equipped from a tool perspective, however Bill's skill is evident as soon as you pull the trigger. I have seen some online attempts to replicate what Bill does, and they end up buying new triggers after they screw up their home trigger project. For the cost of a stock trigger group, you can have a target grade option.
I also opt'ed for the "Speed Hammer" option in which Bill removes the hammer spur. This options increases reliability and ignition on stuburn primers as well as reducing lock time for improved accuracy. Honestly this is a stunning deal and provides all the benefits of a custom trigger without the headaches. Highly recommended. Tell Bill MajorPandemic sent you.
Shown below is my stock trigger removed for shipment to Bill and below that is the post-mode speed hammer shown installed.
