Trigger Pull.

Caleb talks about trigger pull, and I agree with him. A light trigger pull isn't necessarily a good trigger pull. I've had guns with a light trigger pull that were dangerous. The mechanical linkage between the trigger and the sear has to be good enough that the gun won't go off if it's bumped.

A good trigger should break cleanly with little or no overtravel. Probably the best trigger I own is the single-action break on my Model 28. It breaks clean at about two pounds, but it's very safe.

My Savage rifles have good triggers and I haven't had to adjust any of them. They break at about four pounds, which is a good weight for hunting rifles.

My AR-15, on the other hand, has a lousy trigger. It combines grittiness, overtravel and a heavy pull. It's a stock Bushmaster carbine, but it deserves a better trigger. One of these days I'm going to do something about that.

Hat tip to Say Uncle.