Converting Remington Safeties To Left-Hand Operation

Many lefties have little choice but to use a right-handed gun, and are forced to fumble with a safety made for the other 90 percent of the population. If, however, the left-handed owner of a Remington firearm asks if you can convert his safety, your answer, in many cases, should be an emphatic "yes." This conversion can be done with nothing more than a drill press and some careful work with a file or rotary tool.

The left-hand safety conversion detailed here will cover the trigger plates for numerous shotguns and rifles. The shotguns include the Model 870, 878, SPT-58, 1100, and 11-48. The rifles that can be converted include the Model 740, 742, 7400, 4, 760, 76, 7600, and 6. In addition, the rimfire rifle Models 552 and 572 can also be converted to a left-handed safety in a similar manner.

Removing the Trigger Assembly For the abovementioned firearms, there are two retaining pins that retain the trigger assembly in the receiver. These pins are pushed out of place quite easily. Once you have the trigger group free of the receiver, we need to remove the safety and its components. Place apiece of tape over the entrance hole in the top rear tang of the triggerguard before you drift out the safety-spring retaining pin with a 3/32-inch punch.

This will contain the spring and keep it from launching up and out of the trigger plate. With the retaining pin removed, the safety spring and detent ball can then be removed. Once those parts have been taken out, the safety itself can be removed. Plugging the Hole At this point, we need to plug the hole that captures the safety spring and safety-detent ball. This hole will run from about .140 to .145 inch in diameter. An aluminum plug should be made up to fit this hole as closely as possible.

If you have access to a metalturning lathe, it’s a simple matter to turn an aluminum plug .142 inch in diameter and around one inch long. I’ve made aluminum plugs out of .187inch (3/16) aluminum rod, broken .22-caliber aluminum cleaning rods, #10-32 aluminum threaded rod, #10- 32 aluminum bolts, and even alumi-

num nails that are used for cedar shingles. They all work equally well. If you don’t have access to a metal lathe, the needed diameter can be achieved using your drill-press chuck and a smooth-cut file. Working very carefully, check your progress often with a micrometer and make sure you are wearing eye protection. Once you’ve made the safetyspring hole plug, check it for fit and make sure it protrudes a little bit at the top of the trigger-plate tang and into the safety hole.

When the fit is right, it will need to be installed permanently into the trigger plate. I’ve used either Loctite 277 (high-strength, permanent) or Acra-weld epoxy to bond this plug; both will work equally well. Allow the bond to set up for a couple of days. After the plug is permanently affixed to the trigger plate and the bond has set up, we need to clear out the safety and safety-spring retaining-pin holes. I made up an aluminum plate that will hold the trigger plate flat or upright for the next couple of steps.

This fixture is nothing more than a 3- 1/2 inch-high by 2-1/2-inch-wide aluminum plate, 3/4-inch thick that has had a 1/4-28 hole tapped through it at the upper right-hand corner. In use, the trigger plate has a 1/4-28 bolt going through the rear trigger-assembly pin hole that secures it into the receiver. It’s very important to maintain perpendicularity of the triggerplate to your drill press chuck while the safety and safety-spring retainingpin holes are opened up.

The safety-spring retaining-pinhole will need to be opened up using a #37 (.104) drill. The hole in the trigger plate through which the safety fits will require that a four-flute 11/32-inch-diameter end mill with a 3/8-inch shank be used. The end mill has a flat bottom face and will cut straight down. If an 11/32-inch drill bit is used, there is the chance that the drill will wallow out the sides of the safety hole and cause a sloppy fit.

Therefore, the use of the end mill is preferred, as the four flutes stabilize much better in the hole. Drilling the New Hole We now have the original safety-spring and detent-ball hole plugged, and the safety-spring retaining-pin hole and safety hole opened up to where they were before we glued the plug in place. The next step will be to drill anew hole into the top rear tang of the trigger plate so the safety will work for our left-handed customer.

From the very outside edge of the trigger plate, we need to measure from that outside edge to the right 13/32 inch and scribe a short line. Next, measure 1/8 inch back from the shelf rear face, exactly in front of where we plugged the old safety-spring hole (continued on page 21)

AGARAD4 Armorer’s course, AMG version pick up from 4/05 issue

AGARAD4 Armorer’s course, AMG version pick up from 4/05 issue

and scribe another small line. These two lines should intersect at the spot where we need to drill the new hole for the safety spring. Using a sharp center punch, dimple a spot where these two lines intersect. To prevent drill-walking, I prefer Binder Ad (p/u from page 18, AGM-August 05) to use a center drill to get this hole started. If you’ve made a holding fixture as describe above for the triggerplate, now would be the time to secure the trigger plate on it.

Alternatively, you could use a drill-press vise’just as long as the jaws are protected with either strips of leather or plastic and the trigger-guard bow has been taped up to prevent damage. With a small level, get the top face of the rear tang of the trigger plate as level as possible. Spot the intersect point that has been dimpled with your center drill. Remove the center drill and replace it with either a 9/64 (.1406) or #28 (.1405) drill.

Feed this drill into the spotted hole and down until this drill goes through to the center of the safety hole’and then quit. Clean up the triggerplate of any aluminum chips from the drilling, and reassemble the trigger plate. This time, however, you can insert the safety into the left side of the trigger plate. Conclusions This is not a difficult job to pull off, once the plug has been bonded into place. It can be done quickly and safely if you take your time and make your measurements accurately.

And your friends and customers of the southpaw persuasion will no doubt be impressed and pleased. I