Trigger Jobs On Modern Guns

Remember the good old days? Used to happen every time a customer would walk in lugging along gun and announcing it had a rough trigger. Knowing the correction wouldn’t demand countless man hours. I’d tell the lugger, "No huge problem," and take in the job.

Back then, I knew all I had to do was detail disassemble the firing system, slip on my Optivisor, locate the rough spots, smooth them away with fine and superfine polishing grits, air blow away any grit residue, lightly lube all internal parts, reassemble the system, and test fire. That was then, when firing systems resembled the old locks in muzzle loaders and replacement parts for them were readily available. Fortunately, they still are.

With the exception of replica black powder models, "back then" is making a beeline toward extinction. My first hint of this came my way quite a few years back with the introduction of owner-adjustable trigger pulls. I get at least a dozen guns in from major manufacturers and importers every year for articles appearing here. Signs that "parts prohibition" was looming began showing up in the form of an epoxy-like material blocking any entry within the trigger housing.

The blockage is most apparent with owner-adjustable trigger screws. The stuff doing the blocking is proprietary to the individual manufacturer. The same is true of the dollop of color announcing the presence of the blockage to all observers. Both these measures exhibit a visual alarm to factory service personnel that the firing system may have been tampered with beyond acceptable pull adjustments. By whom and when doesn’t matter.

Some unknown has been foolish enough to believe overcoming these barriers and violating the integrity of a trigger mechanism are mere child’s play. They are not. And anything as easily perceived as damaged epoxy or a dollop of the wrong color risks cancellation of any warranty. A Let ’ s avoid the lost warranty trap. Take a closer look at the housing. You may find other holes through its walls and can ignore the trigger The only specialized tooling required was a mainspring vise (A).

To date, that much remains true. Brownells stocks an identical copy of it. adjustment screw with its secret epoxy and dollop of color. That happens to be my choice for staying out of the trap. If you decide otherwise there are other options to take. The first and most assured is to send the gun back to the factory or importer with a note citing the rough trigger and requesting replacement of the offending OEM trigger with a complete, new assembly.

The second is to order in a complete, new OEM trigger and install it yourself. In most cases a major domestic manufacturer goes along with either of the first two. Only some importers will do the same. A third option requires scouting Brownells for a selection of modelspecific aftermarket trigger assemblies, choosing and installing it yourself, and charging the client for all costs involved, including installation, prior to returning the firearm to the client’s possession.

Add to the catalog scouting and subsequent purchase small plastic bottles wearing caps with needles of very small internal diameter attached. Some of these bottles are smooth sided, others have ridges. Ridges enable collapsing of the bottle when forcing the polishing/oil mix out the small nozzle. None of either design demand gorilla strength to squeeze. I’ve found both bottle styles to be very handy in my shop and inventory more than one of each. All remain active in my stash of gunsmith tooling.

On others, the screw is in the rear of the housing. Note the additional holes in the housing that can serve as substitutes for introducing polishing slurries to internal components. There’s plenty of room to get at what needs to be got at inside so your polishing slurries can make things slicker than they were. More regarding an aftermarket trigger risk. When it has been produced by a reputable facility long known for quality, the risk of poor performance is minimal.

Better, danger of injury to the gun owner or nearby non-owner due to malfunction is nil. Just remember the terrible mistake I once made. Only once and never again. A pre-64 Winchester Model 70 had suffered terrible barrel damage. My customer insisted on a factory-made replacement barrel and a suitable Timney trigger. I wasn’t very wise in acquiescing to additional client pressure and installed the trigger prior to returning the barreled action to a nearby Authorized Factory Service center.

When the rifle came back there was no doubt the new barrel was Winchester. Nor was there doubt the action wore a brand new Winchester Model 70 trigger. There was no trace of the Timney. Lesson learned. Never again did I forward a barreled action to anyone for any reason after an aftermarket trigger had been installed. And I never will. Instead, I remove the replacement and reinstall the OEM which I keep inventoried apart from the aftermarket unit prior to shipping.

I now have a pretty large collection of OEM triggers awaiting a reunion with their respective OEM rifles. Smoothing Inaccessible Triggers Take what follows very seriously. This method of smoothing up an imprisoned or unfamiliar trigger system has worked well for me but it must be done exactly as it will be described. No extra anythings. No taking the procedure too far. Polishing can always help gritty or improperly machined parts. Excessive amounts of it can result in nasty consequences.

These include sear bounce causing a dramatic, often nerve-shattering jump to full automatic in semi-auto weapons. The same excess, though not normally related to a bouncing sear, can render the safety system of any gun useless. Take it easy. Frequent testing is advised. Trial lawyers may begin their "accidental discharge" list of defendants with the deeper pocketed manufacturer but usually involve the names of everyone who has touched the firearm. You have been warned.

For the elements required, you’ll need low viscosity baby oil, two buffing/polishing bars, a couple of squeezable plastic bottles wearing needles in their caps, another plastic squeeze bottle that looks like a bellows (when filled and compressed quickly from bottom to top it can knock a fly off a wall six feet away), and a container of mineral spirits. I typically use three sizes of pseudo-hypodermic syringes, which are ideal for flushing away polishing residue and refilling small plastic bottles.

Mineral spirits and lightweight baby oil are commonly available at local drug or hardware stores. If it is discovered there is no lightweight baby oil in stock, purchase regular baby oil and thin it with mineral spirits. While you’re scanning the hardware inventory, select an epoxy that will finally set close to the same color as used by the factory. Check for a supply of pigments to mix up and match that tell-tale dollop color in your shopping. Should you be denied access to the pigments, snort quietly to

Pictured here area needle-top plastic bottle, a ribbed bellows-style bottle, a cap for the bellows bottle, ared polishing bar (A) and a white polishing bar (B). All are stocked by Brownells. The paint thinner (mineral spirits) can be had at a local hardware or paint supplies store. express your indignation and set out for the nearest art supplies retailer. They will have in stock both tubes of oil paints and water-base paints. Either will perform well.

I suggest topping off any water-base dollop with a quick squirt of clear, non-glossy aerosol spray to defend against moisture damage. Most of the required elements will be locally available or from Brownells. Additional items area shop-made 1/2" diameter, 6" long hard wood dowel with a rounded end. Cold rolled steel of the same dimensions would be better because it is stronger, but either works as your personal, possibly everlasting, polish-and-base blending/refining tool. Now for the step-by-step how to.

The black or brown buffing/polishing bars could be too aggressive for initial polishing. Whether this holds to be worthy of your concern depends upon the depth of the existing damage or roughness. See the fragile side of the decision to restrict parts? There isn’t a better way to confirm Bor deny the presence of damage in a used component than by comparing it with a pristine, unused example of the same component.

Since most trigger parts closely relate to the actions in shoulder mounted hunting guns, they presently are restricted. Because I can no longer make the direct comparison between new and old I’m unable to establish or even estimate the depth of damage. Generally, I choose to start with red and finish with white. I’ve come to firmly believe my risk is reduced by making that practice a habit. The lightweight baby oil comes close to matching the viscosity of powder solvent.

Whether you have chosen to access the innards of the housing via the trigger adjustment or some other opening, soften up any fouling on the captive components with a couple squeeze bottles full of mineral spirits. Filter any overflow of mineral spirits in to another, unused squirt bottle. Repeat at 15 minute intervals or until there’s no evidence of dirt being reinjected. Use a fine file on one end of the red bar. Build up a pile of particles the diameter and thickness of a quarter.

A plastic lid from a container of the same material will hold the filings until you dump them into the container itself. Fill one of the needletop bottles with mineral spirits. From that bottle begin adding a few drops of liquid at a time. Blend and mix. Bear down in the process to reduce the particles to near talcum powder size. More drops. More blending and mixing. Your goal is to end with a third of the needle-top bottle filled with a slurry that will pass through the needle.

A The cycle of dry firing for any rifle action is the same for red or white polishing slurries. For centerfires, insert an empty, unprimed, fired case. For rimfires, at least protect the extractor cut in the barrel with a tiny wad of duct tape. Be sure to flush out the mechanism prior to switching from red to the whitebased mixture. The dry firing "course of fire" when these initial polishing mixtures are being applied is as follows: Cycle the action and pull the trigger 25 times. No more, no less. Flush.

Test for improvement. If none, reapply the red mixture. Cycle and pull 20 times. No more, no less. Flush, then retest. Switch to the white mixture. Cycle and pull 20 times, then flush. If no roughness is present, stop. Flush, blow air dry, and lightly lube. Never forget you aren’t actually reducing the trigger pull and only trying to make that pull feel lighter by making it slicker. And that’s what you set out to do. No more, no less. AG