Tuning Up the Bold Premium Trigger for the Small-Ring Mauser

"m I constantly fine tuning my custom-built Swedish M96 small-ring Mauser. This is a bench rifle so a very light trigger-pull weight is favorable. But trying to find a lightweight aftermarket target trigger for the smallring M96 can be frustrating, since most of the high quality target triggers on the market are for M98 large-ring Mauser. However, I discovered t small-ring Mausers, and I purchased the Bold Model #OP’94/96 with the outside safety.

The Bold trigger is of very good quality, highly adjustable, and proved to be quite easy to fine tune. My goal was to tune this trigger down to one pound of pull weight, and I was able to make it perform as well as triggers that cost three times as much. The Bold Triggers sell for under $40 retail. They’re made to fit rifles from various manufacturers as a dropin replacement, and they’re adjustable for creep, overtravel, sear engagement, and pull weight.

The factory minimum pull on these triggers is 2.7 pounds, which is actually quite heavy for precise target or varmint work. I’ll explain in a moment what I did to modify the trigger (while keeping all the needed safety functions). Keep in mind, however, that this modification will void the manufacturer’s warranty.

Modifying the Trigger-Pull Weight It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the firearm must be unloaded when installing the aftermarket trigger, and at all times when any tuning is done on the trigger. Once the trigger is installed on the action using the instructions included with the Bold trigger for your specific firearm, you can proceed with the following tuning process. First remove the front upper Allenhead screw.

This is the creep and pull-weight spring tension. (On my trigger, I found this spring to have a slight burr on one end, which I cleaned 1 up.) To reduce the tension weight of the spring (and thus produce a trigger lighter than 2.7 pounds), I slipped the spring over a small round screwdriver shaft so that it would spin freely, and ran it gently across my bench grinder to reduce the outside diameter of the spring. This must be done in small increments, so go slowly and feel your way along.

A pass across a wire wheel will smooth out any roughness on the spring. After that I lightly lubed the now-reduced spring with CLP (available from Midway USA) and reinstalled the spring, the Allen screw, and the lock nut. Next I checked the pull weight with a trigger-pull gauge, taking several readings and averaging them. I then adjusted the screw tension. I found that a one-pound pull weight was quite easy to obtain and locked it in on that setting.

If the pull was still too heavy after reducing the spring, I could have clipped a coil off one end (continued on page 15) 2 3

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of the spring to reduce it further. This spring is the only one I needed to modify to reduce the weight of the trigger pull. All of the other springs associated with this trigger were left unmodified and required only a bit of fine tuning. Adjusting Trigger Overtravel Overtravel is adjusted with the overtravel screw, which is the front lower screw. With the bolt locked in battery, you turn the screw in until the trigger is solid and will not move.

Then, keeping light pressure on the trigger, you turn out the screw until the trigger moves enough to release the sear, and then turn the screw out just slightly more to provide adequate clearance. Then you simply tighten the lock nut to hold the screw in position. This setting will prevent any added rearward movement from the trigger that could throw off the shot.

Adjusting Sear Engagement On the rear of the trigger is a very small Allen screw that is used to adjust sear engagement. (Turning the screw out increases sear engagement.) Again, with the bolt locked in battery, turn this screw out until the bolt will not lift to open out of battery. Then turn the screw in until the bolt unlocks, and then in slightly more. With the sear engagement adjusted in this manner, you end up with more engagement than was set at the factory.

I felt the added sear engagement was not noticeable due to the now lighter trigger pull, but you can adjust for less sear engagement if slam fires are not an issue. Now, with the bolt closed in battery and the safety "off," give the action a few taps with a rubber or nylon mallet to try to "trip-release" the trigger. Also, open and close the bolt several times with quick hard strokes. If the trigger holds and will not trip, you’re all set.

If the trigger trips, turn in the pull-weight adjustment screw (the front upper Allen screw) to increase the trigger pressure slightly and try again. When you have achieved the desired setting, apply a small amount of thread-locking compound to the adjustment screws to hold everything tight. I like to use Loc Tite #242, available at most hardware stores. This will hold very well, but you can still remove the screws with hand tools at a later time if the need arises.

Conclusion/Recommendations I installed the Bold Premier Trigger on a custom M96 small-ring Mauser and tested it extensively at the range. The pull weight was fantastic (for a bench-rest rifle) at just one pound, with that "breaking glass" feel. The overtravel was set to prevent any excessive trigger jerk. Even with my modifications, the operation of the safety was of major importance, of course, but was never an issue.

A finely tuned trigger will only complement an otherwise accurate rifle; there are many other factors that combine to produce the ultimate accuracy’including correct operation by the shooter. Nevertheless, with a little time and tinkering, a low-budget $40 trigger can perform like one costing much, much more. Moreover, turning a budget trigger into a good performer will certainly impress your customer, and could mean he has more cash to spend on other accuracy modifications. I