LeadChucker's blog » gunsmithing

Trigger job part 2

LeadChucker — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:49:33 +0000

I finished up the rest of the trigger installation this evening. I only needed to fit the trigger to the safety, and then I would be finished. This took a bit more time than I had expected as I was using a stone to remove material.

There really is nothing I can add to the original instructions and videos to make this installation any easier, other than to go slow, and to check your fit often. If you can’t do that, then don’t attempt this on your own.

This is a huge improvement over the original trigger. No creep, crisp 4 1/4 pound break. I’m really looking forward to getting back to the range to try it out……

Posted in Guns, gunsmithing, triggers

JP Triggers

LeadChucker — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:06:51 +0000

I’m about half way through installing a JP trigger into my AR. I was a little intimidated at the idea of going this route because of the fitting that might be required to make the trigger work. After watching the video online and reading through the instructions, I decided that I could make this happen.

So far I’ve had to remove a little material from the trigger pinbosses to get the trigger to slide into the receiver without binding, and then round the back corner to get it to clear the safety. It fits nicely. My setup didn’t require any timing of the disconnector, which was the part I was most unsure of. I did notice that the reset was a bit clunky. A quick email to JP confirmed that there might be a burr that just needed to be worn down. Between lubing the hammer hook and working the hammer into the disconnector, it has smoothed out very nicely.

It started out with a lot of heavy creep, and breaking at about 7 pounds. A quick check shows it pulling at about 4.25 pounds, with a nice crisp break and no perceptible trigger creep. I just have to fit the safety and this trigger job is done.

And I’m extremely pleased with the results. I’m looking forward to trying it out on the range in the next few weeks……

Posted in gunsmithing, tools, triggers

Poor man’s trigger pull scale

LeadChucker — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:16:31 +0000

Lately I’ve been giving some attention to the triggers on my rifles. I recently picked up a Clark Custom trigger for my Ruger 10/22. The trigger on my 10/22 was not bad, just that it could be a bit better.

Normally, I’m a huge believer in using the right tools for the job. The tool in question was a trigger pull scale. Midway has these tools starting at $36 and going up from there. I wanted to be able to measure the difference between the two triggers. I can’t tell you how many times I looked at these tools at Cabela’s and put it back down because I just couldn’t justify the cost. What to do….

So one day at work while trying to solve a completely unrelated problem, I came up with this:

Just a piece of a clothes hanger, and a bag. For weights, I gently drop in bullets until the trigger trips. I may repeat this a few time to get close to a consistent measurement. It’s not pretty. Heck, It may not even be accurate, but it did show me that there was a difference between the two triggers, and that’s what I was interested in seeing.

For you math challenged folks, the formula looks like this:

(# bullets X bullet weight (in grains)) / 7000 grains = trigger pull in pounds

So, for my factory Ruger trigger:

(196 bullets X 230 grains/bullet) / 7000 grains = 6.44 lbs

After installing the Clark Custom trigger:

(84 bullets X 230 grains/bullet) / 7000 grains = 2.76 lbs.

Quick, dirty, and cheap. If I did a lot of trigger work, then I’d want a the real tool. But for now, this will work just fine……

Coming in the next month or so, I’ll be installing a JP trigger in my AR. We’ll see how well this method works then……..

Posted in Guns, gunsmithing, tools, triggers