The good triggers on factory rifles are outnumbered by a lot of poor triggers. But now there’s a new replacement trigger that’s capable of being adjusted to give a crisp, inert let-off.
I’ve tested more than a few factory rifles that did not have good triggers. Considering that some of these guns commanded premium prices, it seems a shame that the manufacturers didn’t lavish the same amount of care on the fire control systems as they did the exteriors.
Triggers on today’s hunting rifles, regardless of the type of action, are designed to provide rapid ignition of the cartridge. The interval between the instant the trigger releases the firing pin and the primer is detonated by the falling pin is measured in milliseconds. The purpose of this, of course, is to ensure that bullet exits the muzzle while you are still holding steady on whatever game you are shooting at before your aim can waver. This is difficult to achieve with a trigger that is too heavy and/or creepy.
Today, most riflemakers have become aware that a good trigger is essential to good marksmanship and incorporate a trigger in their rifles that is at least adequate – some of the better ones are near perfect.
When hunters began using ex-military bolt actions in the field after World War II, They quickly discovered that the two- stage trigger of military surplus rifles and the sporters built on them was not very satisfactory for sporting purposes. This type of trigger was one that moved back a fraction of an inch against the sear spring. This much of the pull required about two pounds of pressure, the trigger came to a halt at this point and required more pressure – about five pounds to fire the rifle. Most of these initial pulls were long and somewhat creepy; this was the result of quantity rather than quality during the haste of wartime manufacture. American and Aussie ex-servicemen who brought home Mausers, Springfields, M-17s and other military rifles, together with hunters who purchased conversions built on these actions, found the two-stage trigger pull was not to their liking. They wanted a crisp single-stage pull such as that used on pre-war Model 70s and the then new Remington Models 721 and 722.
0 Comments