Any way to lighten the trigger pull on Pedersoli Kentucky?

[GregC]

Mine has to be 75 pounds...

 

[Josh Smith]

Install a sear engagement adjustment screw.

Unless you have special rigging (I do not, and I have a bunch of smokeless powder firearms gunsmithing tools) you'll likely need to send it, or at least the lock, to someone who possesses the tooling for such an undertaking.

Don't go filing stuff, please. A fluff and buff might work, but if it's just case hardened, you could cause a lot of problems.

I'm not familiar with the Italian gent's work, so I guess someone else will have to jump in and let you know about the case hardening vs full hardening thing.

Josh

 

[curator]

Having no actual experience with the model you have, I'll give some general advise about trigger pull on a side lock. Most reproduction muzzle loaders have triggers that are poorly positioned. The pivot should be higher than the sear bar. There should be a slight mechanical advantage to the trigger/sear geometry. If the trigger is pinned to a trigger plate the pull is usually awfull. There's nothing wrong with pinning the trigger through the wood stock. I try to have the pivot pin come out behind the side plate if possible. Installing a new trigger and pivot pin is usally a better fix than fileing down the tumbler notch.

 

[Zonie]

The Pedersoli Kentucky pistols trigger pin is too far forward of the sear arm on the lock and there is not much that can be done to correct this.

That said, remove the trigger from the gun and use a fine grit black wet/dry sandpaper backed up with a small piece of wood to polish the top of the triggers blade. A 600 grit or finer should be used.

Polishing the underside of the locks sear arm that is sticking out away from the locks inner face can also improve things a bit.

The biggest offender is usually the sear spring.
This is the U shaped spring at the rear of the lock that is pressing down on the top of the sear.

To remove this spring after the lock is removed from the gun, loosen the one screw that holds it to the lock. Pry the rear of the spring away from the lockplate to disengage the tab that is in the slot on the plate. Once done, the spring will rotate upward, releasing its pressure on the sear. When this occurs remove the screw and the spring.

Hold the spring in a pair of Vice Grips (or equal) grasping only the lower part of the leaf.

Using a fine toothed flat file and filing only in a direction parallel with the leaf, taper the spring from the bend of the U (where no material will be removed) down to the tip. Leave at least 1/16 of an inch of material at this end to push on the sear.
Reassemble by inserting the screw thru the spring and into the lock plate.
Before the screw is tight, push the U shaped end of the spring down and towards the lockplate until the tab re-enters the slot. Then tighten the screw.

While your here, check the tightness of the screw that goes thru the bridle and sear. This is often tightened much more than is needed and it can cause a hard trigger pull.
This sear screw should be snug but not tight.
The sear should move easily and the sear spring must be strong enough to assure that the sear will always enter the full cock notch on the tumbler fully.

As for adding a screw to block off the distance that the sears nose can enter the full cock notch, I wouldn't recommend it.
First, the tumbler is hardened and it must be annealed to tap a thread into it. It then must be rehardened. Unless this is done correctly all sorts of problems can occur.
As the new screw could prevent the sear from fully engaging the full cock notch, unless it is adjusted correctly it could create a safety problem.

 

[napolean]

The lock on my Pedersoli Kentucky (flintlock)is equiped with a fly in the tumbler. I just ordered a single set trigger from Dixie (they don't list the same one anymore) and with a little inletting, solved the trigger pull problem. Mine is also single phase, so it must be set before bringing to full cock. As I use it only for targets, that isn't an issue.
I believe some of the other suppliers will have one that could work.
Jon D

 

[slowpokebr549]

I usually polish the sear nose and notch, don't change the shape or geometry, just polish. Zonie has a good point as well, make sure the screws werent torqued down by an ape.

 

[msuspartan]

"Hold the spring in a pair of Vice Grips (or equal) grasping only the lower part of the leaf.

Using a fine toothed flat file and filing only in a direction parallel with the leaf, taper the spring from the bend of the U (where no material will be removed) down to the tip. Leave at least 1/16 of an inch of material at this end to push on the sear.
Reassemble by inserting the screw thru the spring and into the lock plate.
Before the screw is tight, push the U shaped end of the spring down and towards the lockplate until the tab re-enters the slot. Then tighten the screw."


Are you referring to the filing of the spring from the bend to the tip of the spring that contacts the sear itself? Do you file down at the angle and the tip should end at being 1/16th" wide? Not to lessen the thickness of the spring though. But leaving the width of the spring up by the screw hole.

Thank you for the insights and your knowledge. I love my Pedersoli but it is a PITA to pull.

Cheers, DonK

 

[mazo kid]

I have lightened the trigger pull on a few of my single trigger guns by doing the same as Zonie suggests. I would try the polishing steps first, test, and then start carefully filing the sear spring if needed. Stop and test every few strokes as once you go too far, you will either have to heat/re-bend-harden the spring or start fresh. And no, don't ask how I might have first hand experience with this! :rotf:

 

[Zonie]

Yes. File to taper the width from the bend to the tip that contacts the sear. You may want to taper it to 3/32 rather than 1/16 and try it.
That may be enough to do all of the improvement that's needed.

Yes, you do NOT WANT to reduce the springs thickness any place.

As for the area by the spring hole, ideally the either spring should be tapered from the spring hole to the tip that rests on the sear. This is very difficult to do while keeping the filing in the direction of the leaf area where the U shaped bend is located. You would have to file the U using a circular motion.
Rather than inadvertently filing across the spring at the bend I suggest tapering only the lower area.

Also, if you use Vise-Grips or similar pliers use only enough tension to keep the spring from slipping. A lot of force is not needed or desired.

 

[msuspartan]

Thank you for your information. As usual here, I get such great advice and that is worth more than most people know. Nice to know that people are still good at heart. These days with people living the 'me' life we need people like us even more.

Thank you all again for the help. I will see how this will work.

Cheers, DonK

 

[Dphar]

Mine has to be 75 pounds...

You need a gunsmith.
If you don't already know how messing with it could result in a dangerous firearm.
Dan