• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Trigger Placement

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Buckskinn

45 Cal.
Joined
Dec 12, 2018
Messages
501
Reaction score
430
Location
Mukwonago, Wisconsin
I'm at the point of drilling the pin hole for the single trigger. How far from the pivot point should the sear sit?

Are there any tips that will help me locate where to drill this hole? It seems like somewhat of a shot in the dark as to hit that little tab in the middle...

Also, the sear sits very low and it looks like most of that tab will need to be filed off. I assume that this will not be a problem??
Thanks!
20200126_191650.jpg
 
If it's possible, try to locate the pivot hole 5/16" from the sear arm.
Filing the top of a trigger to suit the sear arm location is business as usual. Remove as much as you need to to get a very slight "loosness" with the lock in the full cock and half cock position.
That will assure that the trigger blade isn't keeping the sear from working like it should.
 
When you are filing the trigger, yes the depth / height of it will be dictated by how deep your stock is relative to the sear bar position.

Yes, most people start around 1/4" and move up or down from that number.

I like the sear spring holding the trigger forward and with no slop or rattle, but other feel differently. So the deal is, to install your trigger with significant downward sear pressure on it, (forward on the trigger) and then take material off the top of the blade until you get the pressure (relief or gap) you want. Just remember to go slowly once you are getting close, because you will probably want to really polish both the bottom of the sear bar, and the top of the trigger blade so as to minimize any grittiness from the 2 objects sliding against one another.

The metal for that trigger blade is relatively thin too, so it's important to get as close a fit for the pivot pin diameter and the trigger hole diameter as possible. Even a .002" differential will produce a trigger that rattles from side to side in an untensioned position.
 
The trigger shoe width wider than the trigger plate slot will limit both forward and rearward travel as well. You might wish to file that down as well once you have your N-S / E/W location identified.

Generally, the least amount of trigger creep is desirable. which means having a blade shape at right angles to sear bar direction travel. Getting the trigger high in the stock allows you to make that area thinner---also commonly seen as an attractive feature. That is also limited by the bottom of your RR hole. (You see now why having a thin web controls so much in architecture?)
 
20200131_084620.jpg
Found some time to work on the trigger and have the hole punched through, which went pretty well. The question I have is about the amount of trigger blade that is required to be removed for sear engagement. It is quite a lot... Dot is where sear is hitting blade.
20200131_084620.jpg
What do you think?
 
Got it, thanks for the help guys. First rifle was a set trigger, which had it's own learning curve. Just wanted to make sure I did it right...
Actually a very nice trigger for the simplicity of it.
VideoCapture_20200131-151937.jpg
 
This looks like a simple trigger and separate trigger plate, rather than an integrated 1-piece unit. In that case you can hang your trigger before inletting the trigger plate. You have the option of going up or down regarding it's location. I personally like having breech areas as thin as practicable, with the front TG foot ALMOST breaking through in to the RR channel.

You won't know EXACTLY where the TG is going to go until the trigger is installed, but you can get pretty close. Drilling a 1/16" hole in to the RR channel to know the thickness or depth of the wood you have to work with (alternatively you could go through the barrel channel side too) won't hurt anything, and certainly won't show.
 
I'm at the point of drilling the pin hole for the single trigger. How far from the pivot point should the sear sit?

Are there any tips that will help me locate where to drill this hole? It seems like somewhat of a shot in the dark as to hit that little tab in the middle...

Also, the sear sits very low and it looks like most of that tab will need to be filed off. I assume that this will not be a problem??
Thanks!View attachment 22988
The first thing I do when installing a simple trigger is to see how the sear bar of the lock positions itself at half and full cock.….Chambers is the only lock maker that I know of who attempts to make the 2 positions the same, but doesn't always succeed.

Having the sear bar lower at full cock than at half cock is ideal because the trigger bar can then be filed for a nearly imperceptible gap w/ the sear bar at full cock and the sear bar will automatically have clearance when at half cock.....this allows full engagement of the sear and tumble which is safer.

If the sear bar is lower at half cock than at full cock, the trigger bar has to be filed for a slight gap w/ the sear bar at half cock for full engagement of the sear and tumbler...this then yields a larger gap at full cock which then yields pre-travel or a 2 stage trigger pull.

I pin the trigger so the pivot hole is above the sear bar contact on the trigger bar and the sear bar is 5/16"-3/8" from the pivot hole. To do all this, the trigger bar surface has to be close to its final height plus 1/16".

I always have the trigger plate inletted and the slot for the trigger determines the position of the trigger and backward angle of the triggershoe…..I don't think a forward angle of the trigger shoe looks good. The forward end of the slot is completed as the trigger is being located for pinning.

Hopefully, this info will help....it seems kinda complicated , but will nearly explain itself when actually doing it......Fred

BC46-2-LOCK.jpg
[
 
Last edited:
Back
Top