When it comes right down to it, hitting what you aim at depends largely on your ability to control your rifle’s trigger. For the ultimate in trigger control you must know the exact moment the trigger will cause the rifle to fire. Forget all that crap you’ve heard about being surprised when the gun goes off. This is an old wives tale perpetuated by shooters and hunters that don’t know any better. It came about as a training tool to deal with bad triggers or triggers that never seemed to behave the same way twice.
Rifles fresh from the factory generally have what’s often called a “lawyer proof trigger” and hunters suffer because of that. Most manufacturers build firearms within SAAMI specifications and SAAMI requires a trigger pull-weight of at least three pounds. Consumers don’t seem to mind too much because everyday smiling faces are carrying rifles with bad triggers out the door.
Savvy hunters make sure the trigger in their rifle is crisp and creep free. Essentially there are three ways to do this; pay a gunsmith to tune your trigger, have him install an aftermarket trigger or install an aftermarket trigger yourself. Personally, I like the aftermarket trigger option because I have had a few bad experiences with triggers having been worked by a gun plumber. That said, up until recently I still had aftermarket triggers installed by a gunsmith, mostly because I thought I might screw up my rifle if I went to tinkering with the trigger.
Things changed after spending several days with John Vehr and Calvin Motley of Timney Triggers. They taught me that most anyone with the capacity for safe operation of a firearm or the ability to install a door knob can install any of the triggers Timney makes. This was proven because I witnessed a number of gunwriters successfully install triggers in Browning, CZ, Remington, Ruger and Savage rifles using tools like most everyone keeps in their kitchen junk drawer. In most cases the installations were completed in less time than it takes the long version of Free Bird to wind thru your 8-track tape player.
I had a Remington 700 VLS rifle with me and, under John’s tutelage, installed a Timney trigger. Remington 700s are very popular rifles and the process for installation of a Timney trigger in one is simple:
Step 1: Make sure the rifle is unloaded.
Step 2: Remove the action from the stock. (Riflescope removal is optional.)
Step 3: Remove the factory trigger. On the Remington 700 it’s held in place by two pins. Both must to be driven out and should be driven form right to left. The rear pin also secures the bolt stop. Don’t drive this pin all the way out, let it remain in the action just far enough to hold the bolt stop and spring in place. After the pins are out, the factory trigger will drop from the action.
Step 4: Insert the new trigger into the action until it lines up with the holes and drive both pins back through so they are flush on either side.
Step 5: Check that the trigger will function and unless you want to adjust the trigger settings, you’re done. Timney triggers for the Remington 700 come with three adjustments; sear engagement, over-travel and pull weight. They are properly tuned from the factory to offer about 2.75 pounds of resistance and the sear engagement and over-travel are preset as well.
Depending on the model or make of your replacement trigger and rifle, the installation and adjustment will vary and in some circumstances. With the Browning A-Bolt, the enhancement only requires the installation of a new spring. Some rifles will require the removal of a small amount of stock material but when installing a Timney trigger in most common bolt action rifles you will not need to drill, tap or alter any metal parts or surfaces because they are true “drop-in” units.
If you have any doubts about your ability to replace the trigger on your rifle you can ship it to Timney. (Contrary to popular belief, this can be done via UPS, USPS or FEDEX.) They will install a trigger in your rifle for a nominal fee and ship it back to you in about two weeks. Timney triggers are available from a number of sources like Midway and Brownells but you can also purchase them direct thru the Timney web site atwww.timneytriggers.com. The cool thing about ordering direct from Timney is that you select the trigger pull weight you desire and Timney will pre-set it right at the factory before your trigger is shipped out.
Contact: Timney Triggers; www.timneytriggers.com; (866) 484-6639
