Gunsmithing Tuning Remington 700 stock trigger

[*chris*]

I just bought a Remington 700 Varmint from Dick's Sporting Goods. I am not sure if I received old stock, but I received an ADL model with the old style trigger. The trigger was horrible, breaking around 6 pounds+ or so. I decided to follow the following instructions on tweaking the trigger.

http://quarterbore.com/library/articles/rem700trigger.html

It took me quite some time with a heat gun to soften the thread locker. Now, my trigger breaks around 2.5 pounds varying from 2.1 to 2.11 pounds based on a Lyman digital scale. Is this variance ok with the stock trigger or should I retry the procedure? Another oddity is there is 1/32" of travel before the trigger breaks, is this normal or a sign of a poorly adjusted trigger?

I have tried all the safety checks e.g. slamming the bolt closed, squeezing the trigger while the safety is on, etc and everything seems fine. I just don't have a ton of experience with this particular gun to know the trigger.

Thanks!

Chris

 

[stockdoc]

Re: Tuning Remington 700 stock trigger

Those old triggers are sweet when adjusted right. Sounds like you got a little tweaking to do yet. Keep in mind that really small adjustments on the screws will make big differences in feel. So go easy on the screw adjustment until it feels right to you and it's safe

 

[yourcfi]

Re: Tuning Remington 700 stock trigger

+1 on the little adjustments.

gotta love the adjustable remy triggers!

first time i did mine it took a couple tries.

 

[hero's machine]

Re: Tuning Remington 700 stock trigger

You got lucky getting an old trigger.

 

[*chris*]

Re: Tuning Remington 700 stock trigger

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hero's machine</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You got lucky getting an old trigger. </div></div>

I have done a little more research and it is a first generation x-mark with the internal adjustments, not a pre-x-mark trigger.

I still have the issue of creep, which adjustment compensates for creep?

Thanks

Chris

 

[hero's machine]

Re: Tuning Remington 700 stock trigger

There are several walk through trigger adjustment websites you can find by Google....I worry about liability, so I won't spill the exact info you ask for, but offer this:
The triggers may never break perfectly. They may need some stone work to get there. When you start getting light on sear or spring, you are getting closer to trouble. As redundant as it sounds, be sure to test it a bunch in every configuration you can think of....slam the bolt, safe on/off....etc. and never trust that safety....sorry for sounding like dad, but of all the rifle mods you can do at home, few are as potentially dangerous as trigger mods.

 

[*chris*]

Re: Tuning Remington 700 stock trigger

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hero's machine</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There are several walk through trigger adjustment websites you can find by Google....I worry about liability, so I won't spill the exact info you ask for, but offer this:
The triggers may never break perfectly. They may need some stone work to get there. When you start getting light on sear or spring, you are getting closer to trouble. As redundant as it sounds, be sure to test it a bunch in every configuration you can think of....slam the bolt, safe on/off....etc. and never trust that safety....sorry for sounding like dad, but of all the rifle mods you can do at home, few are as potentially dangerous as trigger mods.</div></div>

Thanks for your advice, I have already found a website that shows how to adjust the older trigger.

The trigger is starting to make logical sense to me. Overtravel really has nothing to do with sear engagement and trigger pull initially, that is why you back out all the way initially. What I have noticed, is you can actually see the sear when you adjust the Sear Engagement. It is pretty easy to get the Sear on the edge without it slipping off or preventing the bolt from cocking. Trigger Pull is a bit of a mystery to me since to get around a 2.5 pound trigger it is pretty loose when the gun is uncocked.

Right now my trigger is from 2.5 - 3 ounces with almost zero creep. Is that wide variance in trigger pull all I can expect without resorting to stoning of the sear? The gun is brand new, so I am thinking about shooting it for a while to see if it settles down. I am really not sure what to expect with the stock trigger.

Chris