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Thread: Don’t oil a Remington trigger

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    Default Don’t oil a Remington trigger

    Yesterday evening a friend missed a 130 class buck because his rifle wouldn’t fire. No click.....nothing. Trigger would not set. I haven’t looked at it yet but I strongly suspect a gunked up trigger. For those who shoot a model 700 or a model 7, you need to make sure your trigger is clean and dry. Don’t oil it or let cleaning solvents get in it. Contrary to what some think, there is nothing wrong with the model 700 design but it is susceptible to getting gunked up. There are parallel surfaces in the trigger that have fairly close tolerances. When oil or solvents get in there and dry out it inhibits things from moving. The movement is controlled by small springs. The gunk can keep the springs from keeping the components in alignment.

    It is good to keep the trigger flushed out with lighter fluid periodically. A good way to check to make sure your trigger is moving freely is to .....obviously make sure the gun is unloaded then remove the bolt. On top of the trigger is a silver or chrome sear. With the safety off press down on this piece and hold it. Now pull the trigger. You should feel it drop down (this is the function that allows the firing pin to move forward when firing). Continue to hold the sear down and release the trigger. Now slowly release pressure on the sear. You should hear a click and see the trigger jump forward. Do this several times to make sure all is well. You can even put light pressure on the trigger during the reset and it it should move your finger forward when the trigger moves. If this process is the least bit “mushy “ your trigger may be getting gunked up. Worse case for a gunked up trigger is that it will fire when you take it off safety. This is the reason there was a lot of flak about the model 700 trigger. Keep it clean and dry and all will be well. If you haven’t checked your trigger lately it might be a good idea to make sure it is not gummy.
    Last edited by CWPINST; 11-11-2019 at 07:40 AM.
    If it ain\'t accurate at long distance, then the fact that it is flat shooting is meaningless.

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    Thank you for this tip.

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    Thanks for the tip.

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    Great info. Thanks!


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    Thanks. Will it also make the trigger pull weight vary?

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    Quote Originally Posted by wskinner View Post
    Thanks. Will it also make the trigger pull weight vary?
    Sure it is possible. When it is gummy things get unpredictable including whether or not it will all of a sudden fire when you take it off safety. To be fair, a good Model 700 factory trigger with nothing wrong with it will vary somewhat in pull weight. On the other hand, a Jewell or Calvin Elite, is going to be much more consistent. The new Timney triggers, especially the Calvin Elite are really good triggers. The Jewell needs no introduction. It is the gold standard.

    No joke about the possible issues with a gummy trigger. It only takes about 30 seconds to check one. No reason not to check now that you know. Missing a deer is one thing, but having it go off when taking it off safety is a whole nuther level of significance. I don't want to overstate things though, I have only seen a few triggers that were so gummy that they were problematic. So it is probably rare, but it is real. Bottom line though, it ain't the odds, it is the stakes, so check it out.
    Last edited by CWPINST; 11-11-2019 at 07:59 PM.
    If it ain\'t accurate at long distance, then the fact that it is flat shooting is meaningless.

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    I have a 2 lb trigger on my Weatherby MarkV- Saturday morning I flipped off the safety, lined up on a doe and squeezed the trigger, harder, still harder- WTH? I flipped the safety back on, then off, lined up the shot and squeezed the trigger, harder, harder bang, rifle goes off, pulled the shot and gut shot the deer. Tracked and retrieved. Pulled the bolt and look in with a light- all looked good. Tested the trigger 50 times and all normal, test fired all good. Darnedest thing I have ever had happen with a rifle.

    Not just a Remington 700 issue.

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    I’ve been meaning to put a Timney in my 700. I know trigger weight will vary some with each shot, but mine will go from rock hard to somewhat light, and it’s not adjustable. Need to put a scale on it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bad Habit View Post
    I have a 2 lb trigger on my Weatherby MarkV- Saturday morning I flipped off the safety, lined up on a doe and squeezed the trigger, harder, still harder- WTH? I flipped the safety back on, then off, lined up the shot and squeezed the trigger, harder, harder bang, rifle goes off, pulled the shot and gut shot the deer. Tracked and retrieved. Pulled the bolt and look in with a light- all looked good. Tested the trigger 50 times and all normal, test fired all good. Darnedest thing I have ever had happen with a rifle.

    Not just a Remington 700 issue.
    Did you take it out of the stock to see what was going on? I am not familiar with the Mark 5 trigger. Would be curious to see if it was gunked up or maybe some debris got in there. I would not be confident with the rifle until I figured out what probably happened. It would be my luck to have it happen again on another deer.

    Years ago I had two M70's that would fire when taking them off safety but it wasn't a gunk thing. Of all things the threads in the bolt were cut too large and would allow wobble in the firing pin/striker so it would ride over the sear (or whatever the correct name is) and fire. Two trips back to Winchester and they couldn't figure it out....even when I explained it. New Haven gun not FN.
    Last edited by CWPINST; 11-11-2019 at 08:25 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by CWPINST View Post
    Did you take it out of the stock to see what was going on? I am not familiar with the Mark 5 trigger. Would be curious to see if it was gunked up or maybe some debris got in there. I would not be confident with the rifle until I figured out what probably happened. It would be my luck to have it happen again on another deer.

    Years ago I had two M70's that would fire when taking them off safety but it wasn't a gunk thing. Of all things the threads in the bolt were cut too large and would allow wobble in the firing pin/striker so it would ride over the sear (or whatever the correct name is) and fire. Two trips back to Winchester and they couldn't figure it out....even when I explained it. New Haven gun not FN.
    No I didn't- I have 7 rounds left from that batch, if I pulled the action and re-sighted I would be out before deer season was over.

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    I would be curious to hear what you find out in the future.

    Thx
    If it ain\'t accurate at long distance, then the fact that it is flat shooting is meaningless.

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    Thanks for the tip on checking the M7/700 trigger. I recently replaced mine with a Timney (2-4 lb) and adjusted it to 2.00 lb, but it actually gauges in around 1.75 lbs. The Tech Rep said it's possible this trigger could be set down to 1.5 lbs once it wore in a little.

    The lowest I could consistently get the M7 trigger was about 3, but it varied up to 3.5+.
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