Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage 99 trigger job

I have a featherweight in 308. The trigger is real hard. Any way to lighten it up but still be safe?

Lighten it, yes.

Still be safe, maybe.

I don't know of anyone reliable who works on Savage 99 triggers, far too much potential liability for most people to feel comfortable with.

Is it the model with the safety on top? They are known for a heavier trigger than the safety on the lever from what I’ve read.

Actually, the triggers on the post mils, although they tend to be relatively heavy, they have a lot less creep and travel than most of the pre mil rifles.

There is a lot of variability in 99 triggers. If I don't like the triggers, I get rid of them...

I will not tolerate a mushy, sloppy, chhitty trigger.

I had a pre mil 308 F once that had a bolt action quality trigger. It broke crisp and clean. I never measured the trigger pull. but I would guess it was 2.5- 3.0 pounds. I had to get rid of that gun because after every time I shot it, I felt like I'd been in a car accident.

I killed a really nice buck with it one time (shot twice) and the first thing I thought of after the deer ran out of my sight wasn't wow, I think I just killed a big buck! It was...

Ow...

That gun just kicked my ass, every time I shot it

I just shoot the gun, really don’t give a lot of thought to the trigger

Savage 99 rule #1 Do not fool with the trigger!

One thing I will say- Knowledge sometimes comes hard, and with bad outcomes. If in ignorance and carelessness a trigger is messed with, disaster is likely and can be fatal. Not worth it if you fall into that category of pilgrim. Don't be stupid, be self-aware.

On the other hand, if a Savage 99 trigger is approached with caution, inquisitiveness, and a desire to fully understand, rather than pursue an agenda, (i.e. "lighten the trigger"), knowledge is there for the gleaning.

In the end, they are a very simple mechanical device so of course they can be understood better and possibly enhanced. The problem is, most people shouldn't touch a trigger, they're just not wired for it. Aptitude matters! Most people have the attention span of a gnat and shouldn't be allowed within two miles of a sack of rubber balls.

Keep in mind that the gun will most certainly outlive the pilgrim therefore all care should be exercised to ensure it's proper function for the next generations of owners. A slamfire can be fatal, and is not to be minimized!

In conclusion, a Savage 99 trigger can be worked on, of course they can, but most people should not because they aren't willing to invest the appropriate amount of care into ensuring it won't get messed up and possibly cause a problem for someone down the road.

It's up to every man to decide for himself what level of care and responsibility he is willing to take. As always, weighing the potential benefit against the level of risk should be at the forefront of your thought process.

I do believe it is wrong to toss blanket statements around like, "Never work on a Savage 99 trigger". That's silly. The reason it's done is, IMO, we all agree most people shouldn't. But they certainly can be.

Pretty much sums it up!

Triggers are WAY above my pay grade

Well said Roy.

I think Roy's statement should be added to the Misc Good Info sticky. It is dead on! Another Bullseye - so to speak!

Thanks, Fireball. I can come out of the closet now.

Good idea.

Admit to nothing Sam! Deny, deny, deny!

LOL

I agree. But I'll expand it that nobody else will ever know if the person who worked on it was qualified to do so. As you say, it will outlive the owner. And so a trigger job means all future owners will wonder if it's safe.

This is why I'll never buy a rifle that's had it's trigger "worked on", if that involved more than simply polishing surfaces. I don't know the person working on it. My friends and family I hunt with are far more valuable than having a lighter trigger. The gun will never find a home with me.

I bought a 1915 .250-3000 once that had a wonderfully light crisp trigger pull. I was a bit curious as to why and discovered that someone had reduced the sear engagement to a little bit of nothing - hanging on by its toenails - and seemingly polished the bits on a felt wheel to a mirror shine. I quickly dug out replacement parts and stuck them in (but I did judiciously stone the interfaces with a hard Arkansas stone mainly to remove the dull patina garnered from laying in parts drawers with other rusty relics). The trigger pull devolved to a creepy 4+ pounds or so from a delightful 1-1 1/2 pounds, but I had a warm fuzzy feeling.

there is no better warm and fuzzy feeling Gary than levering a high powered round into the chamber of a bubbaed gun, and having said gun discharge, through the roof, into the slab floor, out over the valley, or into the radiator of your hunting rig.
that warm and fuzzy feeling usually creeps down ones pant legs.

Yep. I wouldn't call that sensation a warm fuzzy feeling though, more like how you feel when your car rolls down the driveway into the path of a passing school bus! In my instance I never even test fired that rifle until I had swapped out the trigger and sear.

If you think about it, there's more than one consideration with a Savage 99 trigger work.

The one talked most about (and feared the most!) is the slam fire. Each rifle is unique in it's measurable slop in the mechanisms and therefore also unique in it's risk of slamfire if altered. How they are altered matters. Shortening contact points to reduce length of trigger travel is where the slamfires come from. In extreme cases, it's probably also possible to have enough side to side movement in parts to be able to create slamfires with parts sliding off each other horizontally rather than vertically. It would be harder to achieve a slamfire in this way, and would be dependent on the amount of slop, wear, or variation in the parts used, but it could be possible.

That's why most would recommend only stoning or smoothing interacting parts to reduce friction, felt as "grittiness" in the trigger pull. With enough time and experience with these triggers, it's possible to gauge the "minimum allowable interfaces", but as I said before, most people just shouldn't go there. The consequences of a mistake are too great and the benefits of success too small to make it a viable consideration for any but the most dedicated.

The fact is most that might work on a trigger don't have a cache of replacement parts should the deed go south and a part is needed to bring the rifle back to spec. There is a potential problem spot, or stumbling block. A place to watch.

Saying "Savage" and "spec" in the same sentence almost makes me giggle. These are hand fitted, and because of this, are as much artwork as machined mechanisms. Each trigger assembly was no doubt "worked on" by someone already when it was assembled and tested at the factory. Nobody's running around waving their hands in the air, "OMG, a human touched the trigger on my Savage rifle!". Believe it or not, your Savage trigger has been worked on by another human being, and yet you fully trust it.

It is possible.

Who would QA the work of a gunsmith or non-gunsmith doing trigger work?

Savage had people who QA'd the work done in the factory. I've read the trial transcripts from at least one slam fire 99 where Savage was sued. The factory QA was a key point.

There is no equal to the hands of a skilled worker !

Well, we civilians do have one advantage over any factory. We don't have to produce 100 units a day.

We can be as thoughtful, as careful, as cautious, as deliberate, as patient as we need to be. Production is not a concern.

But, point taken. In the factory setting a set of redundant checks would be essential.

Again, I'm sure we all agree very few should work on triggers. The easily flummoxed chief among them.

True. Back in the 80s I bought a 243E which was supposedly new. I first noticed that it would not slip close, which is unusual for any lever safety 99. I bought it for a modest price and took it home. When I took it out to shoot, I had to squeeze like hell to get it to fire, and sometimes it still would not fire. Trigger travel was huge. I removed the butt stock and looked at the mechanism and the problem was obvious - too much overlap between the hammer and sear; I mean a bunch. Lacking the drawer full of sears I now have, I filed the original until it would slip close and tried it again. It fired reliably, albeit with a long pull. How it ever passed inspection in the factory, I'll never know. I eventually reduced the pull even more, but not until I believed I understood the entire kinematic story. I killed several antelope with that rifle, and sold it one day to a friend who could shoot 1/2 moa with it.

I think the best trigger job you can do to a 99 is to work with it until you either understand and master it for what it is, or decide to get rid of the rifle. Savage 99 triggers can be creepy and stagey, however that didn't seem to hinder the guys who shot the rifles "back in the day."

Ya want a real treat? Take apart a malfunctioning set of Ballard double set triggers to clean up worn notches, and have to make a new kicker and a new flat spring. Two seasons of shooting now and it's still going strong. How about a 4-lever German double-set trigger? The cats who designed and made those marvelously precise contraptions in the factories 100 years ago must've moonlighted as watchmakers too.

I have in my parts box an Eads Single Set trigger with a broken lever inside it (think Timney trigger unit only about twice as big with about 20 small moving parts and springs inside it). I've pieced it together several times and studied on it thinking how I can carve one out of tool steel and harden it. Every time I shrug my shoulders and put it back in the box. Life is too short.......

My opinion is a person can get use to any trigger on a gun if you shoot it enough I have some guns that the triggers are heavy have a few that are light doesn't matter to me it's all about concentrating on your target and not pulling off of your target . Yes a lighter trigger is better but honestly I can shoot heavy triggers without any issues to me a heavy trigger makes you a better shot because it requires more concentration per say . If any of you ever shot a savage model 1920 then you know about hard triggers lol . I have several of them and the triggers don't bother me whatsoever actually that was my first rifle I used for hunting was a model 1920 in a 300 savage it was my dad's deer and bear rifle . I actually don't mind the triggers on them at all because I got use to them but I will say this a savage 1920 in a 300 savage kicks like a mule the early gun with the slender stock. Just my two cents on this subject

I just wish Arthur would have got a little advice from John about the triggers he was having built. At the Marlin factory.


I don’t think you need to stay at a holiday inn to monkey with a Marlin.

I bought a used Savage 99C at a gun show for super cheap. At home, when I loaded it to test fire it, it fired the chambered round when the lever was closed. Turned out it had a homemade trigger job done on it that I posted pics of here years back. Thank god I follow gun safety rules and nothing bad happened except a hell of a surprise. I replaced the entire trigger group with NOS parts and for whatever reason, it now has a very smooth trigger with about 5 lbs of pull which is fine for this rifle.

this post keeps reminding me about gun safety. NEVER POINT A GUN WHETHER YOU THINK ITS LOADED OR NOT AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT TO KILL OR DAMAGE!!!!

Now that I’m older and understand what very little metal contacts the sear, I intend to continue hunting with no round in the chamber. Its just not wise.

IMHO trigger work lowers the value of the rifle. I recently bought a 99c form on line dealer. When I went to my FFL and inspected the rifle it had a "wonderful" trigger. 2.5# and very crisp. I returned the rifle, not knowing who did thew trigger job.

Do they make replacement triggers for the 99? Did they ever?

Not like a Timney that just drops in. It’s not a separate group like many rifles.

You can buy a trigger group on the used market. The best part, it comes with a Savage rifle attached to it.

I have trigger and sear matches with various serial numbers .

Norm