Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing JC Higgins M50 factory trigger

The JCH M50 gets well deserved respect for it's FN action, High Standard chrome lined barrel, imminently usable accuracy and in times past, a bargain price. However, the factory trigger gets none of that respect, and many have been replaced with aftermarket triggers. The M50 trigger is a simple, open and robust trigger mechanically somewhat like the original Winchester M70. The difference is that the trigger pivots from the bottom metal instead of the receiver. The M50 trigger is not adjustable but easily tweakable, due, in large part, to the open design.

My main objection was the heavy gritty trigger pull. But with the simple-to-do application of several layers of aluminum duct tape, sear engagement was reduced and resulted in a remarkably smooth, creepless trigger pull. Frankly, it was surprising how much the trigger was improved with such a simple tweak. Every test to elicit an unintentional sear disengagement has been passed. Sear engagement is, for the most part, dependent on the invariant relationship between the receiver and the bottom metal so the action and bottom metal have been epoxy and pillar bedded together with that in mind.

Safety testing continues.

I got mine w/out a stock and used a milsurp 98 stock cut down for it. Other than the fact that the bottom metal is a bit shorter everything works fine with the trigger actually quite good w/no creep and breaks cleanly at probably about 3.5#. all in all a very good buy w/weaver scope for $140 at the local pawn shop. Now to give the stock a slimming to a more "Rigby" profile overall, I got lotsa wood to work with. Carbon is the throat/ball seat very, very short in yours?-Muddy

Depends. I have a .30-06. With 200gr Lapua Mega bullets kissing the lands, COAL is 3.668". Maximum magazine length is 3.304". Bullet jump is in excess of 0.3" so either the throat is long or the magazine is short for that bullet.

The original M50 stock is also more lumber than desired. It is clocking some time on the band saw and the bench sander.

When I first looked at mine, I wanted to replace just because it doesn't pivot on the receiver. I actually felt quite nice and I left it on. Maybe someone had already worked on it as you have done.

I have had half a dozen or more of them and after the first trigger broke in half just below the sear I replaced all of them. A couple with Timney's and the rest with take-off Mk X triggers.

That is plain spooky. Do you know how or why it happened, e.g. material flaw?

I don't know why it broke but it did break while in use. I do know that the wood on all the JC Higgens rifles I owned was pretty soft and porous and because the trigger was hinged on the bottom metal and the sear on the receiver sometimes when the rifle got wet the swelling would get bad enough to affect the trigger pull.
I am not a gunsmith but that can't be good.

Thanks. Sound advice to be heeded. Like you say, the factory stock is quite soft. When the stock is finally whittled down to where it seems right, it will get a Sitka style epoxy finish to seal the wood.

For what it's worth, Frank DeHaas in his book Bolt Action Rifles writes about the weakness from the "v" notch in the sear, i believe it was. I have had several Higgins 50s and one of mine broke at that point. I replaced with Timneys but still have one with original trigger. I am not seeing the photo DeHaas included in my later 3rd edition of his book but was in the earlier edition which I can't find at the moment. I don't know what caused mine to break but always was a bit uneasy with this. Bruce

Leadminer,

Thank you for your post. After reading your post, I looked in my revised edition of de Haas' book. Unless I missed it, apparently, in the revision, the JCH M50 was deleted from the sections discussing FN commercial Mauser actions.

Regardless, think I best be on the lookout for a replacement trigger. That kind of trigger failure is just too risky despite how well it now works.

You are welcome...I looked for the earlier edition that I have had for years and can't remember where I put it- but the author included a photo of the sear....I dug out the one I had the trouble with and that little v is where mine broke. I had a M50 re-barreled to 7X57 a couple years ago and haven't got around to changing out the trigger but intend to. Bruce

Carbon, When I said the throat in my model 50 was short and asked about yours I appreciated your answer and finally measured mine today. I took a fired case and w/a neck die sized about 3mm of the neck and then put a 180 gr. Sierra MK in it about that deep and closed the bolt. The coal from tip to base is 3.255 a lot shorter than yours, anyway FYI. Thanks-Muddy

get yourself a Blackburn trigger and a 3 position safety and don't look back!

Muddy22,

I need to apologize for my previous post reporting the chamber of my M50 has a max COAL of 3.668 with 200 gr Mega bullets. That was an error. The correct max COAL is 3.298". So the throat of your M50 may not be that much different than the throat in my M50.