How much do trigger jobs usually cost? i going to need one soon on a ruger m77 and im going to want it down aroung 2.5-3 pounds

Around home 50-100 depending on time spent

I had a trigger job (the factory trigger lightened and adjusted) on a M77 MKII last year; I was charged $65.00 by my local gunsmith. The same gunsmith charges $75.00 for a Howa or Vanguard trigger job - he says they are harder to work on.

I gotta raise my prices...

Before I started doing my own it ran about 30.00 for a Winchester/Remington and 40-50 for a Ruger around here.

Last time I had a Ruger trigger done it was $30 or $35 which included lapping the rings. It's now perfectly crisp, creep free, and breaks at approx 3#, which is all I need/want/desire in a hunting gun. All that said, I'm still amazed at the folks that would rather spend more to replace the trigger w/ an aftermarket design.

Ruger 77 triggers are very easy to improve yourself. No need paying someone to change a trigger pull spring in that trigger.

If that's all you're going to do, you're right..

However, a good job on a Ruger is a lot more than that Don..

I'm an amateur smith at best, but I've done four of my Ruger triggers now and have been very happy with the results. 15-30 minutes from start to finish.

I agree with DMB, don't know why someone would pay a 100+ to replace it when it can be re-worked and provide a very good hunting trigger with very minimal effort.

what all do you have to do to do the trigger job your self?

Snip a coil off the spring, file a little off the sear engagement, polish the bearing surfaces. Probably something else could be done, but that's what most amateurs will do. You can do a search on it, and some sites will have diagrams with what to file, what to polish, etc.

Hoooboy..

yeah, do that. make sure you do it hastily, un square the engagement surfaces, whilst messing up the angles. Use a dremel if you must.

If you don't already know the proper way to do it, and how to execute the proper way, then spending the money is your best bet.

You could buy all the tools and look at a diagram, but you'd probably want spare parts handy if you screwed something up IE more $$$.

Seriously. A good set of honing stones, some kratex, and a trigger breakdown diagram detailing the points to modify are critical.

Pretty much what the local guys charge.

Mmmmm! Dremel! All these little stones in the accessory kit, which one to use!

Seriously, doing a good and proper trigger job is much, much closer to watchmaking than blacksmithing. Even if you know how and have the correct tools it takes practice on moving the tools properly. Which is why you pay a gunsmith for his expertise, unless you want to do a lot of re-work to learn it yourself.

So I don't kill myself or someone in the future, what'd I do wrong? I used the instructions here for more clarification than my brief description above: http://www.centerfirecentral.com/77trigger.html

File is the first mistake. Stoning should be all that's needed

lots of people just buy a Timney and throw it in then adjust it.

I see that the instructions you reference (assuming they're right for now) specify dimensions in thousandths of an inch. Can you hit those dimensions accurately while keeping edges crisp and flatness to about a tenth of that? That's what I mean by it's more like watchmaking. It's hard to do without practice even with the best tools.

Certainly you can improve a trigger while allowing more tolerance than that, tolerance on the side of safety, but more precision means a better result.

+1, I totally agree. Ruger triggers are very easy to work on. 20 minutes is all I need to get 2.5 pounds crisp and no creep.

Amateurs? what do the professionals do? I know the one who worked on my vanguard when I sent it back to a factory authorized service center for repairs scratched the schite out of it and gouged it with something. That's why I don't let someone else work on my rifles.

If it cost much at all to do a vanguard just wait till the timney's on sale and replace the POS. basically same money. Otherwise for a good trigger done right I let the pro's handle it. I've messed with a few and yeah it was "better" but still not comparable to a job by someone who knows ALL the intricatacies of the trigger being worked on. Some amateurs are more mechanically inclined and probably do a good job. For me; there is a measure of confidence knowing that I'm not "shade tree Bob with the hair trigger in the woods" LOL.

NOTE the first sentence in your link:

"The Ruger 77 trigger is one of the easiest factory triggers to rework. However, alterations to any firearm should be done only by a qualified gunsmith. This information is strictly for reference only and is not intended for use by anyone other than a qualified gunsmith."

Specific trigger work is something I will not post here.. It's one of those liability thingys that can sink the Titanic.. Things you described in your second post above are things Bubba would try.. Problem is, the result can literally be fatal..

'Nuff said..

A bad trigger job can cost you alot.

You don't have to be a "qualified gunsmith" to work on your guns. However, you do need to have a full understanding of the mechanisms you are working on. You do need to have correct tools such as ones a qualified machinist may have. You do need the ambition to want to do a precision job yourself and take pride in that. If you know you are not capable of doing this job yourself and you are man enough to admit that then kudos and let someone who is properly trained do the job. Well I have to go, my wife said the parts came for my dads mossberg 640kd chuckster and I have to do a trigger job on that aswell as replace the hammer, hammer spring, firing pin, extractors, trigger and trigger spring. Oh well, what do us amateurs know?

Depends on the definition of the word, 'work'.. Yep, which is what the definition of the word 'amateur' lacks.. The word 'full', is operative there.. Which the majority of amateurs lack. Sometimes, just enough to be dangerous..

As a parallel example: a professor in an Ag law course I took reminded us often, of this very true sentence: "A little knowledge of the law is a dangerous thing".

Ya might wanna study that one a little, there, Chiefy boy...

We got a few amateurs near me too.. They help pay for my monthly bills.. God love 'em...

A wise man knows his limitations.

That was mean.

Redneck, if you are saying I can't work on my own guns because I'm not a "qualified gunsmith", you are an idiot. Maybe you should of stayed in school a little longer or maybe you stayed in too long. This is the real world here and in the real world, people like many on the campfire like tinkering on their toys (so to speak).

Leave the insults to PM's

and yeah, tinkering is fun, but it can also kill you or the person next to you at the range if you don;t tinker right.

Nice try, Chief.. But you might wanna quit while you're behind.. Read the post again and try to comprehend words..

It's been obvious for a long time why so many posters here have you on ignore..

Bye bye..