Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters How high for the safe trigger "Drop test"

Want to know if the safety is good or there won't be a negligent discharge? Hold that rifle two feet up and SLAM that sucker on its butt on concrete. Now if you don't want to do that, keep the chamber clear until it is time to shoot.

Pre-2008 Winchester M70, adjusted to a 2 pound pull weight, consistently failed when the rifle was dropped at a height of 12" on a tile floor with a 1/4" rug.

To comment on the posts about hunting with the clear/empty chamber, I have to assume that you do not hunt where large brown bears are frequently at very short distances. With a bear charging you from 30 yards, you will be lucky to get off 2 aimed shots with a bolt action rifle, IF there is already a round in the chamber for the first shot. In my hunting situation, especially alone walking in the Carpathian forests, I will have a round in the chamber. RJ

I'm an amateur tinkerer, so take my .02 for what's it's worth, but your report doesn't surprise me at all.

I'd never set an open M70 trigger that light and have found most M70's need to be in the 2.75b range to pass a drop test (if just adjusted "as is" from the factory - ie, no sear polishing/work or spring replacement).

I always drop them from around 2' onto concrete to test since it seems like a more real world test than carpet.

Hell, Brad, how many concrete floors do you come across when you're hunting? If I'm going to slide down a scree slope, I probably don't have a shell in the chamber. Just like when I'm driving in the truck or climbing over a fence. GD

You would lose the left one

Brad, you are correct that a concrete floor is a better test, And brother, I assure you that I am not calling you a liar. I honestly believe no Winchester M70 with the original factory open type trigger adjusted to 2.75 pounds, will pass a drop test of 2 feet (with the safety in the "fire" position) on a concrete floor. Of testing 4 of these rifles,I have never got one to pass with a pull weight of 3 pounds dropped at 1 foot on a concrete floor with a rug about 3/8" thick. And 3 pounds is 3 pounds whether the sear is polished or not. RJ

How many pieces of carpet or rubber matting do you find in the backcountry? Seems to me concrete is a better real world test. How about your criteria?

As I have stated before, I think the entire concept is ludicrous. In the real world people do not load their rifles then pound them on the ground. The Winchester trigger design is such that inertia can fire the rifle if the trigger is set light enough or the rifle strikes the ground hard enough, it will fire. So what? Just don't pound your loaded rifle on the ground while staring into the muzzle and you should be alright.
I had been gunsmithing for twenty years before I even knew some people liked to bounce their Model 70's on the floor to test the triggers. I knew that a model 70, due to the inertia of the trigger piece, could fire is you whacked the butt hard enough. This tendency was exacerbated if you were one of those guys who liked to hang a trigger shoe on your trigger. I had never tried bouncing them on the floor and still consider it to be a stupid test. I have one model 70 on which the trigger was set at 14 ounces. I tried it and it would trip at eight inches but not at six. The thing is, I could slam the bolt as much as I wanted, flip the safety on and off all I wanted and it would never fire unless I applied fourteen ounces of pressure to the trigger. The drop test, perhaps of some academic interest, was, otherwise, absolutely meaningless. I later set that trigger up to 2 pounds when I decided to uniform all my target rifle triggers ( except for the 2 oz ones). I have not dropped it since but I reckon I could gain some height if I did. GD