Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Browning Low Wall trigger job?

My Browning Low Wall needs trigger help. Any suggestions who can help me? Thanks...

Gary = I have something I can email you on doing that, PM your email to me.

Check your email Gary.

Thanks, Cliff...

Your quite welcome sir. Hope that helped.

Cliff, would you mind sending that to me as well? Have a .44 Rem Mag Low Wall I would like to tweak a bit myself. Thanks!

Anybody contemplating doing the so-called Dale McGee modification of the Browning trigger should be aware that all the set screw does is reduce the sear engagement. There are inherent risks involved in such an approach, and in Wayne McLerran's book on the Browning M1885 he notes that "setting the trigger too light can cause premature wear to the tip of the trigger sear, leading to a very unsafe trigger or a condition where the hammer will not stay in the full cock position." He also says that the trigger sear is relatively soft compared to the hammer sear. He does describe the McGee modification, which he call ingenious and simple, and notes that it can easily be removed. All or most triggers consist of a relatively complex system of levers and springs working in conjuction. Modifying just one part of the system poses inherent problems, especially if an attempt is made to produce a very light pull beyond the design parameters.

IMO, a safer, better, approach is to consult a gunsmith familiar with these rifles. Otherwise, proceed at your own risk.

Paul

This is strictly commentary and I am not saying that anything in Waynes book is not correct. But I don't understand why a sear in any fire control system would be made of relatively soft metal. Just the fact that the hammer sear surface has the hammer springs force bearing on the trigger sear, dictates that the sear surfaces should be hardened. Secondly, I know some light pull trigger systems ate attributed to sear angles or compound systems, but many are light due to being engineered for minimum engagement of the sear surfaces. And third,the McGee "set screw" is mounted to the solid receiver, so if it fits snugly and is loctited, it should provide consistent sear engagement. Just my opinion.

Actually it's NOT the sear that is soft on the Brownings 1885s but rather the sear hook on the TRIGGER itself.

Basically, it is a piece of half hard 1/8" thick steel sandwiched in the pot metal trigger blade.

The Miroku made 1885 sear itself is glass hard. and if you limit the sear engagement on the browning trigger , you WILL get unsafe trigger pulls.

The reason why the factory settings have so much creep is to prevent premature wear.

What is really needed is a solid tool steel custom trigger with a sear engagement screw in it.

I built a one off trigger from A-2 tool steel in the late 1990s for my BPCR 1885 and it held up fine. Better than the Crackerjack prize factory trigger.

No matter what the sear engagement setting a Browning trigger simply is not safe when set much lower than 24ounces.

Good info - Snooze if you PM me, I can fwd the article.

Jim62, Thank you for the info on the Browning 1885 trigger system. I have personally not been "inside" one, so your info gives me a little better understanding of the system. I am contemplating installing the McGee mod in my 1885 high wall. I will not set it for a trigger pull of less that 2 pounds.

Glad to report what I found. I bought at least 10 of the 1885 Brownings, High wall, BPCR and Low walls from about 1996 to 1999.

I tuned several of the triggers and was sort of astounded at how cheesy made the trigger blade itself was compared to that super hard all steel sear.

I ran an 0-80 Allen screw diagonally up through the trigger into the sear notch so I could adjust the engagement without permanently cutting the trigger sear insert down..

Once I adjusted the trigger fairly creep free, it was sort of scary how often I had to adjust it for more engagement due to the wear. A gunsmith friend of mine tested the trigger sear insert with a set of Rockwell files and he said it was about as hard as key stock from the hardware store. That is about what I thought when I worked on them.

Jim, is it difficult to remove the trigger group from the Browning High Walls? Is it very difficult to drive the pins out of the receiver and is it even necessary to remove the trigger group? Is there a way to put a reliable, safe light trigger pull on one without changing out the trigger parts?

There is no easy way to disassemble the Miroku 1885 trigger mechanism. Yes it can be done, but it's more difficult than an original 1885. It must be said, too that the ORIGIONAL 1855 single triggered guns are not the easiest rifles to tune the triggers on. That is due to the balance of spring tension that must be had between the sear spring and the trigger spring to keep the trigger safely cocked. It is why single set and double set triggers were offered by Winchester for those rifles.

Besides having the cheesy built trigger piece, the Brownings also have that issue of the intermediate sear between it and the hammer of the orgionals.

Truly, the best "fix" for the Brownings would be a custom tool steel Trigger with a properly hard sear notch and an engagement screw as I had built.

Jim, I do appreciate the info. I assume such a replacement trigger for the Brownings is not available. I shot my Browning 1885 in 30-06 for the first time yesterday. Most of the shot dispersion was lateral, which I suspected before I shot it. I am not good at shooting small groups with a rifle that has a trigger pull of 4 pounds or more. So I am unsure of what to do about this right now.

Practice more.

Seriously. Get a snap cap and dry fire it a bunch. Get used to the trigger. A 4lb trigger is a good safe hunting trigger.

I have shot match winning offhand scores with a 12/15 Martini with a 5lb + trigger. A lot of it is familiarity and "mind over matter". If you don't mind- it really does not matter..

Part of it is lock time. Any gun with a slow swinging hammer(even the no 1 which has an internal hammer) has several times the lock time of a striker fired bolt rifle.

Double check your bag setup and technique. Learn to get a nice straight follow through when the shot breaks.

Also check your forend bedding. That lateral stringing may be due to the forend touching the barrel.