Does anyone know of an affordable aftermarket trigger for the 788? My .222 is the most accurate rifle I own, but I bet I could tighten groups with a little less trigger pull. mtmuley

Timney makes one. I put one in a year ago and was quite happy with the results.Rick.

+1

Timney is the only one making an aftermarket 788 trigger, that I'm aware of.
I do have the mod required to upgrade the factory trigger, and did one, but won't be doing any more. The 788 trigger design is the same design as the Rem 580 series triggers. As long as the heavy force between the sear and the cocking piece is directed to the trigger blade as in the factory design, pull weight will always be heavy. What's required is an additional lever.

I put a Timney trigger on my 788/233 and am very pleased. Should have done it sooner. The rifle shoots.

Steve

Thanks guys. I'm gonna look into one. mtmuley

Mtmuley: Is your Rifle for sale by any chance?
Best of luck with your trigger improvement quest.
I have owned MANY 788's and I have always "made do" with their triggers. Most of them were quite acceptable.
I am down to just one 788 right now and its in caliber 223 Remington.
My 223 Model 788 is making groups (5 shots at 100 yards) in the mid and upper 7's (.740" to .780")
- its consistent but I am trying to shave a couple of 10ths of an inch off of this performance.
I bought this one used and am not sure of the round count on the barrel?
Maybe I won't be able to improve on what its doing now?
Again best of luck with your trigger improvement quest - I don't have any suggestions for you.
I have several Timney triggers on other model Rifles but never had one on a 788.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Timney SAID they were gonna make a run of 788 triggers about a year or so ago and I ordered two. I'm still waiting. Then Midway showed them as "coming soon" in their catalogs and then that kinda went away.
There is a proceedure where you can make the trigger adjustable and I've had a couple of them done by a friend of mine but he has since moved. So.......
I saw the diagram of what needs to be done in here or over in AR recently.

Varmint guy, Sorry, no way on the gun being for sale. I love my 788! I keep my eyes open for them myself. I may have a local smith massage the factory trigger. He did an amazing job on my "non-adjustable" 700 triggers, and has worked the 788 some. We have a contest at our local range for prizes, the winner taking home a Cooper. I'd like to try my luck with a "low grade" rifle. mtmuley

I believe Dayton-Traister makes a replacement 788 trigger.

My original 788, 22/250 trigger breaks at a measured, crisp and consistent 3 lbs; very happy with it. I am not aware that anyone has ever tinkered with the stock pull.

Mike Bryant is said to do a very nice trigger job on 788s, he's a gunsmith down in TX, I think.

Mtmuley: I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of winning that Cooper Rifle!
I hope you win it!
Wouldn't that be a hoot.
Yes that may be the best way to go initially - have a gunsmith work over the original trigger.
Again best of luck.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

mtmuley - where, and when is the match with a Cooper for a prize? I wouldn't mind coming over for that match, it isn't that far to the Bitterroot for me.

drover

drover, It is held at our local range West of Hamilton. If you want, I'll get info as soon as this years match is set and I'll keep in touch. What I do know is targets are at 150 yards with a small circle and about a 1/4 inch center bull dot. I don't think bench guns are eligible. Prizes are won through the match with the Cooper being given to the overall winner. Participation is limited, but I'll find out as soon as I can. Varmintguy, Yeah, it sure would be a kick in the pants to even get past the first round. A lot of super rifles show up. My .222 is damn near a one hole gun if I was a one hole shooter. Killed my first coyote with it when I was 12. mtmuley

You must be talking about the Cooper One-Shot match, I have shot it the last three years. Although the entry forms are available yet it is my understanding that the One-Shot is on July 17 this year. It is limited to 40 competitors and it usually is full shortly after the date is firm. You can go to the Cooper site and look under events and you will find all of the info listed there.

There are money shoots that you can buy into prior to the One-Shot and the day before there is a 22 benchrest match also. I have been fortunate enough to win enough at the money shoots to pay entry fees and motel expenses but I have yet to win a painting or the Cooper rifle.

However you will not be able to use your 788 to compete the match is limited to Cooper rifles - here is a copy of some of the rules, from the Cooper site.

One-Shot Rules

Firearms safety must be maintained at all times. Failure to comply with range rules or safe practices will result in the offender being removed from the range.

1. The entry is $150. This includes a T-shirt and cap and admission to the party for the shooter and one other person.
It is non-refundable.

2. There can be no substitute shooters.

3. Rifles must utilize:

Cooper Actions

Stocks made by Cooper or a recognized Cooper Arms vendor

A working safety

4. The same rifle may not be used twice on the same target.

5. All calibers made by Cooper Firearms are legal for this competition.

6. Scope magnification is unlimited.

7. Any free rest is allowed, but shooters must use the range\'s shooting benches.

8. Shooters are allowed two minutes to shoot once the range command is given.

9. During the painting and grand prize competition, only shooters and range personnel are allowed in the shooting bay. The use of spotting scopes to dope other shooter's performance is strictly forbidden.

10. Individual paper targets supersede the actual painted target.

11. Loud, profane, abusive or unsportsmanlike conduct will result the offender being removed from the range and banned from future Cooper Firearms sponsored events.

12. Decisions of the Rangemasters and judges are final.

13. Deadline for applications will be June 1st, 2010.


drover

Dang! I wasn't aware of all that. I learned of it from a guy I run into at the range. He has a ton of Coopers. I am lucky enough to get to shoot them some when he's there. I'd kill for the one he has in .222. I've looked at them(they are made right down the road)but I'm in the building trade and I'll have to wait for some of the "change" to happen before I look to buy. I may spectate this year, let me know if you shoot. mtmuley

If the guy you see at the range shoots the One-Shot maybe he would let you use one of his Coopers to compete with. I understand what you are saying about the building trade, my son is in it and it is pretty bleak right now.

Actually good used Coopers can often be had for the $1000 mark, I know that is a lot when with the current situation but on the other hand it is a good time to buy if you can swing it.

I stop by the Cooper facility often and know quite a few of the folks who work there, they are a great bunch of people.

I may possibly have a conflict of match dates this year - if the Canadian National Silhouette Championships are held on the date they are talking about, and the One-Shot is held on the date they are talking about I will have to decide which one I will attend because the proposed dates of the matches overlap. I hate to miss the One-Shot it is one of the best matches Ihave ever attended, there are folks there from coast to coast and it is nice to spend a couple of days with a bunch of other folks with a common interest. There is a regular contingent of about 10 to 15 folks who show up every year and most everyone else is new so it is a chance to meet old friends and make new ones.

To illustrate just how great of an event it is - every match I have attended has had folks who have traveled from the east coast and deep south, and west coast just to attend. This in itself shows that it is about more than just the chance to take one shot at winning a Cooper rifle since between travel expenses and entry fees they could buy a couple of them if it was only about a rifle.

keep your eyes open for that steal of a price on a Cooper and come join us.

drover

drover, I'll do that. I've always wanted a Cooper, and thinking about it now, the cost of them for the quality of rifle really isn't too bad. The Remington Sendero and others like it run over $1000. Like I said, let me know if you shoot. I've met and been helped by a lot of great people on a couple hunting/shooting sites and it would be nice to put a face to a name someday. mtmuley

As soon as I get dates firmed up I will let you know if I will be there or not.

You are absolutely correct about the pricing on Coopers. One nice thing about them is that tend to be cared for better than most used rifles. I have purchased a couple of used ones and neither of them could be told from new. When you have some free time take a look at gunsamerica.com there are usually some used ones there, quite often at very reasonable prices. Then of course there are bunch of high-dollar optioned ones there also but remember the accuracy guarantee is the same whether you buy the basic one or a fully optioned one, the price of some of the full options ones choke me up.

I have not paid more than $1000 for any of mine, there are deals out there so just be patient and keep saving those dollars for when one does pop up.

drover

Here is a diagram for an adjustable 788 trigger........

I have done a few 788 and 540 series triggers similarly to this. Years ago there was an article in Rifle magazine on modifying them along these same lines.

The only difference in the ones I did was that I drilled and tapped another hole on the back of the trigger about half way between the sear and the ledge on the trigger that the bottom of the sear spring rests on. I then installed a screw to be used as a platform for a shortened sear spring. A little different approach I used on a couple was to drill hole from side to side and install a roll pin for the sear spring to rest on. Either way works just fine but if you use the drill and tap and a screw then you can use that screw as the sear engagement also rather than having to install the sear engagement screw lower in the trigger housing as shown in the previous picture. Without providing a platform for the sear spring to rest on the sear spring resistance still acts on the trigger giving a heavier pull. It does require a bit of experimenting to find the correct spring for the new weight of pull adjustment.

If you can find a Remington weight of pull screw from a 700 it has a smaller diameter on the end of it which allows you to simply slide the weight of pull spring onto the screw. If one is not available I have used epoxy to adhere the spring to the end of the screw with good results.

note: If you use the 700 screw it will be a 6-48 thread.

This modification makes a decent trigger out of them if done correctly. I did a couple that would safely go under 1 lb.
For quite a few years this was the only alternative for an adjustable trigger for the 788, I see that Timney now has an aftermarket trigger available for them.

sgtsmmiii - Nice schematic, since I long ago misplaced the copy of the magazine with the illustration in it, I will save a copy of your illustration. Thank you for providing it.

drover

You're welcome. Glad it can help. I, too, used this for one on a .223. Nowadays, I'd probably just go with a Timney.

Brownells is showing the Timney 788 replacement trigger in stock pn 883-000-009 for $120.99

Pmc