Single set trigger

[billd]

A older gentleman came to me today asking I put together a gun for him.  the problem is the stock he bought is Pecatonica's English Rigby style, a pistol grip stock.  He's looking for a single set trigger.  My question here's is will a pistol trigger work?   Can anyone recomend something of quality??

The story is......The barrel is out of his previous gun. It's .Rayle .69 caliber fast twist. He shoots a 700 grain slug.   The old stock cracked thru the grip and he feels the new pistol grip stock will have less felt recoil.  So I'm using all the old parts except I need a trigger and trigger guard.
Thanks,
Bill

[Dphariss]

If he is shooting a 700 grain slug and the gun is light IE the barrel is light. You will have trouble with the barrel pounding the stock to death if he uses enough powder to get any velocity and apparently he does if its already broken a stock.
I would let him take it someplace else. But thats just me.
Dan

[billd]

Dan,  Not that light. It's a 1 3/16 x 36"   He said he had several hundred shots before the stock cracked.  The grain layout in the original stock wasn't the best either.    I have no problem doing the job for him. I just don't know what kind of trigger is available.

Bill

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I bought a single set trigger from MBS that is fairly decent - installed it in my Virginia rifle.  It needed polishing, but that's standard and expected.  I like it a lot.  They may sell one with a curved plate for use with a pistol grip stock.
There are a couple of things that will strengthen an English sporting rifle stock.  The first is to be sure that there is a perfect wood to metal fit at the breech.  Glass bed it if you have to.  The second is to cut away the left side of the patent breech plug...this allows much more wood in the fragile area at the breech near the lock bolt.  I'll try to find a picture of that to help explain what I mean.  And the third is to use a machine screw up through the trigger plate or trigger guard forward extension into the under side of the standing breech.  this pinches everything together so that there is no flex in the stock through the lock mortise.

[T*O*F]

Bill,
There is lot going on in that wrist/lock/breech area.  The component sets are usually matched because they are all inter-related and changing one part throws everything else out of whack.  Because of the pistol grip, everything must be precisely located because it all works together as a unit.  I'll upload some prints later on for you to look at.  I also have a pic of a fiasco that another builder tried to install a single set on a Rigby.  I bought the whole gun for $200 and was only able to salvage the barrel which had a nicely done false muzzle and was what I wanted in the first place.

[T*O*F]

[billd]

Thank you Taylor and TOF.   TOF,   can you email me that picture?  I downloaded it and it's kinda small to blow up. It gets real pixelated.  Did the gun you bought have a set trigger?          billd@epix.net

Bill

[T*O*F]

Did the gun you bought have a set trigger?

Yes and no.  It had a poorly thought out attempt which ended up trashing a $300 piece of walnut with ebony nose and grip caps.  The guy made some nice longrifles, but didn't have a clue about these English rifles.

I'll see if I can find the print pic and email it to you later.  Trying to get ready for an out of state visit with the kids.

I think if you want a set trigger, you will have to build your own based on all the stuff going on in that area.  The trigger plate is the key because it locates everything else that all those screws have to attach to.

[T*O*F]

Bill,
2 emails sent.  I hope you're not on a dial-up connection.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Dave, that is a well drawn plan for an English Sporter.  It clearly shows the relationships between all of the component sets.  Without such a drawing, one is jumping into deep water on faith alone...for me anyway. 

There is one observation about the drawing if I may...I'd like to see the tail of the lock a little closer to the centre line of the wrist.  To accomplish that one would need a little more of a humped up top wrist line, or a little less immediate drop at the end of the standing breech.

This is the kind of drawing I make for every gun I build, though not as well done as yours.

[T*O*F]

Taylor,
I can't take any credit for that print.  It's the late Don Brown's print of an original Alex Henry LRML.  Also, the tail of the lock is kicked in toward the centerline.  The wrist is only slightly larger than an inch at the rear of the lock panels.

[Jim Hart]

These same features are shown on TOW's "English Sporting Rifle" plan.