trigger guard bow

[hortonstn]

i'm getting ready to install a trigger guard on a golden age style  rifle i'm building
i have installed davis dst triggers, and it seems to me the bow is not deep enough to miss the triggers, i don't want to bend the triggers so i guess what i'm asking is it doable to bend this guard or do different trigger guards have different depths of bow?
paul

[Gaeckle]

Pics would help, but you can re-shape the triggers or the gaurd or both.....

[rich pierce]

Certainly different guards have different depths. With experience it's possible to bend a guard if it is cast of soft brass not wax cast from a bronze alloy, but w/o experience you can run into trouble. It should be easest and safest to file the triggers (make them shorter). 

[bgf]

You might find a TG that is different (but will it fit the style of your build), or you can bend the one you have slightly (anneal frequently if brass), but I wouldn't eliminate bending or cutting the triggers -- its actually easier than bending the TG at some point.  Also, if it is a thick cast TG make sure you have filed it down to size before making the judgement that it won't fit.  The fit between triggers and TG is usually pretty close. 

Also, any bend you make in the TG will affect the inletting -- it sound far-fetched, but believe me, it can get you in just a moment's inattention:). 

[Dennis Glazener]

I don't know how much needs to come off but I have done the following:

Drop the trigger plate deeper in the stock mortise and remove wood accordingly from the underside of the rifle (only if the architecture allows). You may have to remove metal from the top of the trigger bars to get enough sear bar clearance.

I have also taken some off the bottom of the triggers and slightly re-shaped the triggers.

I have also reshaped the bow of the guard but don't try this if you have inlet or started to inlet the returns, it changes the overall length.

One or all of the above might work if the triggers are only slightly long.
Dennis

Also, if it is a thick cast TG make sure you have filed it down to size before making the judgement that it won't fit

That works too. I wrap coarse sandpaper around a piece of wooden dowel, put it in the lathe or drill press (or hand drill) then use that to thin the bottom of the trigger guard.


  

[Dave B]

I have done this on a couple rifles with good yellow sand cast guards. You can use a cross peen hammer to draw out the bow in length making it deeper.  The sand casting was plenty thick to allow for this. In one case I did slightly shorten the triggers.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

I've had this problem on a couple of Davis DST triggers also. The set trigger is a tad too long for the bow at the back. I solved it by filing off about an 1/8" from the bottom of the set trigger to make it clear the bow. The set trigger has such a curve in it that it still looks and works real well

[satwel]

I ran into the same problem with my current build. The rear trigger of my Davis double set triggers touched the inside of the bow before it set. I did as Micah and Dennis suggested and filed a little bit off the bottom of the trigger. I also thinned the inside of the triggerguard bow with a file. The guard is a nice soft wax casting from Keck, but I had already started to inlet it so I couldn't change its shape. I was leery about shortening the trigger, but it didn't take much to get the clearance I needed and it looks fine.