Trigger Surfaces

[Jerry V Lape]

I have a pinned in wood trigger on my flintlock with a relatively wide curving face with  pigtail.  The face is nice and shiny smooth and canted a little to the right.  I have found such a broad surface all smooth seems to be slippery and less than conducive to secure trigger control.  Been thinking about how to eliminate this by grooving the face of the trigger and possibly narrowing it quite a bit more like a modern trigger.  Have others experienced similar concerns and what did you do about it?

[rick landes]

IMHO I do not see the changes your contemplating as needed. I finish my trigger/sear contact points to a mirror finish after slowly lowering the trigger contact point so that a crisp light single stage trigger is built. The secure trigger control I do not understand. I do not touch my trigger until just prior to "letting-it-go".

I do understand the grooved target type of triggers you are referring to, but I see them more as a marketing tool than anything more. However...everyone has different preferences and likes so you may want to invest in a duplicate of your current trigger and give it a try.

I do think the wider trigger will cause trigger finger contact at a side pressure vs a straight back pull. I suppose one gets used to it on any given rifle and compensates accordingly. I do notice with my own shooting that the placement of my finger joint vs pad makes a difference.

[Benedict]

Would checkering the trigger surface work and possibly be more traditional?

Bruce

[Paddlefoot]

Don't change anything you can't undo.....the replacement trigger is the better idea. I have always found that the slick surface works best for me.  Going narrower may cure a problem like pressuring to one side or the other but you can fix that many ways. Take a look at an Anschutz .22 free rifle. Those triggers must have a dozen adjustments so the shooter can compensate for their position and shooting style. You have to think of what each of those adjustments does for you. Some we wont be able to duplicate on our ML guns but some will still be a factor in some way. Example. the .22's trigger can be moved front to rear so you can put it where the pad of your finger is just right to make a tiny pull straight to the rear without changing any other trigger quality. If we move the trigger shoe location on the ML gun we also change the leverage(on a single trigger) to the triggers pivot point and that changes the trigger pull weight. The wider shoe will make the pull feel lighter and narrowing it doea the reverse, to a point. A straight face vs. a curved face on the trigger has somewhat the same effect because of how your finger senses the pressure. You can make a lot of changes before you get one you can live with so dont chop on the original until you have something better.

[jerrywh]

Try etching the front surface with nitric acid. That makes a good non slip surface.