Trigger Fitting

[Nhgrants]

The point I am at right now is with the trigger and Triggerplate installed and snugged up with
The Tang screw, the cock stays back wwhen in the full cock position. My concern is that there is
Pessure on the trigger from the sear spring in the full forward uncocked position.
When the cock is in the full forward uncocked position, should there be NO contact between
The trigger and sear bar?
Thanks

[G_T]

I'll let more experienced people say what "should" be! And please pardon me if I use incorrect or unusual terminology somewhere in this post - but correct me so I know!

As the lock is cycled from hammer fully forwards, through half cock, to full cock, the sear rides on the outside of the tumbler. The contact between the sear and the tumbler sets the angle of the sear, which sets the height of the sear trigger bar.

The trigger and set trigger plates may have heights which will be a little different depending on whether the trigger is set or unset.

I  don't have any  concerns really about contact between the sear trigger bar and the trigger plate(s) when in an uncocked position, as long as there is no binding or strain on the system. It is not a safety issue. I just make sure the trigger can be unset from being set when the hammer is fully forwards. That might be something a person would want to do.

There needs to be room for the sear to drop fully into the halfcock notch of the tumbler. I consider anything preventing this to be most definitely a safety issue! The sear needs to be able to drop into the notch, whether the trigger is set or unset.

At full cock, the sear needs to be able to make sufficient engagement with the fullcock notch of the tumbler that there is no way the hammer can drop unintentionally. That is with the trigger set or unset.

At full cock, the trigger needs to be settable without disturbing the sear engagement with the tumbler.

The lock plate must be secured to the stock in a sufficiently stable fashion that it has one alignment. IF the alignment can shift, then the trigger to sear engagement can shift. That is not good.

Excess travel of the front trigger before the plate engages the sear bar is not something I like. I like the minimum I can get away with, while all the above criteria are met. File or stone down the triggers as needed for the safety issues above, but go no farther than needed. If it is already sloppy, then low temp silver solder a piece of steel on top of the trigger's vertical plate and start fitting again. I like the steel from left over allen wrenches for this. They seem to keep some hardness through the process and then polish up to a nice smooth trigger action afterwards. Leaving it slightly wider than the original trigger blade width also reduces any galling tendencies.

All IMHO of course! Feel free to disagree with anything I've said! I'm here to learn!

Gerald

[Nhgrants]

Thanks, I should have mentioned that this is a simple trigger and not a set trigger.

[Jim Kibler]

There should be no pressure from the trigger on the sear at half cock or full cock.  If so, file a little off the top of the trigger until you have a tiny bit of slack at both locations.

Jim

[ron w]

 I don't like things wiggling around on my guns. I prefer to put a very light spring against the trigger. one that will just barely keep the trigger against the back of the trigger slot, away from the sear bar. it's pressure is imperceivable when you put your finger on the trigger, but keeps the trigger from wiggling around.  it may be PC or HC, but it is "personally correct" for me. and that counts, too !

[bama]

Being a target shooter I prefer no creep or travel in my front trigger before the top of the trigger plate makes contact with the sear bar.

The lock itself has a lot to do with this arrangement. On some locks the travel of the sear bar on its way to the half and full cock position goes below the level of its final position at full cock. In this case you have to have clearance between the top of the trigger plate and the bottom of the sear bar to allow for this downward movement of the sear bar.

Some of the locks today are designed so that the sear bar never travels below the level of half and full cock in its course of travel around the tumbler. In these locks you can snug the top of the trigger bar up to the bottom of the sear bar and all will be well. When I say snug, I mean almost touching.

Some people do make a light spring to be added to a simple trigger that will put a very light pressure on the trigger so that the top of the trigger plate will ride on the bottom of the sear bar as it travels from rest to half and full cock. This allows you to have clearance between the trigger plate and the bottom of the sear but the trigger does not rattle around as one of the other poster's mentioned. This spring has to be light enough that it will not hold the nose of the sear out of the half and full cock notches.

[ron w]

using alight spring to set the trigger back away from the sear bar is what I am talking about. if you are going to set the trigger up with a bit of clearance as described by Jim Kibler above. that clearance is is made by the spring keeping the trigger back away from the sear bar. the tiny amount of play as some people call "creep" is really not creep.  "creep" is when the trigger has travel during it's engagement with the sear and in a muzzle loader, is actually the product of the sear's engagement with the full cock notch.....basically a deep engagement. it is somewhat controllable by the placement of the trigger's pivot in relation to the sear's pivot and arm length. creep can be minimized, but never really completely eliminated in a black powder trigger. it's geometry simply doesn't allow it to be non-existent as in "the trigger breaking like piece of glass" that is said to be as a good high power trigger should be.