Model 70 Trigger safety check??
I need a gunsmith's opinion on how to check my rifle for safety against a possible accidental discharge. I've recently had my Model 70, 7mm Rem Mag's trigger adjusted. Prior to the adjustment, it took two men and a small boy to get the rifle to fire. Needless to say, this rifle was tough to shoot decent groups with. Now, the trigger breaks clean and crisp and seems very light. I really like how it feels when dry fired. I still have not taken it to ther range to test fire. My concern now is whether or not TOO much adjustment was made. I do not have a trigger scale and have no idea how light it really is. If I were to guess, it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 to 3 pounds. Can anyone please give me the proper way to test this for safety in detail?? Here's what I've done and the result: First after clearing the weapon I cocked the bolt in the fire position. With the rifle on safety, I pulled the trigger as hard as I could. The rifle did not fire. I then took the rifle off safety and then put it back on safe and pulled the trigger again. Still the rifle did not fire. I repeated this about 15 times with the same result. Next came the drop test: Again, starting with a cleared weapon, I cocked the rifle, placed it on safe, and took it out to my concrete patio. I then took the rifle off safety and holding the barrel verticly just above the end of the forearm with the recoil pad about 15 to 18 inches off the patio, I let the rifle freefall sliding through my hand until the recoil pad bounced off the patio. Still keeping a very loose grip on the barrel, I allowed the butt to bounce off the concrete until it stopped on it's own. Here's the result: On the inital bounce, the rifle did not fire. However when it came down again for the second bounce the rifle fired more than half the time. The next variation of drop test I've done is to grab the rifle by the barrel in the vertical position firmly and slam the buttstock (recoil pad) strongly onto the concrete. I did not allow the rifle to bounce. This time I could not make the rifle fire. It only fires when I allow the rifle to bounce back for a second strike on the concrete. As a follow up, I repeated the above drop tests with the rifle "on safe". At no time did the rifle ever fire when the safety was engaged in either the full safe or halfway position. Still, I'm unconfortable with not knowing exactly HOW I should be checking this for a "proper drop test"? The guy who worked on my rifle told me that anytime my trigger pull is set for a weight less than that of the rifle, it would not pass my type of drop test and that the rifle was fine the way it was. However, my Remington 700 has a great trigger and passes the same tests EVERY time. Any thoughts and opinions would be appreciated. Zeus
Last edited by Zeus77; 10-07-2006 at 11:45 AM.
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