23 December 2013, 23:51
Bob NisbetMarlin 39A Trigger Work
My dad took me to a gun shop to purchase my 39A back in 1956. I used that rifle as-in till just a couple of months ago. After arriving home from hunting, I began cleaning the rifle and noticed that the trigger screw in receiver section was loose. I though long and hard whether to add some locTite or remove the screw and see if there was a way to improve the trigger. The trigger on that rifle was somewhat heavy, breaking somewhere near 7 pounds.
I decided to do the disasembly and inspect both the hammer sear and trigger engagement. To my surprise, I found that the original trigger screw was undersize and that the trigger "floated" on the screw until the hammer sear was engaged. I also found that the trigger's sear engagement element was not square to the trigger body.
A friend that happens to be a master machinist asked to help. He made a new trigger screw that was a perfect fit and also calculated and cut the trigger to properly engage the sear. The result is a 3-3/4 pound trigger with almost no creep.
Anyone else that has a 39A with a terrible trigger may wish to have the screw checked. (If the trigger wobbles left and right when the hammer is held back with the thumb, the screw is undersized) I believe that just replacing the screw may be a major benefit if there are no other problems.
26 December 2013, 20:57
butchlocgreat helpful post. just one of the things that makes ar
07 March 2014, 18:21
Steve E.How does it shoot? My 39 shoots pretty good and it's just something about shooting a lever action.
Steve......