Caplock Pistol Trigger Adjustment

[roblvt]

I got this caplock pistol kit given to me a few years back (kind of a cheap one), that was not finished. So, I finished it and have shot it a number of times. The problem with it is that the trigger squeeze is wicked hard. You really have to reef on it to get it to fire. Not knowing how to adjust it, can anyone tell me how I can get that trigger pull adjusted down to a reasonable level? Maybe you need more details, so here goes:
It is a caplock. The springs all appear to be flat, bent type springs (no coils). There is no screw to adjust it, that I have found.. Just looking for ideas and advice.

 

[Tinker2]

Welcome to the forum.

Pictures would help us.
As much information as we can get is good.
Is it a side lock? If so, how does the lock work out of the wood? Any screws to tight, binding? With the lock removed, is the trigger binding? Trigger hitting/rubbing the trigger guard or wood?
Sear rubbing the wood on the inside of the stock?



Tinker2

 

[roblvt]

I can answer a few questions without pictures..
1. It is a sidelock.
2. The trigger is real loose with the lock removed.
3. I do not know if it is binding, I don't believe it is but I can check it again tonight.
4. No pictures yet (I am at work the gun is home...).
Let me check on the other questions.

 

[longfowler]

I think you should give it to the best pistol shooter at last week's biathlon, I'll bet he knows his way around a trigger
And I hear he works cheap, too!

 

[Zonie]

RobIVT
My guess is that you have an old CVA imported pistol.
Are their any marks on the barrel?

Anyway, assuming it is one of the sidelocks they imported, one of the chief causes of a very hard trigger pull is the tightness of the screw that holds the sear.
The sear is the piece behind the tumbler and it will have an arm sticking out from the lock for the trigger to push against.

The screw that holds it in place should not be tight. It should be slightly loose, just enough to allow the sear to move freely.
If you tighten it and then back it off about 3/4 to 1 turn that would be about right.

Another offender is the sear spring. That's the little spring at the rear of the lock that pushes down on the sear.
The width (not the thickness) of the lower leaf of this can usually be filed down. Taper the filing so the U shaped area is about the same as it is now and the nose that rests on the sear is about 3/4 as thick as it originally was.

The other part of the problem is due to the trigger pins location relative to the sear arm.
There is not too much that can be done about this but as you examine your gun remember that the closer the pivot is to the sear arm the lighter the trigger pull will be.

Some folks polish the top of the trigger. The part that contacts the sear arm. The smoother it is the better the pull will feel but, generally polishing it won't help with the weight of the triggers pull.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[rafterob]

Some of the locks that didn't have the little adjustment screws on the tumbler have a lot of extra metal on the full cock notch of the tumbler. File that down to be even with the sear nose and then use fine emory cloth to polish the contact surfaces. I remember the instructions on my CVA/Jukar kentucky pistol kit listed this step to lighten trigger pull. I recently performed this action on a CVA sharpshooter lock and made the mistake of trying to file the inside angle of the notch itself, I just about rendered the lock useless-just a word of warning!