Military Heritage made heavy trigger pull Fusil de Chasse

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tspivey0534

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I bought a replica French Fusil De Chase from Military Heritage Company our of Canada- love the fun but the trigger pull is really heavy- does anyone know how to reduce the trigger pull or know of a main sling replacement that would work Thanks
 
When I had an issue with a heavy mainspring I (carefully) filed it thinner until I had the pull I desired. Lots of info on here about how to do it correctly. Some vids on YouTube as well. These Made In India guns can be a pain to find replacement parts for as all the components aren’t precision uniform i.e one fusils mainspring might be 1/32 wider then its brother on the production line.
Good luck.
 
The mainspring is almost never the source of a heavy trigger pull. Do not try to reduce the mainsprings pressure.

The source is usually due to one of three things.
If the full cock notch in the tumbler is not machined at the correct angle with respect to the axis of the tumbler's shaft, the nose of the sear will be forced to climb uphill as it is withdrawn from the full cock notch. This condition will result in the hammer or cock appearing to move slightly to the rear as the trigger is pulled. This happens just before the hammer or cock is released.
If the lock's full cock notch is wrong, have a good gunsmith modify it. If you try to do this yourself there is a good chance of overdoing it. This can result in the shape pushing the nose of the sear out of engagement which will cause the gun to fire even without anything pulling the trigger.

The second thing that can cause a heavy trigger pull is, the location of the pin which the trigger rotates on is too far from the arm on the sear. This is a matter of leverage so, moving the pivot point closer to the sear arm (usually moving it rearward towards the butt of the gun) or, bending the sear arm so it makes contact with the trigger blade is the only fix. Bending the arm on the sear has it's risks. The nose of the sear is hardened and somewhat brittle. On some guns, the entire sear including the arm is hardened. If the arm is hardened, it will break if it is bent. To see if bending the arm is possible, use a file to try to remove a little material from the arm of the sear. (It is the thing that sticks out at 90 degrees from the lock plate. Moving it up, releases the tumbler.) If it is soft and files easily, it is OK to bend it forward a bit to make it closer to the trigger pivot pin.

The third common source of a heavy trigger pull is due to the sear spring. It is usually a small U shaped spring at the rear of the lock (TC and Lyman use coil springs). You can reduce the force created by the sear spring by filing the side of the (usually) lower leaf of the spring. It is the part of the spring that is pushing directly on the sear. Reduce the width of this spring, tapering it from the area of the bend, where it's width should be left alone, toward the tip of the leaf that contacts the sear. The taper can reduce the width from the original width at the bend, down to about 3/32" wide at the tip that contacts the sear. Don't overdo this. The spring must have enough power to always engage the nose of the sear with the half cock notch and the full cock notch.
Do NOT try to reduce the thickness of the leaf. Making the leaf thin will usually cause it to break.
 
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I have a FDC from Military Heritage and had the same problem. I determined that the sear notch on the tumbler was too deep and soft soldered a brass shim to the tumbler and shaved it down til the sear had a reasonable notch to lock on. I now have a secure lock up that releases at three pounds pressure on the trigger. Tested the lock up by slamming the butt hard on solid surfaces and it is good.
I used a sharp utility knife to shave the solder and brass shim to the proper thickness. It worked easily.
LBL
 
Zonie said it best. Please read his post carefully, especially the last line.

Your best bet might be to send the lock to a professional. Brad Emig of Cabin Creek Muzzleloading advertises his services as the "Lock Doctor." He fixed two flintlocks for me, one Pedersoli and one L&R, and did a great job with both. However, if it is a trigger problem as Zonie described, the gunsmith might need the whole gun.

Good luck with it!

Notchy Bob
 
My T.O.W. northwest trade gun build has a heavy trigger pull. I use 2 fingers and after getting use to it now find it acceptable. If I remember correctly, didn't the native Indians use 2 fingers on their T.G. weapons?
 
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