Single Trigger Pull Weight?

[Eric Krewson]

I am collecting parts for my first rifle and debating whether to put a single trigger or a set trigger in it. I am planning a J.P. Beck style rifle. I have one smooth bore trade gun given to me by a friend and the single trigger takes about 7 or 8 lbs of pressure to trip. What kind of trigger pull could I expect out of a properly installed single trigger? I am using a Deluxe Siler lock. I have double set triggers on my TC flinters and one other longrifle that can be difficult in some cold weather hunting situations. For this reason I am leaning toward a single trigger but being a novice I don't know what to expect as far as trigger function.

 

[rich pierce]

Lots of things determine trigger pull and you can get a safe pull on a single simple trigger from 3-15 pounds. The main thing you do not want is creep.

Leverage exerted by the trigger and geometry and finish of the lock parts determine the pull.

If the trigger is pinned high, the lever is long and there is a mechanical advantage, but the trigger will move further before releasing the sear. If pinned low, the opposite. The full cock notch and the sear nose should be perfectly mated and releasing the sear should not "fight" the mainspring. Some full cock notches are angled wrong and pulling the trigger actually levers the cock backward a fraction. Safe but wicked hard.

Last but not least there is measured pull and perceived pull. If the gun fits well and the trigger shoe is comfortable and the release has no creep, the pull will feel better at a higher measured weight.

 

[Richard Allen]

I have always used set triggers but decided to try a single trigger with my Chambers Early Lancaster Rifle.

I tried using a trigger pivot pin drilled through the stock but wasn't satisfied with the amount of travel or trigger pull weight. After destroying several triggers by filing the wrong sear angle or driling the pivot hole in the wrong place, I finally figured out how to do it. The best explanation and drawings I found showing the proper lock and trigger geometry is in the book "Recreating the American Longrifle".

I silver soldered two ears on the top side of my trigger plate and drilled a hole in them for my trigger pivot pin. I also drilled and tapped a hole behind the trigger slot for an adjustment screw to take the slack out of the trigger.

My trigger now has minimal slack and over travel and breaks cleanly at less than a pound and a half.. I tried every way I know to try to cause the lock to accidently trip but have been unable to do so. I've shot the rifle over five hundred times since installing the trigger and hunted with it during two seasons. I'm hapy with my simple trigger.

:results:

Richard/Ga.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Well said Rich! I have a Nagant revolver with a single action pull of about 15 pounds and the double action is a real test of strength but I bet the poor Russian soldier ordered to charge a German position did not "preceive" that to be too heavy! :haha:

 

[Elnathan]

I would go for the single for a hunting gun, but I've never hunted (intend to try, though). Some people like doubles for hunting squirrels, though.
As others have noted, the weight of a single trigger depends on how it is made, and how the sear fits the tumbler. I have handled a few that were very, very light and crisp. One I have is pretty heavy- it pivots right at the triggerplate but has little travel. In my home-built piece I pinned it to the wood right in front of the sear, and while it is a little mushy due to fitting problems, it is pretty light. A little more travel then my other one.

 

[B.Habermehl]

I have built a bunch of guns. I hate set triggers because of fitting hassles and potential liability problems. A properly set up single trigger should break at 2-3 lbs. Its all about the geometry. The pivot of the trigger and the sear should be about on the same plane. Also the trigger pivot should be about 3/8 or so foreward of the sear arm. This will give you a decent trigger to start out and a real good one with a little tlc. More importantly it will be safer than a set trigger. :imo: Especially in Pa. our flintlock season is usually blue a$$ cold. Stiff half frozen, numb fingers make for a scary scenario with a set trigger. :m2c: BJH

 

[Eric Krewson]

I went back and reread the chapter on triggers in" Recreating The American Longrifle" Made a lot more sense after all the great info from you guys.

 

[Herb]

I like single triggers, and have made two so far. They can shorten the length of pull, even as much as 3/4". (See Carole's Custom .40 Flintlock in the photo section, archives). Have just ordered Muzzleloader Builders' Supply slim (Beck style) longrifle for a small person, and will use a single trigger. Also ordered and just got Pecatonica's Beck's Boys Rifle, his standard parts are a small Davis set trigger, and it adds at least 1/2" to the length of pull. Now for pull weight: My Green River Leman, which I made in the GRRW shop in 1978, has a single trigger, Track of Wolf sells it now. Just weighed it with an RCBS trigger weight of pull gauge, and it is over 72 ounces, not much. My Issac Haines (Track's parts) with single trigger trips at about 22 ounces, almost 1 1/2 pounds. Don't have Carole's rifle handy to weigh. My Jacob Wigle rifle (see it in Modern ML Hunting forum, Using Double Ball), copied exactly from the original and trigger pinned in the wood, trips at 15 ounces (Dickert flintlock), and I've fired it a few hundred times, probably 400 to 600. Single triggers are great. Another person referenced the book "Recreating the American Longrifle", it is good, and so is "The Gunsmith of Grenville County". Muzzleloader Builder's Supply has nice single triggers, and I think one of the best catalogs there is (No. 12.2).