A trigger that does not like the cold

T

toasty

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I recently acquired an old Ruger 44 mag semiautomatic carbine (made in 1963). It works like a charm in warm weather, say above 50 deg F, however, as the weather cools, the trigger becomes progressively harder to pull. Below 30 deg F it is nearly impossible to fire. However, it returns to normal if the rifle warms back up.

Would this be a problem that can be corrected by cleaning do you think, or is this more likely to be a mechanical problem?

Ruger literature strongly advises against dissassembly of the trigger mechanism, so I have not yet attempted that. (Believe me, if the trigger mechanism is more tricky than the rest of the rifle, I may not want to).

As a newcomer to this forum, I can tell that some of you have tremendous experience with firearms. For myself, I have 50 years of hunting experience, but aside from cleaning my guns, I have never messed with the trigger assemblies.

Thanks for any suggestions...
 
Yes, cleaning will solve this. No, you do not need to disassemble the trigger mechanism to do it. Either soak it liberally with a good gun solvent like Hoppes #9, or get some GunScrubber and hose it out. Don't forget a few drops of light oil afterwards if you use GunScrubber.
 
For what it's worth, you do not, repeat: do not want to disassemble the trigger group. I had one brought in that the owner had completely taken apart the entire gun for me to put back together. Life got real interesting. Goat
 
heavy oils tend to gum up the fire control group
Click to expand...

And produce symptoms like those you describe.

Lighter fluid is also good for cleaning triggers, and leaves enough residue behind to prevent rusting usually.
 
soak it in paint thinner (mineral spirits), use compressed air to blow the excess thinner off, there is no reason to oil the trigger assembly because the mineral spirits has oil in it. What is left on the trigger assembly is sufficent lubrication.. More triggers are mess up by oiling plus oil attracts dirt to gum up a trigger, additionally when temps drop the oil thickens.. William
 
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