ShotGun Trigger Work at Home

L

last man standing

Inactive
I started my adult interest in firearms after purchasing my first Glock handgun.
Yes, I know there are probably better shooters out there etc etc. BUT, what drew me to Glock in large part was its simplicity and relibility. Less than 20 parts and I can dis-assemble it with a good twig.... All I need for my self defense is my 9mm Glock, some really fine self defense round matched to MY Glock, and shot placement, shot placment, shot placement.

This rant leads up to my inherent desire to work on my own firearms if at all possible. There is plenty of info on the web, and by applying a few basic rules for the doit-yourself person entering new territory, spiced with a dash of patience, the results are most often rewarding.

So, how come so many folks complain about sloppy shotgun trigger action but I will be durn if I can find any reasonable info on how to dis-assembly my trigger assembly and polish, smooth, grind, ;and/or replace parts MYSELF until I get a trigger that makes me go, AHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Walt Rousch (sp) says in his fine older wisdom, that trigger press, or trigger pull (whatever you want to call it) in FIRST and foremost the thing to learn, master, and ingrain in ones mind. Sight picture, Walt says, is second. I agree.
And sloppy triggers are like anything else that is sloppy. Find the nearest trash can.....

So WHERE can I learn to how to start working on the trigger assembly of my mass production Remington 870 12 gauge Express Magnum..... I truly have searched, but I have not found.

thank you....
 
You need Jerry Kuhnhausen's book "The Remington 870 and 1100/11-87 Shotguns: A Shop Manual".

This is available from Brownell's, Midway, and most online and local booksellers for about $30.00.

This is a real gunsmith's manual on the Remington's and shows the FACTORY way of gunsmithing and repairing them.
It also tells you what NOT to do.

You don't see a lot of info on trigger work on shotguns because of the basic differences in use.
Rifles benefit from trigger work because of their accuracy needs.
Shotguns are fired with a different trigger technique and don't show as much benefit, unless it's a dedicated slug gun OR unless the owner just likes to spend money.

For this reason, other than light honing of parts, there's not a lot done on most pump guns, and the 870's trigger assembly is already pretty smooth.
 
Should the average driver work on his or her brakes?

Heck no. But, some folks can and do.

Kuhnhausen is a fine guide. However, most 870 triggers fall under 5 lbs and are reasonable clean. A couple here are better than most new rifles.

Out of 6 870s here, 3 are at or under 4 lbs. The heaviest runs 6.
 
I see many firing on closing or failures to fire coming. Unless you really know what you are doing it is best to let a gunsmith do it. Make sure you use a gunsmith who is recognized as competent in trigger work. As a last point you pull a shotgun trigger, not squeeze it like a rifle or handgun.
 
User1 Reply

Interesting comments gentlemen; thank you...

Although I am not an average driver and have worked on brakes for 50 years, I certainly would not advise most folks I know to do so. Most would not want to in the first place. Too messy. I do enjoy keeping my tools and the things I rely on in good working order and know my limits.

I will take the good advice, maybe just peek inside, and check out the reading recommended. It is interesting because in my reading, there are many of the 'pros' that talk about how sloppy production shotgun triggers are (eg, Chuck Hawkes [sp]). However, non recommends or even suggests the owner work the assembly over him/herself.

thanks again,
pm.
atlanta,ga
 
You're welcome. A couple things...

Rem's specs for the 870s are 3.5 to 6 lbs. The heaviest here is 5. That one is still clean without much travel. Most run close to 4 lbs. For a shotgun, that's just a touch heavier than optimum.

Top shooters in any shotgun game tend to have clean, crisp and light triggers on their competition guns. Best guess, the average weight on these is about 3.5 lbs. Some SBT guns run lighter, but these are quite specialized tools not used for anything else.

On a clays gun, a trigger shoe can help. The wider surface makes the trigger feel lighter and easier to control precisely. Not for "Serious" shotguns, it's another things to go wrong.

Of course, learning to use the very tip of the finger placed near the tip of the trigger gives max leverage and is easy to control precisely.
 
I wouldn't do it personally. I don't trust myself and would rather pay someone who has BTDT and even makes a living at it. Experiance is worth paying for.

That said, I sat & watched my buddy last night make his own 'Happy Trigger' for his 336CS, against my advice. He said if he botches it, he'll just buy a real one. We pulled apart my 1895G and let him compare a real HT to his stock trigger and he just went off with the stone on it.

I must say I was really impressed and except for the trigger flop still being there, it's just as good as my real HT. It passed safety test, cocked unlocked, bounce butt on floor until it was obvious it wasn't going to fall.

I think he got lucky and I still wont try it, but dangit, he did it and it was a serious improvement. He said he's going to call it his 'Ecstatic Trigger' because he saved 90 bucks in the process. Took maybe 30 minutes.
 
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