Boinggg!
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:22 am
I developed an interest in improving the trigger on my Winchester (Miroku) 1885 falling-block rifle, and started doing the basic research, looking for exploded drawings, YouTube videos, and forum posts about working on these firearms.
I found that this information was pretty elusive, and that only three or four gunsmiths around the US are known for working on them. - So I decided to dive in on my own, taking images at each step so maybe I'd be able to figure out how to reassemble the gun later.
The one piece of advice I was able to dig up was to replace the trigger return spring with a ball-point pen spring, cut to the same length.
So I started to disassemble the rifle, discovering that there are two groups of parts in the receiver, the falling block with its lever, plus the hammer - and the trigger housing. I removed both simultaneously, as the hammer/sear parts were hooked into each other, preventing removal of just one group or the other.
Dual hammer springs, located on either side of the hammer and the trigger group, added some difficulty to removing the two groups, each sliding into grooves on the inside of the receiver. The springs provided pressure that made the two parts groups hard to move.
But I finally did get it all apart - and promptly lost one of the hammer spring guides, a nail-like do-dad that the hammer springs on each side are supported by. It flew across the shop and has yet to come to light. The spring was found within a few minutes, but it's guide is still hidden somewhere. - A strategically placed rag would have prevented that loss, I now realize.
I found that the trigger modification was very easy to do, and reduced the pull significantly, without introducing any reliability or safety issues.
Having no luck finding the missing part, I decided to look for a replacement. The Winchester website listed a link to a parts diagram, but the link was no good. In the link though, was the file-name for an exploded parts diagram. A search for that file on the internet turned up a copy of the PDF, so then I had the exploded parts diagram at last. - But it looked like Winchester was trying to get out of the 1885 parts business, so I tried Numrich Arms and found the part there.
A phone call to Winchester might have gotten me the part, but I have worked with Numrich arms for over twenty-five years and know what to expect from them.
Now I'm waiting for delivery of the spring guide, and have made a special tool for removing and installing that part without danger of it going flying across the shop. I've also made a slave pin that will hold the sear back while assembling the gun, so I can release it to engage the hammer after everything is back in the receiver. This will go a long way toward making reassembly quicker and easier.
Now that I have done all of this, I have discovered a way to replace the trigger return spring without disassembling the gun - but I am glad that I did so anyway, as it gave me an opportunity to stone the hammer/sear engagement surfaces, and apply silicone grease to some of the internal surfaces that you can't get to while it is assembled.
The part should be here in a few days, and I'm looking forward to shooting the rifle with a reduced trigger pull.
Also, now I know how to take that kind of firearm apart and reassemble it, and have made up a special tool for dealing with the hammer springs, a good first step to knowing how to work on that model.
I found that this information was pretty elusive, and that only three or four gunsmiths around the US are known for working on them. - So I decided to dive in on my own, taking images at each step so maybe I'd be able to figure out how to reassemble the gun later.
The one piece of advice I was able to dig up was to replace the trigger return spring with a ball-point pen spring, cut to the same length.
So I started to disassemble the rifle, discovering that there are two groups of parts in the receiver, the falling block with its lever, plus the hammer - and the trigger housing. I removed both simultaneously, as the hammer/sear parts were hooked into each other, preventing removal of just one group or the other.
Dual hammer springs, located on either side of the hammer and the trigger group, added some difficulty to removing the two groups, each sliding into grooves on the inside of the receiver. The springs provided pressure that made the two parts groups hard to move.
But I finally did get it all apart - and promptly lost one of the hammer spring guides, a nail-like do-dad that the hammer springs on each side are supported by. It flew across the shop and has yet to come to light. The spring was found within a few minutes, but it's guide is still hidden somewhere. - A strategically placed rag would have prevented that loss, I now realize.
I found that the trigger modification was very easy to do, and reduced the pull significantly, without introducing any reliability or safety issues.
Having no luck finding the missing part, I decided to look for a replacement. The Winchester website listed a link to a parts diagram, but the link was no good. In the link though, was the file-name for an exploded parts diagram. A search for that file on the internet turned up a copy of the PDF, so then I had the exploded parts diagram at last. - But it looked like Winchester was trying to get out of the 1885 parts business, so I tried Numrich Arms and found the part there.
A phone call to Winchester might have gotten me the part, but I have worked with Numrich arms for over twenty-five years and know what to expect from them.
Now I'm waiting for delivery of the spring guide, and have made a special tool for removing and installing that part without danger of it going flying across the shop. I've also made a slave pin that will hold the sear back while assembling the gun, so I can release it to engage the hammer after everything is back in the receiver. This will go a long way toward making reassembly quicker and easier.
Now that I have done all of this, I have discovered a way to replace the trigger return spring without disassembling the gun - but I am glad that I did so anyway, as it gave me an opportunity to stone the hammer/sear engagement surfaces, and apply silicone grease to some of the internal surfaces that you can't get to while it is assembled.
The part should be here in a few days, and I'm looking forward to shooting the rifle with a reduced trigger pull.
Also, now I know how to take that kind of firearm apart and reassemble it, and have made up a special tool for dealing with the hammer springs, a good first step to knowing how to work on that model.