702 lighter trigger

[BowerR64]

Has anyone tried to lighten the 702 trigger?

IMO its nice right out of the box, one of the few that ive liked right from the box but since i have 2 702s and 2 715s ide like to try and lighten one of the 702s

Im pretty sure i know what needs to be changed but wasnt sure if anyone has tried it yet and ran into problems or if there is a kit or something? maybe a different model or similar design by another brand maybe that had a lighter trigger?

Any input would be great.

 

[BowerR64]

First i want to start by saying THIS IS A HARD JOB. If your not good at taking things apart and if you dont have a decent set of tools dont try this. Its a pretty tricky job. The work isnt that bad but the assembly of the trigger group will REALLY test your patience.

Im not a gun expert or a gunsmith so my terms im sure are wrong but try and stick with me. The 702 has 3 parts to the trigger pull the first part is what i call the takeup its a springy kind of pull but nothing catches. Second part you feel some catch with a little bit of creep then it breaks.

What ive done is shorten and smooth out the creep so its a nice clean break.

First remove the trigger housing, if you dont know how to do that then you need to stop here and learn that part first. Get good with that then come back.

Laying the trigger housing on its back side (ejection port up barrel to the right) ive marked the pins you remove as T P (trigger pin) H P (hammer pin) and S P (spring pin) and the safety so you know how its positioned.

First remove the Hammer pin, leave the spring pin this keeps the hammer and spring from flying out. After you remove the hammer pin then remove the spring pin.

Carefull here the smaller pins can fall out!

Now up to this point you can still turn back without alot of work, putting the hammer back in can be tricky but not like the rest of it. Once you pull the trigger pin the fun begins. :?

Here is everything how it sits inside the trigger housing.
What we want to work on is the hook on the hammer and the shear on the trigger bar. There are some little pins that can fall out they are loose so be careful of these. Lever pin, hammer spring pin and trigger spring pin.

This is the hammer hook and the shear on the trigger bar.

 

[BowerR64]

Here is the hammer hook stock and after i took a little bit off and polished it with 1500 grit sand paper on a wood block. I also polished the curve on the hammer so it rides smooth along the top of the trigger bar by the shear.


You can take more off of the hammer hook but you will run the risk of it being unsafe. If you take to much off it could slip off and fire on its own you dont want this. I could take more off but i just wanted to smooth out the creep and smooth out the break a little.

 

[BowerR64]

This part is tricky and it will test your patience

It helped me to have some pliers that will fit down into the trigger housing. You can hold the trigger bar better as you compress the spring. Becareful though not to mar up all the work you have just done to the shear with the pliers or all your hard work will be for nothing. You could put some tape over the shear so you can grab it there thats how i did it.

What i did was push the trigger bar down compressing the spring, then push the trigger pin in enough to hold the trigger bar on one side. Then i drop the trigger and lever down into the trigger bar and push the trigger pin all the way threw both parts. (this is the most tricky part i think)

This is where you hold it



Now the hammer has a little bevel in one side, this helps guide the hammer pin back in when your holding it in place. The hammer spring has some pretty heavy tension so its hard to push the hammer in as you put that pin in at the same time. The bevel helps guide the pin in a little easier while you fight with it.


EDIT: MAKE SURE WHEN INSTALLING THE HAMMER THE SAFTY IS OFF!!! If the safty is on the hammer pin wont go in, the trigger bar doesnt lower far enough to release the hammer so you cant get the pin to fit in when the safty is on. I faught and faught with this till i realized what the problem was.

 

[BowerR64]

I think the only way to really lighten it is to lighten the hammer spring also. That might make it unrealiable when firing.

They sell a solid hammer on ebay that might do the trick, with a lighter hammer spring and a solid hammer the 2 together might make up for the difference.

 

[LAZY EYED SNIPER]

Nice work Bower.

Thanks for taking the time to put together this detailed write-up...

 

[BowerR64]

If nothing else it will help some one put their triger group back together. It can be pretty tricky the first time you take it apart. Maybe some one can figure out a way to remove the takeup.

Since i have 4 of these well 2 702s and 2 715Ts ive taken 3 of them apart all the way down to the trigger group.

I found another method that works pretty good putting the trigger bar back in with a pencil. If you lay the pencil like a short Golf scoring pencil flat over the trigger bar you can push the tip of your fingers down to hold the trigger bar balanced till you slip the trigger pin in a little ways.

A couple of mine i polished the trigger so its silver insted of black (gives a little different look) and one i ground down the hammer hook a little more for a slightly shorter break.

 

[mingaa]

Great detailed images. How do you rate the results / improvements?

 

[BowerR64]

Its not as gritty of a a pull as it was, not a huge improvement because i didnt take a whole lot off.

I havnt shot these in a while ive been into black powder lately but it feels better half cock dry firing it.

I think its work doing just to polish the 2 parts that rub together.

 

[TheJackal]

Today a 702 Plinkster caught my eye on the Used rack at my local store - $90 flat in "working order"

The trigger was AUDIBLY CRUNCHY, never mind gritty.

I don't think this rifle had EVER been cleaned in it's lifetime - probably why it ended up on the rack - I was scraping carbon out with a pick because no amount of CLP was making a dent in it.

Unfortunately for me, I made the mistake of taking the trigger group apart without realizing what I was getting into and well - SPROING - parts everywhere with no idea how they go back together.

In total, between researching how to put it together again and CONSTANT fumbling with pins smaller than rat turds - I spent about four hours total putting this trigger back together before working it out.

I want to give two thumbs up and a massive Thank You to Bower for the pictures of the trigger group - without them I'd have given up, taken it to a smith and cut a notch or two off my man card.

As for the trigger unit in this rifle - this is all I have to say about it.

 

[TheJackal]

Quick little update on my 702s trigger

I took it out to the range today to get rid of all the ammo I was not willing to feed to my beloved custom 10/22 (all of it Remington ammo, go figure), and I discovered how truly horrendous the trigger pull on these rifles are.

It was like dragging a derailed locomotive through a granite quarry with my index finger - after the third mag my finger physically hurt from pulling the trigger - I only found relief in wearing the Mechanix gloves I keep in my car.

When I got home and cleaned it, I took the hammer out, ground the sear down by kissing it on my grinder, squared it up on a whet stone and polished the everliving crap out of it with a cotton wheel and some Mother's mag polish.

It made a world of difference - it's almost at what I'd consider a pleasant trigger pull now.

 

[LAZY EYED SNIPER]

Nicely done...

 

[ptl]

I bought a 702 plinkster a couple of years ago. I really like the rifle, but the trigger creep was more than I like. Thanks to the information in this thread, particularly the pictures, I finally decided to do something about the trigger creep. After a lot of study, the only way I could figure out to reduce the creep was to carefully reduce the height of the hammer spur. My hammer had already been polished, so I did not have to contend with that. I removed the trigger group from the rifle and released the hammer. I found that the hammer spur is exposed. I used a 3/16 diameter by one inch stone in my dremel and carefully removed material from the top of the hammer spur, moving the dremel to keep the top of the spur as flat as possible. Since I did not take the trigger group apart, I could clean the area with a q-tip and check the trigger creep as I removed material. After getting most of the creep out, I did not want to go too far, I cleaned the trigger group with brake cleaner and compressed air, then a good spray with Remoil and more compressed air to make sure everything was clean. The trigger still has slack, but I feel I can live with that. I still have the option of further reducing the little bit of creep left, but I want to shoot a couple of hundred rounds before I make that decision. Many thanks to the good folks on this site. I apologize for resurrecting such an old thread, but I wanted to express my sincere thanks.

 

[Scoop]

Welcome, ptl, to Mossberg Owners from E TN.

 

[ptl]

Welcome, ptl, to Mossberg Owners from E TN.

Thank-you for the welcome! I hope the folks that started and contributed to this thread know how much I appreciate their information. It used to be called standing on the shoulders of those who have come before us. Many thanks to all of you for helping me "scale the wall."