Big Boy trigger work

[leverjc]

Hello I am new to this forum and Henry rifles. I bought my first Henry Big Boy in .357 about a week ago that I plan to use shooting Lever Action Silhouette. When I tested the trigger out of the box it came out at 7.75lbs with some creep. I did an old trick that I have done before and put pressure on the hammer with my thumb while pulling the trigger at the same time, this dropped the pull to an even 7lbs. When I was doing my research to pick witch rifle to buy everything I read about Henry was positive with the exception of the trigger pulls.

I thought about sending it back to Henry but I didn't want to weight as I have a match coming up and need a rifle for the pistol caliber match because my Marlin Cowboy is in the process of having the barrel lined. When I went to the range to sight it in the accuracy was so outstanding I was not letting this rifle go anywhere. I searched the internet trying to find info on how to improve the trigger on a Henry but didn't find much so I have tackled the project on my own.

With the hammer down the trigger pull was 2.5 to 4.5lbs as the pull weight stacked as the pull progressed. After disassembly I cut 1 coil off the sear rocker spring, stretched it to the original length and reassembled it. This cut the hammer down trigger pull to 2lbs even and the cocked trigger pull to 6lbs. I dissembled it again and took a close look at the trigger and hammer hooks with a 10 power loop. The hooks on both the trigger and hammer had rounded areas at the point of contact that stood out from the flat portion of the hooks. I flattened the one on the trigger sear with a fine stone being careful to not change the contact angle, reassembled and the trigger pull was 4.75lbs with very little creep. I like a 2.5-3lb trigger on my silhouette rifles so I still have some work to do.

I am wondering if any body has any info about working on a Big Boys trigger to get it to an acceptable level?

Thanks

[RanchRoper]

Welcome to the Forum, I am sure people will chime in soon with ideas.

[Mistered]

I am wondering if any body has any info about working on a Big Boys trigger to get it to an acceptable level?

Welcome to the forum and it doesn't look like you need any info as it appears you are on the 'right track' as it is!

I am glad you did not send it back as that would have been a crap shoot for something like improving a trigger.

More than likely all Henry would have done is swap out the trigger parts and call it good with possibly only minimal improvement.

Henry does not have a 'custom shop' where they perform actual 'hands on' gunsmithing to make improvements or modifications.

[JEBar]

first, welcome to our forum .... our Henry 357, 44, and 45-70 all came with heavier trigger pulls than I like .... our 11 year old Grandson usually fires the 357 so I haven't had any work done to its trigger .... when he gets older, I will probably have the trigger adjusted for him .... I've had the triggers on both the 44 and 45-70 worked on by a gunsmith who really knows his business .... Henry's triggers aren't designed to be modified .... to do so requires fine honing that is as much art as it is science .... doing so takes time and must be done in tiny increments .... there is no going back if one removes too much .... I don't recall the poundage he was able to come up with by both have crisp breaks at very comfortable pulls .... personally, I'm convinced that trigger adjustments to a Henry should be left to folks who know what they are doing .... please be sure to visit our How Many ? thread and add your Henry to our community's total



http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... start=1130

[BigAl52]

Welcome to the Forum glad you joined us hope you get the trigger to your liking. I agree with Jim Id take mine to a smith. No stoning expertise here at my house.

[GunnyGene]

I don't compete but still enjoy reading about tweaks like this from those who do. Conversely, I think very light triggers and similar work should not be done on hunting, general issue combat (sniper rifles are a whole different world), or carry guns, although some folks will - just for bragging rights I suppose. If the work is done to improve reliability/durability/accuracy on "working" guns then I don't have a problem with it (I've done that myself). But using a race/competition gun as a daily driver is a mistake, imho. Like using a Formula 1 car for grocery shopping.

[John E Davies]

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/hen ... 865?page=1
My take from that discussion is that the Wolff reduced hammer spring for Marlins works well, see last post. I will try one at some point, before I would start cutting or stoning the stock springs.

John Davies
Spokane WA

[Chucksolo1]

Sorry Double post.

[Chucksolo1]

I guess I'm at a loss here. If the accuracy was so outstanding, why then would you want to mess with the trigger? I have Big Boy Steel models in .45 Colt and in .357 mag (carbine) and mine also exhibit outstanding accuracy. I find NO problems with the triggers on mine. Mine break crisp and clean. Are you sure you're not just reacting to some of the BS you've read on the Internet? Ultimately, it's really up to the shooter to account for accuracy. Unless the trigger is really crappy, like I have found on some Marlins (post Remington), then why even worry about it if you can shoot your rifles well?

[Mistered]

why then would you want to mess with the trigger?

Regardless of accuracy a 7+ lb trigger is a bit on the heavy side and will be a bit aggravating - especially off a bench.

The closer one can get to a 3-4 lb trigger the better as that is much more advantageous for all around shooting.

I got very lucky with my Henry when New as it had probably a 4 lb - or slightly lighter trigger and got better with time. It did develop a slight bit of 'creep' before let off - but not much and I may try to clean that up a bit.

[Mags]

.
Because in competition shooting the trigger finger will quickly get tired and stiff.

... why then would you want to mess with the trigger? ...?

[leverjc]

Finally finished the trigger on my BB. With a stone I flattened both the seer and the hammer hook with ou changing the engagement angle. The way the hammer hook is laid out it is next to impossible to set up a jig for it so i Found a small knife shaped stone to do the work using a magic marker, the stone and an optivisor I was able to obtain a flat surface on it. The good thing about doing trigger enhancement on a BB is the ability to put the seer and the hammer together with the hammer bolt to see what is actually going on with the mating of the two surfaces. Did a little bit at a time then tested. I think I can take down this riffle in my sleep but it was worth it I now have a 3.25lb trigger with no creep.

[JEBar]

impressive work .... looking forward to your future reports after you've sent some rounds down range

[Mistered]

impressive work

Yep - I always appreciate hearing about (and discussing) DIY gunsmithing - especially with successful improvements like yours where you got the outcome you were looking for.

This would have been costly through a gunsmith and you really saved in that respect.

[leverjc]

Did a little more work on the trigger of my BB. Clipped another small section of the rocker spring to get the return spring tension down to about 1.5lbs that left me with a 2.75lb trigger pull. It passed the bump tests so I feel good about that. I still have some barely perceptible spongy-nous at let off but I will take care of that next time I disassemble to clean it.

[JEBar]

tip of my cap .... I have a great deal of respect for folks who have the skill and ability to do this level of work