Hard Trigger - Marlin 336

[gking1937]

I have a Marlin 336 in 30-30 cal which I really like except for the trigger. I'm not sure Arnold Swartzenneger could pull the dogone thing. Has anyone else had a similar situation, and is is easy to fix?

Thanks,
George

[versifier]

Please give us a little more information...
Is it just a heavy pull weight, or is it creepy? Gritty? Inconsistant? Anything but the heavy pull weight you can greatly improve with some careful polishing with very fine grit and a felt wheel on a dremel tool. Pull weight adjustments ought to be done by someone with some experience.

[Boomer Mikey]

EDM hammer and sear kits are available at Midway USA for about 120 clams that eliminate the flop in Marlin’s factory trigger. Most gunsmiths will charge 60-100 for a trigger job depending on how light you want it. A 4-5 # crisp trigger with factory parts is fairly easy to obtain with modest effort. A 2-3 # safe trigger requires many test fittings and a stoning jig to keep the angles aligned; therefore, more cost.

This is no amateur job, Marlin triggers can be tricky. There are many good gunsmiths out there.

[Marlin Junky]

I've done several marlin triggers over the years and if you have any mechanical aptitude, some Brownells screw drivers to fit the various screw slots, a good flat India Stone (fine or medium) and honing oil email me at marlinjunky@yahoo.com. You'll also need a small block of tempered glass 1/4" thick, up to the width of your India Stone and about 2" long. If you have a very old 336, order a new mainspring and possibly a new Hammer Spring Adjusting Plate directly from Marlin. Do you have a digital camera?

I'm getting ready to go on vacation for a few weeks so I hope you're not in a hurry.

MJ

P.S. A 336 trigger job is really a piece of cake and can be done in about a half hour once you're comfortable with the process. Just don't shorten that mainspring! You can remove the trigger block though and put it in a safe place if you ever sell the gun. Removing the trigger block doesn't help the trigger pull any but the lever snaps shut better.

[gking1937]

Thanks for the info and advice. The trigger is just hard to pull. I've squirted some Kroil in there and it seems to have helped a little. I'm really not confident in honing a trigger - and not in the mood to spend $100 to get it fixed. Guess I'll just live with it.

Thanks again for your responses.

George

[StarMetal]

George,

I'll tell you what, some Tri-Flo or a little dab of STP on your trigger/sear is a hell of alot better then Kroil. Kroil is a good product, but not as good as a lube for your situation then the two I've mentioned.

Joe

[PatMarlin]

I've got a little grit creep in my thutty thutty, but it's a predictable creep.. [smilie=1:

[50 Caliber]

I have something that might work for you, Marlin Junky has the info you want, after the trigger job, apply a thin coat of moly to your trigger and sear surfaces. Smooth as glass!
I do about thirty trigger jobs a year at the shop I work for part time, and this methode works for me.

[Marlin Junky]

Moly is good. Get it dispersed in a volatile carrier and add a drop to each engagement surface. I did an action job on a 24" 336A Silhouette rifle and got the pull down to 24 ounces just by stoning the sear and hammer notch and placing a drop of Brownells Action Magic (the liquid part) on each. Do not mess with the excellent new manufacture Marlin mainspring! A word of caution though on stoning the full cock hammer notch: Taking it down too far will cause the half cock notch to bump the sear when the hammer is released from full cock (when firing). Fortunately, if this happens all you need to do is shorten the WAY more than adequate half cock notch. Once you get the 336 striped down to its lock work you'll discover it's simplicity and perhaps be more inclined to stroke the parts with an India stone. You can easily take at least a pound off the trigger pull by putting a 45 degree bevel on top of the sear alone. If you place the ONE-QUARTER INCH thick piece of glass on the stone on top of a film of honing oil and while holding just the stirrup of the sear (flat surface) on top of the glass with your index finger, you can drag the two as a unit backward on the stone while the top of the sear is being cut on an angle. This will place the proper bevel on the sear and the tempered glass plate is the only "jig" you'll need. After about a dozen or so strokes on a fine stone and a couple drops of Moly (dispersed in a volatile carrier), you will have done an action job. As long as you don't bevel the sear's top to the point where it looks like a knife edge you'll be fine.

Take the action apart and study the lock work... it'll be fun.

MJ

P.S. The above procedure assumes you have a 336 with lockwork incorporating the two piece trigger/sear arrangement, opposed to pre "H" gun lockwork where the "no-flop" trigger has an integral sear.

[w30wcf]

In addition to the good advice from the pards regarding lube, the
safest / easiest thing to do to reduce the sear engagement, thus reducing the trigger pull, is to epoxy a steel shim just below the sear notch on the face of the hammer.

That way, it can easily be removed to restore the trigger back to its original specs in the future if so desired. I've done 3 Marlin and 1 Winchester trigger(s) that way and it works well. I first measure the sear depth and then determine what thickness shim is needed for about .03" engagement(less for a trigger lighter than 3#-4#). I use feeler guages (auto store) for material. A set of feeler guages has numerous thicknesses and usually costs less than $5.00.

I cut a piece from the feeler guage thickness that gives the proper sear depth and epoxy it to the hammer at the location described above.

One thing about this method......if one does not get the desired results, the shim can be removed with a little heat (not tooo much!), and another shim thickness can be tried. Just about fool proof.

w30wcf

[Marlin Junky]

Excellent suggestion John! This has the same effect as the permanent beveling procedure I outlined. May I suggest using Loctite 380 as an adhesive though (available at Brownells) which can be removed by soaking the hammer in acetone for about an hour. I would be afraid of changing the hammer's temper by applying heat too close to the hammer notch.

MJ

[PatMarlin]

Can that be done on a Winchester 94 AE?

Mine is a 1994 year and the dang trigger is WAY to heavy. I haven't been able to find anyone that can do a competent trigger job. The gunsmith out here says maybe it will work fine, or maybe not, and I'm not letting him gamble with my Winny.. :roll:

[Marlin Junky]

Pat,

The object here is to "glue" a shim (or spacer) on the hammer surface that the sear rides on in order to decrease the sear/hammer notch engagement. Do you understand the concept? Strip the action down to its lock work and see if it's feasible. Using the shims as John described above and Loctite 380 (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=6139&title=BLACK+MAX+ADHESIVE) you can't permanently screw things up. I have "un-done" bonding small parts (mostly sight part) together with 380 several times by soaking the parts in acetone.

MJ

P.S. Yeah, 380 is expensive, but it holds like epoxy and the little tube will last a couple years if you keep the dropper clean and store in the frig.

[PatMarlin]

THanks MJ,

I understand the concept, but got to spend some time on take down of the rifle, as I haven't done that one.

How long does/will the mod hold up?

[Marlin Junky]

Pat,

If there's no corrosion or oil on the hammer surface involved or shim before bonding the two parts together, probably a life-time. Loctite 380 is very strong, but soluble in acetone.

MJ

[JSH]

Will the above work on the 1894? This thing shoots well but the trigger would make it even better.
Jeff

[PatMarlin]

I totally forgot all about this thread.. :confused:

I've got to archive this.

[lovedogs]

Something else that has incredible holding power is plain ol' Super Glue. Back in about 1972 a friend brought me a new Rem. 700 that he couldn't get a good trigger adjustment on. When we took it apart to see what the problem was we found slack between the trigger and trigger connector which caused a "creep" that couldn't be adjusted out. So just to see if by sticking the two pieces together would fix it we thought we'd try something temporary. If that fixed it we would come up with a way to "weld" them together permanently. It worked perfectly. It turned out so nice we thought we'd just leave it and see how long the Super Glue would hold. My friend died six years ago and his wife sold the rifle. The Super Glue is still holding and no one knows the trigger is glued. Boy, that stuff is tough!

[JSH]

Any of you have any pics of this bt chance. Sure would help me out.
Jeff

[Char-Gar]

I fixed a SMith and Wesson 1917 with a shim and JB Weld a few month back. Somebody has polished the bottom of the hammer messing up it's interface with other moving parts. The firing pin nose would not retract fully and extended past the rechoil shield..not good.

I glued a .006 shim to the bottom of the trigger return block to lift it up and bring all parts back into sync. The shim and JB added .009 additional highth and did the job fine.

I have a 1960 vintage Marlin 336 Texan with a bad trigger pull... I am going to try the shim method..Thanks..

[Four Fingers of Death]

We used to fill the smith revolvers up with toothpaste and dry fire them until we were sick of it. Smoothed them up some. Probably frowned upon in mor enlightened circles. The smiths never gave any trouble and ost are probably kicking around the local pistols clubs being passed on from member to member as guys trade and swap.

[JSH]

Well I got the blooming thing apart. I am either going to shorten some feeler gauges and waste some adhesive or fix this trigger, which ever comes first.
I am going to use some super glue if it will hold, just to get it set up for the time being. If not I will use a dot or two of epoxy.
I will let you know how this comes out, when I get it back together.
Jeff

[PatMarlin]

Take some pics if you can JSH, cause I need to do my 94.. :drinks:

[JSH]

How much sear engaugement do I want, or need? From my measurement I get about .028 0r .029.
I was figuring to knock off at least .010?
Jeff

[JSH]

Well, I got the "shim" in her. Trigger is much better. I measured sear engaugement with a feller gauge. I t looked to be right at .030-.032. So I went with a .012 piece of feeler gauge. The super glue didn't work. I had some LPS brand aluma weld stuff so mixed a dab of that up and let it set for about 3 days before putting it back together. Trimming and stoning the shim was a PITA. I did use brass feeler gauge as nothing was mentioned above that it wouldn't work. I looked it all over and could not see why it would cause any problems. I also felt that the brass may be better as some of the steel ones are coated at times, and have seen it flake off of feeler gauges in the past.
I took some pics, but they didn't come out worth a darn.....................
I am going to leave it togeher for the time being and see how it works. I don't know if the epoxy will shatter and allow the shim to come off? I was concerned that the epoxy may have expanded or contracted when it dried, don't see any problem as of yet. I just used a dot of the stuff and then moved the shim back and forth to get full contact. BTW, a clothes pin or two makes a good clamp to hold the hammer in such a way so the shim doesn't move.
I am going to tear it back down later on and remove the trigger block.

"You can remove the trigger block though and put it in a safe place if you ever sell the gun. Removing the trigger block doesn't help the trigger pull any but the lever snaps shut better."

This may be what I think is binding up the action?
I will get some pics when I tear it back down, double up on them so I am sure they come out nice.
Jeff

[PatMarlin]

Thats great.

To bad the pics didn't come out. Usually you need a tripod to hold the camera steady for close ups.

You think the brass will hold up? Pretty soft material.

[lovedogs]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the spring kits in Brownell's catalog. I've not worked on 336's but would imagine they are pretty much the same as my 1894 CB. I put one of their lighter hammer springs in mine and it worked great. I haven't been out to shoot it yet due to our cold weather; I'm assuming it will still set off the primers. Application of a moly grease lowered pull weight from 5 1/2 lb. to 4 1/2 lb. The new spring brought it down to 3 lb. even. Really nice! The spring won't fix gritty or creepy pull but it really worked to lighten the pull.

[Howdy Doody]

You can't beat a good trigger job, but since I don't have a jig, I was afraid of the thing on my 336 cowboy. I did unhook one side of the trigger spring and that helped, but later I got a spring kit from Brownells and that made it a whole lot better. They sell a reduced power kit for them and if I remember right it was in the $20 range. Sure did help mine.:-D

[PatMarlin]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the spring kits in Brownell's catalog. I've not worked on 336's but would imagine they are pretty much the same as my 1894 CB. I put one of their lighter hammer springs in mine and it worked great. I haven't been out to shoot it yet due to our cold weather; I'm assuming it will still set off the primers. Application of a moly grease lowered pull weight from 5 1/2 lb. to 4 1/2 lb. The new spring brought it down to 3 lb. even. Really nice! The spring won't fix gritty or creepy pull but it really worked to lighten the pull.

That's what I need for my 94 if they have a spring kit, as mines the hardest darn trigger. Seems like its 9lbs or somethin'.. :roll:

I don't trust any gunsmith in these parts to do a trigger job that's for sure.

[w30wcf]

JHS,
Glad to hear that it worked out for you.

Pat,
If your trigger is that heavy, it is much more than the spring.
How much creep does your trigger have?

w30wcf

[PatMarlin]

It's not that heavy. Probably 6 lbs. or so. I don't have a scale.

There's no creep. It's pretty crisp if I remember right.

[JSH]

Pat, I did not see how the brass could wear. That is why I decided to go that way, plus the ease of dressing the shim down to fit.
I did get a chance to run about 50 rounds through it Wed, let me rephrase that. I ran 10 through it and the son did the other 40, as he did not want to shoot,lol.
I did notice that it is grouping better off handed at 100 than it used too, or at least I went 10 for 10 at the 100M steel plate.
While I was at the range, another friend showed up and I new he had the twin to this rifle. He did the same thing only he used epoxy and filed it down to where he wanted it. He said he has sevral hundred rounds through it with out a problem.
So I figure the brass could not be any softer than the epoxy?
As to the 336's, the two I have both have exceptional triggers. Neither one was made before the mid 50's, that may have somthing to do with it?
Jeff

[w30wcf]

Pat,

If your trigger pull is fairly heavy with no noticable creep, it could be that the sear angle is such that when the trigger is squeezed, the hammer actually moves backwards ever so slightly before falling.

I have noticed this on one Marlin which had a fairly heavy trigger. Shimming the hammer really helped.

w30wcf

[PatMarlin]

I'll have to check that.

I've never diss-assembled a 94 before, so it's a bit beyond my skill level at the moment. Not that I wouldn't be able to but that's for later days when I have more time on my hands.

I'm all ears in the mean time though and really appreciate these kinds of threads.. :drinks:

[rjathon]

I found this old thread and thought that it deserves resurrection.

The shim idea is intriguing but I need to see pictured to get a grasp on it.

Russ

[PatMarlin]

Dang I was a bit younger then.... :mrgreen:

More time on my hands.. there's a good one.

[Greg B.]

In my Marlin 1895 I put in a Wild West trigger from Brownells. You are supposed to get about a three pound trigger pull by virtue of the replacement and as I wanted something safe for hunting this has worked well for me.

Greg B.

[rjathon]

In my Marlin 1895 I put in a Wild West trigger from Brownells. You are supposed to get about a three pound trigger pull by virtue of the replacement and as I wanted something safe for hunting this has worked well for me.

Greg B.

Mine was made in 1948 and apparently the Wild West Trigger won't work in it.

Russ

[TXGunNut]

I swear I caught a whiff of mothballs when I opened this thread. Good thread, tho.