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..

[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..

[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/sto...K+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..

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..