Savage 111 trigger problem

[oldhenry]

:lovebooliA close friend inherited a Savage 111 recently & he says the trigger has about a 10 lb. pull. He knows that I dabble in gunsmithing & asked for my help.

I've never done any work on a Savage bolt gun: however, I'm sure there are some Savage experts out there.

With my Gun Digest "Sporting Rifle Take Down & Reassembly Guide" by J.B. Wood I was able to get the trigger removed & disassembled. I ran into a few problems:
1. Wood does a good job of the step by step disassembly but the info on reassembly is thin.
2. The exploded view of parts show the sear & bolt removal lever to be one (1) piece (there is no listing for the bolt removal lever).

The photos explain the problem:

Photo #1: shows the sear & bolt removal lever together.
Photo #2: shows them separated. This is how I found them upon disassembly.
Photo #3: shows the backside of the bolt removal lever with it's integral spacer.
Photo #4: shows a top view of them back together with the sear pin & sear bushing (a separate piece) in place.
Photo #5: shows a left side view of them back together with sear pin sear bushing + the sear spring.

Questions:
1. Please confirm that the sear & bolt removal tool are supposed to be one piece.
2. Would peening the end of the bolt removal lever to make a tighter fit + J.B. Weld be a satisfactory repair or do I look for a replacement? It seemed to be an interference fit originally.
3. Since the lever was separate from the sear, the sear spring was not in place. Does anyone know the proper orientation of the spring? I've tried all possible positions & none make sense ….(yet). A simple drawing of the correct position would be great

Thanks for any input.
Henry

[oldhenry]

Without any hints I just plodded along.
1. The sear does in fact come from Savage with the bolt release lever attached. Gun Parts Corp. has one listed (but unavailable) & the image shows it as an assembly.
2. I peened the stud that holds the 2 pieces together & slightly mushroomed the head of that stud & forced them back together again with my "channel locks". I used the cross pin to hold the 2 pieces in correct position during the process. This should be as stout as the original (which wasn't very stout).
3. I found the correct orientation of the spring: but, as feared it will be a bugger to compress enough to get the retaining pin in place. However, I'll persevere.

I understand now why Savage later invented the "Accu-trigger". This particular design has more pieces than any other trigger I've come across.

[Texas by God]

Once you get it reassembled, about 3-4 #s is the lightest safe pull ive ever been able to get on the old style 110 triggers. And glue the adjustments in place once you are there. IME any lighter and they uncock upon bolt closure at best or can be fired by bumping the stock at worst. I seem to recall reading that they were designed that way to enable a heavy pull setting to comply with Australian import regulations......?

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[robg]

i adjusted my 116 pre accu trigger to about 3.5 lbs but in the end i put a rifle basic trigger in it.the instructions for adjustment are on line .

[oldhenry]

Once you get it reassembled, about 3-4 #s is the lightest safe pull ive ever been able to get on the old style 110 triggers. And glue the adjustments in place once you are there. IME any lighter and they uncock upon bolt closure at best or can be fired by bumping the stock at worst. I seem to recall reading that they were designed that way to enable a heavy pull setting to comply with Australian import regulations......?

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input. This is a hunting rifle, so a 4.5 lb. adjustment will be OK. I always like to err on the side of safety.

The "Once you get it reassembled" phrase is encouraging.

[oldhenry]

i adjusted my 116 pre accu trigger to about 3.5 lbs but in the end i put a rifle basic trigger in it.the instructions for adjustment are on line .

This design opened up the way for an aftermarket solution. If it was my gun, the Rifle Basic trigger would be the solution. The $150.00price tag takes it out of the picture for the gun owner.

[marlin39a]

Here’s a good link to adjusting the pre-accutrigger:

https://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?130-Factory-3-Screw-Trigger-Adjustment-Procedures

[oldhenry]

Here’s a good link to adjusting the pre-accutrigger:

https://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?130-Factory-3-Screw-Trigger-Adjustment-Procedures

Thanks. Excellent reference.

[Texas by God]

269952269954269955
This is from a Stevens 200 late in the pre accu trigger period. I hope it helps.

[oldhenry]

TBG,
Thanks for the photos.
I got it back together (except for that little spring bushing which proved to be too much for my 81 yr. carpel tunnel syndrome hand). My youngest son will be over later today & with his strong hands holding pressure on the spring I'll get that bushing installed.

I went ahead & followed the adjustment drill that marlin39a was good enough to furnish & everything went OK until I got to the safety adjustment. I could get it adjusted to the point that the safety prevented the sear from tripping, but when the safety was released, it would not return to the safe position. Any attempt to slightly loose the adjustment would allow the sear to trip while on safety (even the very slightest adjustment).

I checked out the Rifle Basic trigger (their video) & find that it utilizes the OEM sear. That video stressed complete free movement of all parts. I plan to disassemble it again to make sure my repair of the sear allows complete free movement. I also emailed Savage to see if the sear is still available & whether or not the sear failure is covered under their warranty (I know Ruger would).

There is another adjustment on the underside of the trigger (set screw) that was not addressed in the instructions marlin39a furnished. The trigger must be removed for access to this set screw: it raises or lowers the rear of the trigger. I'll try to determine if it has any relation to the safety function.

The owner is a distant family member & at present I'm considering gifting the Rifle Basic trigger to solve the problem. I could not live with myself if there is any doubt about the safety of the trigger after it leaves my hands.

The Gun Digest Exploded Views book shows that set screw on the underside of the trigger & they call it the "trigger adjustment screw".

[oldhenry]

Savage responded.
They do not warranty or furnish parts for guns manufactured before 1995. They did give a list of 10 possible sources for the sear: 3 of which I've already checked that do not have the part. I may be forced to use the repaired sear either way I go.

[oldhenry]

After examining all parts after the 2nd. disassembly I found the sear pin to be bent (slightly).

I ordered and received a Rifle Basic SAV-2 trigger from Graf & Son. Brownell did not have the 103871 sear in stock, but did have the 103872SS. The lady @ Brownells thought it was the same as 103871 except it was SS, so I bought it + a new sear pin. As it turns out the 103872SS is a 1 piece affair (of SS) and is a great improvement over the 3 piece design. Oddly enough the left end sear pin hole is larger than the other 2, but I was later to find that this is no issue (the Rifle Basic video shows the same oversize hole).

I checked with the Savage Shooter Forum to see if anyone there had any good or bad experience substituting the 1 piece sear for the original 3 piece. No response with any experience, so I proceeded to install the Rifle Basic trigger with the 1 piece sear.

The Rifle Basic video is excellent & their product is a quality item. Furthermore, they responded immediately with a question that I posed by phone.

Everything was coming together until I reached the sear reset spring installation. As it turns out the kit is set up for the 1 piece sear & as such the sear spring from the OEM trigger was to be used (a 90 degree design). However, thy provided a 150 degree spring in the event it was to be used with a 3 piece sear. Without a 90 degree spring I was @ a stand still.

Facing carpel tunnel surgery tomorrow & not knowing how long the recovery would take, I made a repair of the 3 piece sear with a center punch & Marine Tex (probably stronger than when it left the factory) and made the installation with that repaired sear.

The end result is a very good 3 lb. trigger. I would have preferred a 3.5-4.0 lb., but with this particular kit 3.0 is as heavy as it gets. It is light years ahead of the OEM. It breaks clean & passes all of the safety tests.

I've attached 2 photos of the 1 piece sear.

[chutesnreloads]

Installed a RifleBasix on a Savage 110 some years ago
It IS a Quality product
Remember it coming with a CD-Rom with video of a woman doing the replacement,
That gave me more confidence.... If a woman can do it....
At the end of the video we learn she's a NASCAR mechanic

[oldhenry]

Installed a RifleBasix on a Savage 110 some years ago
It IS a Quality product
Remember it coming with a CD-Rom with video of a woman doing the replacement,
That gave me more confidence.... If a woman can do it....
At the end of the video we learn she's a NASCAR mechanic

When I was trying to install that 150 degree spring on the 1 piece sear I knew she was a female & figured she must be Hercules' daughter. Then I realized she was using the 90 degree spring: doable if one knows what they're doing (which she definitely does).