Browning 1885 High-Wall Trigger Question

[pertnear]

I recently purchased a Browning 1885 High-Wall chambered in .270 Win. I'm hoping this will be a great deer rifle since I have become a SS hunter. Following Browning's instructions I adjusted the trigger via the small screw embedded in the trigger. The lightest I could get it was just under 4 lbs. I'm no gunsmith & I hate messing with triggers. Safety is paramount but I also would like it to be at least 1 lb lighter. It seems like 2-1/2 lbs is ideal for me on my rifles. Currently the trigger is smooth & breaks clean, but just a bit heavy for my liking.

Is this model hard for a gunsmith to safely improve? Are there any after market triggers available? Suggestions or ideas?

TIA...

[M-Tecs]

http://www.texas-mac.com/Modifying_a_Browning_or_Winchester_1885_to_Improve _Accuracy.html

[hhilljr]

Hello:

I had Lee Shaver work over my Lo Wall trigger, and it came back perfect. Light & crisp. Here's his web site. I'd contact him to see if he still does this type of work.

https://stores.leeshavergunsmithing.com/

[warren5421]

Lee Shaver did a .38-55 for me. The front trigger is 3 lb the set trigger is 6 oz. He is very easy to deal with and his prices for what you get is great.

[NSB]

Lee Shaver will do the job for you, or sell you a kit (was $35 a couple of years ago) that is SIMPLE to install and comes with very good directions. I purchased one kit for my Low Wall (same type of kit as the High Wall) and got the trigger down to 1.5 lbs. I talked to Lee about doing the same thing to my High Wall and he advised me to NOT do it since it was a gun used for hunting only. The trigger on that gun was 3.0 lbs and crisp right out of the box. He said to shoot it first. That gun, even with the three pound trigger, will shoot five shots into 1moa or less consistently at 100 yards. I took his advice and left that gun alone. He felt that 3 lbs was about perfect for a hunting gun....and I have to agree with him. Anyway, contact Lee Shaver and get it taken care of. If you’re not confident about doing it yourself, he doesn’t charge much to do it for you and his turn-around time is reasonably quick. Good luck.

[country gent]

I would recommend firing a few hundred rounds or dry fire with a snap cap in place, and see what she does some triggers will wear in and drop some weight all on their own. Give it a little time for the pins and surfaces to fit together.

Unless it was ungodly my old gunsmith wanted 500 rds thru before doing a trigger job.

[lotech]

I'm not being critical, but I've had three of these rifles for quite a while. All have been fired extensively with cast bullet loads. I don't recall ever checking the trigger pull weight on any of the guns, and never had any concern over pull weights. Apparently, I never thought pull weights were excessive. Opinions vary on this, I'm sure, but over many years, I've found the "real" difference between a 3 lb. trigger and a 5 lb. trigger is minimal or less, as long as you're familiar with your rifle.

[NSB]

I'm not being critical, but I've had three of these rifles for quite a while. All have been fired extensively with cast bullet loads. I don't recall ever checking the trigger pull weight on any of the guns, and never had any concern over pull weights. Apparently, I never thought pull weights were excessive. Opinions vary on this, I'm sure, but over many years, I've found the "real" difference between a 3 lb. trigger and a 5 lb. trigger is minimal or less, as long as you're familiar with your rifle.
Lotech, I agree with you to the extent that trigger pull is often over rated, but if you haven’t weighed your own triggers you can’t make a statement that it’s not a significant factor. Your triggers may all fall into a 2-3 lb range and be considered good as they are. Without comparing a known weight to a higher known weight you can’t say it doesn’t make a significant difference. Weigh your triggers to see just what they are. FWIW, in my many years as a shooter (a LOT of years) at a certain point weight does become a factor. Five pounds is getting up there for good shooting.

[kokomokid]

John E Stepp made a very good trigger kit with instructions for the 1885 at one time for $30. I put a Canjar in my model 78 but think it would not work in a 85.

[lotech]

Lotech, I agree with you to the extent that trigger pull is often over rated, but if you haven’t weighed your own triggers you can’t make a statement that it’s not a significant factor. Your triggers may all fall into a 2-3 lb range and be considered good as they are. Without comparing a known weight to a higher known weight you can’t say it doesn’t make a significant difference. Weigh your triggers to see just what they are. FWIW, in my many years as a shooter (a LOT of years) at a certain point weight does become a factor. Five pounds is getting up there for good shooting.

I appreciate the comments and must admit you're right. I just measured the pull weights (average of three pulls)... .38-55 - 2lbs. 2ozs., .32-40 - 3lbs. 5 ozs., and the .405 - 2lbs. 10 ozs. All were bought new, the .38-55 about twenty-five years ago, not long after introduction. I fired almost a thousand rounds through that one just for load development using four, maybe five cast bullet designs. It's been fired a lot since. The .32-40 and .405 were purchased new in 2009. Again, lots of load development shooting and subsequent shooting. I have no idea what the pull weights were when these guns were new. I suspect they were heavier than they are now, but have no way of knowing for sure.

However, I seldom molest or replace triggers and have a number of bolt-action rifles and several Colt ARs that are all at 5 pounds or a bit heavier. I suppose I've gotten used to them. I can't get tiny groups every time like the Internet guys that own the "all day long" rifles, but I've seen enough small groups with these guns to know that they are accurate with the triggers as they are. Maybe groups would be even better with lighter triggers, but this is likely something I won't find out for certain.

[marlinman93]

A little heavier trigger never bothered me as long as it breaks cleanly. But a creeping trigger feel bothers me even if it's light. 4 lbs. for a hunting rifle would be no problem to me on a clean trigger.