How difficult is it to improve the trigger on a Martini action? I have one built on what I presume is a military action which has a very heavy pull. I'm hoping there is a relatively simple fix.
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How difficult is it to improve the trigger on a Martini action? I have one built on what I presume is a military action which has a very heavy pull. I'm hoping there is a relatively simple fix.
Cadet action?
You can gently bend the flat trigger spring slightly to lesson it.
Then you can take a spring out of a pen and put that under the screw and trigger rerun spring to adjust it so the trigger still returns and engages the sear when cocking.
Polish the flat spring and where it rubs on the trigger to take out any grittiness.
I would deburr all surfaces but leave the sear and engagement alone.
Most people either want to decrease the contact area or hone off the corner of the sear or trigger.
Just makes it creepy soggy with little feel instead of snap.
Mine is like glass and reasonable light.
That’s my take on it.
Hi Rich, I have a bunch of martinis, 22’s , cadets, Zeller, Martini Henry’s, and Greeners and they all have good triggers without doing anything to them. Possibly someone before you played with the trigger / cocking lever engagement and made it worse ? They have a simple arrangement and once you get use to how to take down and reassemble the action you have they are pretty easy to work with. Study what you are looking at and if the the trigger tension spring is very stiff try what barrabruce suggested and look at the surface the trigger sear bears against and see that it looks flat and not worn . Unless someone went nuts removing to much you should be able to improve the trigger pull.
Jedman
Thanks for the advice. I really like the rifle, just figuring out how to get it how I wanted.
I'm all about trying the simple stuff first. Thanks for the advice about the flat spring.
Barrabruce,
Can you still get Cadet parts in Australia, like firing pins, blocks, hinge pins, levers, extractors, etc.? I have several rifles myself and am asked if parts are available anywhere, on occasion.
Yes for a price they are available still.
Mostly used but in good nick.
Bits and pieces from different sources come up at various times.
I do have a cadet, haven't shot it in a while, but don't remember the trigger pull being a problem.
This one is a big action bench gun someone made up, potential to be a really fun rifle, but as I was shooting just to fireform some brass, that trigger pull is not gonna work.
I haven't seen him post in a while (a shame) but Von Gruff had this posted on another board. Seems to all be about that flat spring.
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=60160
Rich, that is a good fix that has no permanent alteration of a part. You can adjust the shim washer thickness under the spring to taste.
Barrabruce, thanks for the data, good shooting guys, Martinis rock on.
Good to know, because I have to do something. No real creep or grittiness I can tell, just very, very heavy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rapier
Question for you guys who know as I am relatively ignorant about Martinis; are the cadet actions and the bigger ones the same internally? I always kind of thought the cadets were just scaled down versions of the same thing?
One thing about this big one as opposed to my cadet action, this one extracts pretty forcefully so far, extraction always seems weak on my .218 Bee.
Yep it’s about that flat spring.
If you look at the 22lr target rifles they did various mods to make them more adjustable.
And some after market stuff too.
But they still are the same basic thing.
If you take out the return spring pressure then it’s only the sear you are feeling.
Mind you you have to have some pressure to move the trigger back and engage and pass the bump and snap loading test.
The small action has no lever advantage on the case till it starts to move and it doesn’t move much.
Sticky cases usually means you should back off a tad.
If the case is straight sided longer than the throw of the extractor like a 22 mag then extraction can be a pain.
They prefer a diet of tapered rimmed cases.
Primer creep in the hole will first show up as a rubbed flat spot and a bit of brass rub on the block.
You are then getting close to oozing the primer into the hole and locking up the action.
Harder primers or flat wound heavy firing pin spring is not the answer.
I haven’t locked an action but have seen a few loading troughs with dings and gouges from bashing it down to unlock them.
Erghh yuck.
The big actions you maybe able to drive the pins out but the cadet is all inside.
Watched a couple of take down videos on youtube, seems all the Martini enthusiasts are Aussies, which is cool. I think I can do this OK, just gotta get some uninterrupted time to do it. Labor day weekend coming up, so...
Always bothered me that the British troops had Martinis while we issued Trap Doors. That Martini is clearly the better action.
Slightly off topic: Does anyone bush the firing pin hole and turn down the firing pin? (I talked with Gre-Tan and he threw garlic cloves and holy water at me through the phone connection. The phrase "never again" was repeated a number of times. Apparently the firing pin job is not the simple project it appears to be.)
I have a Cadet I inherited that now is chambered for 222 Rimmed, but the primers back into the large firing pin hole and do a fine job of locking the action.
Thank you,
Richard
Frank De Haas covers that conversion in his book "Mr. Single Shot's Gunsmithing", page 62.Quote:
Originally Posted by RG1911
It does require the work of a competent Gunsmith/Machinist and is not easily done by anyone without the skills.
RRR
On the trigger job, I have found that sometimes the parts are not hard enough to get the trigger pull down. If the sear and cocking part are not hard enough they drag.
Bushing the firing pin hole is not hard if you have the proper equipment. On the cadet I usually use a piece of steel that is about 40+ on the Rockwell C scale. The piece is 1/2" in diameter and the bolt face is machined out to fit about 1/8" deep. Soft solder is used to hold it in.
Its the big military Martini Henry......they do have heavy pull,and the best way to lighten is to remove the heavy trigger spring ,and replace it with a vey light one .....Ive made them from flexible/unbreakable hacksaw blades.....spring steel,hole is already there,all you need to do is grind the profile.......not the original profile,but a more pointy one .......This should reduce pull down to about five lbs.......not super ,but a vast improvement on 40 lbs.
Cadets have a very light pull,as befits a target rifle,and should not be touched ,lest the hardness be ground thru........In the 60s ,benchrest competitions were regularly won by Cadets in 222R......mainly due to the weight of barrel allowed on the featherlight action.
Five pounds would be a big improvement.Quote:
Originally Posted by john.k
I still haven't been inside of it. So a hack saw blade will make a good replacement spring?
An all flexible /unbreakable blade......the better quality all hard blades are too brittle and will break......if you want to sample the improvements without any alteration,remove the spring entirely for a tryout......the gun will cock OK if held level...........the screw is often difficult to remove,but put some good penetrant inthe sling hole under the trigger guard.....the thread goes thru