917 Marlin trigger overtravel
Well, as mentioned in a previous post, I was looking into a way to cut down on the overtravel of the Marlin 917. Although the T-900 Marlin trigger is an improvement over their previous offerings, it still leaves much to be desired. (I sometimes think the 900 stands for trigger pull....9 pounds and 00 ounces).
After using the 917 Mach 2 on Gophers this weekend, I was a bit annoyed with the overtravel once the trigger was pulled. Being an Amateur Gunsmith, and old target shooter, I appreciate a good trigger and not too much overtravel. I also thought the pen spring was a bit light, so I got out the files, stones, and ceramic rods, and started to work on the sear and trigger mechanism. It now breaks nicely at a hair over 2 pounds, with the original spring in it.
But that overtravel.....it was almost enough to make me tear out what hair I have left, and at 69 years old, that is not a lot of hair.
In looking at a way to put an overtravel adjustment screw into this rifle, it suddenly dawned on me that THE TRIGGER GUARD COULD BE REVERSED. I took the screws out of it, reversed it, and it came within 3/16 of an inch of lining up the holes.
Thinking, "O.K. A trigger guard can't cost all that much if I screw one up.", I got out the Dremel tool with a 1/16 inch diameter x 3/8 inch long burr, and VERY SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY started to cut out the trigger slot in the cast trigger guard. Trial and error. Cut a bit, then fit. Finally the trigger started to move slightly, and a few more minutes with the Dremel and some small files to square up the slot, the trigger had enough clearance to fire the rifle, and about 1/16 inch overtravel. I can live with that.
An unexpected bonus is that I think the rifle looks a bit more pleasing. The trigger is now situated within 3/8 of an inch of the rear of the trigger bow, not in the middle of it, and the slightly larger end of the trigger guard bow is now in the back end, giving a bit of an upward sweep of the trigger guard bow towards the front. You also do not have to reach so far forward with your trigger finger, as your middle finger is positioned less distance from the trigger to the back of the trigger guard.
The DOWNSIDE.....because of the close fitting, to get this minimum overtravel, if you want to remove the bolt, you will have to take the trigger guard off so that the trigger will be able to be pulled fully back.
I can live with that. Particularly because of the enormous improvement of the trigger pull and reduction of overtravel.
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