There is no doubt that use over time combined with a good lubricant like lithium grease will improve the trigger on BL-22 rifles. The bearing surfaces begin to get smoother with use and certainly there will be less "gritty" feel and eventually a lighter trigger pull.
And in a later message, he added:
Quote:
Put a little dab of grease on the little triangular linkage component on the lever when it is open. Lubricate other moving parts of the trigger with a needle oiler.
So I tried that with 47B40688. I put a bit of Browning “Midas” shotgun grease on the forward face of the “little triangular linkage component” shown in this image:
If you recall, that gun started -- new, with no evidence of previous firing -- with a 5.38 pound pull.
After putting 50 rounds through it, it dropped to 5.13 pounds.
And with the grease? It started jumping wildly (at least from a statistician’s point of view) with pull weights varying back and forth between 5.13 pounds and 4.44 pounds.
I think what I’m seeing with this gun is the break-in process, a process that may be helped by the lubricant but occasionally hurt as the grease traps ground-off metal particles.
Hypothesis?
There’s little or no production difference between older and newer BL-22s. However, there are use, lubrication and cleaning differences. That would explain the pull weight differences between older and newer BL-22s.
Test?
I’m going to keep playing with 47B40688, using the trigger, lubricating the triangle (which has a very sharp edge), cleaning the triangle and starting the process again. I’ll keep everyone updated.
So I tried that with 47B40688. I put a bit of Browning “Midas” shotgun grease on the forward face of the “little triangular linkage component” shown in this image:
If you recall, that gun started -- new, with no evidence of previous firing -- with a 5.38 pound pull.
After putting 50 rounds through it, it dropped to 5.13 pounds.
And with the grease? It started jumping wildly (at least from a statistician’s point of view) with pull weights varying back and forth between 5.13 pounds and 4.44 pounds.
I think what I’m seeing with this gun is the break-in process, a process that may be helped by the lubricant but occasionally hurt as the grease traps ground-off metal particles.
Hypothesis?
There’s little or no production difference between older and newer BL-22s. However, there are use, lubrication and cleaning differences. That would explain the pull weight differences between older and newer BL-22s.
Test?
I’m going to keep playing with 47B40688, using the trigger, lubricating the triangle (which has a very sharp edge), cleaning the triangle and starting the process again. I’ll keep everyone updated.
Thanks!
Dave
Hello Dave,
I think what you are beginning to see is the linkage getting smoother and variance from this process. Do as you mentioned...lubricate the trigger, put rounds through the rifle, clean the trigger linkage, lubricate again and continue. Eventually the trigger will "settle in" to a nice steady and consistent pull weight and feel. I think these triggers take some time to "settle in" because of the design. I also think that people are sometimes too quick to judge the triggers on brand new rifles or even new, old stock rifles or just rifles that have not been shot much. The triggers do get better with use. There is some truth to the reports of heavier triggers on newer rifles. Some have tested in the 7-8 lb range and I can't remember ever feeling a trigger that heavy on a 1970's or 80's rifle. I have had some first year production rifles and other early BL-22's that had great triggers when brand new, right out of the box. Others were not so good. It's just like any other field rifle, some will inevitably have better triggers than others. Test your rifle's trigger again after five or six bricks of ammo and see what it feels like.
Your statistics currently show that the older rifles seem to have a consistantly lower trigger pull. We may never know if that is because of the usage over the years or if they were built differently. I haven't seen any high (7#) trigger weights from the older rifles. Your experiments show that the trigger weight seems to go down significantly with usage. If that is in fact the case, that may explain the lower trigger weights of the older rifles.
Well, I can add a little info here, though I'm not sure whether it will help or hurt the effort.
I have two early BL-22's, one each from '72 and '73. I have owned them for a couple of years. Both are in nearly-new condition, and I have used them very little, basically a few rounds when i bought them to assure that they functioned properly, and perhaps a few rounds from time to time since, but not many at all.
I have no proper trigger pull scale, but I did test them with a scale from my fishing days to get some idea. Each trigger released at about 7 and 1/4 pounds. I was surprised that they gave similar results and that the readings were as high as they were, as I don't recall the triggers being heavy when I have use them. I wouldn't care to bet much on the precision of the scale, but I also wouldn't think likely to be off by more than a pound or so.
I guess my suggestion would be not to include these results in the tabulation, for the obvious reasons, but I thought I would pass them along for whatever interest they may have in the overall investigation.
Well, I can add a little info here, though I'm not sure whether it will help or hurt the effort.
A help, definitely
I suspect your fishing scale is a coil spring scale, like traditional trigger scales. So there's nothing inherently wrong with it. If you are inclined, just check it with a known weight, like a 5 pound bag of flour.
I suspect your fishing scale is a coil spring scale, like traditional trigger scales. So there's nothing inherently wrong with it. If you are inclined, just check it with a known weight, like a 5 pound bag of flour.
Thanks!
Dave
In the interest of scientific investigation, I did some trials with known weights with my fishing scale. It is accurate and repeatable to within 1/4 pound over the range of interest, 1/4 pound also being the smallest denomination on the scale. I have no way to take digital pictures, but don't mind giving the SN's, which are 72B89786 and 37B02051. My rifles are both Grade I.
I'm not sure when I last used those rifles. I suppose it would be interesting to run a brick through one or both, occasionally checking the trigger, but with 18" of snow on the ground and stuff falling out of the sky at regular intervals, any such test is some time off.
In the interest of scientific investigation, I did some trials with known weights with my fishing scale. It is accurate and repeatable to within 1/4 pound over the range of interest, 1/4 pound also being the smallest denomination on the scale. I have no way to take digital pictures, but don't mind giving the SN's, which are 72B89786 and 37B02051. My rifles are both Grade I.
Excellent! I'll add them to the database when I get home.
Quote:
I'm not sure when I last used those rifles. I suppose it would be interesting to run a brick through one or both, occasionally checking the trigger, but with 18" of snow on the ground and stuff falling out of the sky at regular intervals, any such test is some time off.
I'm working on the same project and facing the same problem
Nice start to the chart. My question is in reference to the "Field Octagon" I think the FLD is meant to refer to a Full Line Dealer model. According to Browning, they restrict those FLD models to full-line dealers hence the FLD designation. (I have one and spoke to Browning CSR about it).
Thanks
Nice start to the chart. My question is in reference to the "Field Octagon" I think the FLD is meant to refer to a Full Line Dealer model. According to Browning, they restrict those FLD models to full-line dealers hence the FLD designation. (I have one and spoke to Browning CSR about it).
Thanks
Box stock Grade-I purchased new in 1973 or 1974 has a trigger pull of 4lbs 4oz.
Here's the question ... the serial number is 37823777 which does not fit with Browning's numbering system as listed on their site.
My father got it directly from a Browning executive friend of his. Could this be some type of prototype? There is nothing special about this gun compared to other Grade-1's.
Here's the question ... the serial number is 37823777 which does not fit with Browning's numbering system as listed on their site.
My father got it directly from a Browning executive friend of his. Could this be some type of prototype? There is nothing special about this gun compared to other Grade-1's.