Years ago a new manufacturer of 10/22 accessories sent me his best hammer/sear combo to test for him. Both hammer and sear were adjustable! I was using my 1976 Carbine that was pretty much stock. This was about 2005.
I was at the range to mainly shoot another bolt action project and had the place to myself. It started raining and then turned into a deluge. Under the steel roof it was as almost unbelievably loud. I figured I would wait it out but would try the trigger.
Not really aiming I pointed it down range and touched the trigger. Ziip! "What the heck?" I said out loud. 9 rounds and a stoppage so fast I could not get my finger off the trigger. Loaded another 10 rounds. Zip! all 10 down range. I was a little paranoid but I could not hear anything else due to very hard rain, figured "Why not he wants me to test this thing".
I took the trigger assy apart and adjusted the hammer AND the sear as far out as I could. ZIP!! 10 rounds. Next one was 9. Another 9. Then 10. And so on. I think if I had the mag spring turned tighter it would have done 10 every time.
Well I could not stand it so I shot several hundred rounds until the rain let up and it was great.
The cycle rate was unbelievable!! I could not shoot a burst in a normal way but if I just "slapped" the trigger it was 3-4 rounds. I mean that as the very quickest way I could touch the trigger without actually squeezing it. Normal trigger application meant empty mag no matter how quick I tried to lift my finger.
I am NOT a believer in the 22 lr as a defense (or offense) round but one of these would be devastating at 100 yards and less. It was easy to keep all ten rounds into a 12" circle at 100 yards even in a driving rain and that was well under 1 second as far as I can tell.
Being paranoid about legal issues I took the rifle apart and the hammer went into the trunk and the sear into the glove box. I even mailed them back to him in separate shipping envelopes. He got the back and put them in his rifle and got a crisp 1.5-2.5 lb trigger
He said he tried his hardest and could not make it full auto (I think he was secretly jealous
).
We started comparing things and my early trigger housing was VERY different. His was crisply molded and mine looked fat and almost organic. Turns out the center to center on the holes in the housing is different in the old style housing. Since then others have reported several different makers hammers and sears getting doubles and triples in old housings
If you have an old rifle from the 60's or at least mid 70's beware just buying new parts for them. Either have your whole assy reworked by someone that knows what they are doing oe get a newer housing because the BATFE frowns on ANY firearm that fires more than one round with one pull of the trigger. They even prosecuted a gunsmith that had a customer double barrel shotgun with worn parts that was firing both barrels!!
At the same time they announced his arrest my gunsmith friend had a 10 gauge double in his shop that was doing the same thing. I watched him shoot it the first time and thought "Man does that thing throw a lot of shot downrange!!" while he was thinking "Wow that SOB kicks like a freaking mule!!"
Of course we asked a couple friends to test fire it!
The reaction was always the same. At first they were stunned a 10 kicked that hard. Then they opened it and TWO empties came out!
By the way the gunsmith won his case but it ruined him as it took all the money his shop was worth and then some to beat the case against him.
Be very careful if you decide to screw around with your 10/22!!