Polishing AR stock trigger?

EugeneStoner · June 16, 2001, 04:03 PM

Bushmaster stock trigger. Is there any point in dis-assembly and polishing the sear surfaces? It's not a big job. Anyone done this?

Ed Brunner · June 16, 2001, 07:09 PM

If your name is Eugene Stoner I would't be comfortable giving you advise on AR rifles. If it is just a user name I probably would be OK with it.

Mike Baugh · June 16, 2001, 09:17 PM

I lubed my Bushmaster trigger with moly paste and it made a huge improvement , with no polishing . Good luck , Mike...

George Stringer · June 17, 2001, 07:20 AM

My advice is to either have a smith do a trigger job on it or buy an aftermarket trigger. I just had two "machine guns" in the shop. One and AR and the other a Mini 14. Both were the result of the owners' polishing the triggers. George

teufelmann55 · June 17, 2001, 12:36 PM

My advice would be to buy a better trigger. Doing a "trigger job" on an AR trigger is tricky and unadvisable even for the best AR smiths'. We don't even screw around with the old triggers we put in a Krieger/Milazzo on all M16s' built for matches. The main problem being with the AR trigger is that the heat treat on the bearing surfaces on the trigger and hammer are not very deep so any polishing done dramatically decreases the life of the safety of the weapon. Because when you have polished it to the point where it starts to feel good you will have taken too much off and it will not last long before you go to a 2 shot burst or more.

George Smith · June 20, 2001, 11:59 AM

AR hammers and triggers are made of 8620 steel, so yes they are case hardened. with the cost of an ar trigger (sear) at 10.00 ish if you do not do well the penelty is not very big. The Heat treat will penetrate more around the corner so the contact point of the hammer is deeper than the usual .015 depth of penetration.

Most times if the gun is doubling it is because the guy did not adjust the disconector to catch the hammer before it rests on the sear.

If you want to really try take a block of steel and drill 2 holes in it at the same spacing as your reciever and install the trigger pins. You can see outside the gun how it works and can play with the angle of the trigger face the depth of the hammer hook and by removing material from the front of the disconector change the contact amount. If you go to a show or buy a spare set you can work with them and always change the gun back if it does not work well.

To check the gun make sure the safety works, drop the bolt with the trigger back and forward and make sure it does not follow, (empty gun!!)
and with the trigger back drop the bolt, and slowly release the trigger, If the hammer slips off and does not catch the sear it is not safe.

Last point, Rock River has a trigger set that is very good also, but I think it sells for 120.00
geo ><>

johnwill · June 20, 2001, 05:45 PM

You can get a deal on the Rock River 2-stage trigger if you purchased one of the AR15.COM Limited Edition rifles.

dsk · June 20, 2001, 08:46 PM

Hey George, good to see you here on this forum! Do you feel like a refugee from 1911forum.com too?

George Smith · June 21, 2001, 07:20 AM

DSK
"You Don't Have ... To Live Like a Refugee.....

geo ><>

ps your package went out.

June 16, 2001, 04:03 PM	#1
EugeneStoner Junior member Join Date: June 16, 2001 Posts: 2	Polishing AR stock trigger? Bushmaster stock trigger. Is there any point in dis-assembly and polishing the sear surfaces? It's not a big job. Anyone done this?

June 16, 2001, 07:09 PM	#2
Ed Brunner Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 1998 Location: Natchez, MS, USA Posts: 2,562	If your name is Eugene Stoner I would't be comfortable giving you advise on AR rifles. If it is just a user name I probably would be OK with it. __________________ MOLON LABE UNTIL IT'S OVER! Ed

June 16, 2001, 09:17 PM	#3
Mike Baugh Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 1998 Location: Indiana Posts: 405	I lubed my Bushmaster trigger with moly paste and it made a huge improvement , with no polishing . Good luck , Mike...

June 17, 2001, 07:20 AM	#4
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	My advice is to either have a smith do a trigger job on it or buy an aftermarket trigger. I just had two "machine guns" in the shop. One and AR and the other a Mini 14. Both were the result of the owners' polishing the triggers. George

June 17, 2001, 12:36 PM	#5
teufelmann55 Member Join Date: May 12, 2001 Posts: 92	My advice would be to buy a better trigger. Doing a "trigger job" on an AR trigger is tricky and unadvisable even for the best AR smiths'. We don't even screw around with the old triggers we put in a Krieger/Milazzo on all M16s' built for matches. The main problem being with the AR trigger is that the heat treat on the bearing surfaces on the trigger and hammer are not very deep so any polishing done dramatically decreases the life of the safety of the weapon. Because when you have polished it to the point where it starts to feel good you will have taken too much off and it will not last long before you go to a 2 shot burst or more.

June 20, 2001, 11:59 AM	#6
George Smith Member Join Date: June 20, 2001 Location: Doylestown Pa Posts: 22	AR hammers and triggers are made of 8620 steel, so yes they are case hardened. with the cost of an ar trigger (sear) at 10.00 ish if you do not do well the penelty is not very big. The Heat treat will penetrate more around the corner so the contact point of the hammer is deeper than the usual .015 depth of penetration. Most times if the gun is doubling it is because the guy did not adjust the disconector to catch the hammer before it rests on the sear. If you want to really try take a block of steel and drill 2 holes in it at the same spacing as your reciever and install the trigger pins. You can see outside the gun how it works and can play with the angle of the trigger face the depth of the hammer hook and by removing material from the front of the disconector change the contact amount. If you go to a show or buy a spare set you can work with them and always change the gun back if it does not work well. To check the gun make sure the safety works, drop the bolt with the trigger back and forward and make sure it does not follow, (empty gun!!) and with the trigger back drop the bolt, and slowly release the trigger, If the hammer slips off and does not catch the sear it is not safe. Last point, Rock River has a trigger set that is very good also, but I think it sells for 120.00 geo ><>

June 20, 2001, 05:45 PM	#7
johnwill Senior Member Join Date: April 6, 2000 Location: PA Posts: 3,451	You can get a deal on the Rock River 2-stage trigger if you purchased one of the AR15.COM Limited Edition rifles.

June 20, 2001, 08:46 PM	#8
dsk Senior Member Join Date: June 19, 2001 Posts: 1,603	Hey George, good to see you here on this forum! Do you feel like a refugee from 1911forum.com too?

June 21, 2001, 07:20 AM	#9
George Smith Member Join Date: June 20, 2001 Location: Doylestown Pa Posts: 22	DSK "You Don't Have ... To Live Like a Refugee..... geo ><> ps your package went out.