Marlin .22 question

[Rittmeister]

I just picked up a Rifle Basix trigger for my Marlin 880 .22LR bolt gun. It's very very nice but I've got a question regarding the sear.

Basically, when I have the trigger adjusted to where it has proper sear engagement, I can no longer remove the bolt from the rifle (this is a typical "pull the trigger to release the bolt rearward" configuration). I spoke with the manufacturer and was given a few suggestions, which didn't work unfortunately. I think what I have is that one rifle in 100 that has tolerances a little out of whack; it didn't matter with the stock trigger but of course now I've modified myself into an issue.

I'm wondering if I can either snip off a small bit of the sear spring so it'll move down further, or grind the top of the sear off a bit to give more clearance to the bolt.

My primary motive is safe/proper operation of the gun though. I have no idea if doing one of those will cause any issues.

I can of course remove the action from the stock and take things apart for cleaning periodically, but I'd like to more easily be able to run a rod through the barrel more frequently - which means being able to pull the bolt out.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[easy]

Just adjust it so that it will do what you want, allow the trigger to be pulled far enough. Yes you will get a little creep but it will be fine.

 

[MaterDei]

I wouldn't modify the spring. Can the overtravel be adjusted? If so you might be able to adjust it so that the sear will depress more. With the bolt removed, can you push the sear down manually further than it falls with a trigger pull? If so, shortening the spring won't help.

 

[Rittmeister]

Easy - what I want is to have the sear fully engaged by the trigger, AND be able to remove the bolt. Right now those two things won't happen at the same time.

Mater - there appears to be no overtravel adjustment. There is a "creep" adjustment screw but it doesn't affect the issue above.

After further experimentation I find that what's happening is that the trigger return spring is fully compressing (coil bind) so that neither the trigger nor the sear can move any further. I'm going to contact Rifle Basix tomorrow to see about the advisability of trimming a coil or two off the trigger return spring to shorten it so there will be more room to move. I'll report back when I find out what's what.