Returning 10/22 trigger group to receiver

[Surplussoldier]

I shouldn't be having this problem but yet I am. I am installing a match trigger assembly into my 10/22. I have removed the stock trigger group, removing the cross-pins (B-5, I think) so that it can fall out. However, when I try to put the new trigger assembly in, this is where things get tricky.

I can, with some fidgeting, get one pin to go through, but whenever I get one pin in, the other doesn't want to go through. I can pin the front hole (very difficult) or the rear hole (easier) but the other one does not want to go through after that. Why doesn't everything just slide into place? I have been jimmying the group around as much as I can. Everything else seems to be in order. The bolt stop pin is present where it should be.

What am I doing wrong? The pins go through just fine on the trigger group itself, and through the holes in the receiver, but they just don't want to line up when I'm putting it together.

 

[Jackal]

Is the hammer cocked?

 

[Surplussoldier]

Yes, the hammer is cocked. It came cocked, actually. I kept it on safe as per the instructions and haven't let the hammer "fire" yet.

 

[Jackal]

Well, if the trigger group is an aftermarket, hi performance one, then it may need a little fitting. Match trigger groups are meant to fit tight, so there is no slop. However, you should certainly be able to insert the pins. Are the holes mis-aligned? If the holes in the trigger group do not match up with the holes in the action, then you have a faulty product.

 

[hksw]

What Jackal said, it sounds as if the aftermarket trigger group housing holes are incorrectly drilled. Which group is it?

 

[Surplussoldier]

It is a Hornet Custom Trigger Assembly with a Volquartsen Trigger.

 

[rustymaggot]

cant you stick the volquartzen trigger into the original trigger assembly and cure the issue that way?

 

[Jackal]

Sorry, I can't be more help. Without it sitting in front of me, I am not sure of the best course of action. That is why I stick with the Ruger trigger group. You can replace all the parts inside, even take up the slack between the action and trigger group with oversize pins. The advantage? It always fits.

 

[Surplussoldier]

The trigger group has several new components besides a trigger so I want the whole group to go in. (It has extended magazine release, modified bolt stop, springs, hammer, other parts.)

 

[ArmedBear]

Preface: I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm trying to help. I've done this myself.

The one thing that wasn't mentioned was the safety. What position is the safety in?

 

[Surplussoldier]

I think I may have solved the problem. I found that it is the front hole that is the difficult hole and that, furthermore, it prefers one end of the pin to the other. With a lot of guesswork, I pinned the rear hole successfully and lined up the front hole so that the pin fit almost all the way in. There was always about 5mm sticking out, this has happened on a few past attempts.

So I took a HAMMER and gently tapped it in. The pin was catching somewhere inside the front trigger group holes even when it was correctly aligned. So there may have been a small burr of some kind in there. But with the hammer pressure, I was able to complete the pin's fit in the receiver. The trigger group is very tight now.

I reassembled the rifle and dry fired it successfully. The trigger is lighter than the stock pull and there is slightly less creep though there is still a bit of a gritty creep. At least it is discernibly two-staged now. I will take it out and live fire it when I have time.

 

[Blackfork]

10/22 action today.

My Dad gave me a 10/22 back in the 60s. The serial number is in the 8000s.

I kept all the parts but upgraded the trigger with a Volquartzen trigger, sear, et a few years ago. It's a lot better trigger than it was but still not great. I put on a Titan Match barrel. Dropped the whole thing in a Hogue overmolded stock and put a BSA Platinum scope on it. It's kind of my "kid" gun that I take along when I have a kid at the range. They like shooting it and being able to see the holes.

Today I carried it to the deercam to change cards. On the way back I clanged some Wolf Match Target loads off a big metal sign welded on the property down a pipeline. That sign has about 40 years worth of bullet scars on it, lots of them from this gun. Then I sat down and shot 5-shot strings at a paper target at about 35 yards and made a nice ragged hole just above the X ring. I think the rifle is zeroed at 50 yards. The Volquartzen trigger is better than it was, but still not very good. I've got the bolt hold and quick magazine drop on as well.

I've got the same sling I put on it in Jr High school, a sling that turned out to be a 1953 Thompson Machine gun sling. Still hanging in there.