Axis trigger questions

[alltherage]

I just finished the axis trigger job on you tube by drthunder88. [Kudos!]
im at 1.75 pounds, although i was getting 2 and slightly higher at first. The creep is gone and i slid a washer on one side for wobble. I dont want it any lighter. How much can i expect it to lessen with use. I used an aftermarket spring same thickness as stock. Also, do i need to recoat it in lube as i wiped it off during work of course. Thx!

[foxx]

Just a word of caution...

Once the action is back in the stock, test it this way. I know from experience with MANY of these, this can be a hidden issue.

1. Put the safety to SAFE
2. Pull the trigger. HARD and Harder (imagine you are pulling up on a buck, safety is on and you pull and pul, then realize safety is on...)
3. slide safety to FIRE

what happens? HOPEFULY nothing. But often times it will go off without pulling the trigger when sliding safety forward after pulling hard on trigger with safety on.

PLEASE try this. If it fires, you better play with it some more.

Also, as for the grease... I put a dab of lithium grease on the sear and trigger if it gets rubbed off. I think it is there mostly for rust protection. Not sure.

[Hotolds442]

And.....you might just as well bounce the butt pad off the floor a few times with the action cocked on an EMPTY chamber, safety off, to make sure it won't accidentally fire if dropped.

[Hotolds442]

Just a word of caution...

Once the action is back in the stock, test it this way. I know from experience with MANY of these, this can be a hidden issue.

1. Put the safety to SAFE
2. Pull the trigger. HARD and Harder (imagine you are pulling up on a buck, safety is on and you pull and pul, then realize safety is on...)
3. slide safety to FIRE

what happens? HOPEFULY nothing. But often times it will go off without pulling the trigger when sliding safety forward after pulling hard on trigger with safety on.

PLEASE try this. If it fires, you better play with it some more.

Also, as for the grease... I put a dab of lithium grease on the sear and trigger if it gets rubbed off. I think it is there mostly for rust protection. Not sure.

One added step - Make sure the chamber is empty before trying this....

[alltherage]

Thanks. Yes i intend to bump test and any other tests that all of you
mention. The metal wont wear over time without lube, correct? Hardened for this purpose right

[Hotolds442]

If you haven't removed the thin, hardened layer, yes that's correct. But rust can make a smooth trigger feel like crap.

[alltherage]

I didnt remove any metal. How thin is that layer by the way ?

[DrThunder88]

Carburizing can be anywhere from 50 µm–1.5 mm deep. I have no idea how deep it goes on the Axis trigger, but I would guess it's on the thinner side.

How tight were the shims that were taking up the side-to-side wobble? If they were a tight fit, it is possible that they were binding between the trigger and the bracket at first, causing the slightly higher trigger pull to decrease as friction wore down the high points. I wouldn't expect it to change any more. A real spring will keep its springiness for a long time, and the unaltered surfaces of the trigger should probably up to wear until after your grandkids inherit the gun.

[alltherage]

Here's what ended up happening...
The safety needed adjusting, just as mentioned above. Once I got the safety adjusted properly, it wouldn't hold the sear when I did the mallet test. The creep was very much gone so it didn't surprise me at such a low spring weight. I ended up putting a new spring on it and stopped right at 3 lbs like other folks. I'm fine with that. It feels great and the creep was creeping me out the most. The over travel is amazing compared to where it started as well.

I haven't put it back together yet, but when I do I suspect I will dremel out the stock a bit to accommodate the over travel screw, although it doesn't appear to sit low enough to be a problem. I will do the bounce test as well as the others once i get it back together again.

I have another axis and will do the same trigger job on that one. One will be a target rifle and the other a predator rifle, so I guess I will wait to compare the triggers and build based on that. I learned some things on this one which will help. Overall, it's a great way to have some fun and learn. The trigger isn't a precision instrument, so grandiose dreams of an accutrigger type operation don't seem realistic...to my abilities anyway. However, the opportunity is certainly there to substantially improve it which is awesome.

The washer shim I used was .030 and seems to fit great. I mic'd the surfaces of the trigger and get about .010 of sear engagement. I feel good about it and wouldn't want or need any less. I used a metal paper clip that was .012. I ended up filing it a bit too. If you have any questions or comments, fire away...and thanks for the help.

[foxx]

That all sounds good, but if you haven't put it all back together yet, you still haven't tested as I suggested.

Please do so before you decide what to do next or what to do with another rifle. The FINAL test is testing the safety by pulling hard on the trigger while on "safe", then putting it on "fire" with the factory stock INSTALLED.

[alltherage]

I will definitely pursue every test mentioned here as well as anything i can think of. I haven't put it together yet. More verification work to do for sure

[DrThunder88]

The bumps to look out for are to the underside of the gun and the bolt handle slamming closed. Dropping the gun on its butt is a good test—an unsafe trigger will almost certainly fail that—but I have found guns that will pass that test only to fire when the bolt handle slams shut.

[Robinhood]

Carburizing can be anywhere from 50 µm–1.5 mm deep. I have no idea how deep it goes on the Axis trigger, but I would guess it's on the thinner side.


This is very relevent. .002 to .060.

[alltherage]

The bolt handle slamming shut was tripping it with the first shim i tried, so i filed it. Then the mallet test tripped it,,so i replaced spring. More testing the better no doubt!

[alltherage]

As I was putting it together, I made sure to look at the overtravel screw to see if it extended below the plastic, as in the video done by the social regressive on youtube. It looked perfectly flush so I proceeded. Once together, I did the butt bump test many times and it was fine. But then I realized I couldn't remove the bolt. So I took it apart and still couldn't remove it. This was perplexing as I thought I would've noticed this before. I surmised that the overtravel screw wasn't allowing the trigger to move enough, so i moved it out a tick. The bolt then came out. I reassembled and now it fails the test mentioned by Foxx above. I'm not sure what's causing this, but i figure it must be interference from the plastic....obviously right. More specifically, i think it is the trigger guard piece. I put it away for the night. Foxx was spot on, kudos to you for sure. thanks!

[swamphonkey]

Foxx gave some **** good advice! I would do everything you are doing to test it twice. Light triggers are great for really controlled shooting and precision shooting. But my uncle was killed by one when I was just a boy I'll never forget it. Back then a lot of guys hunted with the old 30 government style M1 grnd he had one he used forever none of US kids were allowed to lay hands on it. It had the most hair trigger I ever seen. One morning he leaned it up in the corner of the hunting snatch as it hit the floor it shot the top of his head off.. I got a whole new respect at 8 yrs old for gun safety that morning. I think you are playing it smart a 3 pound trigger is about as light as I ever want. Guys be safe. I have a 30-06 bar that's too light I don't let any one shoot it and never load It anymore just because of that. I see we have lots of do it yourself guys. And I love that it's a good thing to be able to work on your own things but just be safe. Again good advice Foxx.