1903 Trigger Problems

[Johnny P]

Have a problem with a 1903 trigger. When the rifle is not cocked the trigger works smoothly through the take up, but when the rifle is cocked the first stage of the trigger is harder to pull, and becomes somewhat "notchey". With the extra pressure needed if I am not careful the rifle will fire when the trigger comes through the first stage and there is enough pressure on the trigger that it goes on into the second stage.

There have been no modifications to the trigger.

[Parashooter]

Basic trigger tune-up: polish contact surfaces of sear, cocking piece, and trigger humps, clean thoroughly, then lube with moly or graphite grease.

[Johnny P]

The trigger is on a NM rifle, and I had never had it apart. Took it apart and the parts are polished where you would expect to see them polished, cleaned every thing up and applied moly lube to all the polished and bearing areas, and while the trigger is somewhat better it still has the notchey feel when cocked.

[Parashooter]

Advanced trigger tune-up: Refine microtexture of contact surfaces with ultrafine abrasive stones (hard Arkansas or equivalent) worked in direction of sear operation. Apply almost imperceptible microbevel to sear and cocking piece edges. This is not a job for novices unless spares are available - the learning process is likely to spoil geometry of critical surfaces and may remove excess metal, rendering safety inoperable.

[Allen Humphrey]

If you just want to shoot it a little bit and return it to its original configuration, you might experiment with a different cocking piece if you have some spares.