chuckdog
Senior Member
It's hard for me to believe that April was the eighth anniversary of me picking up this 2013 Shot Show Edition 7X57 Mauser chambered Winchester M70.
What's even harder to believe is that I'd never had it apart. I bought it thinking I'd relive owning one I'd had earlier, a push feed U S Repeating Arms manufactured one that I let a teacher friend of mine talk me out of in the mid 90's.
Well this one was sighted in with four rounds in April of 2013 and not shot again until this year. Oh I've kept it maintained, barrel cleaning/lube and wipe downs, but that's it.
Saturday night was my first turn of the action screws. My main objective was to inspect the unseen. I was also thinking about the crisp yet heavy 4lb trigger pull.
The unseen portion of the barreled action is as pristine as the remainder of the rifle. The inside of the stock is labeled December 2012.
I returned to the M.O.A. trigger Sunday afternoon. I believe Ruger may have taken a few ideas from the engineers at FN on their American rifle series.
The Winchester is definitely more sophisticated with no trigger lever, but they resemble one another greatly.
The M.O.A. trigger has zero pre or after travel, it's simply too heavy. After using a large sharp pointed tweezer to remove the glue inside the hex head I removed the pull weight set screw. Just like the Ruger the spring is still captured inside the housing. With no screw the pull weight was still 3lbs. I removed the rear trigger retaining/bolt stop action pin to relieve internal pressure on the trigger's internals, then like the Ruger removed the spring from the opening in the side of the housing. This is the tiniest trigger reset spring I've seen used in a rifle. I had no spring stock small enough to work with.
After a little deliberation with myself I went to the dremel tool and removed one turn from this tiny little spring. I returned it to the rifle still with no screw installed I had 2.5lbs. I dremeled off one more turn and the weight dropped to just below 2lbs. FYI this spring is available from Ernie the gunsmith for $7 or $8. I thought I already had one of his when I started this. If I didn't know I can get one from Ernie I wouldn't have cut the oem spring!
At this point I reinstalled the blue loctited set screw and brought the trigger pull up to near 2 1/4lbs. I usually set my hunting rifles @ 2 1/2 lbs. I left this one a wee bit lower for now. I still have a lot more adjustment if I or someone else in the future wants it a bit heavier.
I have it all back together with the action screws tightened to 30 inch/lbs on both ends. The trigger is safety on squeeze trigger safety off and bump tested. I cut the weight of pull in half and it feels much better.
This rifle has been a Safe Queen and I don't know if it may remain one or not? The reason I never removed the stock, adjusted the trigger, etc, I simply didn't want to take a chance in harming it in some way. I'm not getting any younger and no one else in my family gives a hoot about the old Grand Daddy 7X57 caliber, so who am I taking such good care of it for?
Let's get it in top shape and see what I can actually get out of the FN manufactured Long Action Model 70 Mauser combo!
Thanks for taking the time to read another one of my essay post.
What's even harder to believe is that I'd never had it apart. I bought it thinking I'd relive owning one I'd had earlier, a push feed U S Repeating Arms manufactured one that I let a teacher friend of mine talk me out of in the mid 90's.
Well this one was sighted in with four rounds in April of 2013 and not shot again until this year. Oh I've kept it maintained, barrel cleaning/lube and wipe downs, but that's it.
Saturday night was my first turn of the action screws. My main objective was to inspect the unseen. I was also thinking about the crisp yet heavy 4lb trigger pull.
The unseen portion of the barreled action is as pristine as the remainder of the rifle. The inside of the stock is labeled December 2012.
I returned to the M.O.A. trigger Sunday afternoon. I believe Ruger may have taken a few ideas from the engineers at FN on their American rifle series.
The Winchester is definitely more sophisticated with no trigger lever, but they resemble one another greatly.
The M.O.A. trigger has zero pre or after travel, it's simply too heavy. After using a large sharp pointed tweezer to remove the glue inside the hex head I removed the pull weight set screw. Just like the Ruger the spring is still captured inside the housing. With no screw the pull weight was still 3lbs. I removed the rear trigger retaining/bolt stop action pin to relieve internal pressure on the trigger's internals, then like the Ruger removed the spring from the opening in the side of the housing. This is the tiniest trigger reset spring I've seen used in a rifle. I had no spring stock small enough to work with.
After a little deliberation with myself I went to the dremel tool and removed one turn from this tiny little spring. I returned it to the rifle still with no screw installed I had 2.5lbs. I dremeled off one more turn and the weight dropped to just below 2lbs. FYI this spring is available from Ernie the gunsmith for $7 or $8. I thought I already had one of his when I started this. If I didn't know I can get one from Ernie I wouldn't have cut the oem spring!
At this point I reinstalled the blue loctited set screw and brought the trigger pull up to near 2 1/4lbs. I usually set my hunting rifles @ 2 1/2 lbs. I left this one a wee bit lower for now. I still have a lot more adjustment if I or someone else in the future wants it a bit heavier.
I have it all back together with the action screws tightened to 30 inch/lbs on both ends. The trigger is safety on squeeze trigger safety off and bump tested. I cut the weight of pull in half and it feels much better.
This rifle has been a Safe Queen and I don't know if it may remain one or not? The reason I never removed the stock, adjusted the trigger, etc, I simply didn't want to take a chance in harming it in some way. I'm not getting any younger and no one else in my family gives a hoot about the old Grand Daddy 7X57 caliber, so who am I taking such good care of it for?
Let's get it in top shape and see what I can actually get out of the FN manufactured Long Action Model 70 Mauser combo!
Thanks for taking the time to read another one of my essay post.
