Help with a Marlin 1888

[peter richards]

I picked up a Marlin 1888 in 32-20 from Sureshot on my last trip to your shores. I am heading down to pick up it & 15 other firearms from customs next week as I just got all the paperwork done. Fortunately my government is insisting on saving me from my self & ensuring that these over 100 year old rifles are safe. This means that the 2 1899 savages that I am importing have to be drilled & the hole painted red to show when the safety is off.
They also tell me that the trigger is too light on the 1888 Marlin. As it is a 12hour round trip to pick them up, I have to stiffen up or replace the trigger spring at their facility so that I can get it released to me.
My question is what can I do to stiffen up the trigger spring, or could I use the trigger spring out of one of my model 1889 or 1894 Marlins to get me out of trouble?
Any suggestions would be appreciated as I don't know of any other 1888's here in Australia to practise on.

[Centennial]

At least the action and sear to trigger engagement is direct and straight forward.
Bring your own trigger gauge, bring parts from the 1889 in case you need them, wet stone with good sharp 90* angle, small files, maybe some 242 Loc-Tite, super glue, other favorite quick dry epoxy.........
Be confident like you know what to do. The object is to get her home.
1). You could try bending the trigger return spring , re-arching it gently in your fingers.
2). Put some glue on the sear notch and let it dry. Smooth or file it as needed.
Now try the trigger.

( I've used JB weld epoxy to fill in extra notches someone had filed into antique hammer guns and it lasts, but is easily removable.)

[BrentD]

I wish I knew more about 88s to be able to help you but i would not stone anything w/o jigs if possible. It may well be too hard to file.

Anyway, if the trigger is close to the required letoff and assuming that the spring arrangement is at least similar to an 1893, 94, or 95, then I think you can probably shim the spring to put more pressure on the hammer. You can also shim the trigger return spring to also increase pressure on the trigger sear in a way that will increase trigger pull.

Exactly what trigger pull weight is required? Is there an objective standard or is it just something that these guys make up as they go?

If shimming won't work then you might look at the trigger and hammer engagement surfaces. If either are rounded off on their edges, this could cause the problem. If so, then I would start with stoning a flat surface on the trigger, rather than the notch in the hammer and see if that doesn't get the job done.

But maybe the best option I can think of is if you have a friend with a rifle of the same model or one what uses the same parts for triggers and springs and see if you can borrow his parts to clear yours through customs. I would bet a small amount that your 89 springs (trigger and main springs) will work in the 88 but I don't know for sure. I don't think the 94 springs will (but I really don't know for sure).

This all smells of bogosity in the extreme. Good luck!

[BrentD]

And just one more suggestion. If you have some thin spring material, you can fashion a spring from it that will approximate the springs you are working with. If the screws are long enough (and they should be), you can put both original AND the newly made spring on there, with the new spring pushing the old spring and get more spring strength that way. Even if the new spring is shorter than the old one, it should help (think leaf springs on a car).

Every pound you add to the trigger return spring will add a pound to the trigger pull, so that's a good place to start.

Brent