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New take on removal of the "Trigger flop"

28K views 50 replies 29 participants last post by  1Merlin 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi guy´s!
I´m not really sure if this mod has a place in here, but if it doesn´t, moderators can feel free to remove it I guess.

Well, first of, I really am annoyed by the trigger flop on Marlin leverguns, and I know there is a simple fix for it, the WWW trigger kit.
But, since I live in Sweden, the cost of such a kit climbs up to around 210 bucks.
Not really prepared to pay that for such a small thingamajig, I set out to remedy the flop myself.

I have recently modified my Marlin 308 MX to a straight grip, full lenght mag, and slimmed all the wood down a great deal, so I figured I can´t stop there, I have to go all the way...

Ok, here´s how I did it:

Since the Marlin trigger assembly is a two piece pivoted design that is made up by the trigger and the sear, with a big gap in between them, I decided that the best way of getting the flop to go away, was to fill that gap somehow.

So, I made a small wedge, with a rectangular hole in it, that fits in between the trigger and the sear.

Here´s all the parts layed out on my (dirty) workbench so you can see the basic contour of the small plate I made.
I used a .055 steel sheet, and filed a wedge that is about .051 in the thicker part. The thin end is down to about as small as I could get it without it breaking.



And here´s the parts assembled, as you can see, the wedged shape keeps the trigger to the rear position.

Trigger


I´ve done all the checks with banging the buttstock to the floor, slapping the gun, I even checked the engagement of the sear to the hammer. Both with and without the wedge in place. The sear engages exactly like on the unmodyfied trigger, and I could not get the gun to fire by any other way than pulling the trigger.
So, instead of 210 dollars, I spent about an hour of work from starting to disassembling the rifle, to finishing the reassembly of the rifle.
And the sheet metal I had lying around, so I payed nothing for it.

The trigger flop is history, and the trigger pull feels a whole lot crisper, and even lighter to be honest! It breaks like glass, and I won´t even have to stone the sear to get it as I want it. I like a little harder pull in a hunting rifle, so to me this got just perfect!

Well, hope someone finds this useful, but one word of caution..
Do NOT take the measurements for granted, there may be more or less play in your rifle, so take your time and file away slowly if you want to thry this out.
Neat thing is, no alteration to the original parts has been done, so you can try over and over until you get it just as you want it.

Thank´s for watching.
Dennis
 
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#6 ·
Well, I would not consider the WWG-kit to be cheating, I just can´t afford dishing out in excess of 210 bucks without shipping to get one. This was the next best thing...
And, I thought that it perhaps might be useful to someone else if I posted it here, seeing how this is the place most people tend to end up when (not if) they get their new or used Marlin...
 
#7 ·
MrChilly,

Very creative work. I have the WWG Happy Trigger on my .35 Marlin and couldn't be happier. However there are a lot of folks who for one reason or another don't want to go that route (cost being one), but would like to do away with the Marlin "flop". I will continue to put the WWG Trigger on any future Marlins that may require a better trigger, still, this is a wonderful alternative.

Thanks for posting!
 
#8 ·
Marlinjunkie, thank you!
I completely understand those who want the WWG trigger kit instead of doing it this way. From what I hear, the feeling in the WWG kit is awsome bordering on devine according to the people I know that has it installed. However, this is a really good substitute for those who, for whatever reason, cost or availability can´t get the WWG kit.
I can honestly say, after shooting a friends guide gun with the WWG installed, that I can not feel a difference in the trigger pull or how the trigger breaks. However, I might have been lucky to get a really good sear to begin with. Regardless, I am so pleased to get the flop done away with, that all the other stuff is just bonus features, really.
 
#9 ·
Hi guy´s!
I just wanted to tell you, I was out this saturday to feel how the rifle felt to shoot after my modifications. All went extremely well, the rifle actually goes more natural to the shoulder now with the straight grip. And oh, the trigger...my sweet lord, that trigger! What an incredible difference! It´s a ton of difference in the trigger pull, and the shot goes when I want it too without any exessive pull on the trigger. It´s really a big difference!
Only problem I had was with the retaining of the magtube that I made. So, I had to go back to the drawing board, and now I have filed a dovetail slot in the barrel, to utilize the original barrel-stud for the magazine. Only difference is that the stud now is located right up at the muzzle. I´ll get some pics of it up here later, I´d like some estaethic advice on that one....
CHeers for now, I´ll post pics in an hour or so....
 
#10 · (Edited)
Ok, here it goes.
As said before, I have converted my Marlin 308 MX into a straight grip, by hacksaw, file and elbow grease.
I also made my own mag-tube, since I like the look of the full length tubes better.
However, my previous mag-tube hanger did not cut it, the mag moved under recoil, and now I have made a new tube, and used the original parts for attaching it to the barrel. I simply cut a new dovetail in the barrel, close to the muzzle.

Looks like this in closeup:



I´m happy with that, it works fine and looks great. However, the hanger I used to have, utilized the original dovetail for the mag-stud, and it was simply a ring around the mag-tube, with a retaining-screw to hold it in place. It looked a lot better, but it did not work well, as the mag moved under recoil.

So, here I am showing a picture of the whole gun, and to me it kind of lacks something in front of the front wood!
I´m thinking of making a barrel band, just for looks. What do you think?



And here´s a pic of the front part of the gun, might help decide wich route to go here....



Well, that´s it!
Help me decide how to proceed here, do you as I believe it´s missing something, or is it fine as is?

Humbly, Dennis
 
#12 ·
Sorry for the late reply, I've been busy with a flu-ridden oneyearold...
Anyway, thanks for that, and by all means use the plate, that's why I posted the pictures.
 
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#16 ·
SwampDude, thank´s a lot.
I completely forgot to check back in this thread, and for some reason I havn´t been getting notifications about any replys.
Anyway, I just thought I´d give you all a new picture of the rifle, along with it´s recently accuired big brother, the might 444p!
I love them both...

 
#18 ·
Yeah, the WWG trigger is of course the easier way to go, but there is no way I´m paying that money for it. It´s all good for you guys, who can get it shipped for a reasonable price, but to buy one here in Sweden costs a third of what I payed for the rifle..
Oh, and by the way, first thing I did to the 444 on friday when I got it home, was to put in my little plate-mod.
Works like a charm! It´s a joy to shoot these, I love them...
 
#19 ·
Well MrChily this is exactly why I posted this question on this forum. A lot more people visit this forum. You obviously are a lot more talented than I in machine work and the like. You so aptly proved that " necssity is the mother of invention. " And I have no doubt there will one or two different fixes to this ( in my case more simple, your solution might be a tad beyond my comfort level. ) I would have thought of the addition of a simple very light spring might do the same thing although I REALLY am interesed in the apparent crispness you now enjoy. And since I haven't taken the trigger assemply apart yet I don't know if the sring idea would even work..
 
#20 ·
Well, ngzcaz, first off thanks for the kind words! Second, it's a really easy job to do once you get the trigger group apart, and can see how it works. Third, the spring idea was my own first thought as well, but there just is not room in there for a spring. Once you get the parts out, you'll know;)
 
#21 ·
Mr Chilly, Very fine job on your .308 and great looking pair of rifles. Thank you for sharing, and I like you solution to the trigger creep problem. I look at the photo of your .308 and try to imagine the stock as a pistol grip, all I can say is wow! you did a fantastic job on the conversion.

Best Wishes, David
 
#22 ·
Dhansen, thanks for the kind words! I'm quite pleased with it myself, actually :)
Only problem now, is I want to do the skinnier forearm and the full mag on the 444p as well, but I'm hesitant. I could always get replacement wood and a new longer mag tube for it, but those are hellishly expensive over here, and I'm not sure I want to cut in to the originals for this one.
So, if any of you guys reading this has some beat up, but not busted, wood and a longer mag tube lying around that they want to get rid of for cheaps, let me know...
 
#49 ·
I have a 444S I purchased back in 1977. I've often wondered if the .44 mag tube would work, but the dovetail is at the end of my tube where the tube cap goes. That would interfere with the .44 mag tube, essentially blocking it. I guess a very good welder could butt-weld a length of donor tube to the original, but then, the issue of the blockage would still exist.
Keep us updated on this subject, please?
Great job on the trigger mod, by the way!

Sent from my SM-J260A using Tapatalk
 
#23 ·
I think this is a very clever solution to the problem, it amazes me nobody else has thought to do this. However, I can buy the WWG Trigger Happy kit for $79.00. If I figure 1.5 hours (at best) for me to do the work for the OP's conversion, I am money ahead to just buy the WWG trigger. I know it works, and is safe, so to me it's the way to go if I want to get rid of the flop. Really, the flop doesn't concern me, but I was customizing my 444SS and 338MX and wanted the trigger assemblies on them. All my other Marlins have the factory triggers, and on a couple I have done some smoothing. The rest are just fine the way they are.
 
#24 ·
Yeah, I know the wwg-kit is way cheaper over there, but around these parts I could just not justify the money after I got this idea. It takes me about 15 minutes to make one now that I've figured the thing out, and to me that's as cheap as it gets...
 
#25 ·
Great solution and great job on the work on your rifle to make it the way you want it. I myself have never really understood the big deal with the trigger flop, I guess everyone is different but seriously my 1894SS trigger is awesome from the factory, sure it has the flop but it's not so much and you just pull carefully to the breaking point anyway and then it's no flop left but just a clean break when you shoot. Never saw it as a big deal but maybe I just don't know better :)
 
#26 ·
As I've said in another thread in the 336-forum, I understand that there are a lot of people that do not see the point of this. I get that, but for me it was an annoying thing. The fact that the trigger felt better, (lighter and broke more crisply), was added bonus. One important thing to remember, is that you can never make the flop go away completely. If the trigger is absolutely solid, the trigger block will not disengage, unless you modify that too. And that is a really neat feature, and my guess is that is why Marlin actually started with the two piece trigger assembly. However, the flop just needs to be barely there for the blocking feature to work.
 
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