doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com My Valmet Lion and its Herculean trigger pull

I just picked up a new to me 1956 Velmet Lion combo gun with 2 barrels: .30-30 over 12 and 12/12. It’s in excellent condition metal with a aftermarket polychoke rib installed. It had a pretty scratched and dented finish that I stripped, steamed and refinished and is now a beautiful gun that I, most importantly, shoot very, very well. I’ve never shot another gun as well as I shoot this one. It just seems to fit me.

But it has a hell of a trigger pull.

I shot a round of sporting clays with it and didn’t notice anything unusual, probably because I was wearing gloves. A buddy I was shooting with commented that the triggers felt pretty heavy. I shrugged it off at the time since it didn’t bother me in the moment and the gun performed flawlessly.

When I got home, I put a trigger pull gauge on it and got a very consistent 12 lb pull on both triggers. That is obviously insane. It fires fine, never doubled, no weird safety interaction, no creep that feels abnormal. Just a very consistent 12 lb mechanical trigger pull on both barrels.

So here is what I am wondering.

Does that kind of consistent, excessive pull weight point to something other than sear to hammer engagement geometry? Since it is consistent and not erratic, I am assuming nothing is slipping or hanging up. It just feels like everything is working against a lot of spring tension or surface friction.

I am comfortable taking things apart and tinkering. I have actually pulled the hammers out on this gun numerous times, and it is very straightforward to remove and reinstall them (keeping the barrel selector shoe aligned and centered between the sears is a different story for another time). Before I start going down that road again, does this sound like something that could be addressed by carefully polishing the hammer and sear engagement surfaces? If so, is that something that realistically requires removing the sears entirely, or can very light polishing be done safely in place?

For what it is worth, the Valmet Lion is mechanically very close to the Remington Model 32, and the Savage 330 made by Valmet shares the same basic mechanics. If anyone has experience with those platforms, I would love to hear what you found causes a truly Herculean 12 lb pull on an otherwise healthy, reliable gun.

I want to improve the pull weight, but I have zero interest in creating a doubling issue or unsafe engagement. Any guidance before I start turning screws would be much appreciated.

If you do not fully understand the geometry involved in a trigger job I would suggest that you find a professional that does. Trigger jobs are very delicate work and if not done correctly can be dangerous and costly to correct.

Reducing your pull to reasonable weights will require more than polish, the angles of the sears should be altered slowly until the correct geometry is achieved, this will require removing them.

I generally encourage people to challenge themselves and learn new skills, trigger jobs are a different kettle of fish with the stakes a fair bit higher than a stock finish or simple repair.

Good luck!
Steve

Kersh, if you decide to send it out for professional trigger improvement , and I certainly would, 12# is horrendous, may I reference Phillip Crenwelge in Emory, TX?

I have done several trigger jobs successfully myself, but for complicated ones I use Phillip. He is absolutely the best trigger man I've ever run across. He has done a Dickinson, an AH Fox, a Super X2 and a Perazzi MX8 for me over the years. I have nothing but praise for him.

YouTube https://share.google/X5v652MKSnCdSEgFj

YouTube https://share.google/tBxkHaCHWMJsUAsh5

Both of these videos are of Jack Rowe. perhaps watching him do the job will at least help you decide if it's something you want to tackle.

For those who have experience-- what's the biggest pitfall to avoid? and is the worst case scenario that you create an unsafe seer that has to be completely remade? (I understand that true worst case scenario is an actual injury-- I'm assuming that the gun would be put through the ringer of safety checks before taking it to the field)

Go slow, understand the geometry, test it quite a few times after each adjustment.

Yes, assuming you stick to work on the sear, if you shorten it too much another will need to be made.

I have seen people do all sorts of crazy stuff trying to adjust trigger pull.

If everything else is in good condition and functioning as it should, your adjustment will be to the angle at the tip of the sear. I have seen damaged and altered hammers, trigger blades binding etc, but ruling those things out, a slow and methodical stoning of the sear changing its angle is the correct methodology.

Thanks for all the great responses!

I'm of the same mind regarding filing/ stoning the engagement surfaces. Removing a bit of material is just something I'm not 100% on.

But I think i will make ONE attempt at cleaning/ polishing the surfaces and if that doesn't get it, off to the gunsmith it goes.

I had a beautifully stocked Savage 330 12 and after using it many times hunting and on the skeet range. I fired on the first bird and nothing happened on the second. The guys all agreed that the first shot had doubled. I had to open the action to believe them. Figured out that something was going on with the barrel selector. After a full and extensive internal cleaning, all was well again, but, I never noticed the weight of the pull. I also never noticed the double but I shoot a lot of old rifles with heavy loads and even heavier triggers. You shoot with enough 10 pound triggers and you probably wouldn't notice a 12.

Life is too short to put up with 10-12 pound triggers. It's ridiculous.

You will NOT shoot your best with triggers like that. If you don't care about shooting your best, carry on.

Kersh,
Is the trigger for the bottom barrel (I'm guessing the rifle barrel in the combo set) a single set trigger? If so, it will have a small screw behind it. If it is a set trigger, push it forward until it "clicks" and it will have a very light "pull". You can live with 12-pound shotgun triggers, but not for a rifle. before you do anything permanent you might super glue a thin shim into the sear notches and see how you like that.
Mike

I have no desire to debate personal preferences in shotgun trigger pull weight, we each have our preferences. But, the bigger question in my mind is why would anyone want to deal with 12# trigger pulls on anything less than a cannon lanyard? No human I've ever met can shoot their best with triggers approaching twice the weight of the gun itself.