So I don't do something stupid that causes a problem, how do I trip the the sears?
This made me laugh.
If you don't know something this basic, you really shouldn't be poking around inside of a gun. Seriously.
You trip the sears with the gun cocked, by applying upwards force on the sear tails to disengage the sear tip from the tumbler notch. If you also disengage the interceptors, the hammers will fall all the way (normally) and the firing pins will leave a mark on the wood block. If interceptors are present and working, they will engage and prevent the hammers from falling all the way, and firing pins will not make an indentation on a wood block or primers.
They provide a somewhat similar function to the fly and half-cock notch in better quality flintlock and percussion locks. They are an adjunct to the safety in a shotgun, to prevent some accidental discharges.
Since you have previously said I have no knowledge to offer here, I'll let you figure out why they are often removed, or not even present in cheaper guns.
With certain things like firearms and high voltage electricity, if you don't know what you're doing, you really shouldn't do anything. This is how dogs and hunting partners end up getting shot.
