I just got done doing a home Model 60 trigger job and thought I'd share my experiences since everyone here probably owns one.
By FAR the biggest difference for my gun was making sure the sear was square - it had a sharp curved edge which took me forever to figure out because I did the trigger job on rimfire central and still had a 20lb break. Mine breaks at a crisp 1.5lb now, I'll explain which mods you can alter to make it more 3lb (optimal).
I used (If you want to do this yourself)
------
1. Sandpaper - Wal-Mart 3M pack with 100, 150, 220 grit and in the AUTO section some of their 800 gritwet or dry paper for final smoothing.
2. JB Weld - cold steel 2 tube set, takes 16 hours to cure
3. A set of needle nose pliers
4. A drill
5. Some time
First, here are the links to where I got all my information.
Go to this link and download the file, do not open it as it is a slide show and does you no good. Open powerpoint > go to file > open > open the presentation from there. Now you can jump around and view the slides, and best of all you can print them to keep with you like I did to help me take apart. It's priceless.
Model 60 action assembly - RimfireCentral.com Forums
Do this first and reassemble, see if you like it:
Vote For David: Marlin Model 60 Trigger Job
My sear (the red arrow) had almost a hook on the end of it and I had to remove quite a bit of metal. It works great now but took 25 mins to adjust with small tools/sandpaper so as not to overdo it. You DO want it to looks like his even if you have some remove a little metal.
Stop here unless it's still too heavy.
Then go to:
How I adjusted the trigger on my Marlin 60 (Drawing) - RimfireCentral.com Forums
Do the JB weld (Cold Steel, 2 tubes in Wal-Mart) if your trigger has a long take up, mine has almost none now and just goes click when you pull the trigger - no extra movement. Since its hard to see on the diagram, when you have the trigger removed from the gun its that bulb on the part of the trigger that extends upwards into the gun, its on the trigger NOT anywhere in the action. JB weld worked nice because it runs over the contour as it dries and makes it close to the shape it was anyways. I used sandpaper to smooth it out and make it even when done.
If you just want to weaken the springs (suggested first) just stretch the spring out a bit - move it pretty far opposite the way its pulling and when it comes back it has less tension at the same place.
Weakening the trigger spring worked well too. Its hard to get too so I just took some needle nose pliers, grabbed the short leg that is on the trigger pushing it back and pulled it out and away a couple times (just look at it and press it, you'll see whats moving the trigger back, its below where you put the JB weld almost in the trigger itself). It gets weaker with each far pull so don't overdo it. Do not mess with the coil of the spring.
I drilled a custom hole for my sear spring leg, like the guy noted in the powerpoint above. Just drilling a hole in the plate did not work for me (spring kept popping out under tension). I put some scotch tape on the bottom of the hole, filled the hole with JB weld, then inserted a tac covered in grease so the JB weld would not stick to it. This left a small hole after it dried and then I put in a small nail, about 1/2in tall. (after hammering it in with the point, file it off so the bottom is smooth. Do not use cutting pliers, the pressure might weaken the hole and make you start over with more JB) and it works GREAT.
I cannot believe I was able to hammer something through the JB weld without knocking it out or loose, it holds tight amazingly enough. It adds a closer post so no chance of slipping and its got a top with an edge so it won't fly off. You just need to make sure your nail or whatever you use is below the post next to it or you can't reassemble. **Because of this I had to use the needle nose and bend my sear spring to almost half a square to fit in the new post, it works fine.
A new post will usually take you below 3lb breaks, at the very least its much better.
I do not recommend cutting the hammer spring, its permanent and I really did just take 1 coil off mine and had problems with it flying off afterward, I had to have it set in a specific spot now. If your trigger is still too heavy do this last.
That's what you need to do, try weakening one spring at a time (all 2 of them) and then reassembling. If you do like me and all at once your going to end up with a REALLY light trigger pull. I could move the spring off my custom post back to the regular one by straightening it out, but I like it.
Hope this helps someone, any questions with your own job PM me.
Last thing, while it was apart and cleaned I put a SMALL amount of grease on all the surfaces that rub each other, by small I mean you have to look to see it's there.
By FAR the biggest difference for my gun was making sure the sear was square - it had a sharp curved edge which took me forever to figure out because I did the trigger job on rimfire central and still had a 20lb break. Mine breaks at a crisp 1.5lb now, I'll explain which mods you can alter to make it more 3lb (optimal).
I used (If you want to do this yourself)
------
1. Sandpaper - Wal-Mart 3M pack with 100, 150, 220 grit and in the AUTO section some of their 800 gritwet or dry paper for final smoothing.
2. JB Weld - cold steel 2 tube set, takes 16 hours to cure
3. A set of needle nose pliers
4. A drill
5. Some time
First, here are the links to where I got all my information.
Go to this link and download the file, do not open it as it is a slide show and does you no good. Open powerpoint > go to file > open > open the presentation from there. Now you can jump around and view the slides, and best of all you can print them to keep with you like I did to help me take apart. It's priceless.
Model 60 action assembly - RimfireCentral.com Forums
Do this first and reassemble, see if you like it:
Vote For David: Marlin Model 60 Trigger Job
My sear (the red arrow) had almost a hook on the end of it and I had to remove quite a bit of metal. It works great now but took 25 mins to adjust with small tools/sandpaper so as not to overdo it. You DO want it to looks like his even if you have some remove a little metal.
Stop here unless it's still too heavy.
Then go to:
How I adjusted the trigger on my Marlin 60 (Drawing) - RimfireCentral.com Forums
Do the JB weld (Cold Steel, 2 tubes in Wal-Mart) if your trigger has a long take up, mine has almost none now and just goes click when you pull the trigger - no extra movement. Since its hard to see on the diagram, when you have the trigger removed from the gun its that bulb on the part of the trigger that extends upwards into the gun, its on the trigger NOT anywhere in the action. JB weld worked nice because it runs over the contour as it dries and makes it close to the shape it was anyways. I used sandpaper to smooth it out and make it even when done.
If you just want to weaken the springs (suggested first) just stretch the spring out a bit - move it pretty far opposite the way its pulling and when it comes back it has less tension at the same place.
Weakening the trigger spring worked well too. Its hard to get too so I just took some needle nose pliers, grabbed the short leg that is on the trigger pushing it back and pulled it out and away a couple times (just look at it and press it, you'll see whats moving the trigger back, its below where you put the JB weld almost in the trigger itself). It gets weaker with each far pull so don't overdo it. Do not mess with the coil of the spring.
I drilled a custom hole for my sear spring leg, like the guy noted in the powerpoint above. Just drilling a hole in the plate did not work for me (spring kept popping out under tension). I put some scotch tape on the bottom of the hole, filled the hole with JB weld, then inserted a tac covered in grease so the JB weld would not stick to it. This left a small hole after it dried and then I put in a small nail, about 1/2in tall. (after hammering it in with the point, file it off so the bottom is smooth. Do not use cutting pliers, the pressure might weaken the hole and make you start over with more JB) and it works GREAT.
I cannot believe I was able to hammer something through the JB weld without knocking it out or loose, it holds tight amazingly enough. It adds a closer post so no chance of slipping and its got a top with an edge so it won't fly off. You just need to make sure your nail or whatever you use is below the post next to it or you can't reassemble. **Because of this I had to use the needle nose and bend my sear spring to almost half a square to fit in the new post, it works fine.
A new post will usually take you below 3lb breaks, at the very least its much better.
I do not recommend cutting the hammer spring, its permanent and I really did just take 1 coil off mine and had problems with it flying off afterward, I had to have it set in a specific spot now. If your trigger is still too heavy do this last.
That's what you need to do, try weakening one spring at a time (all 2 of them) and then reassembling. If you do like me and all at once your going to end up with a REALLY light trigger pull. I could move the spring off my custom post back to the regular one by straightening it out, but I like it.
Hope this helps someone, any questions with your own job PM me.
Last thing, while it was apart and cleaned I put a SMALL amount of grease on all the surfaces that rub each other, by small I mean you have to look to see it's there.
Last edited:
