Help! Trigger locked back and hammer won't release. Pics up

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D-Rock

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I was nearly finished lapping the hammer hooks on my Poly M14 trigger group when I noticed that the trigger pull suddenly started to feel really rough. After playing with it for a minute trying to figure out what was wrong the trigger became locked completely to the rear and the hammer will not unlock.When I push on the back of the trigger it will move forward but it springs right back once pressure is released. Out of desperation I tried to disassemble the trigger group and was able to get the trigger pin out but nothing else will move. Please tell me this is fixable.
 
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it is more than likely fixable but messing arround with trigger hooks can lead to an interesting issue as far as safety goes. Have you completely disassembled the trigger if not can you and if so give it a through cleaning and reassemble. I cannot think of anything unless the the hammer pin is the issue
 
now that's a new one..... and i've got a trigger group in my hand trying to mimick your situation.....
good well lit pics might help us
I'm curious as to where, what surfaces, you where lapping exactly
could be a hang up with the safety?
has the safety spring beside the trigger assembly dislodged and is binding somehow?
hammer pin walking out?

not to be happy with your misfortune, things like this suck all around, but these things are great to post and get help with. kinda like a group puzzle we all gotta figure out hehehe

anyone got any ideas?
 
He may have over lapped rear hooks that engage the hammer on the return if this the case a easy test is to have the hammer cocked and pull the rear set of hooks back toward you without pulling on the trigger . If it does release you may need a new trigger .
 
Savage: I was able to remove the trigger pin and hammer pin but I can't get the damn thing apart. I tried cleaning as is multiple times but it did not work.

M14Doc: I was lapping the hammer hooks as instructed at Hungry's M14 clinic (at least I thought i was doing it right) It was working great right up until the end.

I will take a closer look at the safety after I post these pics.


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Can you re install the pins back into the trigger???. because to take it apart is easier when the trigger assy is disassembled in the proper squence as well it will aid in getting the trigger group unlocked .If not ,not all hope is lost it will be a interesting process and difficult.
It looks like you will need a new hammer afterwards as you appeared to have removed a little to much material.on the front hooks on the hammer
 
The first thing Hungry taught me years ago was not to mess with the M14 trigger unless you are very familiar with lapping/honing/polishing them.................it is too easy to take off too much material.............then you are screwed and need to replace parts................

My advice to the average gun tinkerer is just to leave them alone..............;)
 
Savage wrote:

Can you re install the pins back into the trigger???. because to take it apart is easier when the trigger assy is disassembled in the proper squence as well it will aid in getting the trigger group unlocked .If not ,not all hope is lost it will be a interesting process and difficult.
It looks like you will need a new hammer afterwards as you appeared to have removed a little to much material.on the front hooks on the hammer
08-12-2010 11:11 PM


I should be able to get them back in with a little manouvering. I only took them out of desperation hoping that I could use a screwdirver to get something moving. I tries to follow the proper disassembly instructions but nothing will budge.
 
Please put the pins back in. You may need to apply preasure to get the trigger back in the proper position. Then follow the step's in the video below for proper dis-assmbely of your M14 trigger group;
[youtube]lTKfwdmMvVQ[/youtube]
 
Please reduce the size of your pictures.
You try to do a trigger job without disassembling the trigger group? Play with it with the trigger guard locked in?
What has likely happened is the hammer spring 'sprung' when you took out its pin and has locked the whole thing together. Like Satain says, you have to put the pins back in. Unlocking the trigger guard might loosen it enough to do that.
Good pictures, that go along with the video, are here. http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/triggerdisassembly/index.asp
 
for a measly 75.00 plus shipping, I perform "civillian match trigger jobs" for those of you not wanting to tempt fate by tuning your own trigger group.

i can't see the pics too well as i'm on dial up so can't really help much on this one
 
D-Rock, I wonder while you're lapping the sear hook there's no lube on the other moving parts and pins of the trigger group (in pictures)? Dry friction between metal surfaces may seize up the trigger parts.
 
sunray said:
Please reduce the size of your pictures.
You try to do a trigger job without disassembling the trigger group? Play with it with the trigger guard locked in?
What has likely happened is the hammer spring 'sprung' when you took out its pin and has locked the whole thing together. Like Satain says, you have to put the pins back in. Unlocking the trigger guard might loosen it enough to do that.
Good pictures, that go along with the video, are here. http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/triggerdisassembly/index.asp
Click to expand...

I was lapping the hammer hooks to smooth out the trigger pull which does not require disassembly of the trigger group. All the pins were in when things locked up. I only started to take pins out in a stupid and desperate attempt to get things moving again.
 
Prying??

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It kind of looks like some prying or force has been applied to the spring housing (nearest the hammer pivot pin) or some kind of scour from a hard object.

The spring is under an awful lot of tension and with everything misaligned, it's no wonder it's tight as a drum. Is there any way to get the pins back in so that everything can be re-aligned?

Has the safety spring moved to a cockeyed angle and jamming the trigger as well? The close up seems to suggest that has happened. Do you have a small diameter punch (or nail) with which to use if the pin won't go in the hammer pivot, due to everything being wonky? The photos also show that the whole hammer has shifter toward the magazine release. Due to the spring tension, I would try to use a punch to (as a guide) to gently work the hammer pivot back into place. You may need to put direct downward pressure on the back of the hammer so that it moves away from the housing (near the mag release) with only enough force so as to overcome the spring tension. Using the punch, it should wiggle back into position.

That will aid in dis-assembly. The video kind of explains how to re-assemble. I'd try that, then worry about what happened in the first place.

I know at the Clinic, we were told to lap if we wanted to smooth the trigger action better than what grease would do. I just used the grease and left well alone.
 
Complete wierdness

With a healthy amount of swearing and prying I was able to get the pins back in. At this point I thought I was still screwed because I was back at square one. I decided to pull the trigger just for the hell of it and the hammer released. Everything is back to normal and I have a nice smooth trigger pull. I don't know how to explain it but things some how magically reset themselves. Thanks guys for all the help. I was losing my #### last night.
 
After watching the video on how to disassemble the trigger assembly (which has an awesome soundtrack by the way) and doing it myself I recall that when I started having problems last night the trigger pin was protruding out slightly. I didn't have the sense of mind to really pay attention to it or to think about it until now. Maybe that was causing a misalignment that locked everything up.
 
Yes your trigger pin walked out just enough to lock the trigger group up.
By the way,removing the trigger pin with it cosked makes it a ##### to get back in !
I bet you had a hell of a time trying to reinstall that Trigger pin .
 
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