trigger job for a Browning BLR

dukecrab

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Location
Nanaimo
I had thought of getting a BLR many times, but every time the heavy trigger pull scared me away.
Some people may be OK , but heavy trigger has a great impact to my shooting accuracy.
and it is said, it is almost impossible to do a trigger job on a BLR....

searching all the internet, there is only one good guy can do a good job:
http://www.neiljones.com/

but unfortunately, he is in the US.

wondering if any gunsmith here in Canada can do a such a job?
 
Have you tried the BLR at the range before? It does have a heavy trigger like all lever actions (ok ok most). I find with the inherent inaccuracy of the lever action that the trigger weight really does not effect it the same way a percision bolt action would? Not to mention you are normally not going to bench rest it anyway which in my opinion trigger weight comes into play.

Just thought I would ask as I don't know many gun smiths that will do much in general with them.
 
There are smiths who can do it but it is so time consuming ie. taking the rifle apart and putting it back together not to mention the timing of the action that it is too expensive to be practical. I had a local smith do my wife's BLR many years ago and he told me he'd never do another.
 
I used to do them for $75 and felt both the customer and myself were getting screwed so I stopped...
 
I looked into it as I figured it was all about replacing the trigger spring. Then I read about issues timing the action and the amount of work that is involved and forced myself to get used to it. The trigger is really only inadequate for target shooting. It is fine in a hunting scenario.

I used to do them for $75 and felt both the customer and myself were getting screwed so I stopped...

This sums it up, the time and skill it takes to do it right cannot be justified in what people would expect to pay for it.
 
I have a number of BLR's as hunting rifles, I didn't know there was a trigger problem with them!:confused:

Sounds like you have never owned a fine bolt action with a decent trigger... or you just have stumpy fingers with no sense of feeling... ;-)
 
this is a few years ago , but for some reason when I sent my blr in to Dave Jennings( just east of kamloops ) for some work , I thought he mentioned that he had reworked the trigger somewhat ontop of the other work .
this would be close to 20 years ago , and almost right after I bought it so I didn't have a lot of time with it " before" , to compare it to " after " .

but playing with it right now , it is pretty good ..... the only down side I can see with it is the dwell time from when the hammer is released to when the primer actually fires , it is rather long .
 
I had Dave Jennings in kamloops do a BLR for me last summer, $150
Trigger is a crisp 3 pounds, much better the the 8 pounds it was. I am very pleased how it turned out
 
I could never understand the issue with "timing " on a BLR ,it's not rocket science by any stretch ,there's been a few pass over the bench and none of them were difficult ...you sometimes have to take it apart again and start over ,but that can happen with any complicated mechanism.

If one was only used to pulling a bolt from a bolt action and turning out a couple stock screws then maybe then it could throw you for a loop ,trigger job is the same for any non adjustable type ....it takes time ,time to polish and check ,polish and check and again till you get it right ...so again if one was used to just turning a screw to adjust a trigger then yes ,this too may through a loop.

If you want something done right ,it will take time time .
 
There was a trick to get the timing correct on the old BLR's... it could be put together where it felt normal but would misfire.

None of this matters when working on the trigger however - the rifle does not need to be stripped that far apart to work on the trigger.
 
Keith Long in Bewdley, ON is the BLR Master in my books. I had a small warranty issue with a new BLR 81 Lightweight some years back and I took the rifle to him in person. He had it apart in minutes, far enough to access the trigger, and simply asked me if I would like the trigger improved while he was at it. I said yes, of course, and it was so much improved I was very impressed. We didn't tell Browning. :)
 
I also got the itch for a BLR.
Heard about the triggers though.

On the website it showed 4.5 lbs trigger as on of the features.
Perked my interest. Maybe I will buy new...

Was at a cabellas 2 weeks ago and they had a SS BLR in my caliber on the rack.
But they explained I could not try the trigger, not even once.
Trigger locks stay on.

I asked if they had a trigger gauge?
Yes.
Would they mind?

They (with a great air of superiority) took it back in to their vault to remove the trigger lock, (seriously)...
And reported to me 8 lbs
They likely did not know what creep was. So I did not ask.

Wonder if it would be a warranty issue to get 4.5 lbs?
How would that go?
 
I also got the itch for a BLR.
Heard about the triggers though.

On the website it showed 4.5 lbs trigger as on of the features.
Perked my interest. Maybe I will buy new...

Was at a cabellas 2 weeks ago and they had a SS BLR in my caliber on the rack.
But they explained I could not try the trigger, not even once.
Trigger locks stay on.

I asked if they had a trigger gauge?
Yes.
Would they mind?

They (with a great air of superiority) took it back in to their vault to remove the trigger lock, (seriously)...
And reported to me 8 lbs
They likely did not know what creep was. So I did not ask.

Wonder if it would be a warranty issue to get 4.5 lbs?
How would that go?

if your already getting grief , shop elsewhere because it will only get worse after they have your money .

you could phone up browning and ask them , I have always found the very helpful .
 
Stick your thumb in front of the hammer to ketch it.
Yikes.
The BLR here is at five pounds.
Not a horrible five pounds, but it is there.
Been thinking about a trigger adjustment also.
 
if your already getting grief , shop elsewhere because it will only get worse after they have your money .

you could phone up browning and ask them , I have always found the very helpful .

Perhaps I will call browning this week...
Will post the answers they give.

As per warranty issues I suspect the retailer would have me deal with the factory reps directly.
And better that way.
 
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