Thread: Winter Rifle Maintenance. The Action: bolt, trigger, magazine

Well, these are the main moving parts so we ought to look after them but some disassembly is required so I don't do it very often.

First up is the mag.
Easy to take out. A bit tricky to get the slider out but it can be done without tools for this model.



There was virtually no debris inside so a quick wipe out with thin oil and no grease and then it was back together.


Next is the bolt.
Very easy to take apart but quite a knack to reassembling it with bare hands.



Again, there was no debris or wetness inside and just the merest hint of corrosion on the firing pin. Pretty good for how wet it's been but I wipe it down with oily rag each day after hunting and keep it away from dust between use. I didn't dismantle the extractor clip - not into epic fiddly rabbit holes. Another wipe out with the thin preserving oil and a smear of bolt/gun grease on the camming surfaces at the shroud and bearing surface on sides if the lugs and its back together in action.

To get at the trigger, I took the stock off and wiped everything clean, blowing out the trigger with a can of compressed gas stuff.


The bedding screws were a bit damp, specially the rear one but had no corrosion.

The trigger pull had declined to 750g. When I first got the gun 5 years ago I had set it to the lowest specified range at 1000g and it would only adjust down to 850g. Now here it was, way lower but still safe by the usual tests of slamming the bolt shut and bouncing it on the butt. "Slamming shut" had allowed the firing pin to fall 5 years ago but not now on a lower trigger weight. So, something had changed. For cold weather, I find it hard to control if very light so I wound the weight back up to 900g. The main explanation offered is that perhaps the sear has worn a little. There's certainly no creep but I have fired it 2000 times and probably the same again dry firing. I'll make further enquiry with the agents once the gunsmith is back. What do people think of this ? Should I use a drop of loctite ? Ask a gunsmith to take it apart ? Just use it ?

If it was me and I was worried about how light it was... I would wind it up to 1.5 - 2lb so I could feel ok about it. That is a very light trigger for a hunting rifle?

907gms = 2lb

Aah, my sleepy head was thinking .9 of a lb for some reason.
I would have it looked at if you're worried about it.

Im interested in whether other shooters woud be concerned about a trigger pull decreasing over a few years or if anyone else has noticed it happening to them and what cause they found.

I like how the Sako and Tikka bolts strip down so easily, do it most trips at night if I am board or if had a lot of rain, mud, dust or salt water/spray on it from the boat doing beach landings. I had only had two times went the trigger wasn't working properly from a build up of dust in the trigger mechanism ( too much crawling on the ground on windy days getting into a good shooting position ). I ended up using white spirits from my cooker to clean it out. I hate striping Remington bolts, too bloody fiddly doing it without tools but it can be done.

Originally Posted by tikka

I like how the Sako and Tikka bolts strip down so easily, do it most trips at night if I am board or if had a lot of rain, mud, dust or salt water/spray on it from the boat doing beach landings. I had only had two times went the trigger wasn't working properly from a build up of dust in the trigger mechanism ( too much crawling on the ground on windy days getting into a good shooting position ). I ended up using white spirits from my cooker to clean it out. I hate striping Remington bolts, too bloody fiddly doing it without tools but it can be done.

Piece of string and a coin or washer (bootlace and a knife)

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Im interested in whether other shooters woud be concerned about a trigger pull decreasing over a few years or if anyone else has noticed it happening to them and what cause they found.

To me it would seem that it is merely the difference between rough contact surfaces (newly machined) and ones that have polished themselves over time through use, resulting in less force being needed to move them.
You might find that if you now reset to 1kg that they won't reduce over time anymore as they have now worn themselves in so to speak.

I could be talking shit though! Just a theory!