The L.C. Smith Collectors Association

The L.C. Smith Collectors Association
[ The L.C. Smith Collectors Association ]

Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Matt on January 5, 2018, 6:19 pm

Hi,

I acquired an LC Smith double barrel, double trigger, and had an issue with the rear trigger. It seemed as if the rear trigger got stuck and did not recock. I carefully pushed it with screwdriver, and it unstuck itself and set to wear it should be. What caused this? Should I lube the triggers at all? Thanks

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by mike yonker on January 5, 2018, 6:40 pm, in reply to "Trigger Malfunction?"

I would check your side plates for proper tightness. If they are not seated into the stock to the correct depth the trigger may slide past the end of the sear arm and bind, pulling into cocked position will probably allow the gun to fire but will be come stuck each time.Lube may help.

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Matt on January 5, 2018, 8:44 pm, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

Thanks! How tight should they be? I heard that if they are too tight, it will cause trigger issues. Although, that may just be on the Hunter one, haven’t heard anything about the double. Thanks

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by mike yonker on January 5, 2018, 10:39 pm, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

The threaded end of the cross screw that connects the side plates above the triggers should be flush with the outside face of the RT side plate. You can slightly tighten or loosen that screw to see if you have a bind or sloppy feel in the trigger. you could check the pivot in the trigger for wear. MY

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by David Williamson on January 6, 2018, 12:05 pm, in reply to "Trigger Malfunction?"

Matt, the information that Mike offered is very good. One other thing I would look at, when the lock/s are being put on you have to make sure that you push the trigger/s forward so that they will clear the sear/s, if not the flat part of the trigger that engages the sear will and can get bent. If you take the locks off and look through the window where the sears are you can look at the plates. Pulling the trigger will make the plate rise and you can see if it is bent. Sometimes from a lot of shooting through-out the years a groove is formed in them causing a longer trigger pull or worse yet not working at all.
Let us know how you make out.

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Tom Garver on January 6, 2018, 2:40 pm, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

Matt, in your original post you mentioned that the trigger was stuck and didn't "recock". The triggers do not cock per se but there is a small spring that keeps a slight amount of tension on both triggers. If the spring is broken one trigger could have tension while the other doesn't. The only way to assess this and fix if necessary is to pull the trigger assembly. Let us all know how you make out. Thanks, Tom

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Matt on January 7, 2018, 8:33 am, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

Thanks very much, I’ll check that out. How would I know if it is bonded, and what would be my fix? Should I take the side plates off and make sure to push the triggers up so they don’t bind? Thanks

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Matt on January 7, 2018, 8:37 am, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

Thanks all for the help. I will take the lockplates off carefully and inspect things. Now it seems to work fine though, that I got the trigger unstuck. I hope nothing is bent like you guys were saying!

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Matt on January 7, 2018, 8:45 am, in reply to "Trigger Malfunction?"

Is it worth taking the side plates off again? How do I know if anything is binder? The rear trigger feels fine, the front is a bit snug, but they don’t feel as if they are catching anymore. The screw was fine too. Thanks

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by David Williamson on January 7, 2018, 2:36 pm, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

If they are working then I would leave them alone, but something caused it.
It is easy enough to takes the locks off and look, just make sure when putting them on that you push the triggers forward when putting the locks on. Also make sure gun is cocked when taking them off or else you will not get them back on.

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Matt on January 7, 2018, 2:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

Ok thank you very much. For safe measures I took them off and moved the triggers forward when putting them back on. When I was putting the small screw back on the left plate, the gun made a pop. I wasn’t sure if for some reason the barrel fired or not, but I reassembled the rest of the gun and everything seems to work. Both barrels fire when cocked, safety works, barrel breaks. Not sure what happened, busy suppose I am ok?

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by David Williamson on January 8, 2018, 10:47 am, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

I'm fairly sure the left barrel did fire. An easy check would be to see if the rear trigger would not fire after everything was together.
It still sounds like the left sear or left trigger plate has issues. Try it for a while and see how it works.

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by Matt on January 8, 2018, 10:56 am, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

Is it bad that it did fire?

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by David Williamson on January 8, 2018, 12:20 pm, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

It just shows that after all these years things wear or possibly in this case, was taken apart and not put back right.
Just as long as it doesn't fire when you close it, which I doubt very much, you should be fine.

Re: Trigger Malfunction?

Posted by John Liles on January 8, 2018, 5:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Trigger Malfunction?"

Hello Matt,
Where are you located? We may have a member nearby that could give your Elsie a once over.
John

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