Smooth out a Mini14 trigger?

[Tronster]

My mini-14 trigger has about a 6 pound pull with a fairly clean break, which I'm fine with. However the first stage feels like the sear surfaces are coated in sandpaper (and can actually hear a gritty noise too). I don't want to lighten the trigger, but it would be nice to clean up that first stage. Applying heavy grease only masks the gritty feel for the first few trigger pulls til it gets slung off.

What can I do to clean up that sear surface? A dab of light rubbing compound on the sear and just cycle the trigger a bunch of times? Or pony up and spend $80 on a trigger job? I'm not real keen on taking a stone or 2000 grit paper to the sear. As mentioned, I don't need to lighten the pull weight, just want to smooth out the slack in the first stage.

[yukonjasper]

Spend the money and know it was done correctly.

[Sigfan220]

I hate to say this but... Sell it and buy an AR-15.

[Bessy]

Bill springfield,
http://triggerwork.net/m1m1a.html

He did trigger work on FAL... turned out AMAZING. He even welded up a custom overstop... trigger work is all he does, and he does an amazing job of it.

~Greg.

[OldmanFCSA]

38 years of use has smoothed mine very well.

Take the trigger group out and play with it while watching TV. Use a buffer to prevent hammer from hitting frame. Wear on trigger sear to smooth things out is whats desired.

Have fun pinching fingers.

[Tronster]

Well, I cycled the trigger group by hand a 1000 times while watching Forgotten Weapons on youtube. Can't tell much difference yet (besides my finger tips being numb) but maybe if I do that 20,000 times it'll get better. Or I'll spend the money for a pro to polish it.

As for the AR's, I've got several already. If I do get rid of the mini it will be for it's big uncle the M1A.

[Countryfried Frank]

I stoned mine. I took it slow and easy and didn't have a problem. I would mark the mating surfaces frequently with a sharpie just to make sure I wasn't stoning it unevenly. While I had it apart I also shortened the take up, lightened the pull to 3.5# and set up an over travel stop. I'm not recommending that you do this though. The tool purchase will be more expensive than having it done and having it done professionally give you some protection from liability if it malfunctions.

Don't be surprised if the pull is lighter when you smooth it out. I went down about a half pound just by stoning it before I did anything else.

[farmerj]

Get the duff book on the m14 or m1 garand.

http://www.fulton-armory.com/them1garan ... guide.aspx

You truly need to know what you are doing on that trigger group to not botch it up good.

[Tronster]

Believe me I have no intention of taking stone or dremel or what not to the trigger group. I know enough to know that I don't know what I'm doing. I just thought perhaps there was a mild polish compound that could be applied to the sear and then manually work the trigger over and over to achieve in a couple months what took OldmanFCSA four decades to accomplish by shooting it.

I don't want a lighter trigger just a less gritty trigger; unlike most people I prefer heavy trigger pulls. I consider all my centerfire pistols and rifles to be potential self defense guns and as such retain their stock pull weights.

[OldmanFCSA]

Patience, Grasshopper, patience.
Time is a cure-all for all things.

I admit I do gunsmith my own firearms with only me to blame when I screw things up, but accept it as a learning experience.
Most of my fireams have 1-2 pound trigger pulls that are very crisp.
I've had several in the 2 ounze range that required sanding your trigger finger to a point of being sore to the touch in order to even feel the trigger before it went off = I no longer use this type of trigger.

My AR-50's stock trigger has been tuned to 2 pounds CRISP.
My State Arms stock trigger has been tuned to 1.25 pounds and very crisp.
These are 50BMG target rifles.

Everyone has their own preferrance for their type of firearm.

Play with it - 40 years will wear out most things, like me.

[farmerj]

You'd be amazed how safe and accurate a 3# trigger really is. That's a stock trigger for a CMP legal AR-15, M1 Garand or M14. You are more than welcome to try out the M14 I have. If you miss, it's not because of the gun.

[Machine]

My mini-14 trigger has about a 6 pound pull with a fairly clean break, which I'm fine with. However the first stage feels like the sear surfaces are coated in sandpaper (and can actually hear a gritty noise too). I don't want to lighten the trigger, but it would be nice to clean up that first stage. Applying heavy grease only masks the gritty feel for the first few trigger pulls til it gets slung off.

What can I do to clean up that sear surface? A dab of light rubbing compound on the sear and just cycle the trigger a bunch of times? Or pony up and spend $80 on a trigger job? I'm not real keen on taking a stone or 2000 grit paper to the sear. As mentioned, I don't need to lighten the pull weight, just want to smooth out the slack in the first stage.

I hear you on the trigger. I got a heavy and rough first stage, but when I got it to the wall, it was a clean light break off the second. I stoned the faces slightly (the marker trick works well for even work), and finished with some compound and a couple hundred cycles. Cleaned up and lightened the first stage a bit, second feels about the same. Slapping feels much better

I hate to say this but... Sell it and buy an AR-15.

FAIL!! While the AR has some minor accuracy and moderate weight advantages over the mini, in a life/death situation I would pick my mini. In a SHTF situation, the AR looks a bit better (mainly because of STANAG). IMO, the Mini-14, like the larger M-14, is a very rugged, simple, reliable rifle. Part of it for me was I got started shooting with a mini (an old 182 series, which couldn't hit the broad side of a barn). I witness 1000s of round go through that gun with NO CLEANING OR LUBING OF ANY SORT, it never failed. My newer 582 series Law Enforcement Mini shoots 1.5 MOA, and will dump 90 round without a hickup (but it will get hot as ****). When I'm done with my AR build, we'll see if my opinion changes.