m44 hair trigger

[zombieheadshot]

hey got a hair trigger going on on this m44 i picked up for $40 it will go off if u hit the side
i looked over the parts and i noticed on the bolt it self its much easier to pull the safety back
all the other parts look good compared to my m91/30 so is it the bolt is it the trigger

i also just tried the bolt in my 91/30 and it dose it to

[WeldonHunter]

hey got a hair trigger going on on this m44 i picked up for $40 it will go off if u hit the side
i looked over the parts and i noticed on the bolt it self its much easier to pull the safety back
all the other parts look good compared to my m91/30 so is it the bolt is it the trigger

i also just tried the bolt in my 91/30 and it dose it to

The first thing I would check is the firing pin spring. Pull it apart and one of the other Mosin bolts you have and compare the length of them first. If they're different lenghts it's possible someone has cut it or it's compressed. I've heard of guys cutting these to make the trigger easier to pull. Bad move in my opinion but they do it. The spring might also be broken.

[desdem12]

I would check the the bolt parts and the trigger parts and see if there is wear or problems. Having another one there you might be able to see the differences.
Edit: I thought of that weldon, maybe someone cut it.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Don't f*** around with that, it's a negligent discharge waiting to happen, call Liberty Tree and replace the bolt stop and trigger, some dam fool was probably fooling around with your old one trying to lighten it up and went too far.

[mogunner]

I've seen people take and bend the bolt stop/trigger spring in an effort to decrease the trigger pull, or may have filed down the top of the sear itself in their stupidity.

[zombieheadshot]

ok would this be the problem on the right is the m9130 on the left is the m44 would that make it act like a hair trigger

[zombieheadshot]

they where both even the springs where down i was not sure if the spring height may do it or even if its the right spring for it

[WeldonHunter]

they where both even the springs where down i was not sure if the spring height may do it or even if its the right spring for it

The M44 and the M91/30 both have the same bolts and all the parts are the same. Try putting the bolt from the M91/30 on the M44 and see if the problem is still there. Make sure you don't mix up the parts, especially the bolt heads. The bolts are headspaced for each rifle and mixing up the parts could change that. Just do this to test it. If the problem goes away then you know it's a bolt problem.

You could also just switch springs and put the M44s bolt back in with the M91/30s spring and see if the problem is gone. That would nail it down to being the spring.

[Junk Yard Dog]

No, that is the firing pin spring, it plays no part in the trigger assembly, it only provides the tension for the firing pin.

[craiginct]

Hi JYD,
I hope all's well with you n yours. Doing ok here. I'm just as busy as ever. That 1944r 91/30 ex-sniper with the hair trigger that I recently bought at Cabela's is going out to the range tomorrow or the next day, but I'm curious as to why you think its trigger might be very light one time, or many times in a row and then a hard pull like normal all of a sudden. The firing pin spring is hard to pull back like the norm and the safety just as hard as usual. So, I know it isn't in the bolt.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Slop in the trigger group, the parts are moving position and when in the right place they are binding on something. That's the thing with ancient weapons, and all Mosins are ancient weapons by the standards of today when most people don't even keep the same car for more than five years. Sloppy wartime manufacturing, and a mix of parts that can be over a century old used during the refurb have left some triggers with a lot of wiggle in the receiver channel, trigger pins so worn, or out of spec that they fall right out of the receiver without assistance, and a mix of parts that have not been broken in together. All of this I have seen even in Finn Mosins, these rifles were never intended to be precision weapons, the manufacturing, especially during the war, was not up to the standards of a high end competition target rifle. Some of them have what we can call "personality" some more than others, they simply will do these things sometimes. If you are lucky enough to still be shooting this rifle 40 years from now, and you have been shooting it regularly the parts will be worn together like an old shoe, until then I expect it will do the irritating things like bind a trigger now and then, stick a case, fail to load the next round sometimes. Considering the history these rifles have seen I am sometimes amazed that they will still fire at all. All is well Craig, I survived the winter from hell, just, I walked many miles at last weekends huge car show/swap meet and now I am a bit lame, comes of a winter of forced inactivity making me feeble.

[zeebill]

Don't f*** around with that, it's a negligent discharge waiting to happen, call Liberty Tree and replace the bolt stop and trigger, some dam fool was probably fooling around with your old one trying to lighten it up and went too far.

Amen! I really even try and stay away from talking about the sear and trigger too much because it is so easy to get into trouble trying to mess with them. Reprofiling the sear is what gets most people into trouble and ignorance of what things will do is not what a trained and knowledgeable gunsmith works with. Even they screw up and need to start over with new parts and that is the best answer most times along with leaving well enough alone. It goes bang when you want it to and not when you least expect it or want it. The darn thing is fine and leave well enough alone. Taking burs or dirt off when cleaning works OK, it is the next step which seems to get everyone into trouble. This kind of work is for a Gunsmith not us and if you don't want to pay don't play with it. Even if a gunsmith does the work I still bounce check it right in his shop and in front of him. Pissed off a few smith's that way but I am the one who has to shoot it not him! Bill

I swear these other posts did not come up before I answered this? What the heck is going on? This internet has been messing up here as of late. I have been losing signal in mid post quite often and then losing the post too. Bet we had another lightening strike and it knocked out the amplifiers again on the poles. Happened once before and it took an act of God to get them to check them. Dang I hope not guess I call Shentel and get them on the job again. Bill

[djbuck1]

Not to play "Dutch Uncle" here, but any time a gunsmith does any sort of work on the firing mechanism, retain that paperwork! God forbid that anything would ever happen, but you need to be able to show that you took all "reasonable" steps necessary to correct the issue.

[Luthierseye]

Not to play "Dutch Uncle" here, but any time a gunsmith does any sort of work on the firing mechanism, retain that paperwork! God forbid that anything would ever happen, but you need to be able to show that you took all "reasonable" steps necessary to correct the issue.

Great advice!!

[qz2026]

If you have already tested using your 9130 bolt then it really sounds like the sear or trigger. I would pull a sear from the 9130 and test it in the M-44. If that doesn't work, try the trigger. Just for S&G's check under the sear mount to see if someone put a spacer/shim under it. Trigger springs are sold on ebay and elsewhere that include a shim. There is nothing, wrong with putting a spring in the trigger to resolve supper sloppy triggers but shimming the sear with one of these shims or a small washer can get you into trouble.

[entropy]

Don't f*** around with that, it's a negligent discharge waiting to happen, call Liberty Tree and replace the bolt stop and trigger, some dam fool was probably fooling around with your old one trying to lighten it up and went too far.

Amen! I really even try and stay away from talking about the sear and trigger too much because it is so easy to get into trouble trying to mess with them. Reprofiling the sear is what gets most people into trouble and ignorance of what things will do is not what a trained and knowledgeable gunsmith works with. Even they screw up and need to start over with new parts and that is the best answer most times along with leaving well enough alone. It goes bang when you want it to and not when you least expect it or want it. The darn thing is fine and leave well enough alone. Taking burs or dirt off when cleaning works OK, it is the next step which seems to get everyone into trouble. This kind of work is for a Gunsmith not us and if you don't want to pay don't play with it. Even if a gunsmith does the work I still bounce check it right in his shop and in front of him. Pissed off a few smith's that way but I am the one who has to shoot it not him! Bill


I swear these other posts did not come up before I answered this? What the heck is going on? This internet has been messing up here as of late. I have been losing signal in mid post quite often and then losing the post too. Bet we had another lightening strike and it knocked out the amplifiers again on the poles. Happened once before and it took an act of God to get them to check them. Dang I hope not guess I call Shentel and get them on the job again. Bill

Even if a gunsmith does the work I still bounce check it right in his shop and in front of him. Pissed off a few smith's that way but I am the one who has to shoot it not him! Bill

That's because if he's any kind of gunsmith at all, he's already bump tested it and test fired it, Bill.

Yes, lightening trigger pulls is not for the untrained. And sometimes people want ridiculous weights to them. I set a varmint rifle trigger for a guy once to 2 ozs! I also made him sign a waiver absolving me of any blame or legal responsibility for said trigger work. It took me a lot of time to do it, too. Stone the sear and trigger, reassemble, test, stone the sear and trigger, reassemble , test, etc.

A Mosin with an issue trigger assy. should have a slightly mushy trigger, with a little stacking right before release, and a lot of overtravel, compared to modern rifles. (Win. 70, Rem. 700, et. al. ) This is just a function of the design. It's trigger group was designed to be simple to produce, simple to repair, simple to use. It was not designed for accuracy as we know it now, it was designed for combat accuracy in the 1890's, basically, anywhere in the breadbasket within 0-300 arshins.

zombieheadshot, I recommend replacing your trigger spring, and removing and inspecting your trigger and sear. Also inspect the sear engagement area on the cocking knob. Look for file/stoning marks, and/or excessive wear in those areas.(trigger to sear mating, sear to cocking knob mating.) Replace if you doubt them. Gun parts are cheap. Yours aren't.

[craiginct]

Slop in the trigger group, the parts are moving position and when in the right place they are binding on something. That's the thing with ancient weapons, and all Mosins are ancient weapons by the standards of today when most people don't even keep the same car for more than five years. Sloppy wartime manufacturing, and a mix of parts that can be over a century old used during the refurb have left some triggers with a lot of wiggle in the receiver channel, trigger pins so worn, or out of spec that they fall right out of the receiver without assistance, and a mix of parts that have not been broken in together. All of this I have seen even in Finn Mosins, these rifles were never intended to be precision weapons, the manufacturing, especially during the war, was not up to the standards of a high end competition target rifle. Some of them have what we can call "personality" some more than others, they simply will do these things sometimes. If you are lucky enough to still be shooting this rifle 40 years from now, and you have been shooting it regularly the parts will be worn together like an old shoe, until then I expect it will do the irritating things like bind a trigger now and then, stick a case, fail to load the next round sometimes. Considering the history these rifles have seen I am sometimes amazed that they will still fire at all. All is well Craig, I survived the winter from hell, just, I walked many miles at last weekends huge car show/swap meet and now I am a bit lame, comes of a winter of forced inactivity making me feeble.

Thanks for the feedback, JYD. I, too, have just started ambling about more, now that the snow's off the ground, though the CT clouds and rainy weather aren't cooperating much.

I'll go poke around in the trigger department, as suggested. I may have a buyer for the ex-sniper, a black powder friend who seems to have caught the MN bug. This would be his first, and I may save my pennies and look for an original sniper as you or Dolk had suggested a while back, instead of trying to fiddle with or restore this ex-sniper. My friend is a collector in general so I'm pretty sure he'll take very good care of the old russian girl. We just need to set a price that'll cover what I have in it plus travel expenses for picking it up. but then, again, he's a friend and I might throw in a cleaning and screwdriver/gauge kit from one of my other MNs, though I hate to break up the official set of gear. I did suggest to him that he can find the kits online for fairly cheap. wife's calling me for dinner... catch you guys later...

[ShienoO]

Just got one of those AIM non-refurbed M44's with the worn metal finish in a laminated stock. I'd estimate the metal finish is about 60-70%, all matching except for buttplate (ser. no. on buttplate 6000!) and the laminated stock is in excellent condition..

[zeebill]

What in the name of heaven is this post doing tacked on to the back of an old post? Too dang confusing for an old man on Sunday morning with no hot cup of tea in him yet! Heater turned on this AM! Man what a revolting set of affairs and now this? Maybe I ought to go back to sleep for awhile and when I wake up it will just be a dream? Bill