Bourjaily: Trigger Happy
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timney
Ruger’s 10/22 is like the Tin Woodman of rimfires: you can replace the whole thing with aftermarket parts bit by bit, until the rifle you’re left with contains none of the original pieces except the receiver. The latest accessory I’m aware of is a single-stage trigger from Timney, who has been making aftermarket rifle triggers since 1946. They introduced the new 10/22 trigger this year as a result of customer response to the survey question: “Whaddya want?” (Mosin-Nagants also scored well on the survey, and those triggers will be available in the future)
The trigger sells for 149.50. Coincidentally, that is how much my entire 10/22 cost. Actually, I bought it used for $150 even, complete with a cheap 4x scope on top. I took the scope off and threw it away, thereby reducing the value of the rifle to exactly $149.50.
I dropped the trigger in myself — more on this in a moment — and it is wonderful, breaking at a clean 2 3/ 4 pounds with that “snapping a glass rod” feeling that good triggers possess. The factory trigger, by comparison, tripped at a squishy 6 pounds. Switching triggers made my old .22 feel like a whole new rifle.
As for installation, it is straightforward, with a catch. The trigger group has two set screws that you adjust to protrude out the bottom to hold it firmly in the trigger guard after installation. The screws are supposed to come from the factory flush with the bottom of the trigger group, but sometimes they’re sticking out a little. If they are, I am here to tell you, no matter how many times you try, how much you swear or how hard you hit the pins with a hammer, you can’t get the trigger to fit in the trigger guard.
I called Timney in tears and they told me to back the screws out a few turns and try again. I did, and the trigger group dropped right in. I mention this only because other customers have experienced the same problem, and the instructions haven’t been updated to cover it yet. It should not scare you away from this fine trigger, or from installing it yourself.
