How do I reduce a zouave trigger pull?

[B P Shooter]

I feel a bit ridiculous having to ask this because I am an almost 40 year member/skirmisher.

I need to reduce the trigger pull weight on a zouave. Do I do this by changing the angle of the notch on the tumbler? Or, do I take some material off of the notch making the notch more shallow? Or, is it neither of these methods?

Thanks in advance.

[Lou Lou Lou]

Gotta be someone nearby who could help you.

[Joseph Plakis Jr, 00302V]

First let me say this - what ever you do, do it in very small steps.
first I would take a fine emery stone and see if there is a burr or rough edge on the sear. If there is take it off, assemble the lock & try the trigger pull. if its good STOP.
Second take the tumbler out of the lock and do the same as above. Remember if you take to much off the hammer will fall int half cock & you may have ruined the tumbler.
Third you can take the tumbler out and put a thin shim in the notch where the sear goes into the tumbler. Assemble & try the trigger pull if it is good STOP.
Fourth you can take the tumbler out and and reduce the angle of the notch VERY, VERY SLIGHTLY!!!! Note I said very slightly maybe one or two strokes with an emery stone - assemble & try - if it is OK stop.
What you have to remember is that IF YOU TAKE TO MUCH off of anything you CAN"T PUT IT BACK. Getting a replacement tumbler could be an adventure as there are different size tumblers that were made for Zouaves.

If you are unsure your best bet is to get someone to do it for you that knows what they are doing.

Joe Plakis Jr.
Hampton Legion
00302V

[gemmer]

I've done aa number of locks using the shim method. I use brass shim stock around 0.01625 thick to shim the full cock notch. I anneal it first and then glue it to the tumbler with Loctite Black Max 380. Make sure to throughly degrease the tumbler and shim before glueing. The shim should be the entire length of the notch. It sets up in minutes. Lightly dress it down if you don't get a positive lock up. I've used this method on 1816, 1841, 1842, 1863 and 1863 Sharps originals.

[jonk]

It's pretty easy but admittedly easier to show than explain. Filing the angle on the tumbler notches to vertical or almost so will reduce creep and somewhat lighten pull. Then soldering a brass shim to the full cock notch will reduce pull further. You need to file and use a trigger weight. You can also somewhat sharpen the sear edge.

Once you have trigger pull about 4 lb plus then hold the hammer and see it it catches on half cock while dropping. If so file the half cock top edge so the sear drops past it without interference. There is a sweet spot where it holds when wanted but not bouncing off it when firing.

[Maillemaker]

There was an article floating around the internet that I cannot find at the moment that tells how to go about it.

Personally, I'd hire out the job.

Every time I've tried to do this I've screwed it up.

If you want to have a go at it, I recommend buying a replacement tumbler first and practice on that, so when you screw it up you can get back to what you had.

Fiddling with the sear nose/tumbler notch geometry is not easy and it is easy to end up with a gun with a dangerous hair trigger if you don't do it right.

[Jim_Burgess_2078V]

Whatever you do, don't file down the tumbler as it would be more likely to catch on the half-cock notch. Better to use a shim to reduce the travel distance for the sear. If you need to dress the nose of the sear with a stone, you'll also need to reharden it so it does not prematurely wear. Be sure the sear spring is bearing on the sear next to its pivot point. Finally, make sure the sear and bridle screws are snug but not tight to cause binding. I was recently playing with my old Parker-Hale musketoon and found the internal lock screws were not snug. After making them snug the trigger pull became much more comfortable probably because the tumbler and sear were more in alignment.

Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

[TCLewis]

Whatever you do, don't file down the tumbler as it would be more likely to catch on the half-cock notch. Better to use a shim to reduce the travel distance for the sear. If you need to dress the nose of the sear with a stone, you'll also need to reharden it so it does not prematurely wear. Be sure the sear spring is bearing on the sear next to its pivot point. Finally, make sure the sear and bridle screws are snug but not tight to cause binding. I was recently playing with my old Parker-Hale musketoon and found the internal lock screws were not snug. After making them snug the trigger pull became much more comfortable probably because the tumbler and sear were more in alignment.

Jim Burgess, 15th CVI

I will second on what Jim is saying. I do find that folks will over tighten their sear screw, bridal screws. They should be snug or barely snug. An easy way to check is to check the tumbler and sear with the main spring removed. I like to make sure the sear and tumbler moves freely. When I have the lock apart I take a fine stone flat on the sides to remove any burs and to make sure the flat edges of components are not rubbing against a sharp edge or rough surface. When I assemble I apply a small amount of Shooters Choice All Weather Tech grease to any part that rubs another. In my Marine Corps Armorer days I would apply this to our M40A series, EMR/DMR, and M107 Barret components as well as on the firing pin spring. The operating temps are -60 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I've seen hunting rifles and military arms miss fire from CLP or other lubes freezing. This stuff will also help smooth out action by having a slightly thicker lube without running. I'd also recommend removing the trigger which you will have to remove it from the trigger guard/trigger bow. Pull the trigger out and use a stone on the flat sides to remove burrs or sharp edges. I also use a polishing stone on the top of the trigger where it meets the sear. I smooth it out to be as smooth as glass to make sure there won't be any chatter or rough spots when trigger meets the sear. When you reinstall the trigger be sure to not over tighten the trigger screw. An easy way to tell is that the trigger should move freely and not get stuck in the back or up position.

[John Bly]

Zouave locks are a real pain in the a## to get to work properly. Some have sworn off them and refuse to work on one. The biggest problem seems to be once you get the trigger pull down to 4 lbs or so they will catch in the half cock notch, many times breaking the sear or tumbler or both. The sear spring must be reduced in tension where it takes less force to move the trigger than the total trigger pull. This way when the trigger breaks the sear pulls away from the tumbler and will not catch on the tumbler. A trigger pull of 2 - 2 1/2 lbs with out the hammer being cocked seems to work out well. You do this by thinning the sear spring by grinding. You must go slow and not over heat it. Many have been ruined this way. Check it repeatedly until it is where you want it. Then work on the sear/tumbler surfaces to get the desired trigger pull.

[John Bly]

I set a record this morning that I'll never beat. I was working on an original Zouave with a light trigger pull. Took the lock apart, analyzed the problem, worked on the tumbler and sear and reassembled it. Checked the trigger pull and it was 3 lbs 10 oz avg for 10 pulls. Never had one be right on the 1st try, generally have the screws almost worn out from taking them apart before they are done.