So here is the situation.....


I dropped off my Ruger M77 MKII stainless .270win to have a trigger installed (timney 1.5-4lb adjustable)and told him to also glass bed the action for the Hogue stock.

I was told to come back in 2 weeks which I did today and picked up my rifle.

His staff said "he didnt glass bed the action because its a synthetic stock and it wouldnt do any good"....

HMMMM OK and They charged me $65.00 for installing the trigger I get home and think before I clean this i better check to see if its alright....


First thing I do is close the bolt, put the rifle on safety(all the way back for the 3 position safety)

Put my finger on the trigger and much to my HORROR the hammer falls on the safety lever and my rifle is now locked shut and cannot be opened!

Need less to say I call them up and they say to bring it in tomorrow, for them to look at.

Now before people start jumping on the what I would do wagon, I really want to know from a Real gunsmith what could have caused this????

First of all I am not a gunsmith, my partner is.

Is the hammer falling after you switch it from safety to fire?


I will forward this to Andrew and see what he says.

On a side note. Remington's need after market triggers to safely get them down real real low. My AI was falling on its own when dropped the factory trigger down to under 2 pounds. I put a timney in mine.

The hammer fell with the Safety FULLY engaged

Ruger M77 MKII have a "Winchester style" 3 position safety, all the way back and it is on safe and you cannot open the bolt or make it fire.

Half way position you can load and unload the rifle but not fire it, and all the way forward is the firing position.

The safety on my rifle was ALL the way back when I touched the trigger and the hammer fell on the safety lever and now the rifle is locked shut.

Back to top-please let us know what you found out.

Not a real gunsmith yet, just in training and top of class...Gun builder is what I am striving for anyways.

The Ruger 77 is a trigger block safety. I dont know first hand how the timney trigger works for the 77, but after looking at a Savage Timney trigger I have to assume they use a set screw on the trigger in the spot where it matches up with the safety. screwing this in will allow the safety to clear the trigger, but unscrewing it too much will not block the trigger from rotating. They probably didnt unscrew this set screw enough, allowing the trigger to rotate even though it is on "safe". If the screw screws in from the top, you will need to reverse what I said above. Unscrewing it to far and it will not clear, screwing it in too far will not block trigger rotation.

I would take it to a real gunsmith. Not bedding a stock because its plactic? lol.

And just to be clear, the Ruger trigger block 3-position safety does not function the same way as a Winchester 3-position cocking piece safety.

Furthermore, I would let the "smith" know that this is the exact type of hacking that will get him sued. Instead of checking that the firearm functioned correctly, a few second check, he allowed his incompetant/unsafe work out to make a fast dollar.

Im having a trigger installed also and i sure hope that doesnt happen. Also hope we dont have the same gunsmith! lol.

I took the rifle back to the "Gunsmith" and fully explained my lack of trust either in his workmanship as well as the dirty grease filled state that he left the rifle in after getting it from him.

I explained to him that Timney's customer support said

"In no way, shape or form should the instalation of that trigger in a proper manner interfere with the correct function of the safety. Further more from what you have told us the trigger was installed incorrectly."

Afterward he simply said

"well let me look at it and I will work on it over the week"

So i was told that they would slip it infront of other rifles and instead of the 2weeks that I waited I would get the rifle back in 1 week.

pictures of how dirty the gun what when I got it back and I will keep you posted on the out come when I get the rifle back.

My goodness that's bad .

Who did this?

x2

Not good. Glad to hear Timney agreed with me :-)

Well one week later after taking my rifle back to this HACK so called gunsmith- I call him up and his employee tells me its not ready, to which I start to ask why it takes 3 weeks to get a trigger right and asked to speak to the owner of the shop, so he puts the phone down and I can hear him in the back ground....

"This guy is pissed and hes wants to know why its taking so long, blah blah blah you know the same old [censored];you wanna talk to him?"

So I get the owner on the phone and he tells me that he looked at it and after having the gun for another week he had decided that he needs to order a new safety because he filled to much of the original one down.

Needless to say I was not too happy with this and expressed my displeasure in his services or lack there of, it was a struggle but I managed to do so with out profanity or insulting him.
I asked him if he would like me to pick up the rifle and take it to a gunsmith that would fix it....to which he replied

"you can do what ever you want with it!"

I then stated that I would want my money back and for him to pay for a real gunsmith to fix his mistake....


"Well thats not going to happen!!!!" (in a smart a$$ tone)

I once again stated all the issues I was having with his service, and asked when I would be able to pick my Rifle up?

" I know what the problem is so I dont need you repeating what the problem is over and over....I will have the gun fixed as soon as I can and I will call you when its done, you dont have to call back here again until I call you!"

I mean I owned my own small business for years and know about unrully customers with over the top expectations....But I really think im getting screwed here and weighing my options on what to do.

I would go pick the gun up, THEN start with complaints, he's probably not listed, but I would start with bbb, also send complaint to a.g. at least copy complaint to this d@@@ this will get his attention

If you had a timney installed why would he file anything down?

Also if he didn't bed the action what the heck did he bed?

It would be nice to know the smiths name.
So no one else gets burned.
I cant stand those types of business owners.

He didnt bed any thing

I will keep you guys posted on this, I havent mentioned his business in the forum because I am reserved about downing anyones livelyhood.

I have decided to give him some more time to make things right, but at the very least I will be taking this to another shop for a good inspection to make sure its safe.


above all else the thing that is pissing me off is the SO WHAT attitude that this place is giving to the safety of a rifle and those that would be around it should it go off accidently.

Ok, I misunderstood what u said. I thought he bedded it but not the vroom and was wondering what the heck he bedded. For syn stocks but option is pillar bed and devcon in my opinion.

Never get mad, pick your gun up and walk out.

with a Timney, you should be able to do the job yourself
Give it a try. You have nothing to lose.
Same with bedding. Though from what little I know of Houge stocks, you probably dont need it bedded.

If you really feel it needs bedding, bring it over to me if you are close. I have tools and devcon, and you can use it. Have done 4 rifles. Nothing like the satisfaction of DIY.

I hear yah timbertoes but with something as vital as a safety/ trigger I wanted a pro on the job.

Hind sight being 20-20 I should have but I am simply lacking the tools to atempt the job the way I would want to do it.

I think you should say the name of the shop. They have clearly shown what their attitude is toward customer service is.

I work hard for my money, the last thing I want to do is wasted it on some hack like this. If it was a honest mistake, ok, but this guy seems not to care that he screwed up on your rifle or about customer service.

What does that have to do with his Ruger

I have decided to give him one more week (which goes against all the advice of gunsmiths i have talked to) for the simple fact I want to be able to say I gave him 4 weeks to do the job and correct his mistake accordingly.

I will post an update with the results as well as the shop, but I am not about to do it now, since he currently has my rifle and I dont want him to take revenge on the .270 that I shot my first deer with!....I will keep you guys posted

You are welcome to send it to me if you wish to pay for the shipping and my time if things dont work out.

No trigger stuff,lol.
Offering to help with your stock bedding.