Half-cock with Winchester 73

ole pizen slinger · Post by **ole pizen slinger** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:57 pm

Fellow Levergunners,
I have an original Winchester 73, cal 38-40. This rifle has an adjustable/set trigger as was installed by the factory. There is a little (and I mean little) screw adjustment on the trigger. However, this rifle has no operable half-cock notch. I have looked at the hammer and the half-cock notch is machined into the hammer but a small piece of flat steel has been silver soldered in such a manner that the sear will not engage in the half-cock position. Is this normal for a factory rifle with this option? Or, has this been something added by a gunsmith later? Any Winchester experts aboard with experience in this area? I would be interested in your comments.
ole pizen slinger

KirkD · Post by **KirkD** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:06 am

The tiny screw by your '73 trigger indicates that it has a set trigger, a special order option. That silver solder seems to me to be a personal modification by a previous owner who did not like the half cock position. If it were me, I'd remove the hammer, melt off the silver solder, and re-install the hammer as it was from the factory.

As for using the screw to adjust the trigger, I have no knowledge of how this is done. My belief is that it takes up the slack in the pull when properly adjusted.

Post by **Hobie** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:06 am

Could you post a photo?

Gun Smith · Post by **Gun Smith** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:32 am

I haven't seen a set trigger in a 73, but my 86 has one. The small flat piece of steel on the side of the hammer "floats" on a pin. The hammer is modified to accept this piece. If the piece is soldered solid, it probably eliminated the set feature. Saying this, remember, I haven't seen a 73, it might work differently.

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:50 am

I'd say that peice is soldered there so the sear doesn't catch in the half cock notch..With a fine trigger pull the sear doesn't move very far before it cleard the full cock notch, and sometimes doesn't get out of the way of the half cock notch when the hammer falls..Whether this mod is factory or not I do not know..

coyote nose · Post by **coyote nose** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:19 pm

On the set triggers on my hawken, that little piece is called a "fly". Its purpose is to not allow the sear to slam into the half cock notch when the hammer is falling from full cock (with set triggers, the rebounding trigger is releasing the sear instead of your trigger finger...your trigger finger is slow to get out of the way and the hammer is past the half cock notch when you fire it manually. When the rebounding feature of a set trigger releases the sear it resets fasts than the falling hammer. Thus there is real danger of the sear catching and breaking off the half cock notch or the tip of the sear). The fly is supposed to rotate in the hole in the hammer...first it rotates back out of the way when you cock the gun allowing you to take it to half cock or full cock, and then rotates forward to allow the sear to ride over the half cock notch when you fire it. Complicated to describe but ingeniously simple when you see one in operation. Those old timers were brilliant. I have to assume, but DO NOT KNOW, that the 1873 operates the same way. My hunch is it is a nonfactory modifcation and I would be very concerned about shooting any gun with a trigger modification like that in this day of legal liability. I'd get it to a knowledgeable gunsmith to get her fixed up.

Kansas Ed · Post by **Kansas Ed** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:56 pm

I have a '73 with the SST option. Also in 38-40. Just my suspicion, but I would think that the mod was done for a practical reason. That would lead me to believe that the hammer would catch on the half cock when the trigger was pulled, and the makeshift repair was done to alleviate that condition. Just a word of warning. 1873 SST's are somewhat fragile. As can be seen in the photo below, my SST broke during regular shooting, on the location where the hole for the adustment screw goes. That little tip you see there caused the set to quit working. It would still fire fine as a regular trigger, but wouldn't activate the set mechanism. I sent this photo to Turnbulls and they wanted $500 minimum to start the repair, with the caveat that it may cost more.

I found a replacement on GB for under $80, but it was only the trigger. SST assemblies go for much much higher. Moral of the story is, they are delicate treat them with kindness.

Photo below...
Ed

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:03 pm

Ed.. Just curious...The hammer has a standard half cock notch then?

Kansas Ed · Post by **Kansas Ed** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:25 pm

IIRC, the hammer was standard, the trigger group was what was different. The SST has a number of small pieces which work together, but as for MY rifle it does utilize a half cock...I just don't remember for sure if the notches were the same, but I think if they weren't I would have noticed. Especially since I had two '73's apart at the same time.

Right before Ebay went communist

there was a seller on there who had some '73 SST assy's. I called the number the week that they had to pull their ads, and asked them if they had any SST assy's still in stock. They replied that they had several. I will provide the phone number to any existing member who wants the information. I won't post it here because of lurkers who might try and get them before our members have a shot at them...that is if they still have them there. Just send me a message through the forum message system and I will provide the number.

Oh yea, that little adjustment screw is harder than hens teeth to find...

I keep coming back and adding stuff to this post...when I bought my replacement trigger and screw, I oiled them up and put them in a ziplock bag in the safe. I'm not even going to take the chance of breaking another one seeing as I waited over a year to find replacement parts for this one. (especially for a very nice 30" bbl SST rifle) If I had purchased another '73 with the SST option which was working, I would buy another trigger group to shoot it with, and carefully package up the SST for possible resale value down the road. If you think you will be able to get parts for these in 10 years from now you are fooling yourself. Too tough already to find them.

If I have time this weekend I will disassemble my '73 trigger group and post photo's for the good of the members here. If I don't, someone please remind me...

Ed