Marlin 336 trigger too heavy

[ChopperKen]

I have a 1964 Marlin 336 in 44 mag. Are there any easy
Fixes for this?
I want to use it for hunting but the trigger is to heavy
to keep a good bead on a animal as I'm trying to shoot

 

[CaliCoastie]

how comfortable are you with working on the sear? the sears on the marlins are easly accessable. pull the stock, remove the flat plate that holds the spring on the hammer(easy just slide sideways, and becarefull with the spring). and drop the bottom plate out of the reciever, and it allows you to remove the trigger. from here you can work on the sear, or you can get the wild west trigger kit and replace the trigger(i have on of them but chose to just work the rest of my triggers on the marlin over).
Before you go and work on the sear i highly reccomend you check out marlinowners.com they have more details than i can remember on the subject. If you have any questions shoot me a message and i can see what i can help you with.

 

[ChopperKen]

Im ok with teardown on most stuff, and I can get it back together
Most the time.
I'll check marlinowners. Com to see where to polish.
ThNks Cali

 

[Asherdan]

Another approach is to install the Wild West Guns Trigger Happy kit.

Joe at Real Guns did a nice review of the installation and effect.

 

[greyling22]

http://marauder.homestead.com/files/tuning_m_1894.htm

that link is really for the 1894 model, but the 336 is basically the same gun with a round bolt instead of a square one. Most of the tips apply. Biggest thing you can do is pull the stock, slide the hammer spring off the hammer strut, and take a coil off each end of the spring with a grinder. There is 1 other spring you can see behind the trigger if you pull the trigger guard out of the rifle. Take a screwdriver and bend the leg that pushes on the trigger up some to put a slight bend in it.

Those 2 springs control how heavy the trigger is. if it is also creepy, then you need to mess with sears. All the rest of the article is about making the lever easier to throw. I highly recommend most of them. They'll make you gun into a whole new, and better, animal.

 

[Picher]

The key to lightening a trigger is to carefully hone/polish the surfaces without rounding them and creating a dangerous trigger. It's best to have a gunsmith do it and have him case-harden the surfaces afterward, to prevent wear.

 

[ChopperKen]

Grayling, won't using a grinder on the spring ends
Heat the spring and take the temper out of it?

 

[greyling22]

In theory, yes. In practice, if go somewhat slowly and don't let it get red hot. I've done about 7 over the years without any issues. My favorite tool for it is a dremel tool with a small grinding wheel. I've used a cutting wheel, but you still have to get a grinder to flatten the clipped ends to look like the factory ends you shortened. A belt sander flattens ends pretty well too. I usually end up taking a coil off 1 end, and 2 off the other. Marlins are oversprung, especially new ones. It seems to be a common trend in guns these days, but that's another topic.
Worst case scenario, you take too much off and get light primer strikes. If so, put a small washer on the strut after you have put the spring back on, or buy a new spring from midway for $7. But I've never had to use either fix.

 

[JSNAPS]

If you are willing to drop some cash may I recommend the Wild West Guns trigger? My friend has it and it does wonders.

 

[popper]

I got the happy trigger, which works well. They should also sell the sear portion of the hammer. I doesn't solve the problem of holding the gun on target when shooting! With the range and animals you normally would use a 44 mag, I doubt it will help. I actually like the marlin 2 stage trigger over the H-T single stage. You take up the slack while aiming and then fire when on-target. Indecision while hunting might cause an unintended shot with a single-stage trigger.

 

[ChopperKen]

I don't mind spending money to get a nice trigger...
But I think I'll shorten the spring and polish the sear first.
I also like doing things myself and saving cash.
Ken

 

[greyling22]

go for it! it's easy, and parts are available if you screw it all up.

 

[SSN Vet]

+1 for the happy trigger

removing a coil from the end of the hammer spring helps to.

take a coil off one end, reassemble and take it to the range.

I took a coil off each end and though it did improve the trigger, I also got a light strike that failed to detonate the round since.

Not sure if this may have had something to do with the way I sized the brass or not.

You can buy a replacement hammer spring from Midway for ~$5 if you botch it.

 

[SSN Vet]

stoning the sear without aide of a fixture of some sort is not advised.