# 870 Trigger Job



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

The Remington 870 does not have the best of triggers (outside of the 870 Trap Gun). Born out of economy and an effort to minimize "unsafe trigger" lawsuits, the trigger is not what I would call crisp; the creep is just awlful.

Though not too important if the shotgun is only used for birds on the wing, a Remington 870 stock trigger is a pain when the shotgun is used as a slug gun for deer or even as a turkey gun. Just sighting-in an 870 slug gun in can be very expensive, especially when high-end sabot deer slugs cost as much as $4 a piece. Geeze, if the creep was any longer on an off-the-rack 870 one could call it a double-set trigger.  Here's one way to tune it up:

Timney Triggers markets an 870 adjustable replacement sear that removes unwanted creep and lightens trigger pull. Notice how rough the original is in the pic below. The engagement notches (top left) are different, as is the angle of the sear face that rides on the hammer. The notch, the face, and the spring, somewhat, control the creep. Pull weight is also determined, in part, by the spring that moves the sear. The picture below compares Remingtons OEM trigger sear to Timney's replacement: 


The $90 device comes with 3 different springs, light (2lb), medium (3lb) and heavy (4lb). The springs fit over the black gizmo on the top right. I use light for a slug gun, and medium for turkey gun. Replacing the OEM sear on an 870 bird gun with Timney's "heavy" sear gives you an adjustable trigger from 3lb to 5lb and with remarkable crispness.



The "fix" comes with easy-to-follow instructions and takes about 15 minutes to complete even if you shoot a spring or two under the fridge.


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## chet (Sep 7, 2007)

that's good to know!!!! I've never even thought about trigger work on a scatter gun, definitely a must on a slug set-up!!


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

I'm glad you posted this!! I use an 870 as a turkey gun and the trigger drives me nuts. Thanks goob!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

*and It's turkey season - good time to talk shotgun triggers.s.*

bump

There's been some talk about Remington semi-auto rifles not being the best rifles out there. That reminded me of this thread. Remington semi-auto and pump high-powered rifles have the same trigger as the Remington 870 and some other Remington shotguns. Those stock Remington 870 trigger are clunky to say the least; heavy pull and lots of creep.

There's a number of things you can do to smooth them out;
1) Grind and polish the sear.
2) Replace the trigger spring with a lighter one or have it shortened.
3) Replace the trigger sear and spring with a Timney trigger kit.

#1 is probably best left for a gunsmith. #2 and #3 are pretty easy. A new lightweight spring costs $10 and takes about 5 minutes to swap out. Installing the Timney 870 trigger fix lightens the trigger pull and eliminates a lot of the creep. 3 choices of trigger springs, light, light medium and medium are provided with the kit. The kits run around $90 to $105, depending on where you shop.

I have worked the triggers over on the shotguns I use with deer slugs in addition to my "go-to" shotguns for turkeys, swans, cranes and/or coyotes. They're all are set between 2.75lb and 3lb of trigger pull, same as most of my high-powered rifles.

Remington 742 semi-autos and Remington 7600 pumps inaccurate? Maybe not, install a Timney trigger fix and you might be surprised how well they shoot.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I can change barrels out on this 870 and switch from a slug gun to a scattergun, both with crisp and light 2lb 12oz triggers.



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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

bump


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

wyogoob said:


> bump
> 
> There's been some talk about Remington semi-auto rifles not being the best rifles out there.  That reminded me of this thread. Remington semi-auto and pump high-powered rifles have the same trigger as the Remington 870 and some other Remington shotguns. Those stock Remington 870 trigger are clunky to say the least; heavy pull and lots of creep.
> 
> ...


Who sells the springs? Just can't really justify $90 on a duck only gun but wouldn't mind putting a little lighter spring on it and also one on my 742. I'm kinda anal about rifles having a really light pull on them.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

LostLouisianian said:


> Who sells the springs? Just can't really justify $90 on a duck only gun but wouldn't mind putting a little lighter spring on it and also one on my 742. I'm kinda anal about rifles having a really light pull on them.


I've set my 870 trigger jobs at 2 lbs 12 ounces, same as the rest of my hunting rifles....well, except rifles with double set triggers.

PM me your address and I'll give you a set of the springs with the instructions. There's 3 springs in a set; light medium and heavy. They're an improvement but don't take all of the terrible creep out of the OEM trigger.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

*3 more Timney Trigger Fix*



LostLouisianian said:


> Who sells the springs? Just can't really justify $90 on a duck only gun but wouldn't mind putting a little lighter spring on it and also one on my 742. I'm kinda anal about rifles having a really light pull on them.


A company called MCARBO sells replacement sear springs for around $15. The Timney Trigger Fix kit is $90 - $100.

The MCARBO spring gets the pull down to 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 lbs (in my case) but it doesn't help with the creep or lack of crispness in the Remington OEM triggers for their pump and semi-auto centerfire rifles and 870/1100 shotguns.

Back in the day used $10 replacement springs by a company called Patriot and didn't care for them, didn't see that much improvement.

Working Timney Trigger Fixes on 2 Remington 870 shotgun triggers and a Remington 760 .308 and thought of this thread.
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