Bottom Gun
Well-Known Member
Yesterday was the last day of our deer season. I had a point blank shot at a nice three point buck standing at about 40 yd. I chambered a round but the bolt would not stay cocked. I opened and closed the bolt repeatedly but the rifle would not cock.
The buck finally tired of watching me struggle to shoot it and trotted away. It was nearly sundown so my hunt was over.
I was using my ‘60s vintage L579 Deluxe in .243. It’s an older model with a flat bolt handle, half moon catch and slanted fore end, serno 149XX.
This morning I took the rifle apart to examine it. I thought the trigger adjustment screw might have loosened but it hadn’t. The adjustment screw and lock nut are still tight. Every fastener I checked is tight.
Now, with the action out of the stock, the rifle cocks and trigger works again and is still set at the 3 lb weight I adjusted it for long ago. I put the action back into the stock and everything works fine again. The safety works and moves easily. It doesn’t appear to rub anything.
Some history: This was a used rifle I bought through Gunbroker a few years ago. It had seen some very rough handling and looked like the former owner had parachuted into his last hunt with it. So, it’s a great shooter but not a real collectible due to cosmetic damage.
It had this problem of not staying cocked when I first received it but the issue was intermittent. I noticed the trigger adjustment screw and nut were loose. I readjusted the trigger weight and it worked perfectly for well over 100 rd. I mistakenly thought I had fixed the problem.
The rifle had been riding in a case on my UTV all week so it experienced some vibration and occasional jarring but nothing really severe.
So, I’m trying to figure out what this problem is and how to fix it. I’m tempted to replace it with a Timney trigger but would like to try to correct this issue before I start adding aftermarket parts. Does anyone have an idea as to what might be going on with this trigger?
I see a factory Sako trigger is available from Custom Shop, Inc. in Hamilton, Montana. Has anyone had any experience with these?
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions they would like to share?
Thanks in advance.
The buck finally tired of watching me struggle to shoot it and trotted away. It was nearly sundown so my hunt was over.
I was using my ‘60s vintage L579 Deluxe in .243. It’s an older model with a flat bolt handle, half moon catch and slanted fore end, serno 149XX.
This morning I took the rifle apart to examine it. I thought the trigger adjustment screw might have loosened but it hadn’t. The adjustment screw and lock nut are still tight. Every fastener I checked is tight.
Now, with the action out of the stock, the rifle cocks and trigger works again and is still set at the 3 lb weight I adjusted it for long ago. I put the action back into the stock and everything works fine again. The safety works and moves easily. It doesn’t appear to rub anything.
Some history: This was a used rifle I bought through Gunbroker a few years ago. It had seen some very rough handling and looked like the former owner had parachuted into his last hunt with it. So, it’s a great shooter but not a real collectible due to cosmetic damage.
It had this problem of not staying cocked when I first received it but the issue was intermittent. I noticed the trigger adjustment screw and nut were loose. I readjusted the trigger weight and it worked perfectly for well over 100 rd. I mistakenly thought I had fixed the problem.
The rifle had been riding in a case on my UTV all week so it experienced some vibration and occasional jarring but nothing really severe.
So, I’m trying to figure out what this problem is and how to fix it. I’m tempted to replace it with a Timney trigger but would like to try to correct this issue before I start adding aftermarket parts. Does anyone have an idea as to what might be going on with this trigger?
I see a factory Sako trigger is available from Custom Shop, Inc. in Hamilton, Montana. Has anyone had any experience with these?
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions they would like to share?
Thanks in advance.