Trigger pull
 

I give up. I have a Mauser S/42 (1937) that has a trigger pull probably in excess of 30 pounds. I have removed the sear bar and the striker (firing pin) to see if there is a mating problem. They appear to be mating properly and have highly polished contact surfaces. They are amply lubricated, but I still think the problem lies somewhere in that area. I say that because The trigger pull without cocking seems to be about equal tension wih my other Lugers (maybe a tad stronger, but not much). Anybody got any solutions to my problem?

there are several various discussions in past posts that might help - use forum search for "tuning" or "trigger pull"

if you swap out one component at a time with parts from your other lugers that might isolate a part as the problem , but that is problematic method since the parts are known to not interchange very well

is the flat spring that presses on the rear step of the trigger bar quite strong ?

does the angle of the engaging surfaces on the firing pin and the trigger bar actually cause the bar to have to lift the firing pin backwards before release ?

lugerdoc offers a trigger tuning service

good luck in the quest
Bill

Well, after reading the posts under "Trigger Tuning" I'm no closer to solving my problem than before. It looks like my only recourse is to keep fiddling around with it until I get it loosened up. I've already replaced the trigger spring with a Wolff spring. I have some Wolff striker springs that I might cut some coils out of and try one of them to see if that will relieve some striker pressure without causing misfires. Just aggravating to have to go these extremes.

With that much pressure it almost sounds like some type of metal rubbing, does the lever arm inside the sideplate move smoothly back and forth? Make sure the end of the trigger coil spring is pushed far enough inside the frame. Is the sear bar leaf spring overly strong? Does the sear bar rock back and forth easily in the receiver? Does it take a great deal of pressure to push in on the front of the sear bar with your thumb to release the firing pin (muzzle control and caution for empty chamber) Check this with the side plat off the gun. Just brain storming a bit. With the sideplate off, is it very hard to move the trigger in the frame? Just trying to isolate the problem. Trigger, sear bar, sear bar spring, trigger spring, etc
When adjusting the firing pin spring make sure you leave enough pressure to on that spring to keep the action open when the toggle knobs are lifted just starting the toggle sequence. The main spring is attempting to close the action but if you ease the toggle down they should stop when they start to compress the firing pin spring. If the main spring can overcome the firing pin when eased down the pin spring might be too light.
Oh another thing to check, is the sear bar leaf spring fully seated in its groove in the receiver? If not it might be binding the movement of the bar.

At age 80, I guess my memory is slipping in and out of gear more than I would like. It dawned on me that I was having the same problem a few years ago with a brand new Stoeger SS Luger (a real beauty, but as it turned out a piece of crap). The Stoeger trigger pull would release the striker only sporadically. I solved the problem by inserting a brass shim in the trigger slot where the bottom of the side plate lever is inserted. That took care of the problem, but the Stoeger was a lousy shooter and seemed to always need tweaking of some sort or another. I got rid of it.

But, as luck would have it, the Stoeger came to mind this afternoon and I was lucky enough to find the same brass shim material I had used on the Stoeger tucked away in a long forgotten drawer. I cut a piece of brass shim, eased it into the trigger slot and -- VOILA -- a perfectly functioning Mauser S/42. Sorry to have put you folks to so much trouble. Maybe a memory course is in order for me.

Tell us more abut this shim material?

FN

The shim material is a .250 thick piece of brass flat stock a half an inch wide and 10 inches long that you can pick up in various thicknesses at most hobby shops. It is thin enough that you can cut it to shim size with a standard pair of scissors (no tin snips neceaary). Once you cut the shim to fit in the trigger slot, use a tack hammer to tap it flat and use some gun grease or oil to stick it to the top of the trigger slot so that when you install the side plate the side plate lever will go in the trigger slot under the shim. It just basically causes the side plate lever to engage the sear bar a fraction earlier than before. If it doesn't work the first time, try another thickness. The stuff is inexpensive.

Make that thickness .025. I suffer caliper coordination. I think that's right.

Trigger shim
 

I have used the standard aluminum Coca-cola can as similar shim material in the past. Just be sure that when you insert the shim that nothing is sticking out that can rub the sideplate or frame.

I mhave made these shims by cutting a piece just short of the width of the slot in the trigger, and then bent 90 degrees and trimmed to fit between the trigger bar and the back of the slot. The trigger bar keeps the shim from slipping out of place when properly assembled. Take ot that this is a kludge, but it works well, and makes swapping parts out of a matched shooter unnecessary at the cost of a can of Coke, and a few minutes with a tin snips, and some files or sandpaper (for use on the shim only!) :D