Monday, December 1, 2008

Derrick's Xisico/BAM B26-2, Part 5

Warning: Responsibility follows the guy doing the trigger job. If this bothers you, that's fine. There's a very long list of things I don't want or can't do either. If you are going to even think about adjusting a BAM trigger, you should proceed with caution. If you even have the smallest sliver of doubt in your mind about triggers, don't mess with them.

This is the "Rekord" trigger inside the BAM B26-2. It's almost an exact copy. Almost. BAM just forgot to copy the quality of materials and tolerances. There is potentially a very serious safety issue concerning this trigger: The stock adjustment spring is on the right. Notice how short it is. It's so short, any attempt to lighten the trigger pull by backing out the adjustment screw (bottom center) runs a very high risk of the trigger failing to engage the piston completely upon cocking, or even firing unexpectedly when touching off the safety. Both of these incidents have been reported by other users. This spring is simply too short. Backing out the trigger adjustment screw even slightly can COMPLETELY de-tension all the spring's force holding the sear.
The spring on the left is one from a local hardware store. The extra length allows trigger weight adjustment while keeping sufficient force against the tongue (Weihrauch's name for this compenent). This problem will not occur if you chose to not adjust the screw from the factory adjustment. I believe this is a material issue with these rifles that could result in a serious accident--most likely to the shooter--as the gun may snap shut unexpectedly. Fingers beware.

More fair warning: Disassembly of the trigger unit into individual components is normally a huge mistake. There are several pins, sears, springs, bushings, etc. that all fly apart under spring force upon disassembly. It is not likely that you will see beforehand how it all fits back together. Attention to the circular window in the lower right. The spring pushes upward against the "tongue". You can see the rear of the "tongue" bearing against the "lower sear" (Again, HW's nomenclature) I've applied a thin green colored grease between the tongue and the lower sear. The overlap between the tongue and lower sear is felt by the trigger finger as 1st stage pull and the noticeable "creep" in the 2nd stage before the trigger breaks. Polishing those surfaces and greasing them will make the trigger feel lighter and less gritty. Do not attempt to file, grind, sand or otherwise alter the angles here or bad things will ensue. Remember the warning about taking the trigger unit apart if you want to buff the contact surfaces.

BAM "Rekord" trigger unit on the left. Weihrauch Rekord trigger unit on the right. Dimensionally, they are so, so close.

HW on top, BAM stacked below.

Stacked from the side. The difference is literally only a few thousandths of an inch. Are they interchangeable? Substitution would require some minor fitting--most likely to the bushings for the retention pins. The safetys would also have to be refitted. There's no practical reason to substitute one trigger for the other. If you want a Rekord trigger, buy a HW. And you'd never install a BAM trigger into a HW... I was just curious how close the copy really was. Despite the spring issue, It's my sincere belief that this trigger is a substantially BETTER trigger than the GAMO type trigger that airgunners have come to despise so much.

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