Custom Trigger for BSA Monarch

golspie15

Member
Hi Guys,

I have been trying to find a custom trigger which will fit my old BSA Monarch rifle.

The Monarch trigger is a different fitting to the CF2.

I have tried Brownells, Timney, Jewell etc. without any joy. As the Monarch is an old rifle, probably my only hope is finding an old trigger which has been lying on a gunsmiths shelf for decades - if such a custom trigger was ever made for this model of rifle.

Can anybody help? Do you know of a trigger which was made to fit the BSA Monarch? Do you know of any gunsmiths who might have a trigger?

Any help will be much appreciated.
 
Rather than looking for a replacement trigger have you tried taking it to a decent rifle smith for him to polish up the faces of the sears etc. A few touches of a stone in the right place can work wonders.

Weren't the BSA's built on a clone of the mauser action, in which case one the after market triggers for mauser of some discription might be worth looking at, but probably would not be a straight drop in fit, but would require gunsmithing. As well as Timney / Jewell also have a look at Recknagel or Golmatic - they do a lot of Mauser triggers.

Try J Roberts & Sons in London or Haygarth Guns int he North of Scotland. Both know old rifles.
 
Thanks for the info Heym.

I was in Colin Haygarth's shop many years ago - I thought that they had gone out of business long ago!

I have honed the trigger myself and I am currently looking for a suitable fine stone to improve it further. However, it will never compare to a good quality custom trigger.

I have never heard of Recknagel or Golmatic triggers before - I will start googling now.

Thanks again.

Ronnie
 
Have you tried Jackson Rifles, they do a replacent trigger that may be suitable. Alternatives are installing a set trigger which you may be able to get fom John Knibbs or Chamberlain Guns who have in the past held spares for B.S.A. rifles.
 
BSA trigger

Hi golspie15

You can get a semi custom trigger (i.e. double set trigger) from John knibbs tel no. 01675 481006 , all you need to give him is the rifle serial number of your gun.
I just bought a double set trigger from him 3 weeks ago for my old BSA CF2 243 rifle as the original i though was a tad heavy even set at its lightest setting.
it cost me £110 + £3.00 p+p to Inverness.
iam very happy with the double set trigger and i find that the normal trigger pull on the rear trigger after a small adjustment is more than crisp and light to use rather than needing to use the light feather set trigger when set.

Hope this is helpful to you.

Cheers Iain

SAKO2506
 
8x57 & Sako2506,

Thanks for your suggestions.

I tried Jackson rifles - their advice was to hone the original as they did not think any aftermarket trigger was available.

Also tried John Knibbs - they had triggers to fit the CF2 but not the Monarch and it took quite a few emails to prise that much information out of them.

I dont think I have tried Chamberlain guns (yet).

I have emailed all the suggestions made by Heym SR20 yesterday and have had negative replies so far - still waiting for a response from C H Haygarth in Dunnet, Caithness.

It looks very like I will be doing the trigger job myself.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Ronnie
 
Hi DL,

The link you posted is for T. W. Chambers - I know these guys and I asked the question a while back. No luck there either.
 
I had Callum Ferguson do a trigger on an old BSA Majestic 222 years ago. They were good rifles.

The Monarch/Majestic actions were far superior than the CF2, although the CF2 did have the option of a double trigger, but after a lot of use I found these units to be pretty unreliable.

Another port of call is Charlie Rose on the Black Isle he will no doubt be able to sort you out.
 
Thanks for your suggestions guys.

All the replies are coming back negative.

Two of the gunsmiths have stated that an aftermarket trigger to fit the Monarch or the CF2 does not exist.

So it looks like I will be honing the existing trigger myself.

Thanks for all your replies.

Ronnie
 
golspie15,

I own a BSA Majestic in .222 Rem. I was having trouble removing the bolt and took the rifle to a master metal smith that lives nearby. We removed the barreled action from the stock to take a look at the problem and did get the bolt out of the action.

I too am looking for an aftermarket trigger but I'm unable to find any listings. My metal smith friend believes someone "hacked" the trigger but the assembly seems very difficult to do any work on so it may just need cleaning. There are pins that can be driven out to remove various parts of the assembly but the housing itself is a one piece stamping and I have some fear about doing this myself. As for "honing" be very cautious.

As for Mauser 98 triggers, I own (2) 98's and It may take more than a talented metal smith to fit one up if it's even possible to do so .
 
The BSA rifles were loosely based upon Mauser principles in that they cocked on opening, feed from a staggered internal magazine and they have two front locking lugs. But then so are lot of "Modern" rifles.

The 1st Pattern Monarch used this trigger mechanism:-

P4200057.jpg


P4200058.jpg


P4200056.jpg


Which as mentioned is not compataible with the later CF2 units. The 1st Pattern have the integral dovetails:-

P5250133.jpg


The 2nd Pattern monarch does not and has the same receiver profile as the later CF2. This was done due to the American market not being happy that they could not bolt on the cheap Weaver rings for instance. The profile was a copy of the top of the Remington 700 to make it easy to get rings and mounts in the US. The 2nd Pattern Monarch can be fitted with the CF2 trigger I am told.
 
Brithunter, Nice photos! My Majestic's trigger is a bit different. The Housing seems similar but this trigger has 2 additional pins through the housing and the trigger shoe pin is in the same place. The Majestic trigger also has a sear adjustment set screw in the front of the trigger shoe that can be adjusted so the trigger is either a single or two stage trigger pull as well as a sear adjustment.
 
Thank You.

Sorry but I don't have any photos of the Majestic triggers. Please be aware that some majestics have a trigger safety catch like the Monarchs. I own a .243 Majestic Featherweight with BESA that has this later trigger and the stock is inletted for it.

My .270 Majestic Featherweight is adjusted to it has a bit of first stage pressure so yes I am aware of this feature. The .22 Rimfire BSA Supersport Five also has a similar feature in it's trigger mechanism.
 
Brithunter,

My Monarch is one of the 2nd pattern with a trigger very similar if not identical to the photos you posted. However, a CF2 trigger will not fit my rifle. I have honed my trigger as best I can - it is much improved but not as good as a custom trigger would be.
 
Gents, I was wondering if anyone has a schematic / instructions for adjustment for the BSA Majestic 7x57 med action featherweight I believe? I have one which appears to be stuck on 6lb pull. Adjusting the weight adjustment screw has no influence. Thank you for your time.
 
Gents, I was wondering if anyone has a schematic / instructions for adjustment for the BSA Majestic 7x57 med action featherweight I believe? I have one which appears to be stuck on 6lb pull. Adjusting the weight adjustment screw has no influence. Thank you for your time.


May I suggest removing the trigger unit and dropping the whole thing into a container with white spirit in it and letting it soad. Chances are the spring is gummed up with dried oil. People think they are doing good by oiling the trigger mech and over the years it goes gummy and attracts dirt and grit.

Another option is the blast it clean using brake or carb cleaner in the aerosol cans.

If the weight adjustment does nothing then something has stuck or broken.
 
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