Project Appleseed

I went to the recent Indy 1500 Gun and Knife show and bought a new 10/22 rifle. At home I took it apart and did the auto bolt release modification. When I put it back together completely I dry fired the rifle a few times. When I pulled the trigger there was a clunk as I started to put pressure on the trigger. The trigger would then move normally and fire. I did this several times trying to feel what was going on. I took it apart and investigated. It just felt like something was loose. I finally saw that the whole trigger group moved slightly as I pulled the trigger. The rear pin was loose in the plastic trigger housing. I took the trigger group out and examined the two mounting holes. The forward one was a snug fit on the pin. The rear one was oversized. I examined it closely and it appears to have been molded that way. There are no tool marks or gouges from me taking it apart.

I tried to take a picture of the situation. The hole is .010" to .012" oversize for the pin. The light in the background is showing through the gap between the pin and the hole.


I decided I could not live with this trigger group moving around. When the bolt comes back it forced the hammer back and puts downward pressure on the trigger group housing. When the trigger was pulled it pushed the trigger group housing up slightly due to the loose pin. I decided that I either had to fix it or send it to Ruger.

Since the hole was approximately .010" oversize I decided to make a shim out of a rolled piece of .005" brass shim. I could roll the brass pretty easily around the pin with my bare fingers. I inserted this rolled tube into the hole in the trigger group and it looked like this.


The pin was a tight fit and I had to put a little oil on it to get through the shim. I tried the pin fit with the trigger group housing but not fitted into the receiver. I had to tap it through lightly. Then I removed and inserted the pin several times to make sure it was working OK. I put the trigger group in the receiver and installed both pins. The rear pin can not be pushed out by hand. It requires a pin and a hammer to knock it out. That is fine with me. It works so much better.

I posted this in case this problem begins to show up in other newer 10/22 rifles. Since it appears to be a problem with size control in a plastic molded part, there are likely to be more of them.

Very nice fix!  I haven't yet experienced this issue, but as you say, it is likely a tooling issue direct from the manufacturer, and we are likely to see more of them before the problem is solved at Ruger. 

Please do contact Ruger, documenting exactly what you found.  Their customer service department has been found to be exceptionally helpful, and your feedback is welcomed. 

Quote from: ItsanSKS on August 30, 2012, 08:26:05 PM
Very nice fix!  I haven't yet experienced this issue, but as you say, it is likely a tooling issue direct from the manufacturer, and we are likely to see more of them before the problem is solved at Ruger. 

Please do contact Ruger, documenting exactly what you found.  Their customer service department has been found to be exceptionally helpful, and your feedback is welcomed.

Thanks. I will get in touch with Ruger about this.

BTW - Coors Light aluminum cans also provide a good source of shim material for various purposes as well.

Am I speaking from experience?   Nah - lucky guess. 

Git-R-Done!

Very nice fix. Another use for a beer can too. This thread is a gold mine.

I submitted the issue to Ruger. I will report any reply they send to me.

Odd one would be that far off. Being a fixedwingtech, I'd probably tapped the pin with a hammer on one side/end to flatten it out a bit to take up the slack. ....O.L.

DIY captive trigger group pins.


http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=438233