Trigger Pin - Oooops

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

For some time now the trigger pin of my Henry has been a bit loose. It would start to migrate a bit out of its hole and when I noticed I would shove it back in with my thumb.

Yesterday I was doing a little Cowboy Action demo at my club Open House. We do not have CAS at my club, but everybody knows I am the club's chief Cowboy Shooter. I set up a simple stage and scenario at our outdoor pistol range, and went through it three times during the course of the afternoon. I always like cleaning my rifle before going home, so when the Open House was over I got out my cleaning stuff and started cleaning my Henry. Everything was fine until I was all done. I went to close the action and something was not right. The hammer was following the bolt down. Closer inspection showed the trigger pin had worked its way out and had fallen out of the gun. The trigger was just flopping around loose.

Luckily, I found the pin right at my feet, it must have fallen out during the course of cleaning the gun. Good thing it had not fallen out while I was running walking through the scenario. I put the pin and the trigger in my ammo box and took the gun home to fix it.

Happy Trails did the action job on my Henry and when I mentioned to him one time that the pin was loose he suggested I remove it and apply a tiny bend to it to keep it secure in the frame. Of course I never did so. Just a little while ago I followed Hap's advice. I suspended the pin between the jaws of an open vice and rapped it very gently with a hammer. After removing the trigger spring, I was able to position the trigger properly to receive its pin, and gently drive it in. Hap's fix seems to be working, the pin seems more secure and does not move at all when I work the action.

Just a head's up in case you too have a 'slippery' trigger pin.

[major]

Driftwood
Loose trigger pins have been a problem with the Uberti Henrys for as long as I can remember.  The idea of putting a slight arc in the pin and re-installing it has always been the best way to correct the problem.  Good thing that you found the pin as it would probably be necessary for you to jump through some hoops to get a replacement.
TTFN

[wyldwylliam]

Zounds and Huzzahs!. Thanks heaps for the tip, I noticed the loose pin right off after I got my B. Tyler, and I'm off right danged now to do this fix.

[Coffinmaker]

Remember how driftwood described the fix.  Just a TINY bit of a bend.  Many Henry and 1866 rifles need this little fix.

Coffinmaker

[wyldwylliam]

Yep, I gave it just a tiny whack with a brass mallet and it fits like a charm now.  Thanks again for the great tip.

[swampman]

Had the same problem on my Henry after many hard years of reenacting use. Mine fell out into the dirt around the camp fire while cleaning it. Fortunately my Corporal had a magnet in his vehicle and we found it. I didn't put a bend in it, but rather placed one end on the nearest trailer hitch and gave it a few taps with a hammer. This turned it oval enough that it would stay put. Never had any more trouble out of it. A cheap and nasty fix, but it worked. Guerrilla Gunsmithing 101.   

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Great tip, D.J.

Thanks for spelling it out.