PPR: Timney Trigger for the Mosin-Nagant

Before I begin this review, I need to make a few statements:

1.
This review is four months late.  While I have semi-good reasons for this -- Christmas holidays, my mother's hospitalization on December 26th, her subsequent surgery in February and her slow recovery while I took over her duties, general health issues on my end -- these are not sufficient excuses in my mind. If I'm going to be thought of as a professional writer and reviewer, I need to act like one, and being this far past a deadline (even if that deadline was self-imposed) is not at all professional. Therefore, I must beg the forgiveness of the Timney Trigger corporation, and hope that the thoroughness of this review will make up for its tardiness.


2. 
Any time I review a product for a Mosin-Nagant, I can always expect certain comments from the purists. "Why would you want to bastardize a perfectly good piece of history?" is one of them. "Why would you spend X amount of money on a cheap rifle that's only worth a hundred bucks?" is another.

The answer is simple: "Because I want to. This is my rifle, so I can do what I like with it, and who are you to demand I justify myself?"

Therefore, if you are inclined to ask these questions, I am going to warn you now:  This review is not for you.

ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE. 

If, however, you like modifying firearms, or at the least are tired of the 8-9 pound trigger pull on your Mosin, then these words are for you.

USE THEM TOGETHER USE THEM IN PEACE.

Palette's Product Review: 
The Timney Trigger for the Mosin-Nagant ($103.95)

When I first contacted Timney for a test & evaluation trigger, there were several things I wanted to discover:

1. Will it drop in like they say it will?
2. Will this trigger reduce the horrible pull weight of the stock trigger?
3. Will it improve my accuracy?
4. Is it, in fact, worth the price of a (pre-panic) Mosin-Nagant?

Little did I know that this simple request would send me on what can best be described as "An adventure in gun modification."  

1) Ease of Installation

Let me immediately clear the air about something:  When I first groused about "Not all drop-in triggers actually are," I was operating from an incorrect assumption.  I had seen that Timney triggers for both the AR-15 and the Ruger 10/22 were "drop-in"  (meaning no modification or gunsmith needed), and I foolishly assumed that all Timney triggers were drop-in.  This is not the case, and nowhere on their website, in their marketing literature, or on the product pages do they claim that all of their triggers are drop-in. This was my fault.

However -- and this is where I feel a bit vindicated -- any instruction manual which says "Step 7: Using a Dremel tool, remove enough wood [from the stock] so the trigger area will partially insert" without having previously warned you, either on the product webpage or at the beginning of the instructions with "Tools you will need" that you will, in fact, need a Dremel tool, has dropped the ball in a significant manner. I was quite irritated to have gotten my nifty new trigger only to find that, before I could install it, I needed to buy a power tool. 

 

This is the only bad thing I can say about the instructions, though. They are clear, concise, and well-illustrated. I particularly love Diagram B with its clearly labeled "Save these parts" and "Discard these parts."  Other accessory makers could take a lesson from the clarity of these instructions.

In addition, were it not for the required inletting of the stock, the trigger itself is, essentially, drop-in: Drift out trigger pin and unscrew trigger screw; insert Timney trigger; re-insert trigger pin and trigger screw. Assuming you've already removed the action from the stock, the entire procedure takes five minutes, tops.

The real time sink is in Dremeling out material from the stock in order to make the trigger fit, and that is where things got a bit crazy for me. Never having used a Dremel before, I became too aggressive with it and took off too much material. (I hope this is a common malady among new Dremel owners.)  This left me with a stock that might be dangerous to use due to the gaps and amount of slop and wiggle that would surely follow.  I decided that I might as well use this opportunity to bed the action; not only would this fill in the gaps, but I had read that a bedded action allowed for greater accuracy. 

I will spare you the details of the procedure. If you like, you may hum the MacGyver or A-Team theme while imagining me putting Vaseline on the contact surfaces of the action and forming Loctite Repair Putty * into the gaps while watching The Walking Dead. Instead, I will simply show you the final result, although this picture will no doubt shock and horrify the purists:

The reason it looks uneven in places is because I used a Sharpie marker to color in the places where the gray epoxy was peeking out past the stock. It's ugly, yes, but it works -- which is basically the entire point of the Mosin-Nagant, after all, so it all coordinates thematically.  More importantly, I did it myself without needing to pay a gunsmith to do it for me. If I can do this, then so can you.

* Why Loctite epoxy putty?? Because it's what I had on hand, and I was impatient. Considering the epoxy has a bond strength of 1400 psi and can be sanded, I think it's a fine choice. I've since shot several hundred rounds of milsurp 54R through the bedded rifle and haven't had a single problem.

2) Trigger Pull

If you have ever shot a Mosin with a stock trigger, you know how terrible it is: that long, slow, painful draw until the rifle finally, mercifully goes "bang!"  It's a Russian design in every bad sense of the word.

The best way I can describe the difference between it and the new trigger is like this:  you know how instructors are always telling shooters that the gunshot should come as a surprise?  At the range  with this new trigger, I settled in and started pulling -- and promptly went "Holy crap!" when the rifle fired about a quarter through my expected pull. I was, literally, startled by how smooth and easy it was. Not only is the Timney trigger an absolute pleasure to shoot, it made my shots more accurate simply by eliminating over half of the pressure needed to squeeze the trigger. This meant I didn't have to concentrate on keeping the rifle from shifting as I applied pressure and could instead focus on aim and smoothness of pull.


3) Accuracy

This is me at 50 yards. I needed to fine-tune my scope a bit, hence the "walking in" effect.

And this is me at 100 yards, with the scope fully zeroed and having gotten used to the new trigger:

Compare this to the last time I shot my Mosin at 100 yards:

Considering that the time between these two pictures is about 9 months, I can't attribute all of that to an increase in skill. Clearly, the lighter and smoother pull is reducing trigger jerk, and that results in increased accuracy.


4) Reduction of Barrel Whip

Interestingly enough, after this I noticed that my Mosin did not do its expected "jump several inches into the air and come down on its bipod in a different place" dance like it usually does. (Note: I did not use the Armadillo Bag for this test.) Now, I do not for one second believe that the Timney trigger is responsible for this; I believe it's due to the action having been bedded. More contact area with the stock means more mass and surface area to counteract any twisting and whipping that will occur as the barrel (and therefore the action) attempts to twist out of the stock. Even indirectly, Timney has helped tame my beast of a rifle, and for that I am quite grateful.


5) Is It Worth Buying?

As always, the answer is "It depends."

If you enjoy having a cheap, no-nonsense rifle, do not buy this product.  If you enjoy abusing yourself or your friends with a nine-pound trigger pull, or if you cannot accept paying for a trigger that costs as much or than your rifle is worth, then do not buy this product.

On the other hand, if you enjoy having a manageable, adjustable trigger, buy this product. 

If you like having a safety that you can actually use (during hunting season, say), buy this product. 

If you enjoy shooting a Mosin for fun and want to increase that fun, buy this product. 

In short, owning the Timney Trigger has improved both the experience of shooting a Mosin-Nagant, and my performance with it. While it is expensive, if you are a serious Mosin shooter you will find it worth every penny. I highly recommend it all of my comrades in the Mosin Militia (especially AGirl, whom I know owns a Mosin), and I would consider it an essential upgrade, second only to a recoil pad.

Just make sure you have access to a Dremel tool.

My Rating:  A+

Obligatory finger to the FCC:  Timney provided this trigger to me for free and with no expectation of a good review. However, they did include a Watermelon-flavored Tootsie pop in their packaging, which is something that I wholeheartedly endorse. In fact, more manufacturers should include goodies in their T&E packages. Just sayin'.