In 2013 Ruger shipped me four of their Ruger American Rimfire rifles to test and evaluate. Visually underwhelmed, I took to the task and it wasn’t long before I realized that these new rifles might be the best rimfire value on the market, especially considering their price. I reviewed them in NRA’s American Rifleman magazine. Click HERE to read the article.
I’m still not sure how pretty these rifles are but they are packed with features like, open sights, a grooved and, drilled and tapped receiver, and a modular comb system to work with long and short lengths of pull and to position your eye properly behind the sight you choose. They also shot very well.
I was so enamored with the rifles I purchased one of the compact versions in .22 Magnum. It became the basis for my rimfire scout rifle I call the Mini-Cooper. Those who follow Empty Cases on Facebook are sure to have seen pictures of it. However, there is one thing I did not like about the Ruger Rimfire rifles; the passive safety lever on the trigger. Yes, this Glock-like deformation allows companies like Ruger, Marlin and Savage to offer better than normal triggers on their rifles without litigation worry, but I’m a trigger snob and when I pull a trigger I want to pull only one trigger and I want it to be perfect.
I called Timney Triggers and complained. Apparently I was not the only one because for 2015 Timney is offering a drop in replacement trigger for the Ruger American Centerfire and Rimfire rifles. They shipped me one and I installed it in my Mini-Cooper (American Rimfire) in about 15 minutes. Here’s how you can do it too, in 10 steps and in about 15 minutes:
Step 1: Starting with an unloaded rifle, remove the action screws that hold the barreled action in the stock.
Step 2: Remove the bolt.
Step 3: Remove the locking collar (E-Clip) on the safety shaft, which protrudes through the trigger from left to right. (This collar is fragile. Push the safety shaft from left to right to release the pressure on this collar before you attempt to remove it.)
Step 4: Remove the safety spring. (Note its position before removal. You can take a photo with your smart phone if you have memory problems.)
Step 5: Remove the safety link. (Note its position before removal. You can take a photo with your smart phone if you have memory problems.)
Step 6: Drive out the two roll pins that hold the trigger housing on the action.
Step 7: Insert the new Timney trigger housing into the action and install the two roll-pins you removed in step 6.
Step 8: Install the safety actuator bar into the safety thumb button and actuation mechanism (shaft.)
Step 9: Install the safety spring.
Step 10: Test your work and install the barreled action, with the new Timney trigger, back into the stock using the screws removed in step 1.
The result is a trigger with no take-up that breaks at a clean and consistent 2.5 pounds with infinitesimal over travel. My off-hand groups immediately shrunk in size by almost 10%.
You can order yours direct from Timney for $ 124.95 and in about 15 minutes you can be pulling it. Timney listens to their customs and each year and offers a new trigger inspired by customer request. For 2015 the customer choice trigger is the drop-in trigger for the Ruger American, centerfire or rimfire. The installation for both is identical but the triggers are not interchangeable.
