Hammerli 208s

Hi All,

Can the second stage on a Hammerli 208s be disengaged?  Making it a single stage only.

Yes
Jon

Hi Jon, would that be with ease or difficulty, and can it be done without replacing parts?

It can be adjusted out without changing any parts. But it will have a little bit of a roll. Most of the 208S I encounter will still roll without modification.
Jon

Can you describe these single stage adjustments?

Yes please, I shot a friend's H208 and the trigger felt very good.

The trigger of the 208s has a particular spot where the sear disengages the hammer.  The second stage assembly normally is within this travel.  It can be backed out enough that the disengagement occurs prior to reaching the second stage plunger, leaving all the travel to be during the first stage.  You then have to increase the first stage weight.  As mentioned, since the entire travel from full set (cocked) to release is now only encountering the first stage, there is a roll.  I did shoot this way for a season, but found that the distance of the roll caused me to stop the trigger prior to release on too frequent an occasion.

Ed Hall wrote:The trigger of the 208s has a particular spot where the sear disengages the hammer.  The second stage assembly normally is within this travel.  It can be backed out enough that the disengagement occurs prior to reaching the second stage plunger, leaving all the travel to be during the first stage.  You then have to increase the first stage weight.  As mentioned, since the entire travel from full set (cocked) to release is now only encountering the first stage, there is a roll.  I did shoot this way for a season, but found that the distance of the roll caused me to stop the trigger prior to release on too frequent an occasion.

Ed's description is perfect. I actually think the 208 has a better single stage trigger than the 208S will ever have without modifying it.
Jon

Thanks, Good topic and information.

Norman,
I think many shooters have a misconception about what a good 2-stage trigger is. Most master and high Master shooters have very little weight on the second stage. The take-up is actually the first stage. So when they are shooting they are really never in the first stage. The trigger can be set up to reset just as it enters the first stage and then when you immediately start squeezing again you feel the second stage yet and you keep squeezing through. So the real benefit of a two-stage trigger  is setting it up  so that it feels like you're actually pulling less weight. Regardless of the type of trigger pull it's all about feel.
Jon

I'm not sure how mine is set up. Larry Carter made the adjustments one year at Camp Perry with a 2 lb trigger pull. Didn't like such a light trigger, especially shooting in the wind and bumped it up to 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 lbs. I'd like to see your set up the next time you come to northern California. Thanks!