Red Wolf trigger adjustment - an exercise in patience

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ronmcc4

ronmcc4

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Mar 13, 2020
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Jackson, Tennessee, United States
If there’s one thing that needs updating on the Red Wolf it’s the 2nd stage trigger weight adjustment. Mine came from AoA at a beautiful 4.2 ounces. That’s great for bench work on targets but I like a trigger between 14 and 16 ounces. My personal preference. I set about adjusting the 2nd stage weight tonight. 1/4 turn clockwise - no effect. More - locked the trigger up so it wouldn’t pull. Ok, back counter clockwise - 1 pound 8 ounces. A little more - too much - now back. After a while I finally got a 15.6 ounce average - great. But it took a while. The actual adjustment range is pretty small and even pressure on the Allen wrench without a perceptible movement makes a difference. I like that the adjustment is stiff because it won’t change with vibration. But, this is a task requiring patience. It would be great if trigger pull was adjustable electronically like everything else. 😉 Yep, spoiled already.

This was my second Red Wolf trigger to adjust. The other one was the same way.
 
If there’s one thing that needs updating on the Red Wolf it’s the 2nd stage trigger weight adjustment. Mine came from AoA at a beautiful 4.2 ounces. That’s great for bench work on targets but I like a trigger between 14 and 16 ounces. My personal preference. I set about adjusting the 2nd stage weight tonight. 1/4 turn clockwise - no effect. More - locked the trigger up so it wouldn’t pull. Ok, back counter clockwise - 1 pound 8 ounces. A little more - too much - now back. After a while I finally got a 15.6 ounce average - great. But it took a while. The actual adjustment range is pretty small and even pressure on the Allen wrench without a perceptible movement makes a difference. I like that the adjustment is stiff because it won’t change with vibration. But, this is a task requiring patience. It would be great if trigger pull was adjustable electronically like everything else.
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Yep, spoiled already.

This was my second Red Wolf trigger to adjust. The other one was the same way.
Click to expand...

Ron

Until I saw this post, I thought my difficulty in adjusting the RW trigger was unique to me trying to adjust the 2nd stage weight screw. Followed guidelines on P. 9 of RW manual for screw B, but I have tried adjusting the 2nd stage many times to try and get it to 8-10 oz, but to no avail. I know that the screw is extremely sensitive and I go from approximately 1lb, 8oz ( as an example) to about 3-4 oz and nothing in between. I’m using the Wheeler trigger measurement device to try and dial it in. I can barely detect turning the screw, but there are large variances in pull weight with the slightest movements.

I also have a current safety issue whereby the gun is dry firing by itself when I toggle the safety on and off. Luckily, no pellet in the chamber but I have a call into Steve at AoA to assist. I probably mucked it up yesterday trying to adjust. However, when this happened to me at the range last week and again yesterday in my gun vise, I realized the gun was not safe and I have to resolve. 

I fully agree with you that this should be much easier to do than it is currently. 






 
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I'm sure I'm the contrarian here, but I don't much like this electronic trigger. I have a Red Wolf, and it is an outstanding rifle in most respects. The challenge in adjusting described above is not unique, but the typical experience as best I can tell. I find the two stage mode especially lacking in feel, so I have mine set up as single stage, at about 6 ounces. It has been totally reliable at that setting, and very usable. But, the sensation of pressing a switch does not have the same clean break as a good mechanical trigger, because there is no break, it's just pressure. I realize that most owners, especially those without experience with a really good mechanical match trigger, are very favorably impressed with it. And it is certainly better than the average trigger. But, a rifle at this price should have a better trigger, just my opinion. I will add one more comment, not to be taken as a recommendation. But, I had another Red Wolf rifle, and in order to get that trigger as clean feeling as possible, I had to slightly adjust the second stage contact screw. That's the "factory" screw in the rear, the one the manual warns not to adjust. I have not made any adjustment to that screw in my current rifle, and the other one may have been the rare exception that left the assembly process just a bit off. In both rifles, I found the first stage to be more a distraction than offering any value to the trigger action. Unlike a good mechanical trigger, by adjusting the first stage, you are not balancing the release weight between the stages, because there is no "release" in the sense of a sear breaking from its contact point, usually the hammer in air rifles. But, the trigger issue is a personal preference, and I understand why most owners appear to really like this one, so it's just me. And I agree with everything said above regarding the adjustment process, it takes patience, but you can probably get it right. You are not adjusting spring tension, and the movement required is usually only a few thousandths, sometimes not even perceptible. 
 
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I'll be the contrarian to your contrarian-I feel that the electronic trigger is as good as it can get exactly because it is an electronic switch. It has no mechanical limits and can be set to any parameter desired. To me it seems that the only difference is not actually feeling any movement at the break point but the second stage is perfectly distinct and slightly more pressure sends the shot. My Pulsar did have a very slight felt drag on the trigger blade if any pressure to the right was applied during the pull. Apparently there was enough movement to allow the blade to drag on the housing slightly. Not a problem with a perfectly straight pull and no drag with slight pressure to the left. I removed the trigger blade and polished the right side slightly and eliminated that felt drag. I recently acquired an HW100 and I believe you have one as well. I view that mechanical trigger as absolutely excellent but to my touch the electronic trigger is better. Different strokes, much like optics preferences.
 
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I'll be the contrarian to your contrarian-I feel that the electronic trigger is as good as it can get exactly because it is an electronic switch. It has no mechanical limits and can be set to any parameter desired. To me it seems that the only difference is not actually feeling any movement at the break point but the second stage is perfectly distinct and slightly more pressure sends the shot. My Pulsar did have a very slight felt drag on the trigger blade if any pressure to the right was applied during the pull. Apparently there was enough movement to allow the blade to drag on the housing slightly. Not a problem with a perfectly straight pull and no drag with slight pressure to the left. I removed the trigger blade and polished the right side slightly and eliminated that felt drag. I recently acquired an HW100 and I believe you have one as well. I view that mechanical trigger as absolutely excellent but to my touch the electronic trigger is better. Different strokes, much like optics preferences.
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As I said about the Red Wolf, it's just me. And yes, the HW100 trigger is excellent, a real two-stage trigger. If you need nothing under about 6 ounces, it is about as good as it gets. And if you want to carry the rifle cocked when hunting, and if the trigger is properly adjusted, and safety on, it is safe to do so with this rifle (although out of habit, I would de-cock it). For light pull match use, the Steyr and Anschutz triggers appeal to me more than the electronic trigger.
 
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I'll be the contrarian to your contrarian-I feel that the electronic trigger is as good as it can get exactly because it is an electronic switch. It has no mechanical limits and can be set to any parameter desired. To me it seems that the only difference is not actually feeling any movement at the break point but the second stage is perfectly distinct and slightly more pressure sends the shot. My Pulsar did have a very slight felt drag on the trigger blade if any pressure to the right was applied during the pull. Apparently there was enough movement to allow the blade to drag on the housing slightly. Not a problem with a perfectly straight pull and no drag with slight pressure to the left. I removed the trigger blade and polished the right side slightly and eliminated that felt drag. I recently acquired an HW100 and I believe you have one as well. I view that mechanical trigger as absolutely excellent but to my touch the electronic trigger is better. Different strokes, much like optics preferences.
Click to expand...

As I said about the Red Wolf, it's just me. And yes, the HW100 trigger is excellent, a real two-stage trigger. If you need nothing under about 6 ounces, it is about as good as it gets. And if you want to carry the rifle cocked when hunting, and if the trigger is properly adjusted, and safety on, it is safe to do so with this rifle (although out of habit, I would de-cock it). For light pull match use, the Steyr and Anschutz triggers appeal to me more than the electronic trigger.
Click to expand...

The HW100 is relatively new to me but I've already come to like it for squirrel duty. If you decock while loaded, wouldn't you then need to remove the magazine to prevent double loading when next cocked? I've noticed that it will not double load once cocked and can be decocked easily (very nice feature) but IF you decock then recock wouldn't it double load?

Sorry to stray from original RW topic.
 
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Sorry to stray from original RW topic.

The HW100 is relatively new to me but I've already come to like it for squirrel duty. If you decock while loaded, wouldn't you then need to remove the magazine to prevent double loading when next cocked? I've noticed that it will not double load once cocked and can be decocked easily (very nice feature) but IF you decock then recock wouldn't it double load?
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Two options: decock on an empty magazine hole, or, decock with a pellet in the chamber, but don't push the magazine advance button forward. The gear will then not engage the magazine and thus will not rotate an additional pellet. If you do the latter, either leave the mag advance deactivated, or remember to slide it forward after re-cocking. It's very easy to advance the mag manually, as you can feel when the next hole aligns with the chamber. Think of it as a single shot loader with multiple pellets. 
 
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