Older Gunsmithing Books would mention that process.  Safe if you know what your doing as some would say to have X amount of engagement.  One of the Local Know It All's was bragging about Slicking up the Trigger on a Weatherby 7mm Mag and would I like to see it..no thanks!

A few Stevens 44s had a hole drilled right through the hammer, and a long thin screw inserted to allow adjustment of the depth of engagement from the top, with a screwdriver.

I saw such a Stevens at an OGCA show roughly 40 years ago.  The modification was very neatly done and though the trigger pull was very light, it still held safely.  The seller, a well-known dealer from Minnesota, claimed it was factory work.  Any truth in that?

Bill Lawrence

uscra112 wrote on May 15^th, 2023 at 9:29pm:


I did that to my Stevens .22 back about 1987. Have shot bazzillions of rounds through it with no problems. I like light triggers on target rifles that are shot at targets. 

It was a Stevens factory option, according to what I've read.  Apparently not often selected, since it is scarcer than frog fur.  I've never even seen one for sale in my years of scouring of Gunbroker.

Personally speaking, I don't see going to the trouble, since it's so easy to hone the Stevens hammer notch to get a nice light trigger.

No, the hammers, links and triggers were just mild steel stampings, case hardened.  AFAIK this was true even for the premium models,  but I've never owned any above a 47, so can't so state based on personal observation.

Several years back a customer sent me a Martini cadet that had an external adjustment. I had never seen one like it and it was very dangerous. I ended up welding the sear and trigger up and re-cutting the notch. I use a hard steel when welding these parts to get a better trigger pull.

That's more the rule than the exception with Stevens 44 and 44-1/2, despite the poor quality metal in the 44s.  Even sad, clapped-out old 44s usually still have a good pull.  I attribute this to the geometry of the hammer spring, which moves the force vector closer to the axle as the hammer is cocked, thus lessening the pressure on the sear.   Doesn't do anything good for lock time, but except for top-level competition this doesn't matter. 

Neither type of Winchester spring does this, which is why Winchesters are noticeably more difficult to bring to full cock than the Stevens.  Ditto all striker-type actions, such as the Martini and Borchardt, although those are not cocked by the thumb, so nobody notices.