HW90/Beeman RX2 Trigger Fix

[Nitrocrushr]

I just completed a Beeman RX2 for a customer, which included a complete trigger tune.  After reading up on the triggers for these rifles I wasn't sure what to expect as reviews have been mixed.  The trigger as it was delivered to me was the worst I have seen.  Horrible pull, with a notable dead spot at the very end.  After a complete tear down the sears were polished, lubed and reassembled.  The 2nd stage screw was fully functional and the trigger now has a very nice pull with a crisp 2nd stage and no creep whatsoever.  There was a lot of additional work done on this rifle, but I only want to focus on the trigger.

Upon reassembly I experienced the dreaded issue with the rifle not cocking.  As a side note, I did assemble things correctly, manually cocking the trigger unit and holding the safety button in as the trigger guard was reinstalled.  Reading up on this I discovered that this seems to be a common issue and a lot of folks are running their front trigger guard screw loose in order to help with this issue.  I tried running the front screw loose and sometimes it would work, other times it would not.  With the front screw tightened it would never work. 

As delivered, this rifle had a small spacer washer on the center pin on the bottom of the trigger guard (assuming it was to help with this issue).  It was not an OEM part so it was added for a reason.  While it did help somewhat, it also hurt by reducing the contact that the trigger guard had with the stock when reassembling the rifle.  I could not imagine a rifle being designed in such a way that you would have to run a trigger guard screw loose.  More importantly, removing the trigger guard to work on the rifle could send you down a path of trial and error as you attempt to get the screws "just right" so that the rifle would cock and fire as it should, with both safety and the safety reset mechanism working.  Good luck making a quick repair.

Today I spent the morning studying this problem closely.  With the trigger guard off, the rifle cocked just fine.  Install the trigger guard and it was a hit or miss as to whether it would cock and the front trigger guard screw HAD to be somewhat loose or you stood no chance of getting things to work.  I removed the safety button from the trigger guard as a test.  Trigger guard was reinstalled and the rifle cocked perfectly, even with the trigger guard screws completely tightened.  This indicated that nothing on the trigger guard was limiting the sear from moving freely as the rifle was being cocked.  Reinstall the safety button and the problem was back.  After looking closer at this, there was really only one possibility...the exposed portion of the sear had to be catching on the safety cross bolt as the rifle was being cocked.  The only areas where it looked like it might be catching was on the leading/forward edges.  I decided to taper and polish the leading edge first (side towards the muzzle).  It made no change.  I then tapered and polished the next leading edge on the back side of the little "V" cut-out where you grab hold of when you manually cock the trigger mechanism.  Trigger guard was reinstalled and guess what.......it worked perfectly!!!!  I removed and reinstalled numerous times and it worked 100% of the time.  I added some grease to the surfaces before final assembly and all is well.  The rifle cocks very smoothly, safety button works, safety reset works and rifle fires with no issues.  As an added bonus, I no longer have to use that little spacer washer in the middle of the trigger guard, nor do I have to run with the front trigger guard loose.  So much better!!

For anyone experiencing this issue, this modification is certainly worth a try.

In this picture you can see the tapers that I added to the exposed portion of the sear.  No more catching on the safety mechanism.



Here is the completed rifle ready to go.  Trigger polished and tuned, replaced Receiver/Cylinder, replaced leaky Schrader valve, repaired chips in stock, added front pillars and refinished stock.











Steve

[Bayman]

Really nice job Steve. I had a RX1 that I really liked. I'm not a real trigger aficionado but I thought the trigger was nice enough when properly adjusted. I'm sure you learned most of the information on the net regarding the Elite trigger adjustments is completely wrong. The RX2 is a beautiful gun. As long as it's in 20 or 22 it's one of the few airguns I'd consider adding to my collection at this point.
Thanks for posting I'm sure you information will be useful to someone.

Ron

[Mark 611]

Abdoulie, great review! I have never owned a 90 series HW, just for the reasons you have posted, good work tho to make it better! sometimes it takes trial and error to fined how something works, good job!

[Nitrocrushr]

Really nice job Steve. I had a RX1 that I really liked. I'm not a real trigger aficionado but I thought the trigger was nice enough when properly adjusted. I'm sure you learned most of the information on the net regarding the Elite trigger adjustments is completely wrong. The RX2 is a beautiful gun. As long as it's in 20 or 22 it's one of the few airguns I'd consider adding to my collection at this point.
Thanks for posting I'm sure you information will be useful to someone.

Ron

Thanks Ron.  Yes, a lot of what I read was simply incorrect.  This trigger can be made very nice.  There are sear surfaces that can be cleaned, honed/polished and lubed in order to transform this trigger into something much better.  The 2nd stage screw was added for a reason and functions perfectly providing the sears are in good condition.  On this particular rifle there was a small groove on one of the sears that effected the smoothness of the pull.  The trigger had a sticking point as soon as the sears surfaces would hit that groove.

They are an extremely nice rifle and VERY well built!!  I am seeing low single digit extreme spread on this one, impressive.

Steve

[Nitrocrushr]

Abdoulie, great review! I have never owned a 90 series HW, just for the reasons you have posted, good work tho to make it better! sometimes it takes trial and error to fined how something works, good job!

Thanks Mark.  I decided not to buy one for the exact same reason as you, the horror stories on the trigger.  I like to set my triggers up for target with a nice light pull and short, crisp break on the 2nd stage.  The feedback on the HW90 triggers kept me away.  Now that I have worked on one, I would not hesitate to buy one of these rifles.

Steve

[Mark 611]

Very good Steve! Very good information! thank you for your work on this!

[Yogi]

Nice work.  Thanks for posting.  Beautiful gun, needs to shoot as good as it looks.  IMHO, nothing ruins the shooting experience more than a poor trigger.
Did you use Moly paste lube or Krytox?

-Y

[Nitrocrushr]

Nice work.  Thanks for posting.  Beautiful gun, needs to shoot as good as it looks.  IMHO, nothing ruins the shooting experience more than a poor trigger.
Did you use Moly paste lube or Krytox?

-Y

Thanks Yogi.  I used Vortek 70+ Moly on the main seal and STP on the internal orings for the gas ram.  Getting low single digit extreme spreads of 3-5.

Steve

[prosportfan]

Dude, you are the man

[BillinNM]

Hmmmm, here it is almost exactly a year later and I may have this very issue to contend with involving an RX1. I wish I had your skills, Steve.

[Yogi]

Hmmmm, here it is almost exactly a year later and I may have this very issue to contend with involving an RX1. I wish I had your skills, Steve.

I think we all wish we had Steve's skills!  I know that is my wish....

-Y

[SpiralGroove]

As always - Nice work Steve !

[Crowman]

4 years ago my first rifle I bought was a HW90 .25, on my buddies (mentor) advice. I could barely jack that rifle and when I could you just blow on the trigger, it went off. I hated that rifle. Sat on a rack collecting dust for ever.
A year+ ago a guy named Jayjay did a post on the 90 that was so mesmerizing that I bought another 90 .20 cal. and the pump and gauge. Turned down to I think 18 bar. Wow Talk about 2 personalities. That .25 I did nothing to the trigger. Wouldn’t know how. Now one of my favorite triggers. No explanation. The .20 is a solid 90. One of my favorite guns. Crow
Great write up. Love this stuff.

[tjk]

Great write up Steve. I love everything but the weight of the 90 series gas rammers. Luckily I never had this issue with my RX2 or the first generation RX rifle I had. They are such neat and intriguing air rifles. But I whole heartedly agree that the Elite trigger is a fine trigger once adjusted correctly. Glad you got things figured out with your gun. Just wish Weihrauch would use the Theoben design in a smaller package. I know,…wishful thinking🤞