Fixing trigger slap on an SAR series rifle.

Trigger slap or snap happens when the bolt carrier comes back under recoil and as it is cocking the hammer the hammer hits the disconnector. The disconnector rotates and that extra material(see pics below) in the US part hits the trigger making it smack your finger.   I don't think this is entirely due to the "wing" that comes of the back of the disconnector, but bad trigger geometry used in these parts.   If you have put a hundred rounds through your SAR, you can look at the trigger and see where the disconnector hits.  In any case, the problem is fairly simple to correct.  I will say that it may not solve the problem in all cases.  I have shot many AK-47's over the years.   Pre-ban as well as post ban and trigger slap is in no way unique to Romanian SAR rifles.

 

  1. Make sure the rifle is unloaded...DUH!!!  and field strip the weapon.

  2. Pull the trigger and let the hammer go forward.

  3. You must remove the shepards hook so you can remove the trigger axis pin slap1.jpg (81865 bytes) click the thumbnails to see the pics full size

  4. Push the shepards hook forward in the direction of the arrows in the picture use a pair of needle nose pliers. slap2.jpg (61080 bytes)  Move it forward enough so you can grab the hook end and pull it all the way out slap3.jpg (53606 bytes) 

  5. Once the hook is out, you can now use a punch to punch out the trigger axis pin. slap4.jpg (73802 bytes)  The other pin on the semi auto is the hammer pin.  There is no need to remove this one to work on the disconnector.  Once the pin is out, the trigger, disconnector and disconnector spring will drop out.  Be careful, don't loose the disconnector spring.  It is not under enough tension to "jump" out,  just be careful so it does'nt fall out on the floor and get lost.  Also, take note of how all these parts come out, because you need to put them back in the same way they came out.

  6. In this picture of the trigger(top view) you can see where the disconnector is hitting the back of the trigger.  slap5.jpg (31607 bytes)  This is what causes the trigger to jump forward and hit your finger, causing the painful "slap"

  7. You can use a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel or a grinding wheel to remove the material at the back end of the diconnector.  That little tab is not necessary on a semi-auto rifle.  On a full auto, there is a little hook like extension that comes off that tab.  You can remove that tab completely, which is what I have ended up doing.  Make the cut where you see the vertical red line slap6.jpg (55740 bytes)  or you can shave some off the underside of the tab, grind along the horizontal red line.  Or you may do a combination of both.  The disconnector on the left is one I initially worked on.   You can see a small amount of material removed just under the red line.  This may work for you depending on how bad the slap is.  I have cut off the tab on 4 rifles and have had no problems what-so-ever after doing so.  This is another picture of the underside of the disconnectors slap7.jpg (48749 bytes)  You can see on the one on the right where I have removed material from the underside of the disconnector as well as cutting off the tab completely.  DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE REMOVE MATERIAL FROM THE FRONT PART OF THE DISCONNECTOR.   BY THIS I MEAN THE HOOK PART THAT CATCHES THE HAMMER.  THIS CAN CAUSE SLAM FIRES.  Cutting off the tab may work best because there is no danger of making the hole the spring sits in to shallow.   If you remove material from the underside of the disconnector, go slow and don't remove to much material.  If you do, the spring may not stay in the hole.  I have removed quite a bit of metal from the underside with no ill effects.  I'm guessing that at some point, the spring would not stay in but I never had that problem. Just something you should be aware of.

  8. Thats pretty much it.  Here is a picture of an original romanian trigger group Romanian trigger.jpg (18325 bytes)   This is how I figured out how I could cut off the tab on the Century US part and not hurt anything.  A close up of the disconnectors disconnectors.jpg (15758 bytes)  Just put everything back together and go shoot.  It should cure the slap problem.  The hardest part of this will be getting the shepards hook back in the rifle, especially if you have never done it before.  What I do is get the hook in place with it laying on it's side.   You can get it under the groove in both pins this way.  Once you do that, turn the hook upward so it is in place and you can push it rearward so that it snaps over the hammer pin.  Needle nose pliers are a must when installing this hook.  There is no better way for me to expalin how to get it back in.  You will just have to be patient and fiddle around with it.  That's what I did.

I am not a gunsmith, nor do I claim to be one.  Heck, I did'nt even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.  I put this help page together as a refrence for do it yourselfers to fix a common problem on a common rifle.   I claim no responsibility if you screw up your rifle or rifle parts.


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