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Posted: 5/17/2004 5:25:54 AM EDT
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as a shooter and not a tinkerer, I do not know what a sear is, other than its always used in describing a particular firearm's 'specs' no sear, sear block, modified sear, "we don't remove sears" etc. My instincts say it is a trigger group component that restricts, or allows a rifle to be select fire or semi auto, but I would apprecite a short description and explain why is it so important when describing a firearm for sale to list the sear 'status'? |
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the sear is the part of the trigger group that engages the hammer once the trigger has been pulled, keeping the hammer from falling again and firing another round after the action has been cycled. Modifying a trigger group to allow for the sear to disengage the hammer, thus enabling full-auto fire is illegal, and therefore not reccomended. Many G.I.'s during WWII became pretty proficient at modifying the sears on their M1's and M1 carbines to allow them to go "rock and roll". For the AR family of rifles, there is no sear so to speak, the disconnector along with the safety selector are different in the M16 allowing for select fire capability. Most people will not mess with the "sear" on their rifle because it is essentially the onl;y part restricting the firearm from automatic fire while the trigger is pulled, and incorrect modification could be dangerous because the rifle could continue to fire rounds even if the trigger is not pulled, which is VERY dangerous. I hope this helps any, and anyone correct me if anything I have posted is incorrect, I'm just going on memory here..... CT |
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A sear is any part that holds and releases the hammer. All guns have at least one sear. Many guns have multiple sears, they are essential to self-loading guns that fire from a closed bolt. If we take, for example, a select-fire AR-15, this rifle has three sears: -Trigger (AKA primary) sear, drops the hammer to fire the gun when the trigger is pulled. -Secondary sear, in this case called a disconnector. This holds the hammer after a shot has been fired in semi-auto, thus preventing the gun from firing a second shot. It drops the hammer when the trigger sear comes back into position, so the process can be repeated. -Automatic sear. This holds the hammer fully cocked until the bolt locks up, then drops it automatically, so the gun fires as soon as it is safe to do so. Hence, when discussing the word "sear" you cannot know what work is being done unless you are sure which sear is being discussed. In the context of a trigger job, it is the trigger sear that is being smoothed, unless we are talking M14 or Garands, in which case the secondary sear is also trimmed to control how springs load against the trigger. In the world of machineguns, the sear under discussion is often the automatic sear. Guns which have been converted to automatic by addition of a registered conversion sear may have different operation and legal characteristics than factory automatics that have standard auto sears. Needless to say, the distinction is very important. Edited for clarity and to finish answering the question |
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