Gamo Compact trigger

[Geezer]

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a used early Gamo Compact.

From reading on here and other forums, I knew two things about the trigger:

- People say early ones have a better trigger.

- At least on recent ones, the sear adjustment screw is worthless as it does nothing. It needs replacing with a longer screw, or counter-sinking deeper. The problem with the latter being that you can weaken and even crack the plastic grip frame.

Today I fiddled with mine.

As it came, the sear adjustment screw was about half way in. Taking the grips off and observing the innards at work:

- Sear engagement was 100%.

- The first pressure consisted of taking up the slack between the sear and trigger bar, and reducing the sear engagement to about 50%.With some grittiness.

- Followed by a distinct and fairly crisp second pressure to fire. Small amount of free travel/backlash.

Carefully tightening the sear engagement screw all the way in led to:

- Sear engagement of 50-60%.

- First pressure smooth, only taking up the slack between the sear and the trigger bar.

- The same distinct short fairly crisp second pressure to fire. As before, the same free travel/backlash.

- A number of "whack tests" did not make it fire by accident.

This simple act made the trigger much better. Though the blade is still too low for my finger, which naturally sits on the top half, not in the middle.

So my questions to the BBS are:

- Have others found the same?

- Is there any way of distinguishing the early guns with a functional sear engagement screw from the later ones without? Mine has no serial number that I can see.

- Can I raise the trigger blade about 1/8th of an inch without doing non-reversible surgery to it? (I can't see how, but if there is anywhere that knows how, the BBS will know.)