Hi. I have a Winchester 30 30 made in 1980 to 82 . I bought the gun new and last year took the butt stock off it to oil it down ect. It got put back in the closet by my wife and sat there. Last week I put it back together and found the trigger was locked with the hammer back. Ok, pulled it down again and removed the whole assembly and there it sits. I can't get that trigger to release from that cocked position no matter what I do and the safety pin that the lever contacts is right there sticking down and immobile as a rock. I even tapped in on it with a brass rod and its solid though not with rust ect. So what do I have to do to unlock this thing? I am assuming that I will have to remove the string and even that seems locked solid and not easily moves. Is there any secret handshake to unlock this? and if so what is it? I'm very mechanical and still can't figure this one out. It looks like it got possibly pulled too far back possibly but I can't be sure. I can probably post a pic if needed.

The safety has a spring on the topside that applies pressure downward. My first thought is that oil has dried and locked it into place. It is not too complicated of an assembly. Apply some solvent and let it work on the shellac. Check for rust, check for physical binding.

After the solvent has worked for a period of time, tap the safety in an upwards direction. Don't get aggressive with the hammer. If all else fails the lower tang may need to be fully disassembled.

It seems too stuck for that but it's a good place to start and does make sense. There;s not much of a way for anything solid and tiny to get in there and lodge. I'll give it a shot of PB Blaster. I know it's not for guns but it does work well for me in every other rust belt application . I'll let you know how it goes. It ended up getting the CRC 336 instead and there seems like more ugly sludge ran out than I would ever have thought. Time will tell......

I got it. When I cleaned it I had taken the trigger group apart then put it back in with the hammer spring tank upside down. It just doesn't work that way. All's good now and it works fine. Note to self, " nest time you take something apart put it back together before someone puts it away.

That's good news. Glad it was a minor issue in the long run.

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As a side note - I love the digital cameras, now when I get a get a project I have not worked on before I can take a bazillion pics - for free. I still have some 35mm print film from oddballs I've worked on.