929 trigger springs

[bkfranklin22]

I just got my 929 and the trigger is about 10lbs but smooth. I purchased a Wilson trigger kit (mainspring and 3 different weight rebound springs(12, 13, and14)). I first installed the Wilson mainspring and 12lb rebound spring. The trigger felt smooth but the reset was sticky and slow. I eventually went up to the 14lb and it helped but it still had a crappy reset. When I went to the range with the Wilson mainspring and 14lb rebound spring I got tons of light primer strikes. Then the trigger went completely dead. I took the gun apart and noticed the mainspring had slipped off the hammer. After further inspection I noticed the Wilson mainspring is much shorter than the factory one which is causing it to slip off. So its back to the factory springs and 10lb trigger.

Has anyone else had this problem? Also whats a good spring combination for the 929 to get it to ignite CCI's reliably?

[MWP]

Order up Miculek's video on cleaning up a revolver, or try to borrow it from a local buddy. He does an excellent job of taking you through the entire gun and showing where to polish. Believe it or not, most of us running light triggers are using the factory springs that came in our guns, just modified in one way or another.

[dansedgli]

I use a miculek main spring with an 11lb rebound spring. I turn the strain screw until it sets off primers then lock tite it down.

Was your strain screw adjusted properly?

[MrBorland]

It's important to balance the main & rebound springs. Messing with springs willy nilly can lead to headache.

If your hammer's still factory-stock, you can use the double and single action pulls to get the balance right, since the double action pull weight is a measure of both the main and rebound spring tensions, whereas the single action pull is dependent on the rebound spring.

For example, my 627 had a factory DA pull of almost 11lbs and a SA pull of almost 4lbs. The ratio of these 2 is 2.8:1, and I'll want to maintain that ratio as I reduce the DA pull. I wanted a 7lb pull on my 627, so I put in a Wolff 13lb rebound spring to get the SA pull to 2.5lbs, then bent the mainspring until the DA pull was to 7lbs. Voilá.

CCI primers are relatively difficult to light off, which is why gamers generally use Federal primers (easy to light off). You're not going to be able to get an überlight trigger pull using CCI primers, especially if your hammer's stock (i.e. not bobbed). I'm guessing, but if your hammer is factory stock, I'd recommend starting at a 81/2lb DA pull and test. To get there (with a good reset), install the rebound spring that gives you a 3 lb SA trigger pull, then adjust the main* until you're at an 81/2lb DA. You may find you need to go to 9lbs, so you may want to start there instead.

BTW, don't use the strain screw as a mainspring adjuster. Tighten it down fully. A little Blue Loctite's not a bad idea, either.

* I agree with MWP about using the factory mainspring. I don't know if others have the same experience, but in mine, aftermarket "reduced power" mainsprings have been a waste of money. I just add a gentle bend to the upper half of the factory mainspring to reduce tension. Bend a little, test, repeat as necessary. I included a tracing of my 627s mainspring to give you an idea of the kind of bend we're talking about.

Tom

Edited July 28, 2015 by GrandBoule

[Forrest Halley]

Some guys are just that nice....???

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense of all the endless hours of fiddling I once did.

I'm personally going to go as light as will set off Walmart shelf on my 929 just in case. This archer is going to be a little less concerned with the arrow this time around and more with the finger strength and control.

[bkfranklin22]

I followed your advice and it worked perfectly!! Thank you so much for helping out. I barely bent the mainspring and got the trigger pull down to 9lbs with the 3lb Wilson rebound spring. I also put in an extended firing pin. Yeah talk about going above and beyond.

[MrBorland]

Glad it worked out for you. Range report soon, eh?

[valerko]

On July 28, 2015 at 7:34 AM, MrBorland said:

It's important to balance the main & rebound springs. Messing with springs willy nilly can lead to headache.

If your hammer's still factory-stock, you can use the double and single action pulls to get the balance right, since the double action pull weight is a measure of both the main and rebound spring tensions, whereas the single action pull is dependent on the rebound spring.

For example, my 627 had a factory DA pull of almost 11lbs and a SA pull of almost 4lbs. The ratio of these 2 is 2.8:1, and I'll want to maintain that ratio as I reduce the DA pull. I wanted a 7lb pull on my 627, so I put in a Wolff 13lb rebound spring to get the SA pull to 2.5lbs, then bent the mainspring until the DA pull was to 7lbs. Voilá.

CCI primers are relatively difficult to light off, which is why gamers generally use Federal primers (easy to light off). You're not going to be able to get an überlight trigger pull using CCI primers, especially if your hammer's stock (i.e. not bobbed). I'm guessing, but if your hammer is factory stock, I'd recommend starting at a 81/2lb DA pull and test. To get there (with a good reset), install the rebound spring that gives you a 3 lb SA trigger pull, then adjust the main* until you're at an 81/2lb DA. You may find you need to go to 9lbs, so you may want to start there instead.

BTW, don't use the strain screw as a mainspring adjuster. Tighten it down fully. A little Blue Loctite's not a bad idea, either.

* I agree with MWP about using the factory mainspring. I don't know if others have the same experience, but in mine, aftermarket "reduced power" mainsprings have been a waste of money. I just add a gentle bend to the upper half of the factory mainspring to reduce tension. Bend a little, test, repeat as necessary. I included a tracing of my 627s mainspring to give you an idea of the kind of bend we're talking about.

Tom

This is probably best advice I've found for trigger job. I accidentally ordered reduced power rebound spring with full power main spring for my 929 and had issues with reset. After playing with main spring, bending it and testing it few times , I got everything working nicely and reduced the trigger pull significantly. 

Need to test fire , but don't thing it'll be issue with federal primers. 

 

Thank you. 

[Toolguy]

Good info from MrBorland. Notice how the spring has a long, gradual curve, not a short bend. Also, it helps the trigger reset a lot of you put a radius on the corners of the bottom of the hammer and the top of the rebound slide where they go past each other to reset. This, combined with some lube can often allow you to use a lighter rebound spring, thus lightening the trigger pull. The more polished these surfaces are, the better.

[PatJones]

The arch in the spring also helps keep the mainspring from knuckling if you shorten the strain screw.

[valerko]

I have to finally buy trigger gauge , but my finger gauge says trigger feels around 7lbs and gun is 100% with federal and Winchester primers and feel pretty smooth. Hits on the spent cases suggests , FP would ignite wolf primers 

[Carmoney]

1 hour ago, valerko said:

I have to finally buy trigger gauge , but my finger gauge says trigger feels around 7lbs and gun is 100% with federal and Winchester primers and feel pretty smooth. Hits on the spent cases suggests , FP would ignite wolf primers 

 

Be aware that you cannot determine anything from the hits on spent cases.  Any hit that fires the round will leave the same indentation in the spent primer.  

 

[Drillbit]

So how does one go about bending the main spring, grasp at both ends, thumbs in the middle? 

[Toolguy]

The easy way is to put the ends of the spring on a support with a 1-1/2" diam. pipe in the middle on top and press on the pipe with an arbor press. You can also use a pair of pliers to make a series of small incremental bends that add up to a large bend.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Toolguy

[Drillbit]

10 minutes ago, Toolguy said:

The easy way is to put the ends of the spring on a support with a 1-1/2 diam. pipe in the middle on top and press on the pipe with an arbor press. You can also use a pair of pliers to make a series of small incremental bends that add up to a large bend.

 

So the pipe sits on top of the spring, then you apply pressure to the pipe bending the spring with the pressure starting from the middle..... Yes?

[Toolguy]

Yes.

[PatJones]

If you put too much arch in the spring it will get in the way of the grip screw unless you are using the Hogue 1 piece grips.

[Drillbit]

On 7/2/2017 at 1:23 PM, Toolguy said:

The easy way is to put the ends of the spring on a support with a 1-1/2 diam. pipe in the middle on top and press on the pipe with an arbor press. You can also use a pair of pliers to make a series of small incremental bends that add up to a large bend.

 

Is that "one and a half inch" pipe?   Sounds really big for the task at hand.

[Toolguy]

Yes, one and a half inch pipe. That size is not written in stone, but it's big enough to make a gradual curve instead of a kink. You want it to end up like item C in Mr. Borland's drawing in post #4. You may need a longer strain screw or just use a setscrew with blue Loctite.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Toolguy

[Drillbit]

On 7/2/2017 at 4:48 PM, PatJones said:

If you put too much arch in the spring it will get in the way of the grip screw unless you are using the Hogue 1 piece grips.

 

Thanks, if I try this I'll keep that in mind.

[Drillbit]

22 minutes ago, Toolguy said:

Yes, one and a half inch pipe. That size is not written in stone, but it's big enough to make a gradual curve instead of a kink. You want it to end up like item C in Mr. Borland's drawing in post #4. You may need a longer strain screw or just use a setscrew with blue Loctite.

Thanks, going to give it a try.

[Drillbit]

Also.... The blue loctite and a set screw works very good despite the "Nay Sayers".  I've have not had one problem with a strain screw set lite and loctited in place.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Drillbit