MrBorland

Is it a PC gun with the ball detent lock up in the front of the yoke / barrel? Alot of times the ball detent sits a bit too deep in the groove and it's difficult to pop out. A bit of grinding / polishing on the contact area will ease the opening. Doesn't take too much. eh...be careful there. I may be off base, but a correctly-fitted ball detent will make the cylinder a little tougher to open. That's a sign it's actually doing something. The factory ball detents on Smiths I've checked out have been quite good, whereas many ball detents I've seen installed by 'smiths are worthless, as they do little to actually lock the cylinder.

As per Glockwerks, the first place to check, IMO, is the latch. When the cylinder's open, the front of the latch should just touch the frame. If it touches the latch prematurely, it can prevent the face of the bolt from going far enough forward to sit flush with the face of the recoil shield. Try removing the latch, then. If the bolt now sits flush, you could use a stone to take off a few thousands off the front of the latch boss or the latch face. Also, as PatJones suggests, also check the end of the ejector rod: When the inner rod is depressed flat against the ejector star (I use a brass case to do this), the other end of the inner rod ought to be flush with (or even slightly proud of) the outer rod. If it sits below the outer rod, you could use a stone to trim back the outer rod a bit.

True dat. In addition to actually weighing them, I was messing around measuring relative inertias of S&W hammers; and while the Apex hammer has, as you'd expect, lower inertia than a stock hammer, a chopped Carmoney hammer is lower. I'd have to check my notes, but if low inertia alone is the criteria, a chopped Carmoney hammer kicks the Apex's butt, IIRC.

Agreed.

One benefit is it typically will improve strike energy a little by reducing hammer mass. Not a lot, but a little. It seems backwards but all "competition" hammers and strikers reduce mass to get faster hammer velocity and increase strike energy. Just to clarify - in and of itself, bobbing the hammer doesn't change strike energy. The mainspring provides the energy - the hammer merely transfers it. Bobbing the hammer increases hammer speed, so it increases strike power. Nope, I said it as I meant it. It does indeed transfer energy from the mainspring, but the hammer's energy is given by: e = 1/2 Mass (velocity) squared That equation is the source of much confusion on the matter. That equation merely indicates how much energy the hammer transfers - it doesn't indicate in any way the hammer's the source of the energy. The spring is the source of the energy, and one can use equations that use the spring constant to come up with the same number (or the potential energy of the compressed spring). If the springs remain the same, heavy and light hammers transfer the same kinetic energy. A lighter hammer just delivers that energy faster, which is to say with more power. Conversely, a stock (i.e. heavy) hammer pushed by a very light mainspring is slow, and loses a lot of power; and since it's power that dents primers, you gotta bob the hammer when you want a light and reliable DA pull.

One benefit is it typically will improve strike energy a little by reducing hammer mass. Not a lot, but a little. It seems backwards but all "competition" hammers and strikers reduce mass to get faster hammer velocity and increase strike energy. Just to clarify - in and of itself, bobbing the hammer doesn't change strike energy. The mainspring provides the energy - the hammer merely transfers it. Bobbing the hammer increases hammer speed, so it increases strike power. Energy itself (nor momentum) doesn't light off primers - power lights off primers, since power is good at denting things, like the primer. Think of a baseball bat or claw hammer in full swing meeting your car's bumper - not a lot of momentum, but lots of power, and dang if it won't put a nice dent in your bumper. Another small benefit to reducing hammer mass is that momentum is reduced. As mentioned, momentum does nothing towards lighting off primers, but momentum will jar the muzzle upon hammer strike. A lighter hammer, then, allows one to tune their gun's action lighter before ignition reliability becomes an issue, but it can also result in a small increase in the gun's inherent accuracy. The effect of a light ("Carmonized") hammer on muzzle jar can be seen in the video below.

It looks to be a nice piece, and I'm all for new aftermarket performance hammers, but it looks quite heavy - unnecessarily so. I've no doubt it'll "last...with rigorous use", but I do have doubts about the "speed hammer" label.

My thoughts on springs are pretty much summarized here: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=219079&p=2438364

I always thought this would be a good modification, but never did it. Good to know it works.

I had the same problem with my 625 and an Apex pin (2 of them, actually). I couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I had a 'smith look at it. He claimed it was the saddle where the skinny portion transitions to the larger barrel portion. Apparently, too thick there, so he lightly stoned it back. Problem solved.

Just so I understand - you're claiming that one can get their gun from a 10-11lb factory trigger to 7lbs without messing with the springs? By "smoothing" only? Regarding the strain screw - do as you wish, but it's a "strain" screw", not an "adjustment" screw - it's best to get the pull you want with the springs, then tighten the strain screw down. And even then, a little blue Loctite is a good idea.

I can't speak to these specifically, but it's been my experience that, despite the marketing, aftermarket mainsprings I've tried haven't been much (or any) lighter than the stock spring, in which case, logic tells me you shouldn't see any reliability issues. FWIW, when tuning the springs, I'll decide what DA pull weight I want, then choose the appropriate rebound spring, and gently bend the main to get to the DA target weight. Ideally, the rebound and mainsprings should be correctly balanced.

Same here. The grip angles of a revolver and a Glock seem pretty similar to me. The Glock trigger, however, doesn't agree with me, so I roll with an M&P when I want a little revo R&R.

I'm late to the party, but I went down this PTG hole, thinking what kickin' deal it was. They said 8-12 weeks, and charged my credit card in full when I ordered (including shipping). When 30 weeks came and they continued to hum and haw (when I could actually get someone on the phone), I cancelled the order. I also insisted they not charge me the cancellation fee, to which they balked, but said ok. All this was on a Monday. Friday, with no refund on my on-line statement, I simply called the credit card company to dispute the charge. Miraculously, they called me first thing Monday morning to tell me my credit card was fully credited. Thanks, Visa!! In the end, I went with a Borden R700 action because I already had the barrel and stock. It's a fine rifle indeed, but all things considered, if I had to to it again, I'd give serious consideration to building on a Tikka action. Birddog got lucky because they finally had them in stock. He might've gotten mine, or someone else's who cancelled.

I've used a Comp-Tac kydex holster and was happy with it. Unfortunately, I don't see them offered on their website any longer. Another choice would be BladeTech or Ready-Tac - I used Ready-Tac speedloader holders, and can recommend them, and know their kydex holster is pretty good, too. BladeTech's holders are pretty good, though they index the speedloader in the holder - some like that, some don't. Avoid Safariland speedloader holders, as they don't cover the body of the speedloader, and therefore aren't IDPA-legal. As far as speedloaders themselves, nearly everyone uses CompIIIs or Jetloaders. My personal preference is for the Jets. And most who get serious eventually "Bubberize" their speedloaers by cutting the skirt down a bit (see below). And having the chamber mouths chamfered (only a very light chamfer on the ejector star, if any, though) is a nicety that'll help your reloads, too. You'll need 3 CompIIIs/JLs and 3 holders, though having a spare of each isn't a bad idea. I also have a Safariland CompII and keep it in my strongside vest pocket to "Load and Make Ready). http://cpwsa.com/products/ready-tactical-s-w-revolver-holster http://cpwsa.com/products/ready-tactical-s-w-speedloader-pouch-and-moonclip-holder Bubberized JetLoaders: