Trigger pull & reliability

[RevoWood123]

I know what a lot of guys have done in order to get lighter trigger pulls out of their revolvers, but this tends to lead to having reliability issues (doesn't go bang) without using Federal primers and seating them to a very specific depth. My question is, how far can you take it, but it still work with most available primers (CCI, Federal primarily)? The action on my SSR is smooth, but not exactly light (probably 8-9lbs). It also has no issues with Fed, CCI, or magnum primers. I want to know how much lighter I can make it but still be able to get reilable ignition using the same primers.

In case anybody asks, I am not loading magnums in this gun, I am going to use this gun for competition only. The reason I use the magnum primers is when GM100s or Federal 100s or CCI SPP were unavilable for a while I bought a lot of GM200s (small pistol mag match) and I want to get through them. I also have a lot of CCI small pistol mag available near me at very low prices. I have reduced powder charges to get PF for my loads.

Currently it has all factory parts (hammer, sear, springs), with an Apex hammer/sear that needs to be installed on it when I can get to it. I just need to get an idea of where to aim with the trigger pull to maintain reliable ignition with those primers.

[peterthefish]

I'd say see how light you can go on the rebound and still get an good positive reset and that's you're answer. Doing a little polishing as outlined in Kuhnhausen will help on the reset and you won't get down to the lowest potential rebound without it.

If you want to run CCIs reliably I wouldn't run a lighter mainspring. I'm guessing you'll end up around 7 lbs.

[pskys2]

Seems like a lot of Federal SP Match Primers are available, bit more expensive but there.

It depends on the gun to some extent but.. you need to set the weight of the hammer drop and then work on the rebound spring until it feels right. If the gun is working on all primers now, I'd measure the hammer fall and record that, it will give you a reference to go back to if you start having trouble.

I use a trigger pull gauge with the arm under the nose of the hammer, cock the hammer and ease it down about half way, then record the weight that it takes to keep the hammer from moving. Leave the rebound spring at stock and adjust the curve of the mainspring with the strain screw bottomed and set the weight of the hammer fall to about 6 ounces over what you think you will need. Then back the strain screw out to what you would like and fire at least 100 rounds. Adjust as necessary to get 100 rounds without a misfire. Then measure the hammer fall, set the strain screw with blue loc-tite and shoot for several hundred rounds, hopefully at least 1 or 2 club matches (guarantee if you are going to get a light strike it will be at a match). If it's still good get a spare strain screw and trim it down to a length that when seated fully will give you that hammer fall weight. Then work on lightening your rebound springs to the optimum action feel.

Side note my 625 has an Apex and my 627 has the factory hammer.

Hammer drop for my 625 is 46 ounces, any less with Federals and I get a few light strikes, then I take the total action weight to 5 1/2- 6 lbs.

On my 627 it is 38 ounces and a total weight of 5 1/4 - 5 1/2 lbs. I don't obsess with primers just check to make sure they are below flush to my fingers.

Haven't had a mis -fire for quite some time. At least 3 years of Nationals, Area & local matches probably 6,000 rounds or more.

If you want to fire all primer brands, remember magnums are usually a bit tougher and some brands are also harder, seems I remember it took 64 ounces with WSP or RSP standard primers in the 625. Total action weight would be in the 7 1/2 - 8 lbs area, that goes up if you like a robust return and down if you like a lighter return.

I like the Wolf rebound springs and I use an 11 lb with a few coils cut off. I'd recommend getting the kit with 12-15 lb springs. Gives you lots of options and you can cut a few coils off to lighten each further. An 11 lb would probably be too light for a 7 lb action though.

Just remember don't cycle the action with the side plate off, it's hard on the studs. I also like to keep a longer strain screw that will still work with the rebound spring, though it might not feel as good as I like, in my bag, if I start getting light stirkes in a match I can switch to the longer screw and be good until I can work out what's going on. Never had to do it, but it's just a bit of insurance.

Edited October 17, 2015 by pskys2

[PatJones]

First. Competition revolvers should be fed federal primers. Buy them in bulk when they are available. As to cost... Let's assume that you can save $10 a 1000, at a typical weekend match you shoot ~150 rounds so that would cost you another $1.50. Skip lunch.

That said, for customers that want a trigger job for carry, a properly done trigger set to 9-9.5 lbs should ignite everything on the market if the primer is fully seated.

[GOF]

I have two Ruger GP-100s... a four and a six inch. Both have Wilson Combat Spring Kits and internal polishing. Both have virtually identical DA pulls of 8-pounds and will light of Fed, Win, Rem and CCI primers.

I have seen guys go to under 7-pound pulls and they are maintenance intensive, with Feds being the only reliably primer. I'm not certain the extra one-pound off the pull wait is worth the maintenance hassle..... and the resulting match problems if you don't do it properly.

The key to a DA revolver is in the rhythm on the trigger. It's not that much different ... for the shooter.... between 7 & 8 pounds.

[CoThG]

My revos are tuned to 5.5 - 6 lbs. 100% on Federals, 75% or so with Winchester and no go with CCI.

[RevoWood123]

I have no problem finding the Federals now, it was back when they couldn't be found that I bought the magnums (GM200s) and bought a lot when I did. I am working my way through them and when they're gone, I won't buy them again. But consistently finding them has/is the issue (GM100s). I plan to buy a lot of them in bulk and hopefully not have to worry about it . But Murphy's law dictates that when I start to get below where I want to be, I won't be able to find them again for X period of time. Hence the reason that I want to keep it able to ignite other primers reliably.

The cost standpoint, its not a big deal to pay for the GM100s over anything else, it was finding them that caused me to purchase the others. The low price on the CCI SP magnums was only a bonus because the shop is trying to move them out.

Perhaps I'll wait and shoot through what I have left before tuning the gun more, or just use them in another gun.

[bountyhunter]

I know what a lot of guys have done in order to get lighter trigger pulls out of their revolvers, but this tends to lead to having reliability issues (doesn't go bang) without using Federal primers and seating them to a very specific depth. My question is, how far can you take it, but it still work with most available primers (CCI, Federal primarily)? The action on my SSR is smooth, but not exactly light (probably 8-9lbs). It also has no issues with Fed, CCI, or magnum primers. I want to know how much lighter I can make it but still be able to get reilable ignition using the same primers.

Not much, that's about it. The Wolff reduces power ribbed mainspring (with a new strain screw) is about where you can go and still light just about anything. Those will drop you into the 8 - 9# ballpark.

[CoThG]

I have no problem finding the Federals now, it was back when they couldn't be found that I bought the magnums (GM200s) and bought a lot when I did. I am working my way through them and when they're gone, I won't buy them again. But consistently finding them has/is the issue (GM100s). I plan to buy a lot of them in bulk and hopefully not have to worry about it . But Murphy's law dictates that when I start to get below where I want to be, I won't be able to find them again for X period of time. Hence the reason that I want to keep it able to ignite other primers reliably.

The cost standpoint, its not a big deal to pay for the GM100s over anything else, it was finding them that caused me to purchase the others. The low price on the CCI SP magnums was only a bonus because the shop is trying to move them out.

Perhaps I'll wait and shoot through what I have left before tuning the gun more, or just use them in another gun.

I keep a minimum floor of 100,000 Federal primers on hand at all times. My LGS is able to get them frequently and at a good price. It works out about a wash vs. buying them from PV when they had them in stock.

Edited October 17, 2015 by CoThG

[RevoWood123]

I keep a minimum floor of 100,000 Federal primers on hand at all times. My LGS is able to get them frequently and at a good price. It works out about a wash vs. buying them from PV when they had them in stock.

The plan is to continue to buy them and stay above my floor (about 20,000) and start to raise my floor from there. I wanted to go ahead and do the work while I work through the last GM200s that I have, but it seems better to wait and shoot through those and finish the work after and just stick with the GM100s after that.

[CoThG]

I keep a minimum floor of 100,000 Federal primers on hand at all times. My LGS is able to get them frequently and at a good price. It works out about a wash vs. buying them from PV when they had them in stock.

The plan is to continue to buy them and stay above my floor (about 20,000) and start to raise my floor from there. I wanted to go ahead and do the work while I work through the last GM200s that I have, but it seems better to wait and shoot through those and finish the work after and just stick with the GM100s after that.

I've been buying the GM100s lately.

[Gregg K]

I keep a minimum floor of 100,000 Federal primers on hand at all times. My LGS is able to get them frequently and at a good price. It works out about a wash vs. buying them from PV when they had them in stock.

Since the rule changes in IDPA and USPSA I have been burning through my stock of Federal 100's and have been sitting on a pile of the large 150's. I started selling off some of the 150's since I had 100K and wasn't using any. I couldn't find any 100's in stock so I did some testing with the 200's and found out that the magnums made my loads average 2 fps faster so no need to change the load and they still fire in all my guns so far with no clicks. There is less primer cup deformation but I have had no problems with ignition using 5 1/2 pound triggers. I haven't found a downside yet and they were readily available. I will have to like them for the next 30K rounds anyway since that's what I picked up but they are working fine.

[CoThG]

I keep a minimum floor of 100,000 Federal primers on hand at all times. My LGS is able to get them frequently and at a good price. It works out about a wash vs. buying them from PV when they had them in stock.

Since the rule changes in IDPA and USPSA I have been burning through my stock of Federal 100's and have been sitting on a pile of the large 150's. I started selling off some of the 150's since I had 100K and wasn't using any. I couldn't find any 100's in stock so I did some testing with the 200's and found out that the magnums made my loads average 2 fps faster so no need to change the load and they still fire in all my guns so far with no clicks. There is less primer cup deformation but I have had no problems with ignition using 5 1/2 pound triggers. I haven't found a downside yet and they were readily available. I will have to like them for the next 30K rounds anyway since that's what I picked up but they are working fine.

I've used magnum primers and like you, haven't noticed any significant difference. Now that I've retired my 625, I've got a boatload of Federal LPP that I was holding for it's use but I now can allocate to my 44 revo and my 1911s.

[Alaskan454]

I've been playing with my 625 all year since I didn't have Federal primers for the start and switched to them half way through. I'm running a bobbed factory hammer and smoothed action with an apex firing pin for reference. I can reliably set off federals at 6lbs using a 12 lb return spring, but my poorly trained trigger finger likes to short stroke it that light during matches. I ended up running a 14 lb return spring which gives a 6.75 lbs action for the last two months. I have a good deal of CCI primed loads I use for practice so I drilled a hole in the grips to change it on the fly. I've found about 0.75-1.0 lbs extra is needed when switching to CCI. Also, when testing for reliability I found the lightest pull wasn't always my preferred feel, keep that in mind.

[CoThG]

I've been playing with my 625 all year since I didn't have Federal primers for the start and switched to them half way through. I'm running a bobbed factory hammer and smoothed action with an apex firing pin for reference. I can reliably set off federals at 6lbs using a 12 lb return spring, but my poorly trained trigger finger likes to short stroke it that light during matches. I ended up running a 14 lb return spring which gives a 6.75 lbs action for the last two months. I have a good deal of CCI primed loads I use for practice so I drilled a hole in the grips to change it on the fly. I've found about 0.75-1.0 lbs extra is needed when switching to CCI. Also, when testing for reliability I found the lightest pull wasn't always my preferred feel, keep that in mind.

The key is finding the right balance between pull weight, trigger return and ignition reliability depending on what primer you are using.

[pskys2]

Why I say set the hammer fall first. FWIW I had a sweet, reliable 4 1/4 lb action job from Apex and I kept short stroking the trigger. I had an action job from Clark on a M29 above 7 lbs and I saw a difference in the sight picture during the stroke. Finally started doing them myself and 5 1/2 lbs to 6 lbs seems that sweet spot for me. I don't short stroke and can still turn and burn.

I always thought the lighter pull didn't give my trigger finger/nervous system/mind enough resistance. So my system wanted my reflexes to stroke the trigger as a single action 1911. And the stroke this produced wasn't long enough=short stroking the trigger.

Edited October 18, 2015 by pskys2

[CoThG]

6 lbs is the sweet spot on my revo triggers.

[Toolguy]

Mine are all around 6 to 6-1/2.

[Alaskan454]

Why I say set the hammer fall first. FWIW I had a sweet, reliable 4 1/4 lb action job from Apex and I kept short stroking the trigger. I had an action job from Clark on a M29 above 7 lbs and I saw a difference in the sight picture during the stroke. Finally started doing them myself and 5 1/2 lbs to 6 lbs seems that sweet spot for me. I don't short stroke and can still turn and burn.

I always thought the lighter pull didn't give my trigger finger/nervous system/mind enough resistance. So my system wanted my reflexes to stroke the trigger as a single action 1911. And the stroke this produced wasn't long enough=short stroking the trigger.

I've had a similar experience, I tried running all of my guns as light as possible and ended up either increasing the hammer or trigger springs due to personal preference. I don't like my S&W under 6 and prefer right around 6.5. Ruger GP or SRH action I like around 7, and my Redhawk around 8. Most of the time it's the return spring, if it feels too light I short stroke them. There is also a sweet spot like you mentioned with regards to sight movement and grip tension.

[Alaskan454]

Last night I took the side plate off and the 625 is back to 6.0lbs. Granted there was a bit of modification to get it there without sacrificing the return feel. I tested 120 rounds this morning and didn't have issues with short stroking.

[R1valdez]

Anybody running Winchester spp? If so what lb. did you set your trigger pull?

[9146gt]

Win primers is all I run in my 929,100 % function after at least 2 K 6 # trigger.

Tom

[R1valdez]

Win primers is all I run in my 929,100 % function after at least 2 K 6 # trigger.

Tom

Thanks. I had my 929 at 5.5lb and had 2 light strikes during a match.

[woodrow]

Dang man you guys get light. I guess there's more polishing i have to do cause i can only do 7.5# and reliably light federals.

I did just get an apex hammer. When i go to install it I'll clean up some more parts and see if I can get down to 6#. If like to be at 6....

But at 7.5# the federals are good. No can light winchester

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[woodrow]

So i went through and polished some more stuff. Apex hammer and a 12 rebound spring can fire federals with a pull of 7#.

I'm using a bang products mainspring and rebound spring. I dont know what else to do to get lighter and more reliable. I need to get me some voodoo in my actions like you guys.

If anyone wants to pm with some tips and tricks please do.

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