We are now taking pre-orders for RevUp Action(TM) hammers

[Toolguy]

If you want to get crazy, you can cut 2 coils off the 11 lb. spring. That makes it around 10 lb. Rebound springs are cheap enough you can afford to experiment a little. On a cut spring, always put the cut end in first. I have a feeling you're not done being gobsmacked just yet.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Toolguy

[gargoil66]

41 minutes ago, Toolguy said:

If you want to get crazy, you can cut 2 coils off the 11 lb. spring. That makes it around 10 lb. Rebound springs are cheap enough you can afford to experiment a little. On a cut spring, always put the cut end in first. I have a feeling you're not done being gobsmacked just yet.

Gob is getting a real beating from this one but will give it a try for sure.

 

First let me get the face guard I just ordered.

 

Still can't believe how well this worked out of the box.  Have not had anything 'drop in' that actually did -- followed by working exactly as the manufacturer claimed.  

 

Crazy is right.

 

GG

[pskys2]

18 hours ago, Toolguy said:

If you want to get crazy, you can cut 2 coils off the 11 lb. spring. That makes it around 10 lb. Rebound springs are cheap enough you can afford to experiment a little. On a cut spring, always put the cut end in first. I have a feeling you're not done being gobsmacked just yet.

I take a dial caliper and use the extended end to measure the coils.  I've found anything under 1.000" tends to get a funky return.

I have one I can use a 1.015" cut spring and another with a 1.035" spring, both 11 lb wolf rebound springs.  The full length is usually 1.165".

[Ethalider]

Had the hammer for about a week now. I have it in my 929 and weight set to ignite CCI primers (that's all I use for shooting matches). I have had the Apex hammer in the gun before at a trigger pull around 8lbs. The RevUp was able to drop it by half a pound and still ignite CCI primers so that's an automatic win for me already. 

 

I will be using the gun this weekend at SW Regional Icore and see how it does in a match and I'm quite excited from the few times I tested it on the range.

 

I like how it pre loads the weight on the front end of the pull so I can slap the trigger pretty easily without disturbing my sights as much.

 

Lastly... I did have an issue with cylinder skip when I installed the hammer, mostly from splitting quite quickly. Couldn't tell if it was from switching the hammer or something else. 

[Toolguy]

Let us know how it all goes. The cylinder skip is probably due to needing a stronger spring on the cylinder stop when running fast. Wolff springs has those. I don't think it would be from the hammer, but I haven't had that come up before. Thanks for the report!

[AzShooter]

Nothing but good news from all the shooters with their new hammer kits.  Can't wait for the L frames to arrive and I can start playing with mine on my 617.  I'm sure it will help cut my times for Steel Challenge.  

[eggman]

I installed my RU hammer on a 625 PC and am still getting used to the trigger weight being upfront of the trigger pull ( I think I'm prone to stage the trigger ) . One thing i've noticed that I haven't heard anyone mention is I'm much more accurate shooting weak hand only or strong hand only with the RU hammer setup than my original setup .

[Toolguy]

Thanks for your observations, eggman. Hadn't thought about the one handed shoooting, but it makes sense with the trigger being single action weight at the end of the pull.

 

Now that we have double action sears, we're working on finalizing the drawings and programs for the K&L hammers.

[thock]

Everyone,

 

We're in full-motion get-ready-for-Bianchi-Cup mode, right now, but we hope to have K- and L-frame hammers ready to ship by mid- to late June.

[practical_man]

Thanks for the update Tracy. Hope all goes well for both of you. 

[shoots100]

Shot a 6 stage steel challenge match with it last weekend and it performed great.

Had some guys there that shoot revolver's and they thought it was my usual amazing work, not a drop in.

This is with a freshly installed unit, I'm sure it'll get better with use.

 

SJC

[Toolguy]

Thanks for the report, shoots100! Thanks for spreading the word. We're glad it's working out for you. Let us know how you like it over time, and if you have any comments or suggestions.

[Carmoney]

On 4/16/2022 at 8:48 AM, Toolguy said:

Thanks for the review, Mike. We're be looking forward to seeing how this all ends up.

 

OK guys, I'm back with another report.  Yesterday morning I finally got around to doing the rest of the action work on my box-stock 627 with the Rev-Up kit installed, and tuned the mainspring tension to the point where I expected it to feel nice, but still give me 100% ignition.  So far so good, right?  

No, not good.  I was getting too many clickers.  (Q: How many clickers is too many?  A: More than zero.)  The crazy part was that even when I increased the mainspring tension several times--to the point that the DA was starting to get way heavier than I like, I was still getting the occasional misfire!  This despite centered primer indents, minimal endshake, good moonclips, etc., etc., etc.  I finally set the gun down in frustration and went down to the lake.  

 

Today as I was driving back north I was thinking about what could possibly be causing the problem.  Then I remembered the bad luck I have had with every type of aftermarket S&W firing pin ever made.  So this evening I pulled the sideplate and popped out the FP that came in the Rev-Up kit.  Lo and behold, there was a telltale ring worn into the bluing where it obviously had insufficient clearance in its channel.  So I put in a factory Ti FP from the old stash I set aside years ago, adjusted the spring tension back to where I thought it felt decent, and ran five mooncilps through it.  Frickin' thing ran 100%.  So then I tweaked the mainspring a little until the action felt even better.  (As you all know I don't do the whole loose-screw=and loctite nonsense.)  Five more mooncilps out back--still 100% ignition.  Then five more moons--100% again.  

 

So here's my little Pro Tip.  If you're having trouble getting your DA pull weight to a nice level with the Rev-Up package, consider the possibility that your entire problem is being caused by the goddam aftermarket firing pin.  

 

With all due respect to my industry friends who make and sell the aftermarket pins....in my experience they are all inferior to the older-generation dome-nose factory Ti pins.  (Ideally one that measures .495" if you can locate one.)  

 

I'll be back with a field report after my shipment from Brownells gets here.  I had to order a Hogue cylinder release and a fiber-optic front sight to make it like my other match revolvers. 

 

I'm very happy with the Rev-Up kit so far, the minor FP glitch notwithstanding.  I think a lot of people are going to have great results from using it.  

 

[pskys2]

21 hours ago, Carmoney said:

 

OK guys, I'm back with another report.  Yesterday morning I finally got around to doing the rest of the action work on my box-stock 627 with the Rev-Up kit installed, and tuned the mainspring tension to the point where I expected it to feel nice, but still give me 100% ignition.  So far so good, right?  

No, not good.  I was getting too many clickers.  (Q: How many clickers is too many?  A: More than zero.)  The crazy part was that even when I increased the mainspring tension several times--to the point that the DA was starting to get way heavier than I like, I was still getting the occasional misfire!  This despite centered primer indents, minimal endshake, good moonclips, etc., etc., etc.  I finally set the gun down in frustration and went down to the lake.  

 

Today as I was driving back north I was thinking about what could possibly be causing the problem.  Then I remembered the bad luck I have had with every type of aftermarket S&W firing pin ever made.  So this evening I pulled the sideplate and popped out the FP that came in the Rev-Up kit.  Lo and behold, there was a telltale ring worn into the bluing where it obviously had insufficient clearance in its channel.  So I put in a factory Ti FP from the old stash I set aside years ago, adjusted the spring tension back to where I thought it felt decent, and ran five mooncilps through it.  Frickin' thing ran 100%.  So then I tweaked the mainspring a little until the action felt even better.  (As you all know I don't do the whole loose-screw=and loctite nonsense.)  Five more mooncilps out back--still 100% ignition.  Then five more moons--100% again.  

 

So here's my little Pro Tip.  If you're having trouble getting your DA pull weight to a nice level with the Rev-Up package, consider the possibility that your entire problem is being caused by the goddam aftermarket firing pin.  

 

With all due respect to my industry friends who make and sell the aftermarket pins....in my experience they are all inferior to the older-generation dome-nose factory Ti pins.  (Ideally one that measures .495" if you can locate one.)  

 

I'll be back with a field report after my shipment from Brownells gets here.  I had to order a Hogue cylinder release and a fiber-optic front sight to make it like my other match revolvers. 

 

I'm very happy with the Rev-Up kit so far, the minor FP glitch notwithstanding.  I think a lot of people are going to have great results from using it.  

 

Apex makes a competiton firing pin spring that seems the lightest of all I've tried.  And it did make a difference.

Are you going to use this new fangled doo dad at the ICORE Regional?

 

[matteekay]

People far more well-versed than me have spoken, but I promised an update... so here we go.

 

I installed the RevUp kit in my hooptie/beater 627. This gun has never been set up by a gunsmith and has only been tuned by me. Despite my best efforts, it's been problematic, and has never run at less than a 8.5lb pull. I worked the strain screw up on the RevUp until I had 100% ignition. This wound up being pretty close to the same weight as my previous configuration but initially felt better because of the shorter nature of the pull. I then ran this gun in three USPSA matches: two locals and the Colorado state championship.

 

First local was a short indoor match. The gun ran without any problems. 

 

The second local was one of the most horrendous outdoor matches I've every shot, with winds getting into the 40-50 mph range sustained and gusts even faster. All of our gear (and us) were getting sandblasted but the gun ran without issue. I noticed that my hits on paper seemed to be closer together than they were with a traditional ignition setup and I shot steel decently well. 

 

Bighorn, the CO state championship, decided to take the crown as easily the most horrendous outdoor match I've ever shot. I did all eleven stages in one day and, during that day, we got to experience a 40-degree temperature drop, 65 mph winds (with dust), thunder, rain, sleet, and hail (and getting royally RO-****ed, but that's a different story). These were literally the most exacerbating circumstances I could have asked for and the gun ran without a hiccup despite not having a frame lock or a plug in its place. However, as the day wore on, I found that I was having a serious problem with poppers and even missed some paper than I shouldn't have. Bighorn pushed my shooting more than the locals insofar as I was shooting at tougher arrays, further targets, more movers, etc. (I did win, but there was only three of us so it doesn't count).

 

I did a lot of thinking and experimenting afterwards. My biggest issue is that I've always partially staged the trigger and then pulled through when shooting hard shots. I fully acknowledge this isn't the best way to shoot but it is what it is for me. That method is literally impossible with the RevUp; once you clear the initial wall, the trigger goes full-send to the break. This would be ideal if I could get this particular gun to run with a lighter trigger pull, but at 8.5 lbs, there's too much front sight wander when getting the hammer in motion. I think that's my final verdict on the system: it's better than a traditional ignition setup, but only if your gun will run at a low-ish pull weight. I'd rather have a "standard" trigger at 8+ lbs. 

 

I returned the gun to its original configuration for now. I want to experiment with it more further down the line but I'm quitting USPSA Revo for a while and would rather have the 627's trigger pull feel closer to the Rhinos' I run in IDPA and ICORE.

 

I feel like I need to underscore that these kits do exactly what Protocall advertises and it's an issue with my gun that's preventing me from dropping the pull weight to where it needs to be. I'd recommend these to anyone with even a slight inclination toward tinkering (which is all revolver shooters as far as I can tell, lol).

[Carmoney]

On 5/23/2022 at 8:45 PM, pskys2 said:

Apex makes a competiton firing pin spring that seems the lightest of all I've tried.  And it did make a difference.

Are you going to use this new fangled doo dad at the ICORE Regional?

 

 

I left in whatever FP spring was included in the kit.  I think it's a Ron Power.  Sems to work fine.  

 

Sam is flying in, and planning to shoot one of my guns, so pretty good chance one of us will be running the new RevUp 627.  My little box arrived today from Brownells, so the gun is all set up now.  Just need to loctite all the screws and get it sighted in.  

[pskys2]

23 hours ago, Carmoney said:

 

I left in whatever FP spring was included in the kit.  I think it's a Ron Power.  Sems to work fine.  

 

Sam is flying in, and planning to shoot one of my guns, so pretty good chance one of us will be running the new RevUp 627.  My little box arrived today from Brownells, so the gun is all set up now.  Just need to loctite all the screws and get it sighted in.  

Running a cut 11 lb wolf rebound spring, mainspring adjusted to a 32 oz hammer fall, TK competition hammer, Apex FP spring and a (hold on I know you don't like it) C&S Extended FP for an actual action weight of 4 lbs 8 oz.

I've been shooting it since February, including the Nationals, and haven't had a short stroke or a light strike yet.  Probably around a flat of fed primers, god that hurts!, and even a few hundred of the newer CCI primers.

Up next the A3 Steel Challenge, 138 PF might be a bit much but the load is the most accurate I've found, and the MW Regional.   Then there's the Free State with 16 Revolvers, and I'm working on a few more who are almost ready to flip.

2022 is shaping up to be a fun year.

 

Maybe we can get together somewhere for Dinner?

Edited May 26, 2022 by pskys2

[Carmoney]

Sounds good, Dave.  

[Toolguy]

Hello everyone. We're still at the Bianchi Cup and haven't had much time to check this thread, but we've got some down time right now, so I was able to get on and read the latest posts.

 

Thanks to everyone who has been letting us know what's going on with their hammer kits, and who have given us your honest opinions. We're evaluating all of this information to see if there is anything we can do to improve the hammer kits.

 

We'll be getting back to work on the K- and L-frame hammer final developmental details as soon as we get back to the shop, and hope to have the first of those hammers ready to ship by the end of June.

 

Keep letting us know of any new developments! Your feedback is important to us.

[pskys2]

On 5/27/2022 at 1:01 PM, Toolguy said:

Hello everyone. We're still at the Bianchi Cup and haven't had much time to check this thread, but we've got some down time right now, so I was able to get on and read the latest posts.

 

Thanks to everyone who has been letting us know what's going on with their hammer kits, and who have given us your honest opinions. We're evaluating all of this information to see if there is anything we can do to improve the hammer kits.

 

We'll be getting back to work on the K- and L-frame hammer final developmental details as soon as we get back to the shop, and hope to have the first of those hammers ready to ship by the end of June.

 

Keep letting us know of any new developments! Your feedback is important to us.

Hope the match is going good for you, the "Cup" can be a real pressure cooker!  Let us know how it goes.

[Carmoney]

Over the past couple days I have been test shooting my new 627 with the RevUp kit installed, and comparing it to my older 627 that is set up identically but with a Carmonized factory hammer.  Both guns are sighted in at 15 yards, and all my test shooting has been free-handed (no rest) at that distance.  

The actions on both guns feel really good--but they are different!  Right now I am not shooting the new RevUp gun as well as my old one.  Could the new 627 not have the same intrinsic accuracy as the older gun?  Possibly, but not terribly likely.  I noticed that if I want the new RevUp gun to shoot tighter groups, I have to concentrate on really bearing down hard with my support hand.  (And keep in mind that I use a pretty strong grip already.)  The best way I can describe it--the ignition point is later in the action cycle than I expect it to be.  So maybe I'm starting my "post-ignition push" a little too soon, and throwing the shots off?  I'm not really sure, but I have the feeling that it's somehow related to my follow-through process. 

 

I think this is probably a matter of simple acclimation.  I've been shooting my own revolver actions for 35 years, and now I'm trying something that feels distinctly different.  I think it's going to take some adjustment time to overcome all that hard-wiring.  

 

 

[Toolguy]

Hi Dave-

 

The B Cup isn't that much of a pressure cooker for me, as I know going in I'm not going to win it. I just want to shoot a respectable score, based on known ability. There is a possible 1920 points. I have shot over 1900 many times, up to 1912 a few times. This time was an 1873.

 

By the time we've been scrambling for over a month to get all the Bianchi products made, and other customers taken care of, plus last minute emergency projects for some of them, we are pretty well toast when we get to the match. This year I didn't have time to load much more than match ammo (192 rounds for the match). I normally take 1800 - 2000 rounds because you can practice all day at the practice range for 2 - 3 days. We have a tent set up on site to do sales and help people the whole time. For us, it's more like working a convention than going to a match. We enjoy getting to see all our once a year friends from around the world (12 or so countries), have some good food, and a change of pace for a while. The older we get, the harder it is to do all that. Everything has it's plus and minus parts.

[Toolguy]

Thanks for your latest comments, Mike. We appreciate your willingness to give the RevUp action a fair trial. We would expect nothing less from a top level lawyer, right? We value your high skill level and long experience at revo shooting for the insights that come from your reviews. Anyone that has shot a match with MC knows he's a tough competitor.

Edited June 2, 2022 by Toolguy

[Carmoney]

You're welcome, Warren.  I'm glad to be part of this conversation--as others have mentioned, it's not every day that something truly new and innovative happens in the revolver world ("this thing of ours").

 

I will continue to provide updates as I gain experience with the RevUp hammer package.  Whatever I post will be my honest and objective assessment at the time.  Warren and I are shooting friends from way back--I have shot matches with him, purchased products from him, and visited his shop--but I have never requested or received a discount or freebie on any of the stuff he makes. 

 

I can't be bought!  

 

Seriously, I continue to believe this RevUp kit is something that many revolver people will find valuable.   

[DavidSeavey]

Shot my 929 for the first time with a timer sunday, all speer brass, fed spp, and .040 tk federal moons worked great even if i was pretty terrible with DA and irons and reloading a revolver on the clock.  turns out a simple mag release press with my thumb does nothing on a revolver... the buzzer really is a mind eraser.

 

i probably have my spring screw set a little higher than needed but with the new hammer it's still plenty smooth and more importantly set off all rounds and never short stroked shooting fast. so far so good!