Hammer Q's

[Squirrel45]

Hi Everyone,

 

What hammer to you guys prefer, the TK or the Apex? 

 

thanks 

Squirrel 

[revoman]

What are you looking to do? If you are just changing hammers either one is great and with some polishing and spring changes you can accomplish a great trigger. If you want it all in one drop in package. Try the new  revupaction.com from tool guy here on the forum. Total drop in action job and it is what they claim. 

[pskys2]

Well if you ever want to experiment with lighter action weights remember the lighter the hammer the lighter the mainspring can be set.  TK Custom has the lightest hammer available TK is .65 ounces and a buddy told me his Apex was .80 +/- a few tenths.  My Apex weighs .85 ounces.  

I like the looks of the TK also.

[Squirrel45]

Thanks guys, iv chopped a couple down myself and got to around a 6.3 lb pull. However I did one of those Tk hammers a few years ago for a friend of mine. I think I was able to get it 5 1/2lb reliably w a 14lb return. 

 

Thanks 

Squirrel 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Squirrel45

[pskys2]

The one down side of TK Hammers I've used is the DA Sear had to be fit.  Didn't take too many strokes of the stone, the tricky part is keeping it square.

Have a TK in a 627 PC, 627 Pro, 625 PC (all weiged .65 oz.),  an Apex in a 325 TR (weighs .85 oz. & was originally fit by Apex to the 625 PC) and cut down hammers (carmonized by me) in a M28-2 & a M29-3 (both weigh about 1.25 oz.).

[Squirrel45]

Good information, thanks 

[pskys2]

With my TK hammers I'm running cut 11 lb rebound springs (1.035"), polished up contact points, C&S extended FP with Apex FP Springs and the following:

625 PC 40 ounce hammer fall and 4 3/4 pound action

627 Pro 36 ounce hammer fall and a 4 1/2 pound action

627 PC 36 ounce hammer fall and a 4 1/2 pound action, this set up is my main match gun and has been to the USPSA Revolver Nationals, Area III SC Championships, ICORE MW Regional and the USPSA Kansas Free State Championships, plus an average of 3 monthly club matches.  Since February I'd hazzard it's had close to 10,000 rounds with no failure to fires or short strokes.

Now my 325 TR has the Apex hammer uses a 14 lb rebound, c&s extended FP & factory FP spring.  With a hammer fall of 60 ounces I get a 7 1/2 lb action, mostly because I carry it and then shoot IDPA with it I want it to ignite anything I put in it.

M28 with a 40 ounce hammer fall and 11 lb rebound spring gives me a 5 3/4 lb action, just started shooting this one in ICORE Classic as a change of pace.  I can use L Frame Speed Loaders with it as long as I stick to Short Colt Cases, there's just enough bullet to index on the cylinder and not bind.  38 Special cases will bind up.  It shot so well I had Toolguy mill in a dovetail FO FS from a V Comp.  Cleared up the sight picture tremondusly. 

[Squirrel45]

Do you find running a low power rebound spring effects the follow up shot ? Iv read a few posts that have said going to low with a rebound can cause issues? 

 

Thanks for the great in-depth analysis 

[revoman]

It can cause you to “short stroke”

[Toolguy]

On a low power rebound spring, you make sure it works the action reliably, then learn to run your trigger finger both directions instead of riding the trigger forward.

[pskys2]

1 hour ago, Squirrel45 said:

Do you find running a low power rebound spring effects the follow up shot ? Iv read a few posts that have said going to low with a rebound can cause issues? 

 

Thanks for the great in-depth analysis 

Back when I started shooting Revolver in USPSA, 2002?, I had Apex do an action job with their hammer on my 625 PC.  It was at 4 1/4 lbs with a "super light", my guess is about 9 lbs, rebound spring and yes I would have trouble.  So I put in an 11 pound rebound spring in which upped the action weight to 5 3/4 lbs.  The problems went away.

Then last year I took a dive into the lightest, reliable action weight pool.  As I said once I settled on the current weights I've had no problems.

But I did try that "super light" TK rebound spring, and had the action weight under 4 lbs and the short stroking issue cropped up occasionally.  Enough that it wasn't worth it.  So I settled on a Wolf 11 lb Rebound Spring and I trim it down to between 1.015" and 1.035" overall length.  Any shorter and the end of the stroke gets real mushy.  The difference between lengths is due to the differences in how the action feels which is a result of how the contacting surfaces are smoothed out and interact.  Each Revolver is different and what works on one may not work on another.  And what works today may not work tommorrow due to tolerances changing.

Toolguy makes a point of not depending on the rebound to return the action.  I don't really try to ride the trigger back or depend on the rebound.  What I've found is to try to get my release speed equal to the pull speed for best accuracy.