What to do to a 929

[warpspeed]

So I've bought a 929 because I wanted one.

 

I'm not overly interested in dumping a ton of money into it so I'm looking for a few suggestions on what to do to make it a little more shootable on a budget. 

 

Trigger spring suggestions are most welcome but not really looking at replacing the hammer.

 

 

 

 

[Bill Sahlberg]

The 929 with MIM parts is way more expensive to tune that the older 627s with forged steel parts.

 

Best to find an older 627 before they added the trigger lock system and MIM parts

[warpspeed]

22 minutes ago, Bill Sahlberg said:

The 929 with MIM parts is way more expensive to tune that the older 627s with forged steel parts.

 

Best to find an older 627 before they added the trigger lock system and MIM parts

 

I'm sure that is great advice but not really helpful in my situation.

 

[AzShooter]

Chamfer the cylinders, polish the internals,, get either an Apex Hammer Kit, RevUP Action Hammer Kit or have TKCustom do a trigger job for you. 

 

Use .358 bullets.  They will group the best.  

 

Don't double charge it,  Add a red dot.  My favorite is the C-More Railway .

[DukeSoprano]

Are you going to reload for it?

[gargoil66]

5 hours ago, AzShooter said:

Chamfer the cylinders, polish the internals,, get either an Apex Hammer Kit, RevUP Action Hammer Kit or have TKCustom do a trigger job for you. 

 

Use .358 bullets.  They will group the best.  

 

Don't double charge it,  Add a red dot.  My favorite is the C-More Railway .

AZS:

 

I got to axed.

 

What was the charge and bullet weight?

 

Thankyou!

 

GG

[ParrytheWind]

Reload or be very mindful of bullet creep with factory ammo.

[AzShooter]

27 minutes ago, gargoil66 said:

AZS:

 

I got to axed.

 

What was the charge and bullet weight?

 

Thankyou!

 

GG

If I can remember correctly it was about 6.5 grains of N320 with a 160 grain Coated Bullet.  

[xrayfk05]

11 minutes ago, AzShooter said:

If I can remember correctly it was about 6.5 grains of N320 with a 160 grain Coated Bullet.  

What charge is that? The one that blew up your gun?
Because that's near over double a max charge for even a 147gr bullet in a 9mm.

 

 

[Toolguy]

If not replacing the hammer, I would use a Wilson spring kit. Always use firmly seated Federal primers for a tuned revo, regardless of what else you do.

 

Get a 3/8" long x #8-32 socket setscrew to replace the strain screw. Use either #222 purple or #242 blue Loctite to keep it from unscrewing. With these, you can make adjustments any time and the screw will stay where you put it. Start with the mainspring misfiring some, and turn the screw in clockwise 1/8 turn at a time, test, repeat, until you have no misfires. If you get one misfire in 100, turn it another 1/8 turn.

 

Use a trigger pull gage hooked on the hammer to weigh the final mainspring tension on the hammer. To do this, pull the trigger to partially cock the hammer, and hook the trigger pull gage over the hammer. Holding the trigger all the way back, gently lower the hammer/gage hook down on the frame. Start pulling on the gage and take the reading just as the hook lifts off the frame. Write down this number for future reference. If you have to take the gun apart or work on it, you can dial the strain screw back to that setting without having to shoot a lot of ammo to find that spot again.

 

Now find the lightest rebound spring that returns the trigger the way you like it. Some like the lightest trigger pull, some like the snappiest return, some like something in between. The factory rebound spring is generally thought to be 18 lb. Wolff Gun Springs makes 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 lb. ones. Maybe one in the Wilson spring kit will do what you want.

 

This process will give the best action you will get with just a spring kit. You will not get exactly the same action in multiple guns, because every gun is a separate entity unto itself. You can get actions that are similar to each other and all acceptable, though.

[revoman]

Sell it and buy a 627 5” have TK Customs ream/cut for 9mm, buy some lighter rebound springs, adjust/bend the mainspring and polish the internals/contact points. Remember the barrels on both revolvers are .357. 
Also follow what toolguy said on the action it is more in depth than what I said.

With the 9mm conversion you will still be able to shoot 38 Special, .357, 38 Short and Long Colt. With the 929 it will be 9mm only and brass specific. 

Edited December 20, 2023 by revoman

[Squirrel45]

If you don't want to change the hammer out you can always do some cutting. This is what I've done on a couple of mine, tweak stock main  spring, reduced rebound, plus extended pin and 1000-3000 grit paper. 

[Bosshoss]

13 hours ago, Bill Sahlberg said:

The 929 with MIM parts is way more expensive to tune that the older 627s with forged steel parts.

 

Best to find an older 627 before they added the trigger lock system and MIM parts

Sorry but this is way off. I usually have about 2 hours longer in a full competition action job for a forged part gun than a MIM gun. I charge the same for both and I usually grimace when a forged part gun come in because I know I have to do extra work just getting the forged parts straighten out just to start a trigger job.

MIM parts are much more consistent than the old forged part guns.

I should charge more for a forged part gun but fortunately most competition guns coming in these days are newer guns with MIM parts.

[AzShooter]

6 hours ago, xrayfk05 said:

What charge is that? The one that blew up your gun?
Because that's near over double a max charge for even a 147gr bullet in a 9mm.

 

 

As I can remember it was 3.2 grains of N320 with a 160 grain bullet.  I didn't think it was a double charge but that's the only conclusion I can really come to.  

[xrayfk05]

19 hours ago, AzShooter said:

As I can remember it was 3.2 grains of N320 with a 160 grain bullet.  I didn't think it was a double charge but that's the only conclusion I can really come to.  

Yes, but you stated 6.5 grains in a thread about a 9mm revolver. Hence my remark.

You might hope no one copies a charge just because it's on a forum, but you never know. 

[warpspeed]

On 12/20/2023 at 3:39 AM, DukeSoprano said:

Are you going to reload for it?

 

yes - and probably only ever shoot Steel Challenge with it and probably only once or twice a year for shiggles.

 

 

[AzShooter]

52 minutes ago, xrayfk05 said:

Yes, but you stated 6.5 grains in a thread about a 9mm revolver. Hence my remark.

You might hope no one copies a charge just because it's on a forum, but you never know. 

As I stated, the charge was 3.2 but was a double charge so it went BOOM.  No one should reload just because they saw it on the internet.  The picture of the exploded cylinder is the warning.

 

[Dr. Phil]

You might want to listen closely to Bosshoss. He is very very good and very very detailed in his action jobs. He has done wonders for some of my guns, including an old modified 586 to 7 shots that was never done correctly about 15 years before. He fixed it!

He is lower priced than many. No disrespect to anybody else!

He is well worth the look-see.

IMHO 

[IHAVEGAS]

51 minutes ago, Dr. Phil said:

You might want to listen closely to Bosshoss. He is very very good and very very detailed in his action jobs. He has done wonders for some of my guns, including an old modified 586 to 7 shots that was never done correctly about 15 years before. He fixed it!

He is lower priced than many. No disrespect to anybody else!

He is well worth the look-see.

IMHO 

 

He did the full competition job on my 929 and I have been very happy with it , friends I shoot with who are not wheel gun people are amazed how well the trigger feels. 

My nephew has no interest in competition so Paul just cleaned up the single action trigger pull for him - back to the original posters question, if there is no interest in double action just leaving the gun as is or perhaps doing a wee bit of polishing I think are good options. 

 

I agree with others comments about bullet creep being a problem with some 9mm factory ammo (Federal 115 was awful) and having better luck with .358 bullets (I shoot coated, .356 leads up nasty), and that 9mm is not the most user friendly of options when considering a new wheel gun.  

[notanoperator993]

+1 for the Apex bobbed hammer kit (comp springs) and micheulak spring kit. Dropped my 627 DA pull from 11lbs to 5.5lbs. Added allchin rds mount and an sro. Awesome gun. 

[Tampa-XD45]

On 12/20/2023 at 9:07 AM, Toolguy said:

Use a trigger pull gage hooked on the hammer to weigh the final mainspring tension on the hammer. To do this, pull the trigger to partially cock the hammer, and hook the trigger pull gage over the hammer. Holding the trigger all the way back, gently lower the hammer/gage hook down on the frame. Start pulling on the gage and take the reading just as the hook lifts off the frame. Write down this number for future reference.

What's the advantage of this method vs using a trigger gauge conventionally in double action mode?

 

 

[Toolguy]

When using the trigger pull gage normally, your are measuring the action as a whole, including the rebound spring, leverage and friction of all the parts together. When just pulling on the hammer by itself, you are isolating it down to just the mainspring tension on the hammer.

 

Then you have a known quantity of what mainspring pressure works 100% in that gun, that you can dial back up to the same setting at a later time if needed. The spring may weaken, the strain screw may back out, you might want to try a different kind of spring or put in a new one, the gun may need to be disassembled to work on it, you may want to check it before a match, etc.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Toolguy

[PatJones]

On 12/20/2023 at 11:49 AM, Bosshoss said:

Sorry but this is way off. I usually have about 2 hours longer in a full competition action job for a forged part gun than a MIM gun. I charge the same for both and I usually grimace when a forged part gun come in because I know I have to do extra work just getting the forged parts straighten out just to start a trigger job.

MIM parts are much more consistent than the old forged part guns.

I should charge more for a forged part gun but fortunately most competition guns coming in these days are newer guns with MIM parts.

This isn't too far off my experiences. That said, sometimes the new-style double action sears have a click that's fiddly to polish out. All the aftermarket hammers use the old sear design. The rest of the MIM parts are way more consistent.

[Joe4d]

I kept mine a couple weeks hated it,, traded it for a prelock 625 which I traded for  627 pro series... 

[ysrracer]

OP, it took a ton of work to get my 929 to work properly. Factory ammo wouldn't fire worth a damn.

 

The gun was pretty useless from the factory.

 

Good luck.