AFDAVIS1 Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 What have you guys done to lighten your trigger pulls. I have tried Wolff springs and loosening the mainspring screw and pulling the trigger 100,000 times :-) I usually end up with an unreliable gun. Do you change primers? What have you done that really works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlocknSchpiel Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 AF, When you lighten the striking force of the hammer, you need to go to a Softer Primer. CCI primers are the Hardest while Federal are the Softest. This is where it gets tricky because of the Legal Formalities. The reloading industry, due to primers going off in the press, recommend usually CCI or Winchester because Remington and Federal are too SOFT! So far, I have been lucky and NOT had an ND in the press. One reason for this is because I hand prime. I use Remington primers for now, but as soon as this batch is gone (another 11,000) I'm switching to Federal. Federal Primers are soft enough that if you sneeze (exageration) while inserting them, they will go bang. Synops. If you're going to shoot a light trigger, use Federal Primers. Disclaimer: I don't work for in any Firearm related industry. The above is just my opinion and therefore should be taken with caution, as with ALL opinions. In follow my recommendations, remember that you do so at your own risk. Research the topic and make an educated decision. Hope this helps. Glockn... (Edited by GlocknSchpiel at 4:22 pm on Mar. 8, 2003) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Use Federal primers. Set your mainspring to where it runs reliably and LOCK TITE it! (use the blue stuff) Dry fire like there's no tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 I do trigger setups on SW wheelguns. The wolf reduced power (ribbed) mainsprings are pretty good for minimum reliable mainspring weight. Most of the remaining trigger force reduction is achieved by trimming the rebound spring. I can get a SW down to about 5.5# DA firing reliably with good trigger return and glass smooth pull It also requires polishing the rebound slide faces, frame surfaces, and a few other things. Just putting in a wolf RP mainspring and rebound spring and greasing the hell out of the works with Militec grease will give you a pretty good trigger (maybe 6 - 7#). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 Bountyhunter, I have a couple of questions. What weight rebound spring do you recommend for trigger jobs and, does the rebound spring weight have anything to do with the pressure in which the firing pin hits the primers? I have a Miculek spring kit in my 625 and my pull is now about 8lbs, they recommend 7lbs, but I got alot of light strikes at that weight, so I bumped it up to 8 and haven't had any problems. Ideally, I'd like it to be around 6.5-7lbs. I am slowly learning how to tune revolvers and am going to do some light polishing on mine tommorrow with some 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper. I'm wondering if a the Wolff RP mainspring along with an 11 pound rebound spring will give you reliable ignition? Whats really funny is that someone recommended putting slide-glide in the guts of your revolver and of course, I had to try it and it really impoved the overall feel of it, I'm not trying to endorse it or anything, but I really like it. Rufus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George D Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 I've loaded tens of thousands of Federal primers on my Hornady progressive press and have had only 1 ignition which was due to my hand slipping off the press handle. The seating depth of the primers is also critical for tuned revolvers. When you shoot a revolver DA the trigger pull is building up the potential energy in the both the main and the rebound springs and overcoming the friction between contacting parts. Polishing and lubricating the rebound spring housing reduces the friction (but don't lubricate the sears and never file them) and the spring weights are a balancing act. The main spring determines how much hammer strike and the rebound spring how quickly your trigger resets. If you go too light you'll have light strikes and/or a slow trigger. IMHO a 8lb trigger is a pretty good compromise. (Edited by George D at 9:47 am on Mar. 10, 2003) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiserb Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I have my 625 at 7#. To do this I took the side plate off and mirror finished the block, changed the mainspring to a Wolfe spring, and changed the rebound to 13#. The majority of the trigger smoothness comes from polishing all the surfaces that rub on the inside. Do NOT file on the sear. Do polish the block (all 4 sides), hammer sides, trigger sides, and the hand. To change the feel of the trigger round and mirror polish the surface your finger pulls on. Additionally you will need to adjust the main spring set screw. Step 1 order a set screw from Brownells, Step 2 test fire the gun at different screw settings (moving the screw in and out between sets) until you find the most reliable / lightest setting. Step 3 file the set screw to size by removing material on the thread end until it is the perfect length to be tight in the gun yet holding the spring at the optimum position. Step 4 locktite it in place. If you get it too short and the gun acts up put your old strain screw back in, and repeat from Step 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2alpha Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 If you have a newer gun with the frame mounted firing pin you will have to use heavier hammer spring tension. The MIM parts don't polish too well either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Is it possible to cut a couple of coils off of the firing pin spring on those pistols with the frame mounted firing pin? Or is that something that shouldn't be messed with? I polished the inside, bottom and left side of my rebound slide along with the the left side and bottom of the frame where it slides. I used some 600 grit to polish it and mirror finished it with some 1500 grit, it is extremely smooth now. Combined with some slide-glide, it outta provide an extremely smooth pull. When my trigger gets back from being stippled, I will have a better idea of what to polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Quote: from Rufus The Bum on 2:13 am on Mar. 9, 2003 Bountyhunter, I have a couple of questions. What weight rebound spring do you recommend for trigger jobs and, does the rebound spring weight have anything to do with the pressure in which the firing pin hits the primers? I have a Miculek spring kit in my 625 and my pull is now about 8lbs, they recommend 7lbs, but I got alot of light strikes at that weight, so I bumped it up to 8 and haven't had any problems. Ideally, I'd like it to be around 6.5-7lbs. I am slowly learning how to tune revolvers and am going to do some light polishing on mine tommorrow with some 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper. I'm wondering if a the Wolff RP mainspring along with an 11 pound rebound spring will give you reliable ignition? Whats really funny is that someone recommended putting slide-glide in the guts of your revolver and of course, I had to try it and it really impoved the overall feel of it, I'm not trying to endorse it or anything, but I really like it. Rufus I like Slide Glide (and still use it). Militec is just a shade thicker so I use it unsurfaces that get a lot of stress. Don't use grease on the hammer because it will take away hammer force. The rebound spring has nothing to do with hammer striking force. If you are getting light strikes, you have to increase the mainspring force. Get a new spring, longer starin screw, or shim under the head of the strain screw. I actually cut my RB springs down by clipping them, so I don't know the exact force. The trick is to get the mainspring force set as low as you can and get reliable ignition, then start trimming the RB spring gradually until it is at minimum force that still gives good trigger return (you judge the feel). Understand, a "cut down" RB spring is only usable with the mainspring set at that reduced force. Increase the mainspring force and you will need a stronger RB spring. That's why Wolff and Miculek sell them in matched sets. Trimming an RB spring is time consuming. I haven't tried the Miculek springs. I think the Wolff ribbed ones are dialed in just right to use with a stock strain screw and get good ignition. As for polishing: just don't touch the sear or trigger contact surfaces. Remember the hammer and trigger are surface hardened (only about .010" deep) and you can cut through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Quote: from 2alpha on 9:30 pm on Mar. 9, 2003 If you have a newer gun with the frame mounted firing pin you will have to use heavier hammer spring tension. The MIM parts don't polish too well either. C+S sells an extended firing pin that gives better ignition for the new frame mounted FP guns. Amen about the MIM parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I bought that C&S extended f/p and it's in shipment right now. I think the MIM parts will work fine because I'm not quite honestly at the level where I would notice any difference. I'm starting to realize that if I can't get reliable ignition at 7lbs, then I'm going to accept the 8lb pull, it will be a very smooth 8lbs though which is fine with me. Once I get my trigger back from being stippled, I will polish the necessary parts and go from there. I'll be happy either way. Thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schoonie Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I installed the c & s extended firing pin in my 625 after I installed Jerry's main and rebound springs. It seems to have cured the soft strikes I was getting on CCI primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2alpha Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Be sure to use snap caps if you dry fire with the C/S extended firing pin, it'll break early if you don't. Rufus I sure hope you mean polished instead of stippled on your trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 lightly stippled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 BTW, don't forget that lighter is not neccesarily faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 As spook mentioned, a lighter DA trigger doesn't mean it will be a faster. Jerry Miculek specifically says that his trigger return spring is heavier because the lighter ones don't reset the trigger back fast enough for him. While they do make the pull heavier you need it for faster DA shooting. I shoot lots of DA revolver and have found that to be true with me. When I shoot a highly modified DA only PPC revolver built by Bill Davis I am only able to get my splits down around 0.20-0.22 seconds. Now when I got my 627 PC 8 shot revolver I polished it up and changed the mainspring but did not touch the trigger rebould spring other than making sure it didn't have any burrs or other problems. With that revolver my normal splits are 0.16-0.19 sec. I have found through the years that the weight of the DA pull isn't the problem for me it is how smooth it is. I can deal with a heavier DA pull as long as it is smooth. Neal in AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Wow Intel, that's pretty amazing. .16 splits! How long have you been shooting revolver? And how did you manage to get your splits so low? The reason I'm asking is that I can't shoot faster than .25 splits with my Miculek springs in my 625. Strange thing is that I shoot those splits also when I'm engaging 25 yard targets (and get good hits). But up close, I should be able to hose faster. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFDAVIS1 Posted March 13, 2003 Author Share Posted March 13, 2003 WOW! Great advice, thanx gentlemen. I have switched to Federal primers and will try that. I'm going to polish some of the insides as suggested in the near future, if the Federal primers work (otherwise I'm going to a bottom feeder :-) ) Dumb question...since I am not supposed to polish the sear, what does it look like? What is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George D Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 The sears are the contact points between the trigger and the hammer. There are 2 sears on a DA revolver, one for the single action and one for the double action. If you take the side-plate off the revolver and operate the trigger you will see how the sears work. After operating the trigger a few times you might get some binding. This is because the hammer and trigger are working away from the revolver body because of the absense of the side-plate. If you push them down the binding will disappear. If you have a friend who is familiar with revolver actions, you will need only a short lesson. If you go it alone be sure to lay out the parts as you remove them and maybe make some notes. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted March 13, 2003 Share Posted March 13, 2003 Spook, I guess a better question to ask is how many rounds have I fired from a DA revolver. Unlike many people I started shooting with a revolver and even though I shoot lots of autos I still shoot my revos a lot. When I was in college in CA I worked for a commercial ammunition remanufacturer. Our biggest account was loading the pratice ammunition for LAPD. This was when they were still using revolvers and were were sending down 700,000 rounds a month. Well making that much ammo means there are lots of what we called blems. This was ammo that was OK to shoot but we wouldn't sell. When I got there they had a lot of that stuff piling up. I asked about it and was told I could shoot all I wanted for free as long as they got the brass back. Well I took them up on that offer and shot at least 600 (more like 800 rounds) a week DA only for almost two years. There was an indoor range close tot he school and I would be there every Tuesday night with my coffee can of ammo. In that time I really got to know DA revos as you can imagine. That was back in the late 80's and I have kept up on my DA revos since then. I don't shoot as much DA revolver as I did in college due to other shooting interests but I still shoot 400 rounds a month in pratice with my revos on top of the pratice I do with my autos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 It is rumored that Jerry Miculec has a revolver frame welded to the dash of his truck so he can practice trigger pull. I think the idea is dry fire, dry fire, dry fire then repeat!!! Smooth internals and adequate hand/finger strenght will go a long way toward making that 8-9# trigger feel alot lighter. One of the posters above asked the question about "what does a sear look like" We all had to start somewhere in our amature pistol-smithing, but be smart about it and be sure to read up on the proceedure before starting a trigger job. As it is, when properly stoned and polished, the single action just about shouldn't be used as it has a very, very low trigger pull. Almost scary!!!!! But be sure and purchase a book or get with someone who has experience before removing any metal. As far as a reduced trigger return spring goes, I agree totally with Intel6 that a full strenght spring be used. I just cannot move my finger back fast enough to get quick double-taps without some assistance from the full strenght spring. Also, my preferences are Federal primers and N320 powder for 610 loads. sorry to have rambled on so long. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George D Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 Spook, I started with revolver and still shoot them, plus a 45 auto, but .25 splits at 25 yards with good hits? I'm impressed. What is your total time for 6 shots, from the holster, in the A Zone at 25 yards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 I would be happy with A zone hits with .25 splits at 25 yards with my open blaster, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 One of the posters above asked the question about "what does a sear look like" We all had to start somewhere in our amature pistol-smithing, but be smart about it and be sure to read up on the proceedure before starting a trigger job. As it is, when properly stoned and polished, the single action just about shouldn't be used as it has a very, very low trigger pull. Almost scary!!!!! But be sure and purchase a book or get with someone who has experience before removing any metal. Don't cut any metal on sear faces of triggers or hammers of SW guns. Don't stone them and don't polish them with sandpaper. Those parts are fitted at the factory and then surface hardened. Cut through or remove much of that hardened layer and the parts are ruined. BTW: the chances of improving the trigger pull by cutting the sear faces is basically zero. That is not the surfaces to polish to get a smoother trigger. The rebound slide and mating frame surfaces are the main culprits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now