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Thread: Forehand Pocket Pistol: Need Help?

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Hoyt Kansas
    Posts
    33

    Forehand Pocket Pistol: Need Help?

    I have a large frame double action 32. Great little pocket pistol. But, it has a small problem. In single action mode where I pull hammer back to lock up the action works fine. The hammer travels a greater distance and hits the firing pin fine and the firing pin hits the primer fine. The bullet is then fired.
    If I use the gun in double action the hammer does not travel as far and does not hit the firing pin hard enough to set of the primer. The gun is in really great shape and shoots dead on. I have taken the gun apart and cleaned the gun and debured all parts and really smoothed the gun up.
    My question is how can I increase the throwof the hammer in double action mode to get a harder strike on the firing pin?

    Thanks for thinking about it.

    Deacon Stone

  2. #2
    Moderator Emeritus/Boolit Master in Heavens Range
    Molly's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    South Charleston, WV
    Posts
    1,127
    The easy way is to just replace the hammer spring and be done with it. Try Gunparts Corp. / Numrich.

    You can also take all the temper out of the existing spring, bend it into a bit LESS curve than it has now, and then retempering. Brownell's offers a good receipe for this in their catalog.
    Regards,

    Molly

    "The remedy for evil men is not the abrogation of the rights of law abiding citizens. The remedy for evil men is the gallows." Thomas Jefferson

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master

    MBTcustom's Avatar
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    Feb 2011
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    Arkansas
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    If I use the gun in double action the hammer does not travel as far and does not hit the firing pin hard enough to set of the primer.
    I have seen this before. Those pistols have that characteristic. The DA only seems to "pluck" the hammer a little.
    When I took my CC class, there were a bunch of really old fellers (no offence to anyone present, these guys looked like they could walk up to 80, blow on it and it would fall over if you catch my meaning) that had one of these pistols and were trying to qualify with it. They kept trying to shoot it DA and they couldn't get it to go off often enough to get the job done. Several of us respectfully offered our pistols for use and they accepted.
    I agree with Molly, you are going to have a hard time finding that part. You may need to have a gunsmith make it from scratch, and main springs like that can be really tricky. I would try to reset it like Molly suggests. If you don't feel comfortable doing such work, take it to a competent gunsmith and he can give it a go.
    Precision in the wrong place is only a placebo.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    816
    Your mainspring tension is weak. A replacement or adjustment of your spring is likely required. In double action mode, as mentioned earlier, the hammer naturally does no go back as far as in the single action mode, as it does not engage the sear, which reduces the force of the hammer strike. This is a common problem occurring in tuning revolvers for a minimum DA trigger pull. Things work fine shooting SA, but in DA mode will have misfires. If you reload, try using Federal primers, or even Federal factory ammo if you don't reload. The primers are more sensitive and easier to light off, when other makes of primers won't. Many competitive revolver shooters use Federal primers for this reason.

  5. #5
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Hoyt Kansas
    Posts
    33
    I tried switching the primers to federal match and had no luck. Looks like time to build a new spring.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check