HR 622--Hammer directly in the way of sights? Possible fixes

[John in WI]

About a year ago, I picked up this neat (and quite cheap) HR 622 DA/SA revolver. It shoots great. Heavy DA trigger, but crisp and nice SA.

There is one issue with it, and I've heard varous reasons for it. From the picture, you can see that when the hammer is down, the spur is directly in the way of the sights. You actually need to have the hammer about 3/4 of the way back before the sights are in view. I heard that HR went through some financial issues and reorganizations, and that they had a habit of using old parts on new firearms, and sometimes you ended up with ugly ducklings like this.

In any case, I'm hoping to find a way to modify it so the sights will be useful for DA mode. I need the spur to be about 1mm lower than it currently is.

I read that some old Colts had a similar issue, and that Colt simply put a groove through the middle of the hammer to expose the sights. Another thing I thought was to carefully "heat and beat" the spur to bring it down a hair. Or, probably best, but also probably most difficult, cut the spur off and TIG weld it back at a slightly lower position.

Here's my real problem. If I could find a spare hammer, I would buy it, do the mod, and swap them. I checked every gun part place I could think of (Numrich, Brownells...), and 2 HR forums. Nobody has a hammer available for this revolver. I'm concerned about modifying the existing one. If I mess it up, there will be no fixing it.

So, I have 2 options. I can either modify this hammer/spur to make it work with DA. Or, I can ignore it, and just run the revolver in SA mode. I do not like that idea--I have a dedicated .22 SA in .22lr and .22WMR. I don't need another SA revolver.

Does anyone have a thought on this? I've been kicking around the idea of using my dremel tool with a small abrasive disk to cut a groove, and then some needle files to clean it up. It should not change the function of the revolver at all.

[LAGS]

You can just grind some of the radius off the hammer to lower the spur..
But I can't see that this is an issue.
I never line up the sights when shooting double action until I have the trigger half pulled back.
But reshaping the hammer can make it less catchable on your jacket or shirt when you carry it in a holster.
On some pistols.
If you bend the hammer spur down.
Then it hits the top of the frame when it is fully cocked in single action mode.

[GhostHawk]

I'd just plan on using it in SA mode.

If at some point you did have to use it DA you know your going to get a quick shot of the sights before it goes off.

[John in WI]

I have been using it in DA mode. I'm not very familiar with revolvers, so I was hoping to use it as a cheap training tool for use with my .38. The DA trigger is very heavy, so that isn't ideal, but the SA trigger is really very nice.

I probably will just leave it alone. If I could find a spare hammer, I'd maybe mess with it. It's just I have been totally unable to find a spare, and if I screw up the one I have, I could never replace it.

[slughammer]

Is it the same hammer as a 929? (Several of those hammers are available on that auction site.)
That said, I have a 929 and the DA trigger is a good strength trainer, but probably not the greatest DA trainer unless your 38 was also made by H&R.

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[LAGS]

I agree with trying to find a Spare Parts to try your modifications.
You should be able to find a spare hammer over time.
I use to rebuild H&R's.
Lots of places like Jack First did have parts.
Just Google what you need on the internet.
I bet something will pop up

[Texas by God]

I would leave it alone.
Those solid frame H&Rs are hell to reassemble.


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[country gent]

Before cutting the hammer, bring it to full cock double action and make sure there is room at the back of the stroke or travel for it.Some of those spurs get close to the frame thru their travel.

[indian joe]

why not raise the height of the sights ?

[jdsingleshot]

My 922 has a real stiff DA pull too. It has a grooved trigger and really rasped at my trigger finger when I shot it a lot. I took a cone shaped stone in a drill and worked down the right side of the trigger, which greatly improved the comfort level.

Don't know if the hammer spur blocks the sights in DA because in that mode I don't use the sights--just point and shoot. I'm deadly at 10 yards and under, so the sights are not an issue to me.

[rintinglen]

A 900 or 929 hammer should fit, provided it is from the same era. Most of the low end H&R's used the same basic parts, with minor differences in Barrel Length, frame type (round or square) or variations of finish being the only differences. However, some seemingly identical guns vary in more than cosmetic fashion. (looking at you, 900). Earlier guns may have the firing pin integral with the hammer while later guns had frame mounted firing pins, some springs are different as well...