Super red hawk 44 mag spring replacment?

[randyrat]

OK I changed the Hammer spring from a stock to a reduced 10 lb spring. While I had it apart I cleaned up the fit between the frame and hammer. Much nicer, smoother double action.
Now, I would like to put in a reduced power trigger guard spring. Is it very difficult? Am I going over my head? How do I do this?


It really hurts to bring a BAG O PARTS into the gunsmith ( It only happened once)

[btroj]

I changes my hammer spring but no others. It gave me a good enough double action pull.
I got the spring kit with 3 different hammer springs. I Tried the lightest and got some light hammer strikes that did not light the primer. Went to medium one and all is good.

I would stick with what you have now and see how it shoots.

[44man]

Reducing the hammer spring can remove all the accuracy the revolver has. Wrong move!

[bhn22]

's easier than it looks. All you do is depress the plunger slightly to remove tension from the retaining pin. Push out the retaining pin with an appropriate sized punch & release the tension on the plunger. The plunger, spring & a little collar (IIRC) will come out. Reassemble with your choice of springs. I'd suggest not using the lightest spring, the medium one worked better for me.

[randyrat]

Reducing the hammer spring can remove all the accuracy the revolver has. Wrong move! HUH...Can you explain. I didn't want to cause more problems, just lighten the trigger pull a bit.

[bowfishn]

Lighter hammer spring can increase lock time, it means you will need to hold steady for a few milli seconds longer. I lightened the trigger spring to the lightest but put in a hammer spring just a tad lighter than the factory, I may go back to the factory spring because it really was not too bad a pull. A lighter trigger spring can also mean slower double action shooting because it takes longer for the trigger to return. You just need to find what suits you and still shoots good.

[Heavy lead]

I would pay a premium for a extra power SRH spring, but no one makes them. I put a reduced power trigger return spring in, but had nothing but problems with the reduced power hammer spring. The factory is back in, but somehow I just think it's still too light. I've had increased accuracy with the 28 pound extra power springs in the blackhawks, a big improvement in accuracy across the board.

[randyrat]

Haaa live and learn. I never gave Lock time any thought. I did save the factory spring and can put it back in a flash if needed. Thanks for the info. What about that other little spring called "power trigger guard spring"?

[DragoonDrake]

If you have never taken removed the trigger guard before AND it is a new gun, you may have problems (read very tight, lots of force). There is a youtube video of a guy replacing the spring of a GP100, same thing. It is that easy that it is on youtube.

[44man]

HUH...Can you explain. I didn't want to cause more problems, just lighten the trigger pull a bit.
It is not lock time. It is the impact the primer needs. Reducing the hammer spring has nothing to do with the trigger pull, it is sear engagement and the trigger spring. I get revolvers to 19 oz trigger pulls with over power Wolff springs.
I shot IHMSA for years and when groups started to open I would replace the hammer spring. I had to do it every year.
Long ago, a BR shooter built a rifle that shot all bullets in one hole. Then groups opened worse and worse. He did everything and suspected the barrel was going bad. Then one day the back of the bolt popped out. The firing pin was unscrewing. He put it back and returned to one hole groups. He experimented with it by turning the spring looser and could document and predict group size according to spring tension. He actually made a graph.
If you think just because the gun goes off that it is right, you better think some more. I use over power, variable power Wolff springs in all of my revolvers. My single actions all have 26# springs and for a LR primer they need 28#.
Take an old Ruger hammer spring and put it next to a new one and see for yourself how much set the old one has.
Are you guys nuts with a 10# spring?

[kbstenberg]

Randy
BHN22 was write on about how easy it is to change the spring you are interested in changing. Even if you don't like the new spring you can change it back in seconds. That is about how long it takes after you know how it is done. Besides the more you know about how your guns work the better you are for it.
There is a very good Utube video on how to replace springs on your Ruger. It actually takes longer to watch the vid. than to replace the spring.
Just my 2 cents Kevin

[Three44s]

Here's a good place to go with Ruger questions:


http://rugerforum.net/

Once in there, you would want to track down member ....... Iowegan

He runs the place (as I recall) and sells a PDF or book now .... when I got mine it was free ..... the IBOK (Iowegan's Book of Knowledge)

He's a retired gunsmith and he puts a lot of thought and pictures into his work.

As far as the Ruger DA's go ........ they will never be a "Smith" ......... but then a Smith can never be a RUGER either.

I have an SRH and a RH that were tuned by a local gunsmith. Both wear lighter hammer springs and both must be fired with old school Federal primers. My gunsmith also retired before I sent them back for heavier springs to be reinstalled.

After you read the IBOK (I think he has to sell them now as Ruger griped their heads off at him, go figure) you will see that getting a good trigger on a Ruger is process, not a matter of just lightening springs which can even be counterproductive in itself.

They are a GREAT gun with idocyncrosies just like anything else.

Try the IBOK .... you won't be sorry!

Three 44s

[bhn22]

It's easy to tell if your hammer springs too light. Lock the hammer back in single-action & dry fire the revolver (do I really need to tell you to make sure it's unloaded?). Pay attention to how the gun feels when the hammer goes forward. If you feel a slight vibration when the hammer strikes the frame, your hammer may be bouncing. This would indicate that your hammer spring may be too light. Also, the hammer spring DOES affect the trigger pull in double-action shooting, but not single action. If you are setting up a revolver for fast double-action work like ICORE, it's a whole different set of rules than plinking with a thumb buster.

[randyrat]

It is not lock time. It is the impact the primer needs. Reducing the hammer spring has nothing to do with the trigger pull, it is sear engagement and the trigger spring. I get revolvers to 19 oz trigger pulls with over power Wolff springs.
I shot IHMSA for years and when groups started to open I would replace the hammer spring. I had to do it every year.
Long ago, a BR shooter built a rifle that shot all bullets in one hole. Then groups opened worse and worse. He did everything and suspected the barrel was going bad. Then one day the back of the bolt popped out. The firing pin was unscrewing. He put it back and returned to one hole groups. He experimented with it by turning the spring looser and could document and predict group size according to spring tension. He actually made a graph.
If you think just because the gun goes off that it is right, you better think some more. I use over power, variable power Wolff springs in all of my revolvers. My single actions all have 26# springs and for a LR primer they need 28#.
Take an old Ruger hammer spring and put it next to a new one and see for yourself how much set the old one has.
Are you guys nuts with a 10# spring? 19 oz that,s light...I have some studying to do.

[bowfishn]

44man, thanks for the info on the primer impact as I see there is a difference in the pressure created by the primer depending on the amount of impact as well as an off center impact on a primer. That is not a factor I had taken into account, also regular primers have quite a difference in the pressure created even when the impact is hard enough and centered, Bench rest primers are more consistent in there charge and would also give better accuracy just because they are more consistent. Not sure if they have bench rest primers for pistols? Maybe just splitting hairs, or maybe hairs splitting is what you want? I have a friend who is getting into reloading and his goals are only to cut costs, he is not interested in accuracy. He says that if he can hit the bull at 100 that is good enough. I on the other hand want more from my loads, that is one reason I hand load and cast for my handgun, it's for accuracy not cost.
Primer impact would show up more when shooting from a very steady rest and Lock time is more noticeable when shooting off hand.
I have myself reinstalled the factory hammer spring in my SRH as it is not that bad a pull in double action and the effect on the single action is not a big factor. Yes it does make a difference in the single action pull, but would have to be increased by a considerable amount to have much of an effect on the pull.
I always used to run an 18 oz trigger for my SBH's but now I seem to run a bit more. My SRH is quite a bit more although I have not measured it, just going by feel on that one.

[44man]

I had a SRH but sold it to a friend so I could buy a BFR, never enough money to keep everything. But the trigger was perfect and very light in single action right from the factory. Other friends have them and they are all real good.
All of my shooting is done single action and for hunting anyway so I never worried about a double action pull, yet it was not bad.
In most double actions the hammer fall is shorter then in single action so it loses stroke and power.
I guess it would not matter much for accuracy in double action only shooting as long as the gun always goes off.
I recently had a S&W here that would not fire all rounds even single action and the strain screw was tight. The spring did not look like it was right in position so I remove the screw and it looked like it was filed shorter. I drilled it out and put a plug in the end to extend it since I didn't have a new one. I adjusted the length to get the mainspring where it belongs. It now shoots great and accuracy is much better.
Springs are not all made the same and you can get a high quality reduced spring that rebounds faster then a factory spring so impact is still good. Spring speed must be considered. They even make light weight firing pins for rifles so they move faster.
The worst springs so far are Ruger and BFR mainsprings. I change them right off to Wolff over power.
The next worse were the old 870 and 1100 magazine springs. They would set and fail to feed shells. I bought Wolff replacements by the dozens.
Even some of the Mark I and II magazine springs will set. Put just 5 rounds in one and toss it on the bench for a week, it will fail to feed all rounds. Others keep going.
I am willing to bet if you found a WW2, 1911 that has been loaded since then, it would still feed every round.

[44man]

I have to caution some of you that get a BH, SBH or BFR trigger too light. If the trigger kicks your finger forward at break, it will drop the transfer bar to the very bottom edge or off the firing pin. You can get a hang fire or failure to fire.
Transfer bars cover about half of the pin at the start.
I get away with it by making longer transfer bars on revolvers that need them so they cover most of the pin.

[randyrat]

I did my studying, as far as I'm going to and I replaced all the springs in my SRH and then put back all the factory springs. I did stop the hammer from falling or rubbing on the frame.
That alone will help keep my shots consistent and smooth out the double action pull.
Rarely I ever use double action, but the thought of a snagging hammer bothers me and my shots. Thanks guys for all the help.

[TCLouis]

If you hunt with this gun check shooting the reduced power spring during cold weather . . .

Don't ask why I am able to offer this bit of advice

[randyrat]

Yes I'll check into that. Sometimes I hunt in -10 to -20 below. Does the reduced help in extreme cold weather?

[44man]

Yes I'll check into that. Sometimes I hunt in -10 to -20 below. Does the reduced help in extreme cold weather?
NO, it will fail. Cold will slow the spring. It also makes metal act harder so primers need more force.
Fool with the trigger spring but leave the hammer spring alone.
If the trigger resets every time it is OK. Just do not fool with hammer impact.
If you shoot a lot or for years and see accuracy drop big time, change the hammer spring.

[TCLouis]

What 44Man said.

Worked great all summer long. Come fall I was shooting just before season and had many FTFs and some would finally fire on second of third hammer strike.

Went back to factory and the problem went away.

IF the whole hmmer and such were slicked up and any "dragging" removed I think the hammer fall may be ok, only testing would tell

I f you fiddle with trigger spring look out for plunger and plunger spring (wear safety glasses) i wasn't aware of them till I heard something land and bounce around. had to refer to drawing to find what it was that went flying.

Needed a third hand to reassemble (after parts arrived from Ruger) and was glad I made my wife wear safety glasses . . .
Plunger came shooting out and pegged her right in the lens . . . without the glasses it would have been her eye.