Figure this one out. 45LC misfire

[littlejack]

OK gentlemen, I need help on this one.
I had a misfire in my new Uberti 45 "Evil Roy" last week. I do not know if this was with the new batch of primers.
Yesterday, I went to the range with some fresh reloads and had three misfires. Other than that, the piece functions great, and these are the first misfires I have had of all my reloads in this firearm.
The loads that I shot yesterday were loaded using a NEW batch of primers. WLP.
I load the old fashon way: Load one, skip one, load four, cock the hammer and let it down on an empty hole. The three misfires were on the first shot with separate loadings. That is to say, I loaded the piece and fired, and the first was a misfire. I loaded up again and the first was a misfire, and again the same thing. Each primer appeared to have been hit by the hammer hard enough to fire, but didn't.
Is this coincidence that the first rounds in each cylinder full to be fired, all had bad primers? NO WAY!
After unloading each cylinder full, I had a pile of spent cartridges and three unfired rounds. I reloaded the piece with the misfires and they all fired, first hit.
I proceeded to load the cylinder a few more time and shoot, with no problems.
I have never had any problems with WLP primers, and I feel each primer as I take it from the press to make sure the primers are set as deep as necessary.
I did not go to the Burmuda Triangle to shoot yesterday, REALLY.
Any suggestions?
Jack

[Daddyfixit]

Did the misfires have good hard dents in the primers? You said you put them back in and all 3 fired OK. I would think those three having defective primers and just happen to be the first shot in your loading sequence are crazy odds, like winning the mega lotto three times in a row! So misfires happened last week and yesterday? I had something like that happen years ago with a S&W mod 10 38 SPL when I used CCI primers. The metal was harder on the primers, they dented but not enough and would fire the second time around. I put a new main spring in and it never happened again. The Evil Roy guns are hand tuned with a VERY good rep....I guess maybe using say Remington primers? and see if it happens again? Very strange indeed!

[tek4260]

That's a tough one. Nothing I can think of makes sense for that. I'd at least take her down and give everything a good look and a proper lube treatment. How many rounds did you fire total to get the 3 misfires? How many rounds total in the revolver? I still think a teardown and cleaning/lubing will help(or at least wouldn't hurt)

[NickSS]

You probably had a high primer (e.g not seated all the way. I have had this happen on occasionaly especially with tight fitting primers and a gun with a light hammer fall. The evil Roy guns are tuned and probably setup with a light mainspring to assist in fast shooting for cowboy action game. This with a high primer and you will get a misfire. As they all went off with a second strike it's pretty much the only thing that it could be. My Uberti 45 is not the tuned model just the old plain Jane pistol and it dents the primers with vigor.

[Lloyd Smale]

High primer will do it as Nick said or if you happened to miss charging the case. Ive seen primers go off on empty cases that all your could hear was the hammer falling. Also i had a cimmeron colt copy once that started missfiring. It looked like it had good primer hits and tended to do it more on the first shot for some reason i never figured out but it would do it occasioanly on other shots. I replaced the main spring and it cured it. It helps too whenever you have a gun with a lighter spring to use federal primers.

[mooman76]

It's a new gun. Maybe your hammer is draging just enough to now set off the primmer all the time and /or a combination of high primer. Also I have had new guns do this in single action mode, the hammer would drag abit when dropped but not in double action mode.

[shooting on a shoestring]

My 1 cents worth (half-baked thought). I had a Ruger BH that had enough slack in the hammer pivot to allow the hammer to hit the frame before the firing pin. That jiggled the revolver (sometimes) just before it fired - bad groups. I shimmed the hammer to fall straight, problem cured. I didn't get light strikes, but the Ruger had plenty of hammer power.

I'll bet that as you load, tilt, cycle the loading gate etc... your hammer or some internal part is moving to the side and dragging. Then after the pistol is held aligned with the target and cycled/fired, the parts move to where they don't drag and you get slightly heavier strikes.

Possible cures are heavier main spring (easy) find and fix dragging parts (hard).

[cajun shooter]

Make sure you don't have a loose screw on that revolver and after that I will say that since the primer shortage I have had two misfirefires with WLP and that has never happened to me in all my life. Lloyd would you tell me where to buy Federal LP that are not at scalpers prices. I found 2 thousand last week and was the first I have seen since the shortage. The seller whom is a dealer said that was the first he had in over 14 months.

[TCLouis]

This may sound crazy, but humor me . . .

Will the round fire if you rechamber them and go through the firing sequence a second time?

Lube all pivot points with a high quality lube, look for drag marks on the hammer and frame/grip (especially the sides). I s there any adjustment to the hammer spring?

Shoot a hundred or two rounds and see if the problem goes away.

[spqrzilla]

Poor primer seating would be my first guess.

[littlejack]

Thanks for all the replies fella's.
My first fix will be to get another hammer spring. I am not going to be in any CAS and it will not bother me to have the heavy hammer pull. I would rather have that than not having the round to fire.
I do not believe that it is bad primer seating. I have been priming this way for 45 years and all has been very reliable.
I tend not to believe that the primers are bad. Three in a row in exactly the same sequence is too far fetched.
I would tend to believe that the hammer spring was just enough when new to functiopn properly and after a few hundred rounds fired, has weakened enough to be the problem.
When I replace the spring, that will solve one of the potential problem. If the piece still does misfire, then I can focus on something else.
Jack

[Groo]

Groo here
You might have a short firing pin I had this on a Ruger RH.

[NHlever]

My only thought on the first round missfires is that although the primers felt like they were seated all the way, they might have been just a hair proud. On the first hammer strike, the hammer fall has to seat the primer all the way, but subsequent rounds may have the primer seated deeper by recoil against the recoil plate....... just a thought.

[johnmerry]

I had several misfire with my uberti I stripped the gun don and cleaned and oiled all of the moving parts

[littlejack]

Thanks fella's.
I'm lookin into all the suggestions.
Jack

[9.3X62AL]

All good info above.

I was and remain a MAJOR speedbump on the freeway for any revolver given a lightened hammer spring. This was something often employed by deputies in an attempt to increase quals scores......we checked them, and DQ'ed any service revolver found with altered springs.

This met with angst and upset, but I did a little demo for the guys and gals with my box-stock S&W 586. I backed out the mainspring strain screw 1/2 turn, and went to the line with factory 38 wadcutters. I started firing, and within 18-24 rounds--the revolver would start having misfires. The strain screw usually backed out another 1/4 to 3/4 turn within 18-30 rounds.

I reset the screw to 1/2 turn, and offered the revo to anyone who wanted verification. Sure enough, same thing happened. I did the same thing to a couple Department issue guns (S&W Model 64 x 4"), and the same results occurred in short order. THAT got around in short order.

GENERALLY SPEAKING--gunmakers know what they're doing when they set up spring rates and tension levels. The "Evil Roy" hammer spring might be fine for gun games or non-serious applications with Federal primers, but that is not an "upgrade" I see as being useful for general purpose shooting.

[littlejack]

Update:
I took the piece apart. The innards were as expected with a the few hundres rounds I have fired in it. Guessing maybe 300. Just soiled oil and grease. No noticable unburnt powder.
Wear and rub points look minimal. There is a coating of light grease on all moving and wear areas. Looked real close to (Vasiline)?
The main spring (hammer spring) was untouched as far as the eye can see. So, either there is a different spring (lighter) than what the factory supplies, the spring was bent at more of an arc to lighten the tension, or it is the original, untouched.
I did straighten the spring to give more force to the primer strike. If I still have trouble, I will switch primers. I have a new brick of FLP primers.
I'm gainin ground.
Jack

[bowhunter]

I agree with mooman, the gun is new and things are draging and tight. Just put in some emptys and dry fire quite a bit and most likley it will slick up and work it self out.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I took my wife to the range yesterday. She had gotten a new 9 MM pistol and I loaded some powder puff rounds for her to practice with. She has severe carpel tunnel and the previous loadings were a bit brisk to say the least.

I had gotten the loading from the Alliant website. For a 115 GR GDHP J word bullet from a 4" bbl they suggested 6.3 gr of Unique.

I loaded a 115 gr LRN cast boolit over 6.0 gr of Unique and the empties were flying 35 and 40 feet away and the gun recoiled smartly. I tried them in my 9 MM also and they also recoiled more than other loadings that I had tried.

I even compared these rounds to factory 115 Gr FMJ J Word bullets and the factory round were a lot nicer to shoot than these handloaded rounds.

So I brought the powder charge down to about 4.2 gr of Unique and we got a very pleasant round to shoot.

However they were so nice that they did not always work the slide fast enough to eject the fired round cleanly and she had a lot of practice clearing all kinds of malfunctions. It was ok she needs to learn that part of shooting anyway and it was very instructional for her and she is a quick study.

The bad part was that in the last part of the shooting day she was getting a lot of misfires. The hammer would drop and nothing would happen. She would pull the trigger again and 90% of the time the round would fire. Some rounds just would not fire at all.

Examination of the rounds did not disclose high primers and these were some Remington primers that I have had for a few years. Maybe it was a bad batch of primers but I was shooting the same ammo in my EAA Witness and I had no problems with misfires. Nor did I have any malfunctions at all with the same ammo.

I think her gun may be at fault for the malfunctions but the primer problems puzzle me. Her gun does need a good cleaning and lube as it it new and now has over 700 rounds through it without any real cleaning.

[StarMetal]

All the previous posts had very good suggestions. I would assume, being an Evil Roy tuned revolver, that it was gone over good. I say this because things like sloppy hammer pivot and hammer hitting the frame and etc., would have been checked....or they should have.

The number one thing, which has been mentioned, that comes to mine is the slightly high primers in conjunction with the lighter hammer spring. Next, with empty resized cased, see how much excessive headspace three is with the case and the recoil shield when the case is in the firing position. Also with the empty cases in the cylinder see how much play there is in the cylinder fore and aft. All these things, high primers, weak hammer spring, excessive head space, cylinder fore and aft slop, and even thin case rims....will case misfires on the first strike.

[littlejack]

Thanks again fellas.
I haven't had a chance to get to the range to test any more loads. I will try some FLP primers as well as checking with feeler guages in between the case and the recoil shields. I may even check the cases for thin case rims.
Jack

[J Miller]

littlejack,

I had my ancient Uberti Cattleman rebuilt a couple years ago by a gunsmith that specializes in cowboy action shooting. He had a bit of trouble finding parts for the 75 vintage frame and ended up repairing and using the original hammer.
While he was working on it he lightened the hammer spring by narrowing it's sides. When I started shooting it I started with fresh R-P factory ammo. All was good for the first box. When that box was empty I grabbed a box of older R-P factory ammo and started having misfires.
Then I switched to my own reloads and the misfires continued.
Once home I found an interference between the top end of the hammer spring and the hammer. Because of this interference the hammer was being slowed down to the point of misfires. I trimmed the spring and tried again with zero misfires. Since I don't like altered main springs (I don't trust them) I ordered in a set of Wolff springs. Since I've put them in I've shot every brand of LP primers I have (CCI, Federal, Winchester, Remington, RWS) with 100% first hit ignition.
I don't know what they do to the Evil Roy springs, but I'd consider putting in a Wolff set.
I will not tolerate light primer strikes, my guns MUST fire all brands of primers.

Joe

[littlejack]

Thanks Joe for the post. I may look again at the main spring to see if there is a problem in that area.
Jack

[BSkerj]

I have a Performance Center 625 S&W and was having misfires. I took off the grips and saw that the strain screw was backing out. Put some Loctite on it and tightened it and has not misfired since.

[jh45gun]

Did ya ever figure it out? I took my Cattleman out today and darn I love this gun I can shoot it well and it goes bang every time.

[littlejack]

Its been raining here every day for the last week. I haven't got out to shoot yet. I have loaded up some more rounds. Some with FLP and my usual WLP primers. I made it a point to seat each primer below the face of the case head. It wasn't like I was doing anything different though. I always feel for the primer to seat solid and then run my indext finger over the primer to make sure it is below flush.
I checked the remaining loaded ammo that was from the batch that had misfires. All of the primers were seated below the face of the case head.
I guess time will tell.
j45g, I'm with you. These handguns feel great in the hand. They are light weight and carry very easy. And when you touch one off, with a 250 grainer doin 900 fps, make one wonder why we ever needed the big magnums.
Jack

[jh45gun]

Mine are probably a bit slower than that maybe 850 since I am shooting 8 grains of Unique but I feel it is still plenty to get the job done and it shoots POA.

[littlejack]

Range update:
I went out today with the rest of the same batch that had misfires and some more that I had loaded up. I did have 3 misfires. I looked at the firing pin dent, and it DID look shallow, compared to the fired ones. I don't know what is causing this. I shot 150 rounds total with the three misfires.
The primers are seated corectly. It IS the hammer strike, ot should I say the lack of. There must be a glitch in the mechinism somewhere.
I try to be very light with my trigger pull. Could it be that sometimes when I do pull the trigger, I do not pull it far enough back to give clearance for the half and safety notches to clear? That would cause the trigger sear to just hit the tip of either of the notches and slow down the hammer strike. Any input will be appreciated.
Jack

[44man]

Range update:
I went out today with the rest of the same batch that had misfires and some more that I had loaded up. I did have 3 misfires. I looked at the firing pin dent, and it DID look shallow, compared to the fired ones. I don't know what is causing this. I shot 150 rounds total with the three misfires.
The primers are seated corectly. It IS the hammer strike, ot should I say the lack of. There must be a glitch in the mechinism somewhere.
I try to be very light with my trigger pull. Could it be that sometimes when I do pull the trigger, I do not pull it far enough back to give clearance for the half and safety notches to clear? That would cause the trigger sear to just hit the tip of either of the notches and slow down the hammer strike. Any input will be appreciated.
Jack
That is only common when someone stones the sear down on the hammer, a thing to never do with a Colt action. They were never smart enough to put a fly on hammers like they put on the tumbler of a muzzle loader! :mrgreen:
If your trigger spring is too light and your finger kicks forward a tad, then yes, you could be nicking the other notch.
You can test this easy, just shoot a few by pulling the trigger. Compare those primer strikes with the ones where you pulled very lightly. If there is a difference, your finger is the problem and the trigger is riding the hammer. Only a stronger trigger spring will fix that.
As simple as the Colt action is, you really need to know what you are doing if working with them and even the factory can get it wrong.
But let us know what happens when you just pull the trigger all the way by shooting a few fast shots.

[44man]

The Ruger is the easiest to work on but if the trigger spring is made too light and kicks the finger forward, the transfer bar can drop and cause a hang fire or failure. Since I like a light trigger I make a new transfer bar that is higher and covers the whole pin.
The top has to fit the notches at the hammer nose with the trigger all the way back. I have to check this by either pulling the trigger back hard or pulling the trigger with the hammer down to see if the transfer bar runs into the hammer. If it does, this can cause a failure to fire if the gun is shot fast.
Many do not understand the loss of accuracy and the can of worms that open when putting in spring kits. I always use over power Wolfe mainsprings and the trigger spring must be in balance for complete and safe ignition.
We had a problem with a new custom shop BFR that failed to fire a few rounds. The trigger pull was great but the transfer bar was too short to match the pull. I informed MR and they wanted the gun back because they said that was not the problem. I said no, I will fix it. I not only made a new transfer bar that solved the problem right away but I also installed an over power mainspring without changing the trigger pull weight. It now shoots super. In fact I re-bent the trigger spring to make it lighter.
I let them know but never heard back and hope they do something with the lawyer transfer bars Ruger makes. Ruger does NOT want you to have a light trigger.
So even a custom shop can miss it when they put a great trigger on a gun.
Funny how little old me, sitting at my bench, has to tell a factory how to fix a gun! [smilie=1:

[littlejack]

I forgot to mention that the hammer spring has a roller on it where it contacts the hammer. I do not know it one of the "regular" hammer springs without the roller will work correctly or not? I looked on the schematic and it looks like the spring that is shown, is one without a roller. Anyone have any expierience with this situation?
Jack

[44man]

I forgot to mention that the hammer spring has a roller on it where it contacts the hammer. I do not know it one of the "regular" hammer springs without the roller will work correctly or not? I looked on the schematic and it looks like the spring that is shown, is one without a roller. Anyone have any expierience with this situation?
Jack
It won't make much difference as long as the fit is correct. But do my tests first before changing the mainspring.

[littlejack]

Hey guys:
I finally got out to the range for the first time in a month on Friday.
I had no misfires that day in the Uberti. Now, I didn't get it all out of my system, so I went again yesterday"Saturday". I did get a misfire yesterday. I fired and nothing. I repeated two more times and still nothing. I brought the round home. An hour ago, I pulled the bullet, dumped the powder and poped out the primer. I proceeded to dismantle the primer. All looked well. Good pin strike, anvil looked good, cover under anvil and over compound, plenty of priming compound. Now get this, I took the cup with the priming compound in it to the car port. I set it on the work bench. I lit the butane BBQ lighter and held it over the compound. It went poof. There was more compound left in the cup. I pointed the flame into the cup and it went poof again. Again, there was a little more compound left in the cup. Again, I directed the flame into the cup and Poof, it went again.
Now, I ain't no Albert Einstein, but I believe that if the compound had been working proper, it all would have went POOF at the same time. Right? This is still the same batch of primers that I have gotten misfires with previously. Maybe bad priming compound?
Any thoughts?
Jack

[Daddyfixit]

Yes, you could have a bad batch of primmers ( It happened to me once ) but refering to your orig post, it was happening in a certin sequence....? I still think the odds on hitting bad primers in the same loading sequence over several chamberings are fantastic, but that could be part of the problem combined with a weak strike?? Change to another brand of primers and try again. Making one change at a time then re-testing I would try the primers first.
( Cheaper then a new spring anyway! )

[littlejack]

I have a new batch of Federal LP primers. I will start using them and see how they work
out.
Jack

[Frank]

Try priming with your press. Don't crush them. See if they are going in uniformly deeper. I had misfires with my 45 Colt and chucked the RCBS handpriming tool. I do it all on the press now and no problems.

[StarMetal]

I've been priming with the RCBS hand primer for years with nary a problem with all the brands of primers in all the sizes. Presses are one of the worse things to prime with because you don't get a good feel. Sometimes you can even crush the primer compound. You can make different primer rods for the RCBS and get the exact depth you want to seat. I remember a fix for the press primer on the RCBS presses where you install a screw on the primer arm to prevent over seating a primer. A person can also buy a primer seating tool to measure if they have them seated correctly.

Many people are too fast to blame equipment.

[jh45gun]

I have never had a problem with my RCBS hand primer tool.

[Frank]

StarMetal said
You can make different primer rods for the RCBS and get the exact depth you want to seat.
Sounds like a good idea. I need a longer one for seating pistol primers in rifle pockets.

[littlejack]

I have seated my primers with my RCBS press for 45 years. I havn't had any problems except for the issue that started this Thread.
Jack

[44man]

I've been priming with the RCBS hand primer for years with nary a problem with all the brands of primers in all the sizes. Presses are one of the worse things to prime with because you don't get a good feel. Sometimes you can even crush the primer compound. You can make different primer rods for the RCBS and get the exact depth you want to seat. I remember a fix for the press primer on the RCBS presses where you install a screw on the primer arm to prevent over seating a primer. A person can also buy a primer seating tool to measure if they have them seated correctly.

Many people are too fast to blame equipment.
I really agree with Joe here. I normally just use a Lee priming tool but also have a Bonanza primer tool. I do not like the press for primers. The RCBS should be great but I don't have one.
Seating too hard can crack the compound out from under the anvil.
I had too many fellas I watched load that slammed the handle up and down for speed, priming and seating. I seen half of a boolit get scraped off onto the brass and then crimped there. My Billy club was needed more then once! :holysheep
Loading is a slow "FEEL process." I am not accusing anyone but you have to realize the press develops tons of pressure. You can seat a primer with a few pounds from your thumb.

[Frank]

I checked my 475 rounds and they all had an equal depth while seating with the loading press. I checked 45-70 rounds and they varied too much. So with the Lee press I'm doing good with the 475's, but not good with the 45-70. Does the Lee hand priming tool go deep?

The .45 Colt never misfires any more since I stopped using the RCBS hand priming tool and use the Lee Press for priming. Remember, 44man? All that talk about the Redhawk and it's weak firing system, checking the hole and protrusion. Maybe even sending it back to Ruger? The fix was just taking loaded rounds and then gently reseating the primers on the press. Misfires can be due to the primer not reaching the bottom. But who checks everything?

[littlejack]

My primer seating techniques are fine. Like I said, this is the first problems I have had in 45 years of reloading.
I was thinking yesterday, I use the same batch of primers to load my 45 acp. I shoot a lot more of them than I do the Uberti 45. I have not had ANY misfires with my 45 acp loads. What does that tell ya?
To me, it would more than corroberate the fact that the Uberti is the problem. Like I said on an earlier post, I am very gentle with the trigger pull. As was stated by 44 man, I believe, The hammer could be riding the trigger, which would weaken the hammer strike. I will go ahead and load a lot more 45 Colt ammo using the Federal LP primers, and if I continue to get a misfire now and again, It will confirm that it is a weak hammer strike.
Jack

[Frank]

littlejack said
I have seated my primers with my RCBS press for 45 years. I havn't had any problems except for the issue that started this Thread. I
have not had ANY misfires with my 45 acp loads. What does that tell ya?

It tells me that all you care about is that the gun goes "bang". :kidding:
Seriously, when I seated primers high, like Lloyd and Nick said, I got a smaller indentation. But you're press priming so it's not seating high, but if anything, low. So it's probably the hammer strike like you said. :lovebooli

[44man]

Remember, all brass is different and primers too. Some fit tighter then others and is why feel when seating is so important. The primer MUST bottom and then a touch more pressure to sensitize them but not enough to crush out the compound.
The little more pressure will push the anvil level with the primer cup.

Jack, if you find hammer ride is the problem, try getting the trigger spring a few ounces heavier or replace it.

[Frank]

44man said
The primer MUST bottom and then a touch more pressure to sensitize them but not enough to crush out the compound.
The little more pressure will push the anvil level with the primer cup.


I just did a test yesterday. All I can say is, If you use a press for priming, I don't know how you would not crush the cup. Like wise, If you use a hand priming tool, you can also easily crush it.

[littlejack]

OK, I got a new "heavier" main spring coming from Cimmaron. It should be here in a few
days. I'll see how that works. I believe that should fix the problem.
Jack

[Al_sway]

I am not sure about your Uberti, but does it have a 'safety' using the cylinder pin with two indents (one for firing and one for safety that blocks the hammer?) If so, then it might be partially on, so that the first round fired after loading has the hammer slowed down or dampened by the cylinder pin. Just a thought besides all of the discussion about primers.

[littlejack]

Al:
Yes it does have the cylinder pin safety. The pin does not protrude to where it will interfere with the hammer fall. Thanks for the suggestion.
I'm still waiting for the new hammer spring. It should be here any day.
Jack

[45r]

If you get the lee hand primer and seat your Fed primers like 44man said it will help a lot.I use to have an ocasional misfire with my tuned 45 redhawk using cci or wlp primers but with the Feds you can feel the primer bottom out and then with just a little more pressure feel the anvil seat.I use a sinclare priming tool to square the pocket out also.The lee tool is the way to go,it's hard to put too much pressure on the primer with it.The lever would probably break first.

[Frank]

45r said
The lee tool is the way to go,it's hard to put too much pressure on the primer with it.The lever would probably break first.
Do you measure the depth? I have a Lee on the way. I think the Sinclair tool is a good idea. I might try it out next.

[45r]

I run my finger across the bottom of the brass and you can feel that the primer is below flush.It's usually around 4 or 5 thou less which is about right.The sinclair primer tool takes out brass untill it bottoms out and works great.After the first time you use it doesn't cut much after that,mainly gets the crud from then on.A bench rest shooter showed me how his brass looked when using it and I got one and use it all the time now,It's surprising how much brass gets taken out sometimes,it makes priming about as perfect as it can be.You can feel the primers bottom out easier to me and the Fed primers for some reason are easy to feel the anvil seat.I got their green handle for my 3 cutters and you can put them in a drill if you want to speed up the first time you prep brass but I don't do it to keep the pockets tight as possible.Doing by handle does take a bit if twisting to get all the excess brass out though.

[Frank]

45r said
I run my finger across the bottom of the brass and you can feel that the primer is below flush.It's usually around 4 or 5 thou less which is about right.The sinclair primer tool takes out brass untill it bottoms out and works great.After the first time you use it doesn't cut much after that,mainly gets the crud from then on.A bench rest shooter showed me how his brass looked when using it and I got one and use it all the time now,It's surprising how much brass gets taken out sometimes,it makes priming about as perfect as it can be.You can feel the primers bottom out easier to me and the Fed primers for some reason are easy to feel the anvil seat.I got their green handle for my 3 cutters and you can put them in a drill if you want to speed up the first time you prep brass but I don't do it to keep the pockets tight as possible.Doing by handle does take a bit if twisting to get all the excess brass out though.
I've got them pretty even now without the tool, but it takes work. I gently seat, measure, then reseat if necessary. All are in spec now. The tool would probably allow them to be in spec easier by feel.

[littlejack]

Well fellas, I just came back from the range. I installed the heavier hammer spring from Cimmaron yesterday.
Can you believe it, I had one misfire out of about 25 rounds that I fired.
Yesterday while installing the new spring, I noticed where the hammer had been wearing on the lower left side when rotating down to the strike position. This would be at the bottom and the rounded shape of the hammer rotating inside the hammer slot. Thats about as clear as mud.
I am going to remove the hammer and check for any ragged edges for the hammer to wear on. I will also polish both surfaces, the hammer slot and the lower left side of the hammer.
Working on it.
Jack