S&W J-Frame Trigger Job Question

[Patriot]

Is it possible to get a trigger job on a S&W J-Frame without getting into light primer strikes? Why is it
that the hammer strike is integral with trigger pressure? I like my triggers but the occasional light strike
pisses me off. Finally, is there any way to have your cake and eat it or am I SOL?

ETA: In case it isn't clear I have had trigger 'jobs' done on both of them by a gunsmith with this being the result.

 

[Sparkey]

I put a apex kit in my jframe and have ran a lot of rounds thur it with no issues

 

[dlarge]

Yes, talk to Greg Derr.

 

[Palladin]

There was a thread here recently about changing the springs out. I did that and the action in my 442 is smooth as silk now

 

[Thedub88]

Yah I did the springs change. Soooo much nicer pull. I have the 624 dao. Its almost like a 2 stage if you pull the trigger right. Pull the trigger back just until the cylinder stops, then it fires like a single action with a little more pressure.

This is what I did. Look in the description for the spring weights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHy_aNhVk2k

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[cevtv]

I put a apex kit in my jframe and have ran a lot of rounds thur it with no issues

Same here. The Apex stuff is top notch!

 

[Greg Derr]

Patriot: Most revolver shooters using a light trigger for DA or SA for that matter tune the gun to the ammo/primer. I find that Winchester primers are the softest and easiest to avoid light strikes with. In my shop I ask the client to provide the "ammo of choice" for the gun and work the trigger job around that. Of course there is more to a trigger job than just changing springs, the timing, return shuttle and advancing hand are also tuned. The light strike issue comes up a lot, I had one J frame that was very sensitive to ammo, and was a 22WM, so I had to really limit the owner to one ammo that she bought a few bricks of. It took two tries, so don't get discouraged.

 

[seanc]

I have put Wolff spring kits in 3 snubbed and love them. I have had no issues with light strikes and the action is much better.

I did no additional work, it made a huge difference and is easily undone if necessary. All for under $20

 

[Atlas]

I did the Apex kit along with a little polishing and am very happy with the result. It has been 100 % reliable with various brands of ammo.

 

[mark056]

Derr could advise you and I would also suggest Mike LaRocca in Worcester.

 

[yanici]

If the gun is for protection, which practically all snubbies are, IMO you should never lighten the main spring. You want that ability to go bang every time. Go ahead and maybe polish the rebound slide and lighten the spring along with it.

Just my 2 cents but my 642 is all factory and staying that way. BTW, so far it has been totally reliable with all brands of ammo.

 

[seanc]

If the gun is for protection, which practically all snubbies are, IMO you should never lighten the main spring. You want that ability to go bang every time. Go ahead and maybe polish the rebound slide and lighten the spring along with it.

Just my 2 cents but my 642 is all factory and staying that way. BTW, so far it has been totally reliable with all brands of ammo.

I disagree.

I will agree that ANY gun must be fully tested and judged to be 100% percent reliable before it is accepted as a tool accepted for use in a life and death situation. This would be the same method of determination to be used directly from the factory and then after any alteration is made. I would never assume, or advise anyone, to trust any object, even right out of the box from the factory to be suitable until and unless it has been thoroughly tested and judged to be acceptable by the user.

For many people the stock, factory trigger pull on a snub is just far too difficult. Age, Arthritis, carpal tunnel, etc. can make the possibility of a 15lb+ DA trigger even using two hands impossible (but the simplicity and snub format is still most preferable). Swapping out springs to a more manageable 10lb can make all the difference for many.

 

[Mark from MA]

If the gun is for protection, which practically all snubbies are, IMO you should never lighten the main spring. You want that ability to go bang every time. Go ahead and maybe polish the rebound slide and lighten the spring along with it.

Just my 2 cents but my 642 is all factory and staying that way. BTW, so far it has been totally reliable with all brands of ammo.

Same here I just dry fired mine a lot and it smoothed out and always goes bang my 642 had about a 12 pound pull to start with nowhere near 15....it's not a Ma m&p!

 

[Patriot]

Patriot: Most revolver shooters using a light trigger for DA or SA for that matter tune the gun to the ammo/primer. I find that Winchester primers are the softest and easiest to avoid light strikes with. In my shop I ask the client to provide the "ammo of choice" for the gun and work the trigger job around that. Of course there is more to a trigger job than just changing springs, the timing, return shuttle and advancing hand are also tuned. The light strike issue comes up a lot, I had one J frame that was very sensitive to ammo, and was a 22WM, so I had to really limit the owner to one ammo that she bought a few bricks of. It took two tries, so don't get discouraged.

Thanks Greg,

By your answer I think that my question got answered. It is not possible to isolate trigger pull from hammer strike in a J-Frame.
I can't think of anything I would rather not do than to have to use one distinct primer for standard .38 special loads. I just wish
the gunsmith I took this to would have explained what I could expect from adjusting the trigger pull. I most assuredly would not
have done it.

My problem. Now to return the gun to a functioning state with a crappy but reliable trigger pull and hammer strike I expect will
take a gunsmith to do it?

 

[TY43215]

Is it possible to get a trigger job on a S&W J-Frame without getting into light primer strikes? Why is it
that the hammer strike is integral with trigger pressure? I like my triggers but the occasional light strike
pisses me off. Finally, is there any way to have your cake and eat it or am I SOL?

ETA: In case it isn't clear I have had trigger 'jobs' done on both of them by a gunsmith with this being the result.

It is very possible to get a lighter, smoother action on a "J" frame with 100% reliability.

It sounds like your action jobs were completed by either changing or cutting springs. This is not all there is to it.

To add to what my friend Greg wrote, I polish internals, align the yoke, Polish the yoke barrel, remove excess end shake, change springs in balance, and always test fire with factory ammunition.

I disagree with Gregg as to primers. In my time of working strictly on revolvers (S&W Armorer School 1981) I have found Federal primers to be the softest and easiest to ignite. Most USPSA and ICORE shooters have developed a light trigger pull that will only work with crushed Federal primers and no others. For a game gun that is great. When I worked on duty revolvers, I wanted them to work with any ammunition that was put in them and they did.

Your best way to correct the problem is to start from scratch with a set of stock springs and see what happens. Then, if you want a good reliable action job on your J Frames that will use any ammo you want to use, send them to the S&W performance shop and have them done up. Their action work is not what a competition shooter wants but it is great for carry and reliability.

NO GUN USED FOR SELF DEFENSE SHOULD BE AMMO SENSITIVE. No exceptions in my opinion.

Good luck

 

[Patriot]

It is very possible to get a lighter, smoother action on a "J" frame with 100% reliability.

It sounds like your action jobs were completed by either changing or cutting springs. This is not all there is to it.

To add to what my friend Greg wrote, I polish internals, align the yoke, Polish the yoke barrel, remove excess end shake, change springs in balance, and always test fire with factory ammunition.

I disagree with Gregg as to primers. In my time of working strictly on revolvers (S&W Armorer School 1981) I have found Federal primers to be the softest and easiest to ignite. Most USPSA and ICORE shooters have developed a light trigger pull that will only work with crushed Federal primers and no others. For a game gun that is great. When I worked on duty revolvers, I wanted them to work with any ammunition that was put in them and they did.

Your best way to correct the problem is to start from scratch with a set of stock springs and see what happens. Then, if you want a good reliable action job on your J Frames that will use any ammo you want to use, send them to the S&W performance shop and have them done up. Their action work is not what a competition shooter wants but it is great for carry and reliability.

NO GUN USED FOR SELF DEFENSE SHOULD BE AMMO SENSITIVE. No exceptions in my opinion.

Good luck

I called the performance center today and they will not do any 'cleaning, polishing, etc.', work on a j-frame in a caliber less than .38 caliber. They did
say they would do it on my 642 but they will not do any specific trigger work on a j-frame.

 

[Diskothek]

For what its worth I had my 642 trigger worked on by Arms Tech in Natick and it fired some Aguila HPs and CCI Blazer FMJ just fine afterwards.

 

[endus]

I put the Apex kit in mine and did some polishing in there with no actual knowledge of gunsmithing whatsoever. I can't remember ever having a light strike. Maybe it's happened once or twice? But I don't think so. I've put a fair number of rounds through it too.

Everyone is terrified by the SA trigger on my revolver now. They think carrying the gun is dangerous. But I would never carry it with the hammer cocked and the DA trigger is more than fine. It's surprisingly accurate SA now!