Highway Patrolman issues

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vintovka

vintovka

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In process of liquidating my ailing buddies collection to help with medical bills. Of the handguns theres an early S&W Highway Patrol .357. By serial it was made in like 1955. We tested it out and it has a trigger pull so light is was almost dangerous. I have never experienced a ultra light pull and took some time to get used to it. It is incredibly accurate and i am no marksman. I do know that when he could still talk he spoke of working on it with Roy Dunlap at Lassen as a target only pistol. We may list it but the extremely light pull is a liability concern. Not sure what to do or how to describe it..
 
Exactly how light is "extremely light?" The factory single-action weight is 2.5-3 pounds and double action is about 11-12 pounds.
 
I would guess half that or less. Just contacting trigger when cocked will fire. Double action feels extremely light and almost not ready when it go off. Consistently will hit the head of an empty 20200615_181115.jpg 20200615_181559.jpg 12 gauge shotgun stuck into cardboard backing at 25 yards
 
Check the strain screw to see if it is completely tight. Also check the length of the screw and see if it has been shortened.

I have a M27 that was worked over by Bob Chow in San Francisco which has a SA trigger pull of about 1.5lbs...just out of caution, I don't let anyone else shoot it; dry fire only
 
I had a 29 that Id bought in the mid 70's was like that. A buddy of mine, who was a gunsmith, and did a good bit of PPC type work on S&W's, was looking at it and was feeling the trigger pulls when he said the SA pull felt awfully light. He cocked it, then pushed on the back of the hammer, and the hammer fell. He just looked at me and said it shouldnt do that. :)

He pulled the side plate and said it all looked original/factory, and he didnt think it had been messed with.

I normally shot that gun DAO and it had a very nice DA trigger as well, as most S&W's do.

One thing on the strain screws. I recently picked up a nice 625 that had a super nice DA trigger. When I took it to the range, I was getting misfires about every other round. That was the first thing I checked and whoever had it before me, had backed the screw out, or it had backed itself out somehow and maybe thats why they got rid of it.

Screwed it in tight, and its worked fine after that. Still has a very nice DA trigger too. :).
 
It shouldn't go off at a touch. Check for the "push off" that AK103K describes.
The minimum SA trigger pull for PPC is 2.5 lbs. I proudly left the yellow tape on the butt of my Python showing it was inspected at the state championships.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Something going on with those target grips too.....might be meant for an L-frame, Im thinkin.
Click to expand...
Yes, those stocks are for a K/L frame.

The gun seems to shoot well, is it consistent, with no light strike/failure to fire? Have you checked for 'push-off'? Cock it into single action and momentarily push forward on the hammer spur with moderate force with your thumb. If the hammer drops, the sear is either worn or has been altered, and the gun is unsafe. If it doesn't easily push off, it's safe, just be up front with potential buyers about the ultra-light pull. The cylinder shows a well-worn turn ring, does the cylinder time properly and lock up well?

If it dates to 1955, I'm thinking an "S" prefix in the late 130xxx-early 140xxx SN# ? The upper side plate screw was deleted around S171584, according to the Standard Catalog. Value is given as fair condition--$375, good condition--$500. I don't think it really qualifies as good condition, with the wear and incorrect stocks and questionable action. Still, it's a second year production gun, another collector might find that worth a few bucks.
 
AK103K said:
He cocked it, then pushed on the back of the hammer, and the hammer fell. He just looked at me and said it shouldnt do that.
Click to expand...

Yes, do this. This is checking for sear engagement. If you are able to push a hammer forward with your thumb without touching the trigger, you have an unsafe firearm. You could also take off the grips and look at the hammer spring underneath. Look for cuts, burrs, or radical changes in finish. These can help determine if the spring was modified to lighten the weight. Although a "good" gun smith will often take measures to hide their work.
 
Im interested in how you can hit a shotgun shell head, consistently at 25 yards.
My s&w 28 with a 6" barrels front sight post would cover about 6 of those at 25 yds. How would i hit one of them consistently, i would and could never know.
It sounds legit, and vintage N frame smiths in their stock form sometimes "fool" me during single action trigger press.

Either way, consider your fine model 28s single action hammer as a "safety" and really only activate SA when you are ready. Its sometbing striker fire pistol shooters may not be used to. Never re-holster with the hammer cocked, obviously.
An old friend carried a 1911 in condition 1 cocked and locked, and it had about a 2.5lb trigger, and the safety lever wasnt super "strong" Made me very nervous.
 
Last edited:
9mmepiphany said:
Check the strain screw to see if it is completely tight. Also check the length of the screw and see if it has been shortened.

I have a M27 that was worked over by Bob Chow in San Francisco which has a SA trigger pull of about
1.5lbs...just out of caution, I don't let anyone else shoot it; dry fire only
Click to expand...
Some people used to put a thin piece of leather behind the strain screw as a shim to lighten the trigger.
If not get it checked out by a gunsmith. It doesn’t sound safe.
 
If the hammer doesn't push off, it's safe; don't touch the trigger if you don't want the boom.

If it does push off. . . it shouldn't. That said, please include the original parts when selling. Someone who knows how can fix that in 20 minutes, and the original parts are valuable.
 
Palladan44 said:
Im interested in how you can hit a shotgun shell head, consistently at 25 yards.
My s&w 28 with a 6" barrels front sight post would cover about 6 of those at 25 yds. How would i hit one of them consistently, i would and could never know.
It sounds legit, and vintage N frame smiths in their stock form sometimes "fool" me during single action trigger press.

Either way, consider your fine model 28s single action hammer as a "safety" and really only activate SA when you are ready. Its sometbing striker fire pistol shooters may not be used to. Never re-holster with the hammer cocked, obviously.
An old friend carried a 1911 in condition 1 cocked and locked, and it had about a 2.5lb trigger, and the safety lever wasnt super "strong" Made me very nervous.
Click to expand...
Palladan44 said:
Im interested in how you can hit a shotgun shell head, consistently at 25 yards.
My s&w 28 with a 6" barrels front sight post would cover about 6 of those at 25 yds. How would i hit one of them consistently, i would and could never know.
It sounds legit, and vintage N frame smiths in their stock form sometimes "fool" me during single action trigger press.

Either way, consider your fine model 28s single action hammer as a "safety" and really only activate SA when you are ready. Its sometbing striker fire pistol shooters may not be used to. Never re-holster with the hammer cocked, obviously.
An old friend carried a 1911 in condition 1 cocked and locked, and it had about a 2.5lb trigger, and the safety lever wasnt super "strong" Made me very nervous.
Click to expand...



Dunno either. Didn't have a decent target so grabbed some spent shells off the grounds and shoved them thru holes in a shot up cardboard box. Went back the 25 yard "log" and emptied cylinder. kinda sorta aimed and hit 5 out of six first time and 4 out of 5 second. Was using old .38 sp reloads. and wish i brought a dozen witnesses and not the dog. I will try the hammer push when i have 5 minutes.
 
With a six-o-clock hold, I don't see any problem with hitting shotgun shells.
 
I've stopped shooting period until my eyes get done in Jan/Feb. My right eye is terrible, my left slowly getting worse by the day.
 
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