Miroku .38 Liberty Chief Worth Fixing?

Status
Not open for further replies.
gary711

gary711

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2021
Messages
23
Location
Macomb, MI.
I inherited a .38 Liberty Chief 6 shot revolver. I have not shot yet, I was told by the the person who gave it to me that it would misfire, every now and then, with new & reloads. He said it is probably the firing pin or hammer spring. He did say the mark on the primer when this happens in dead on center.

I looks to be in good condition overall. I do not know a lot about hand guns, but had been looking for something just to have in my home for protection that I feel comfortable with. This gun fits the bill for me.

thumbnail_Image-4.jpg thumbnail_Image-3.jpg My question is how much should I invest in this gun.
 
How much? No idea, honestly. If the gun pictured is the gun in question, it looks to be in pretty good shape.

See here for a link to a used revolver checkout document. There are others out there. if you're not familiar with revolvers, you'll be wanting to check sideplate screws, push off, timing, lockup, endshake. Some fixes are easy, some a gunsmith hard. And the Miroku is not a common gun.
 
lee n. field said:
How much? No idea, honestly. If the gun pictured is the gun in question, it looks to be in pretty good shape.

See here for a link to a used revolver checkout document. There are others out there. if you're not familiar with revolvers, you'll be wanting to check sideplate screws, push off, timing, lockup, endshake. Some fixes are easy, some a gunsmith hard. And the Miroku is not a common gun.
Click to expand...
Thank you Lee, yes that is a photo of the gun. Good point on not being common, might be hard to get parts. I did a semi mechanical check, grip, play in trigger, etc. From what I can tell it is pretty solid, but I just checkout what most guys would. I'll have a look at the link you were kind enough to send.

Gary
 
Jim, I screwed up on the photo. I posted a stock photo I had instead by mistake. Here is the actual photo. There is no screw anywhere on the in side of the grip, except for the one holding the grips on the side. thumbnail_Image.jpg
 
Not sure how old that piece might be but a good thorough cleaning of the action might cure your misfires. It could be something as simple as old gummed up WD40 lube slowing your hammer enough to cause random misfires.
Always start with the cheapest cure and work your way up. Don't jump straight to the gunsmith.
 
Ontarget, Yeah I could give that a try, the person that was holding on to it tried that already, he has 3 or hand guns. He never did take it apart though. I see on some s&w .38 the grips have to come off to get at the strain screw. Perhaps that is all it needs is an adjustment, as I said I do not trust myself doing any work on it that requires taking it apart.
 
I have no specific information for you. Miroku made guns with good materials and workmanship, and they copied good designs, but they seem to have tinkered with the designs a bit, and that is where the problems are, in my non-expert opinion. For example, rather than copying a popular grip frame for the Liberty Chief, they designed their own, and it seems much too small to me.

I own a Miroku 38 Special revolver sold under the EIG name. It is somewhat larger than your Liberty Chief, and is a somewhat different design. It is more of a Colt Police Positive copy, and does not have a strain screw.

I have not fired this gun, but when dry-fired while pointed straight up, it will knock a full length #2 pencil about 2 or 3 inches clear of its 4 inch barrel. That is not terribly energetic, but seems adequate.

The only other thing I can tell you from my personal knowledge is that I took the sideplate off after I got it. The gun did not have any problems, I am just curious and not too smart. Getting the sideplate back on was an obnoxious job, much worse than doing the same thing on a Colt New Service, because Miroku had built a removable part into the sideplate that had to mesh precisely with a part in the trigger mechanism; in fact, it was a part of the trigger mechanism. I got it done, but it took a lot of tries. This was several years ago.

One more irrelevant fact: If you get an EIG Miroku with plastic grips, the much nicer wooden grips Miroku put on the apparently identical guns they sold under their own name will NOT fit, I don't know why.
 
Last edited:
Gary - before going to the expense of a smith, try this. Normally, the grips are held on by a single screw that goes through and holds one side to the other. Carefully, try removing that screw. If it starts to take more force to turn it than you feel comfortable with doing, put 1 drop on one side, let it sit for at least a minute, turn over and do a second drop on the other side. If you have a rubber mallet, use it to gently tap the grips as any corrosion in that screw may be dislodged and allow the oil in to the screw. After tapping, try the screw again and see if you can remove it. If you can, remove the screw and grips and LOOK (don't touch) at the insides. If there is an accumulation of dirt and debris, use some "cotton swabs" (Q-tips) and gun solvent to wipe the spring and interior parts. See how dirty the used swabs appear as that will indicate whether more cleaning is needed.
Now, wrap the grip with a clean rag and try the trigger again and see if you notice any difference.
If you have any automotive feeler gauges, check the gap at both front AND rear (rear with the hammer down), checking for every chamber. They should all be the same. If one or more chambers are different, esp. in the rear, that may cause the misfires as the bullet's primer is not being held as close to the hammer on those chambers. If the ammo also has a slightly depressed primer, that may also account for "light strike" misfires, esp. if some chambers are off by as little as 0.001".
Good luck. That is a nice looking revolver.
 
I have one of those exact same guns. There is nothing at all to getting them apart and back together. Have at it! Only thing even remotely difficult going back together is getting everything lined up right, and a touch of grease will help hold stuff as it goes together. The springs on them aren’t much, but they are also fairly simple and any gunsmith worth a flip could make that particular spring blindfolded and drunk in a hurricane at midnight with the power off. Firing pin is not likely the culprit but it’s possible.
 
JTHunter said:
Gary - before going to the expense of a smith, try this. Normally, the grips are held on by a single screw that goes through and holds one side to the other. Carefully, try removing that screw. If it starts to take more force to turn it than you feel comfortable with doing, put 1 drop on one side, let it sit for at least a minute, turn over and do a second drop on the other side. If you have a rubber mallet, use it to gently tap the grips as any corrosion in that screw may be dislodged and allow the oil in to the screw. After tapping, try the screw again and see if you can remove it. If you can, remove the screw and grips and LOOK (don't touch) at the insides. If there is an accumulation of dirt and debris, use some "cotton swabs" (Q-tips) and gun solvent to wipe the spring and interior parts. See how dirty the used swabs appear as that will indicate whether more cleaning is needed.
Now, wrap the grip with a clean rag and try the trigger again and see if you notice any difference.
If you have any automotive feeler gauges, check the gap at both front AND rear (rear with the hammer down), checking for every chamber. They should all be the same. If one or more chambers are different, esp. in the rear, that may cause the misfires as the bullet's primer is not being held as close to the hammer on those chambers. If the ammo also has a slightly depressed primer, that may also account for "light strike" misfires, esp. if some chambers are off by as little as 0.001".
Good luck. That is a nice looking revolver.
Click to expand...
TJ, thank you for
WestKentucky said:
I have one of those exact same guns. There is nothing at all to getting them apart and back together. Have at it! Only thing even remotely difficult going back together is getting everything lined up right, and a touch of grease will help hold stuff as it goes together. The springs on them aren’t much, but they are also fairly simple and any gunsmith worth a flip could make that particular spring blindfolded and drunk in a hurricane at midnight with the power off. Firing pin is not likely the culprit but it’s possible.
Click to expand...
JTHunter said:
Gary - before going to the expense of a smith, try this. Normally, the grips are held on by a single screw that goes through and holds one side to the other. Carefully, try removing that screw. If it starts to take more force to turn it than you feel comfortable with doing, put 1 drop on one side, let it sit for at least a minute, turn over and do a second drop on the other side. If you have a rubber mallet, use it to gently tap the grips as any corrosion in that screw may be dislodged and allow the oil in to the screw. After tapping, try the screw again and see if you can remove it. If you can, remove the screw and grips and LOOK (don't touch) at the insides. If there is an accumulation of dirt and debris, use some "cotton swabs" (Q-tips) and gun solvent to wipe the spring and interior parts. See how dirty the used swabs appear as that will indicate whether more cleaning is needed.
Now, wrap the grip with a clean rag and try the trigger again and see if you notice any difference.
If you have any automotive feeler gauges, check the gap at both front AND rear (rear with the hammer down), checking for every chamber. They should all be the same. If one or more chambers are different, esp. in the rear, that may cause the misfires as the bullet's primer is not being held as close to the hammer on those chambers. If the ammo also has a slightly depressed primer, that may also account for "light strike" misfires, esp. if some chambers are off by as little as 0.001".
Good luck. That is a nice looking revolver.
Click to expand...
Thank you TJ & West. I will take a look later this week. You guys here have been very helpful.
 
I read some excellent advice from the great posters on this website. I totally agree with cleaning the lockworks, I have acquired revolvers which the internals were so gummed up, they would not cycle properly. You don't have to remove any internal parts, just take off the side panel. I did not find a youtube video for the disassembly of your pistol, but it should be similar to a S&W. Watch the video and see you do not pry on the sideplate.



I think you could blast the insides with the side plate on, through the hammer housing, with carb cleaner. I hesitate to recommend brake cleaner as that gave me a chemical burn that lasted a year. Skin pealed for a year, no joke! Once the side plate is off, you use a Qtip and cotton balls to soak up residue, without removing any parts. If you plan to take the lock works out, do take a picture first, no one actually remembers how the things were assembled!

If the insides are gummed up due to old oil or grease, once that is removed, re oil, and take to the range and see if the pistol functions perfectly. If it still misfires the next thing to do is call Wolff Springs, and see if they have a mainspring to fit. Nothing is listed, but if you count coils, measure the OD and wire thickness, they should be able to recommend an alternative. They have a lot of springs, and if you have to coil cut one to work, that is no big thing.
 
Slamfire said:
I read some excellent advice from the great posters on this website. I totally agree with cleaning the lockworks, I have acquired revolvers which the internals were so gummed up, they would not cycle properly. You don't have to remove any internal parts, just take off the side panel. I did not find a youtube video for the disassembly of your pistol, but it should be similar to a S&W. Watch the video and see you do not pry on the sideplate.



I think you could blast the insides with the side plate on, through the hammer housing, with carb cleaner. I hesitate to recommend brake cleaner as that gave me a chemical burn that lasted a year. Skin pealed for a year, no joke! Once the side plate is off, you use a Qtip and cotton balls to soak up residue, without removing any parts. If you plan to take the lock works out, do take a picture first, no one actually remembers how the things were assembled!

If the insides are gummed up due to old oil or grease, once that is removed, re oil, and take to the range and see if the pistol functions perfectly. If it still misfires the next thing to do is call Wolff Springs, and see if they have a mainspring to fit. Nothing is listed, but if you count coils, measure the OD and wire thickness, they should be able to recommend an alternative. They have a lot of springs, and if you have to coil cut one to work, that is no big thing.
Click to expand...

Good info Slamfire. Thank you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Tallball
  • Locked
New to Me Miroku Liberty Chief 38 special
Replies
12
Views
4K
Monac
Monac
D
  • Locked
Hopkins & Allen .38 Revolver ???
Replies
4
Views
894
Bear Gulch
B
S
  • Locked
Need Help with Liberty Arms SAA Clone
Replies
6
Views
968
Josey
J
A
  • Locked
M36...Chiefs Special?
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
gunzrfunz
G
B
  • Locked
?? what model S &W do I have?
Replies
7
Views
659
Moonclip
M
Back
Top