Hammer spring screw, do i need to tighten all the way

Some people do back that screw off trying to lighten the trigger pull but you aren't supposed to do that. That screw should be all the way in like you did.

It should always be ttight. But nothing says you can't shorten the screw to reduce spring tension a bit. Take off material slowly and test often. I usually buy a replacement screw before adjuting the length of the strain screw.

Hit_Factor said:

It should always be ttight. But nothing says you can't shorten the screw to reduce spring tension a bit. Take off material slowly and test often. I usually buy a replacement screw before adjuting the length of the strain screw.

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That is not a good idea and usually done by those who think they are a gunsmith. Shortening the screw can cause unreliable primer ignition. A qualified gunsmith can replace the spring with a lighter one and then test reliability but cutting the screw is bush-league.

The correct way to lighten the perceived pull weight on any handgun is to leave the springs alone and very carefuly stone to metal contact point.
This is best left to a gunsmith skilled with the particular type of firearm and the geometry of the contact points.
Using lighter than factory spring weights generally results in a very unreliable firearm. (Misfires, cylinder alignment issues, etc.)

ArchAngelCD said:

That is not a good idea and usually done by those who think they are a gunsmith. Shortening the screw can cause unreliable primer ignition. A qualified gunsmith can replace the spring with a lighter one and then test reliability but cutting the screw is bush-league.

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The topic was just the screw, not how to do a trigger job.

Replacing (or cutting) springs, cutting the strain screw, stoning, polishing and a few other things make a trigger job. If trigger pull drops much below 7 pounds you will only be able to launch ammo with federal primers.

Some of the harder primers may fail to ignite simply by replacing the mainspring with a lighter spring.

Definitely the revo will fail if the strain screw is not tight and has room to back out.

The Jerry Miculek spring kit suggest cutting the strain screw.

The Jerry Miculek spring kit suggest cutting the strain screw.

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Just goes to show that bad advice can come from about anywhere...very often in the guise of authority or expertise.

Adjusting the trigger action isn't what the strain screw is for. Best leave it alone...and turn it all the way in. The engineers who designed it just mighta known what they were doin'...methinks.

Howdy

Yes, the strain screw on a S&W is supposed to be tightened all the way. Yes, you can back it out about a half turn or so, even a full turn, nothing bad will happen. I have done it on many of my Smiths.

However, if you back the screw out too far, the spring will not maintain the shape needed for clearance in the grip. Back the screw out too far and the spring will begin to jam against the frame as the hammer is cocked. This is very easy to see. Just remove the grips, and back the screw out a bit, and cock the hammer. Keep backing the screw out and cocking the hammer and eventually you will see the spring begin to bind.

You can buy an after market spring from Wolff springs that is lighter than the factory spring.

http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=3&mID=58

But don't forget, when you pull the trigger on a S&W you are also compressing the rebound slide return spring. Probably at least half of the resistance you feel is from compressing that spring. You can buy a kit from Wolff that contains both a reduced power main spring and a reduced power rebound return spring. If it is an older gun, just taking it apart and removing old, hardened oil will also help reduce friction and reduce trigger pull. Really, you ain't going to get much better reduction of friction with an older Smith by polishing anything, they left the factory with a fantastic trigger pull. I can't say anything about the newer MIM Smiths, I have not been inside one. But putting in a reduced power rebound slide spring will help reduce DA trigger pull without causing any light primer hits.


Of course, you need to know what you are doing if you want to take a Smith apart without springs flying all over the place. This book will show you how to do it. It is well worth the price. It is simply the best book on the market about working on Smiths

http://www.gunbooks.com/sw.html

Midway has it in stock. Or buy it from the website I posted and all the money goes to the author, not to a middleman.

Just the other day I read advice written by Skeeter Skelton. He said to loosen screw. Me, I thought it was ok to do until my gun did FTF. I screwed that thing back in right quick.

S&W used to shorten the strain screw to proper length to produce a manufacturer specified spring power to ensure proper function with all types of ammo. If you have a newer revolver this more labor intensive adjustment has been dropped and the screw is set at the factory but not shortened to produce the specified tension so that you may over tighten the spring in later made revolvers. I first saw this in my 659 Mountain pistol that is pre-lock but has the new style cylinder release.

Best thing is to leave the adjustment at factory set. If you want to lighten your trigger pull you can play with it a bit up and down by relieving or increasing spring tension with the strain screw but need to test for reliability at the range.

I fully agree with everyone who say to keep the screw tight. This will insure that primers go off. This screw was not designed to adjust trigger pull.

The strain screw SHOULD BE tightened fully.
Backing it out at all has been known to create a situation where it continues to back itself out with repeated firing, to an eventual point where it stops reliable ignition.

Screw it down tight & leave it there, if it's a serious gun for serious purposes.
Don't back it out, don't shorten it.

Range toy or competition gun, do whatever you want.

If you want a lighter trigger, get it done correctly by a pro.
Denis

I personally have seen duty police revolvers fail because someone tried to be smarter than the company who designed and manufactured the gun. Keep the screw in tight!

The best alternative to messing with the strain screw is repeated cycling of the gun. I've noticed significant improvement in triggers with as little as 10,000 trigger pulls. Sometimes the cheapest method is the best!

The Wolff kits are very good as a second alternative, but you do want to extensively test your ammo with the springs you're planning to use to make sure that weight will light off every round, every time.

Yes, tighten it (strain screw) all the way down. I've never had one of mine back out on me, but it can happen so, if you should ever start to experience mis-fires, be sure to check that screw before going over board with unnecessary repairs.

GS

Chilibreath

There was a LEO that was shot in my area back in the 80's because his armorer backed out the screw to reduce the trigger pull while qualifying with 38's and when a gun was pulled on him while he was on duty his revolver just went click when he had his duty 357 loads in it. He was lucky and was only shot in the hand and recovered.

S&W says never back out that screw or cut springs, get a lower power spring if that is what you are looking for.

I was cleaning it tonight using flitz metal polisher

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Using an abrasive as a cleaner is not the best thing to do - you might take too much off in critical areas
Lots of excellent advice above about the screw, heed it

S&W says never back out that screw or cut springs, get a lower power spring if that is what you are looking for.

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This.

In the "Dinosaur Days" the method was to insert a rod through the rebound spring and let it roll on a belt sander to reduce the coil diameter, and carefully thin the mainspring in order to reduce their power. That practice pretty much ended with the availability of inexpensive reduced-power springs.

I also read Skeeter's article and tried his method. After a FTF when hunting I went back to factory set up. Now after much dry firing the trigger is very nice.

1911Tuner
In the "Dinosaur Days" we also learned that just like the contact components of the innards, too much polishing on a spring wore away the hardened outer shell of steel and exposed the softer inner core which meant the springs would snap in fairly short order.
Not what you want happening on a serious weapon.
Factory production lightened springs are the best way to go for a lightened trigger pull without paying the gunsmith but I have seen the cheap fixes cause misfires in weapons as well.

In the "Dinosaur Days" we also learned that just like the contact components of the innards, too much polishing on a spring wore away the hardened outer shell of steel and exposed the softer inner core which meant the springs would snap in fairly short order.

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Yep. There were limits, just like there are limits as to how light you can go with a spring before you start to get functional issues like light primer strikes and misfires, and sluggish trigger return...or no trigger return...which is why I use the heaviest of the three rebound springs in the Wolff Smith & Wesson kit.