Light primer hits!!! ??? (Paging Jim March)

[denfoote]

My new (to me) S&W 65-6LS is experiencing intermittent light primer strikes.
The ammo used is Winchester USA 130gr .38spl.
According to Jim March's fine article, it checks out as fine.
The timing is dead on, the lock up is rock solid, the cylinder gap is .003in.
I'm not sure how many rounds are through it, and I'm wondering if it may not be time for a spring change!! The previous owner stated that he thought it had an action job. The trigger is pretty light and butter smooth, which I understand, is not always preferable in a combat arm!!

My thought is to replace the main spring, but I thought I should run it by you guys first.

If I do it, I'll let my gunsmith preform the surgery.

 

[RON in PA]

Make sure the main (hammer) spring screw at the front of the grip is as tight as possible and has not been altered. Had a similar problem with a 3" model 10 recently and replaced the hammer spring with a Wolfe spring. End of problem.

 

[denfoote]

OK.
So THAT'S what the screw is!!
That was my next question.
It WAS loose!! Will that maybe solve my problem??
Also, what weight spring did you put in, Ron?? I note that there are two different weights available on the Wolff site!!!

 

[JoeHatley]

Will that maybe solve my problem??

Yes.

Joe

 

[denfoote]

Thanks Joe!!

 

[RON in PA]

Joe gave you the correct answer about the screw, keep it tight. As for the spring, I used the heavier weight spring, not the target weight. I wanted to maximize reliability.

 

[denfoote]

It was about halfway out.
I'm wondering if the previous owner thought it was some sort of adjustment screw. Do these things work themselves loose such that I'd be better off using some LocTite on it??

 

[ChristopherG]

You'll find that tightening it will not only increase the striking power of the hammer, but also the trigger pull--possibly very substantially. For this reason, many competitive shooters do indeed use it as an 'adjustment' of sorts. By backing this screw out (then fixing it in place with loctite), and replacing or shortening the related trigger return spring, one can (with patient experimentation) find the balance that will allow reliable ignition with the lightest trigger pull. Usually this limits one, however, to using only Federal Standard primers, and it's really only suitable for competition guns (or guns for people willing to limit themselves to Federal primers and able to do the messing around required to KNOW their gun will ignite their ammo).

For a service pistol, this should be screwed all the way in and loctited to be sure it stays there.

 

[.455_Hunter]

It may be the ammo

Check out this thread:

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=177126

WWB 130 gr. FMJs have a recent history of "bad" primers.

Hunter

 

[denfoote]

I tightened the screw all the way in. It will be next weekend before I can do another ammo test. The argument about hard primers does not cut it with me!! My thought is that the gun should be such that it will ignite any and all ammunition fed it, especially in a revolver!!!

 

[g56]

If that screw was loose, most likely that was the problem, it wouldn't hurt to put some locktite on that screw to keep it from backing out.

Quite a few people make the mistake of loosening that screw in an attempt to lighten the trigger pull, that is a really bad idea, many times they will end up with inconsistent ignition due to the main spring being too loose.

 

[S&Wfan]

Virtually all wheelgun competitive shooters use Federal primers in their reloads.

As far as self-defense rounds, ya can't get better than the Federal Hydra-Shock cartridge in the 125gn. bullet type for a .357 magnum . . . its the best defensive stopper round in actual police gunfights going back a very long time.

So . . . a always use Federal primers in all my Smith wheelguns . . . and stoke 'em with Federal Hydra-Shocks for defense!

Sincerely,

Tom

PS: The light primer strikes, once your screw is tightened, should go away on the Model 65 Ladysmith. Light primer strikes are usually only encountered when shooting the long, double action pulls in competition guns with lightened pulls. Rarely is it a problem single action (thumb cocking).

One the other end of the primer scale, the CCI brand primers are the hardest . . . and thus not recommended by many when shooting double action.

Hope this helps!

 

[sgt127]

I would bet that theres a very good chance the trigger return spring has been cut or replaced also. If you are getting slow trigger returns, or if it seems you can "outrun" the trigger when shooting fast, you need to check that.

There is a nice balance with a factory setup to give you a hard enough whack on any primer to fire the gun and a bearable trigger pull. If someone lightened the main spring strain screw, they most likely cut the trigger return spring to match it.

IF you decide to open the gun up (using the right screwdrivers, popping the sideplate off properly etc) look to see if the trigger return spring is closed on both ends or, open on one end. From the factory, they are closed on both ends.

Cutting half a coil or so off the trigger return spring to match a lighter mainspring is OK, but, the balance has to be there.

 

[denfoote]

I'll take it out this weekend.
If I have problems, then I'll take it to my gunsmith and have it checked out.

 

[denfoote]

It's all good!!!

I went to the range today.
75 rounds Winchester White Box. 75 gobangs!!!

 

[Deanimator]

S&Wfan wrote:

"Virtually all wheelgun competitive shooters use Federal primers in their reloads."

Every year, our club has a double action revolver league. When I load .45acp for my S&W 25-2, I HAVE to use Federal primers (150Ms) or I get light hits.