Light strikes in DA

[3rdpig]

A few days ago I picked up a used Model 38 Air weight Bodyguard. According to the store owner (yea, I know) it was a cops off duty weapon. The finish is only about 30% but the crane is without free play and the lockup, while not what I'd call tight, isn't what I'd call loose either. Visually timing looks good. It appears to be a gun that was carried a lot, but fired little.

After a good cleaning and oiling I took it to the range. The only ammo I took was my own handloads, 158 grain semi wadcutter over 4 grains of Unique with CCI primers. I fired the first 15 rounds in SA mode, all fired fine and the gun is quite accurate, I got fist sized groups at 15 yards, more than I hoped for out of a lightweight snubby. The problem arose during DA fire, I'm getting light strikes and more often than not one round per cylinder will not fire. I did not mark the cylinder to see if it was the same one every time, I just didn't think of it until now. Primer strikes, which look normal during SA fire, are very light in all cylinders during DA fire. Sometimes all 5 will go bang, but not always.

Now I know CCI primers are hard but all my other 38/357 revolvers fire these loads with no problems, a Ruger Blackhawk, a S&W model 10 and a S&W pre model 27.

The firing pin appears normal and primer strikes in SA mode are deep.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[huntershooter]

In view of the fact it is a used gun, I would suspect a "reduced power" main/hammer spring OR coils have been cut from the original. I would replace the spring and see if this doesn't cure the light strikes in double action.

 

[Starter52]

huntershooter could be right about aftermarket springs. Or it might be something simple. Does your S&W have an adjustment screw on the front strap of the grip? (Down near the bottom, might be covered by the stocks)

If it does, tighten the screw all the way in.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. The J-frames don't use the strain screw but have a coil mainspring rather than the flat ones found in K's, L's, and N's.

Best.

 

[jad0110]

I agree, it sounds like the mainspring is the culprit. Mr. Camp is correct about the J Frame not having a strain screw and leaf type mainspring. J Frame coil mainsprings are pretty cheap and easy to replace, so you could order one from Brownell's to see if that cures the problem.

I do have a near 50-year-old K-22 that was having light strike problems in DA (not SA). I replaced the strain screw and main leafspring and I have no more light strike issues.

I'm wondering, can the coil spring of the J Frame take a set over time like the leaf springs in the K, L, and N frames?

Other than that, if the end shake of the cylinder is just great enough, it could cause excessive head space leading to DA light strikes.

 

[Old Fuff]

The first thing to check is the hammer spring. Messing with the trigger/rebound slide spring can cause problems, but primer ignition isn't one of them.

If that is not the cause, the next most likely one is cylinder endshake (back & forth movement). Use the forum search feature (in the green bar at the top of the page) and the key words "end-shake," "endshake," and "end shake" to find out more.

Last but not least (and this is unlikely) the frame may have been stretched by excessive use of Plus-P ammunition.

 

[3rdpig]

Thanks for the info guys, I've ordered a hammer spring pack from Wolff with the 8, 8.5 and 9 pound springs. Since I'd like to use this as a carry gun reliability is paramount. Hopefully this will fix the problem.