Lighten a 642 Trigger?

[DMK]

I love my 642 and the trigger is pretty smooth, but very heavy. After shooting a box of ammo, it's my sore trigger finger, not recoil that stops me from shooting more. Sure it needs to be a deliberate pull, but none of my other S&W double action triggers are this heavy.

What is pull in lbs of the 642's trigger anyway?

Has anyone here lightened their trigger a little?

 

[KillshotRB]

Ha,

I had the same question about the lb. pull of the 642's trigger.

 

[huntershooter]

Good luck. The "J" frame S&W's have a coil mainspring-a "reduced power" spring may not provide 100% ignition. You can go with a lighter return/rebound spring which will help some. Polishing the hammer/sear (trigger) interface, rebound block will give you a smooother double action, but has no bearing on weight of pull. Guess I just look at the "J" frames as last ditch "lifesavers", not target guns.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

The best thing is to have a s & w gunsmith do an action job. The internal hammer ones have more friction, which equates to a heavier pull. I did my own "action job", polishing the hammer mostly and while she isn't as slick as a k frame, but a whole lot better than she was. Don't cut the springs until you have her slicked up. If you have the time try dry firing until she smooths up, remove the sideplate if you know the proper way and look at the hammer and the inside of the side plate where the hammer rubs. Try the action with the sideplace off and you will see the difference. Make sure you use a good lube too.

 

[JNewell]

Before you do anything else, clean and lubricate. Many S&W revolvers come from the factory nearly dry and with some manufacturing process waste inside.

If you will carry the gun for defensive purposes and you plan to change springs, be aware that you need to test, test, test (suggested minimum: 200 rounds; more is better) to make sure you have reliable ignition with the specific ammunition you will carry, and re-test periodically.

 

[Sistema1927]

Dry fire.


Dry fire aome more.


Dry fire a whole lot more.


This will accomplish two things:

1) It will smooth up the action
2) It will develop a stronger finger.

After you are done, dry fire some more.

 

[DAdams]

http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/fo...gger&use_forum_scope=on&forum_scope=580103904

This is a search on the S&W Forum site, 642 trigger.
You can mess about with the springs but the general consensus is work through it, clean, lube and carry.

You will see in the thread that someone had a job done by Gemini Custom.

I asked them about a 642-2 "tune-up" and this is what Marc at Gemini said:

Hello Dennis

"My turnaround time for a basic action tuning on your S&W is currently 4-6 weeks.

Hope this helps. Ship it with a copy of the website workorder form included, Fed Ex/UPS overnight and I will take care of the rest".

Marc

 

[DMK]

Before you do anything else, clean and lubricate. Many S&W revolvers come from the factory nearly dry and with some manufacturing process waste inside.

Yes, did that the day I bought it. Took it all apart, blew it out with brake parts cleaner, lubed with FP-10 and a touch of Lubriplate on the pivot points. That's SOP.

If you have the time try dry firing until she smooths up, remove the sideplate if you know the proper way and look at the hammer and the inside of the side plate where the hammer rubs. Try the action with the sideplace off and you will see the difference.

Now that I've had it a while, I might dry a little Flitz polish on it and see if that helps.


What do you all think of the Wolf springs?

 

[nitesite]

Keep in mind that the 642/442 hammer has significantly less mass becasue it lacks the firing pin, firing pin rivet, and the hammer spur on other J-frame S&Ws. Additionally, the lighter hammer's energy must then be transferred to the in-frame floating firing pin which bleeds away some inertia.

Therefore, these guns were designed with a heavier mainspring to ensure a good primer strike. Anything that lightens the mainspring load must be evaluated for 100s of rounds to verify you still will have 100% ignition.

You can still polish, and replace rebound springs, and lube and all that. But watch out for cutting coils or replacing the mainspring!

 

[JNewell]

First, I'd go slow - one change at a time.

My next change, before replacing springs, would be to polish the inside and bottom of the rebound slide without changing the spring.

I'd also second the suggestion to dry fire, dry fire, dry fire.

Wolff springs are very good, but every gun is a law unto itself.

 

[Stainz]

I just bought a 642-2 to be carried as a 'Doomsday' device... not as a plinker. I will continue dry-firing it. I did remove the sideplate and clean & lube it. I have other S&W's I have re-sprung - they are 'fun' guns. Comparing my well broken-in K-frame snubby, a 2" 10 made 1/03, reveals a night and day difference. The all-stock 10 has a far better trigger than I assume the J-frame will ever develop. In my mind, that makes the 642 a better choice for pocket carry... a lower probability of an AD upon rapid retrieval. Of course, the suspenders I needed for the 2" 10's carry in a pocket can be left home, too - that beast literally weighs in at twice what the 642 does. Even fitted, as it is now, with wood service boots, it is much more comfortable to shoot. That itty bitty J-frame boot grip takes the 642 out of the comfort zone for me... of course, a larger grip would keep it out of my pocket, too.

I agree that S&W must be p.c. in their offerings - here this simply means they will go 'Bang!' with anyone's ammo - anytime - under any state of cleanliness. That means a stronger than what I care for hammer and return spring. Of course, my homebrew ammo uses Federal primers - for lite springs. But... I only use commercial ammo for carry - specifically, the Rem R38S12 158gr +P LHPSWC in .38. I have to insure reliable ignition, so the OEM hammer spring stays.

I do have a means to make the stock 642 trigger to 'appear' lighter... I'll take my 1895 Nagants, resplendent in their 20+lb triggers, to the range with the 642 - and shoot them first. The 642's will feel 'great' after that! Seriously, my Nagants are plinkers... the 642 isn't. Seriously, in one of those infamous 'fecal matter impacting the air movement device' situations, it is unlikely you would notice the trigger effort. Just take it to the range as a shooter, for familiarization, every month or two or three, and keep it clean, stoked, and with you - ready for that 'Doomsda', should it arise.

Stainz

PS Gotta admit - this is the first S&W I've acquired that didn't get at least a new grip... much less some springs!