Taurus Tracker .357 Problem

[DrDyno]

Hi All,

Yesterday, I test fired my latest acquisition for the first time, a Taurus Stainless, 4" Tracker in .357 Mag. I bought it used for a very good price and, today, I found out why. If fired in single action mode by first cocking the hammer, it works flawlessly, with a very light and smooth trigger action.

HOWEVER... when fired in double action mode by pulling rearward on the trigger (without first cocking the hammer), half of the time the primer was barely dimpled and the round did not fire. It was as though the hammer was breaking with half force on its down stroke. When I cocked the hammer and re-fired the same round, it went bang just fine.

Hopefully, some of you wheel gun guys will be able to assist me. I know I can send it to Taurus in Miami and they'll repair it but... the last time I did that, the gun they sent back, although the same frame, was considerably less friendly.

I have already removed the side plate and checked for fouling or breakage of the D/A sear spring. Everything is relatively clean and no parts are obviously damaged. The bottom half of the firing pin shows some cupping... perhaps it's a transfer bar problem (?).

I'll try to post some pics.

Many thanks in advance!!

John G.
St. Petersburg, FL

 

[skidder]

You will notice the hammer has more travel in SA mode than DA mode. Thus, allowing more impact to the primer. There is always a possibility of bad ammo, but it sounds like you have weak spring tension. It's perfect record in SA mode is what tells me that it's a bad or modified mainspring. I would call Taurus and ask for a replacement spring. I had better luck with them sending me the part, then sending in my gun.

 

[DrDyno]

Thanks, Skidder.

One other thing I noticed playing with the side plate off: sometimes, if I pull the trigger back very, very slowly in D/A, there is an audible "click" just before the hammer is ready to release... feels like a detent somewhere in the trigger assembly. It's probably at the point where the sear just clears the trigger tang. It only happens sometimes, when I pull the trigger back very slowly. Any ideas?

 

[oldfool]

skidder said it right, mainspring is the #1 suspect to me
but if that Taurus is like my older models, there is a takeup on the bottom of the coil mainspring rod that can be tightened or loosened for mainspring tension (not shown in your pics)

I know that not all Taurus revolvers had that adjustment though, not even in same model numbers over the years
not saying there is such on yours, just something to look for
if there, it's an easy trial fix, if not, like the man said

 

[skidder]

Thanks, Skidder.

One other thing I noticed playing with the side plate off: sometimes, if I pull the trigger back very, very slowly in D/A, there is an audible "click" just before the hammer is ready to release... feels like a detent somewhere in the trigger assembly. It's probably at the point where the sear just clears the trigger tang. It only happens sometimes, when I pull the trigger back very slowly. Any ideas?

I've noticed that every manufacturer has different point where the cylinder locks before the hammer drops. My Rugers have an early lockup so I here a click every time. There is a possibility you're hearing the cylinder lock a little early on some chambers and not the others. Just a guess, but you could watch the action with the side-plate off to verify that it is not something near the hammer sear.

 

[DrDyno]

I've noticed that every manufacturer has different point where the cylinder locks before the hammer drops. My Rugers have an early lockup so I here a click every time. There is a possibility you're hearing the cylinder lock a little early on some chambers and not the others. Just a guess, but you could watch the action with the side-plate off to verify that it is not something near the hammer sear.

Thanks for your continued interest in my problem!

Playing with the Tracker today, in D/A mode, I used the trigger to cock the gun as slowly as I could. Finally, I moved slowly enough where the action hung up just as the "click" occurred. Below is a picture of the action hung up in what I'll call then "clicked" position. The dark metal piece with the number "5" stamped on it is the sear and if you follow it down, you can see that rather than breaking free, the sear is sitting on the top of the (silver colored) tang coming off the trigger... as though the trigger tang found a tiny little detent on bottom of the sear! (If I continue to pull the trigger, the sear will release and the hammer will drop.)

Whatever else is going on with the action causing the FTF, this can not be a good thing!

Unless y'all have any additional suggestions, I guess I'm just going to have to send it to Miami and see what comes back. Here's the picture of the action in the "clicked" position.

 

[Varmiter]

Judging from that last pic, if the hammer is just about to fall, it has CONSIDERABLY less distance to fall. The hammer appears not to be coming back far enough in DA. Likewise, in DA, the transfer appears NOT to be traveling high enough to hit the firing pin fully.

Chris

 

[skidder]

I sent my 44 Tracker back to Taurus with no results, but that does not mean they will not fix yours properly. Give that a try first, but if it comes back in the same condition I would not be afraid to file one of those components down a little. I had a Smith where the hammer seer would not reengage the trigger after it was fired so when you pulled the trigger the next time it would not bring the hammer back. I filed a couple strokes off the trigger catch to allow the seer to pop back out, and I never had another problem. It sounds like you have a good mechanical comprehension and I think you would do fine to do it yourself "if necessary".
Give Taurus a try first and let us know what happens. I would love to hear another positive story come back from Miami. Maybe it would earn back some of the trust I once had with their CS.

Good luck and keep us posted!