uberti and wolff spring kit?

[midland man]

okay so now I have a uberti revolver and I saw that wolff had a spring kit for my pistol, so my question is should I buy this and does it really make a difference for the better? p.s. i'm lookin at the wire spring kit is this good?

 

[35 Whelen]

Yes and yes.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

A slightly different opinion here. Most guns, Uberti included, come from the factory without being custom tuned. This means there are still some rough surfaces and burrs left on the metal from the machining process. This creates extra friction inside the mechanism. That is why factory springs are so heavy, to help overcome the inherent friction in the system.

Changing out for lighter springs may result in light primer hits because the lighter springs cannot overcome the friction and still deliver enough force to fire primers reliably. The proper way to put in lighter springs is to first have the parts smoothed up to remove as much internal friction as possible. In this way the lighter springs don't have to work as hard and can still fire primers reliably.

Just installing lighter springs is not a trigger job. You may put in lighter springs and the gun remains 100% reliable, but you may find that you are getting inconsistent primer hits.

That aside, the trigger/bolt spring is probably the single most common part to break in a traditional Single Action revolver. A wire replacement is much less likely to break. Not saying your spring is guaranteed to break, but it does happen.

The broken spring at the top of this photo is from 2nd Gen Colt. The break is typical of what happens when they fail. The broken part at the bottom is a broken bolt. Much less common.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Make a difference, yes. How much is debatable because everyone will perceive the feel differently, much like felt recoil. IMO it can't hurt to put a set of quality springs in your revolver if you want as long as those springs don't compromise reliability.

 

[45 Dragoon]

I agree with DJ.
You don't know what you have until you clean up the mess first. You lose a lot of "feel" with wires. Kinda like a slipping transmission vs a nice shifting new one.

 

[midland man]

well really to me the hammer spring seems to light and this kit only offers a reduced power spring so really I like the idea of the wire bolt spring so I wonder if I can get a heavier hammer spring??

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

You are the first person I have ever heard say they think the hammer spring is too light. Most want something lighter than came in the gun.

If the hammer spring fires primers reliably, leave it alone. There is no point to a hammer spring heavier than it needs to be. You bought the gun used, it may already have an after market light hammer spring in it, or the original hammer spring may have been ground down to lighten it. That may be why it feels light. Or maybe you are just not very familiar with these revolvers. In any event, the key is firing all brands off primers reliably. It is fairly common for guns like this to be tuned so the hammer spring is so light that it will only set off the lightest brands of primers; Federals.

Do you reload?

If so, make sure the hammer reliably fires Winchester primers, which take a little bit more force to set off than Federals.

If you don't reload, make sure the gun reliably fires Winchester ammo.

I have owned some original Colts that had incredibly stiff hammer springs. I have replaced the springs with ones that were easier to cock, but still reliably fired all brands of primers. There is no point to having a hammer spring so stiff it strains your thumb cocking it.

In my experience, the wire trigger/bolt springs tend to be a bit too light. I had one in one of my Colts and it made the trigger pull lighter than I was comfortable with, down under two pounds. I put the original leaf style spring back in the gun and with a lightened hammer spring the trigger pull went right where I wanted it, at 2 1/2 pounds. Yes, how stiff the hammer spring is also has an effect on how stiff the trigger is.

What you gain in indestructability with a wire trigger/bolt spring you tend to lose as far as stiffness is concerned. Of course, a wire spring can always be bent a little bit to make it stiffer.

Lastly, the third spring in a Colt or Uberti clone is the hand spring. Also a leaf spring and also prone to breakage. Most of the newer Ubertis have been showing up with a coil spring for the hand. The coil spring sits in the hole under one of the rear backstrap screws, I believe the one on the left. If you have one of these coil springs for the hand, just leave it alone, they are almost indestructible.

 

[midland man]

okay well this is my first uberti to own and have any experience with and yes I do reload been doin it for 22 years now but I do like the gun and I saw a video on youtube about a guy showin them spring kits from wolf springs he put in his gun so I wasn't sure about these springs. so anyway the hammer spring are they normaly stiff as this one is to me light and I saw where another guy sayin to keep bolt/trigger springs on hand as they he says break from time to time so is it better to just keep the factory springs in and do I need to buy a couple extras to keep around?

 

[midland man]

p.s. it does dent the primers very deeply even with the light hammer spring! or at lest light to me...

 

[Jaymo]

I put a Wolff wire trigger/bolt spring in my EAA Big Bore Bounty Hunter because the factory spring is made like two springs doubled up.
It was frustratingly stiff from the factory.
Even with the wire spring, the trigger is too heavy for accurate shooting.
I'm wondering if a Colt/Uberti/Wolff spring will work in the EAA.

 

[35 Whelen]

Howdy Again

You are the first person I have ever heard say they think the hammer spring is too light. Most want something lighter than came in the gun.

If the hammer spring fires primers reliably, leave it alone. <snip>

Allow me to be the second.

When I started CAS I dutifully changed my hammer springs, as all the veterans instructed, to lighter springs and they worked fine. But then as deer season approached I began working on hunting loads and shooting groups at 50 yds. My gosh it seemed like I could time the hammer fall with my wrist watch! A slow lock time doesn't make much difference when you're rapidly shooting large targets at close range, but can make a significant difference when a measure of precision is desired. Back to the original spring I went and I adjusted the trigger pull accordingly. All is well now. I shot a match a few weeks ago and didn't even notice the heavier hammer to tell you the truth.

35W

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

okay well this is my first uberti to own and have any experience with and yes I do reload been doin it for 22 years now but I do like the gun and I saw a video on youtube about a guy showin them spring kits from wolf springs he put in his gun so I wasn't sure about these springs. so anyway the hammer spring are they normaly stiff as this one is to me light and I saw where another guy sayin to keep bolt/trigger springs on hand as they he says break from time to time so is it better to just keep the factory springs in and do I need to buy a couple extras to keep around?

p.s. it does dent the primers very deeply even with the light hammer spring! or at lest light to me...

Well, without having the gun in hand there is no way I can tell you how stiff it is, can I? You could perhaps compare it to others like it. As I said, many shooters trade out the factory spring for a lighter, aftermarket spring. You may have one of those, there is no way for me to tell from here.

The question is, did it fire the primers, not how deep did it dent them. You can put some fresh primers in some empty brass and drop the hammer on them. As I said, many of these guns are tuned so they will only fire Federal primers. Seat a few Winchester primers in some empty brass and drop the hammer on them. If they fire, there is no need for a stiffer hammer spring. Just be aware that when you fire primers in empty cases the primers will back out and may make the cylinder difficult to rotate. Just fire one round at a time.

Yes, the trigger/bolt spring on these guns is subject to breakage, exactly as the one in my photo. To give you an idea, I probably put 4 or 5 thousand rounds through it after I bought it. No idea how many rounds before hand, but the gun was made in 1968. And further, I probably have close to a dozen single action revolvers chambered for 45 Colt. That is the only one that has broken the trigger/bolt spring yet. So yes, it does not hurt to have a spare on hand. Chances of you needing it will vary.

The one other spring that often fails in these guns is the hand spring. Normally it is a leaf spring pressed into a slot in the hand. These photos should give you an idea what it looks like.





As I said, many of the newer guns do not have a leaf spring like that for the hand, instead they have a coil spring and plunger in one of the frame screw holes, Ruger style. If so, that spring will last forever. If you have one of the traditional leaf springs, you might want to keep a spare on hand.

 

[35 Whelen]

I put a Wolff wire trigger/bolt spring in my EAA Big Bore Bounty Hunter because the factory spring is made like two springs doubled up.
It was frustratingly stiff from the factory.
Even with the wire spring, the trigger is too heavy for accurate shooting.
I'm wondering if a Colt/Uberti/Wolff spring will work in the EAA.

In looking at a schematic, they look similar and might be enough so to work. I have a couple of German SA's and their hammer springs are close enough that I've made the Uberti springs work.

It's not at all difficult to lighten the leaf-type hammer springs. Using a bench grinder, start by removing the edges from the springs. Keep a bowl of water handy to dip the springs in so they don't get too hot....this is important. After you remove the edges, try the spring. If it's still too heavy, carefully thin the spring uniformly reassembling and trying often. I've done this both on revolvers and on my wife's Rossi lever action. Worked great.

35W

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

It's not at all difficult to lighten the leaf-type hammer springs. Using a bench grinder, start by removing the edges from the springs. Keep a bowl of water handy to dip the springs in so they don't get too hot....this is important. After you remove the edges, try the spring. If it's still too heavy, carefully thin the spring uniformly reassembling and trying often. I've done this both on revolvers and on my wife's Rossi lever action. Worked great.

When grinding a spring it is very easy to overheat the spring so that it looses its temper. Don't hold the spring with a pliers or a tool, hold it with your hands. Dip it in water frequently, after every pass of the grinding wheel. If it does not get too hot to hold on to it, the steel will not get hot enough to loose its temper.

 

[midland man]

so maybe I should order a new factory replacement hammer spring to see if mine would make the hammer a little bit stronger to pull back plus an extra trigger/bolt spring and just stay with the factory springs for this revolver?

 

[Jaymo]

Well, the Big Bore Bounty Hunter is a German SA. Made by Weihrauch.
Used to be made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn, IIRC.
Was sold as the Hawe's Western Marshal.
Stout little gun, with stout little springs.

After I replace or thin the mainspring, I may want to go back heavier with the trigger spring.
May install a factory weight Uberti spring, or maybe make a thicker wire replacement.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

so maybe I should order a new factory replacement hammer spring to see if mine would make the hammer a little bit stronger to pull back plus an extra trigger/bolt spring and just stay with the factory springs for this revolver?

Again I ask, Why do you think the hammer spring needs to be stronger? Have you tried setting off primers with it as I suggested? Did it fail to fire any primers? If so, perhaps you need a stiffer spring. If not, why do you think you need a stiffer spring?

Yes, a stiffer spring will shorten lock time. Do you really think you can tell?

 

[45 Dragoon]

Mid.Man,
You've got good info. here. Again, I agree with DJ. Make sure it's a lighter spring you after. I set my hammer pull weight at a 4 lb. draw ( fairly light). If you put a washer under the combo spring, you can adjust each one individually. 3 lbs is good for the bolt and 2-2.5 lb. trig. pull is light enough to be safe (adjust trig. pull after setting main spring).