For Rugers, here is a guide that covers really well and translates to the GP100 too. Ruger SP101 Trigger Job Guide (kevinsworkbench.com)
For Rugers, here is a guide that covers really well and translates to the GP100 too. Ruger SP101 Trigger Job Guide (kevinsworkbench.com)
Also specific to S&W but worth pointing out is anything made from around the mid 1990s forward has maintenance simplified by having fewer fitted parts. I think it was `88 or so when they stopped using a fitted yoke screw in favor of a spring-loaded yoke screw assembly. These are drop in parts. Also around `92 or so is when they went from the round (pinned) to square extractor. On the 6-shot guns these are also now drop-in parts that don't require fitting. The exact engineering revision varies by model, and the extractors do not interchange. I'm 99% sure the yoke screw types don't either.
If you want shooters, 1997-2002 is the ideal period IMO. This includes the MIM parts as well as the new style yoke screws and extractors, but no lock. Which means you can use new production parts from Brownells and Midway to keep it running but still have a pre-lock gun. The hammer will have a visible cutout for the key lock, but it will work. AFAIK this is how the factory does repairs on guns of those vintage. They just use current production hammers and leave the cutout visible.
The older guns don't have to be collectors. You can shoot them. You can even run them hard. But the factory won't work on them, qualified gunsmiths are retiring and they are a more time-consuming and complex DIY affair than the later Tomkins era pre-lock-post-mim guns. Which isn't to say they can't be fixed. They can. But if you'd rather spend your time shooting than shade tree gunsmithing then those later Tomkins guns will make life easier.
I have an old 10-6 (hence the name) that I love to shoot but am afraid of messing up. If I were to try and fix it in the case of parts breakage or timing issue, how much expertise would that need?Originally Posted by jh9
For additional background, although I have little revolver experience I have a little experience dealing with semiautos. I’ve done some “gunsmiff” parts replacement (firing pin, springs, detail stripping) on my competition Stock II, although as far as I see and read in this thread revolvers are a whole different beast.
Am I huffing too much spice in thinking that such a situation could be end-user serviceable?
They can be but it depends in large part on your level of mechanical aptitude (which is different than spring and small part swapping in a semiauto), your tooling and your level of patience.
I have aptitude, I have some suitable tooling and the ability to purchase additional tooling if needed but patience is very much my weak point. Well, a lack of patience and an unwillingness to buy replacement parts for the ones I screwed up.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
You may want to buy a parts kit to have any needed replacement pats.
If you enjoy it and something breaks and for some reason it's not repairable at least you enjoyed it. If you keep it in your safe and never enjoy it the gun might as well be broken.
Not at all. I think the most common breakage is a hammer nose which isn't difficult to fix, and Midway or Brownells still has Power Custom replacements that are still in current production. Fitting a hand to an extractor that isn't worn isn't super difficult either. Factory OEM, used and aftermarket are readily available. I don't think S&W specifically sells different widths anymore, all the new production hands at Brownells are only listed in one size, but there are still aftermarket oversize hands available.
Other issues will vary in difficulty; and even though the number is dwindling there are still actual qualified gunsmiths taking on new repair work. Just be realistic about what the situation is probably going to look like 10 or 20 years down the line and stock up on parts, tools and info appropriately.
Clean under extractor star. When cleaning barrel with a brush on a rod, be aware that the end of the brush can hit the firewall. Be gentle. I seldom use brass bristle brushes and opt for nylon bristle brushes. Avoid brushes with stainless steel bristles because there's no way to know their hardness level. Lead is best removed using a couple copper strands from a pot scrubber wrapped around a smaller than caliber brush. Make certain that this copper is copper. Test with a magnet.
S&W ejector rods have left hand threads. Hence turning clockwise unscrews them. Put empty cases in chambers to prevent stressing extractor star. Backing off the strain screw reduces weight of the mainspring. This method is not the way to reduce da trigger pull. Some cut off two coils from the factory rebound spring.
S&W once instructed their armorers to resist performing action jobs until the revolver had been fired 1000. Improperly done action work damages these weapons more than any other procedure. Want to smooth up your Smith? Use Flitz polish applied manually. Mimmed parts don't tolerate "grinding". Can't shoot the scores that you wish? Reducing trigger pull is not the solution,
Except when they don't. I think the engineering change from right hand threads to left hand was late 50's or early 60's but early dash models or pre-model # will go the opposite way.
no one sees what's written on the spine of his own autobiography.
I don't know when Smith adopted the left hand threads. I bought my first one in 1970. It has the left hand threads.
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