J Frame Trigger Questions

[Wingate's Hairbrush]

Also, unless something has changed, J-frames don't have a strain screw.


Okie John

Right on; I was following the old strain screw chestnut, but yes, Js indeed use a captured coil spring and have no strain screw.

[Dave T]

Also, unless something has changed, J-frames don't have a strain screw.

Yea, my comment was directed more to the general attitude I ran into with cops, as related to DA trigger pulls on revolvers.

Dave

[willie]

I tinker with Smith revolvers and avoid trouble by not using power tools. J frames are less forgiving than the other frame sizes. Said another way, the ham fisted and the uninformed tinkerer can quickly produce an unreliable revolver. Since many of these weapons remain in dresser drawers and are not fired, their owners don't know if their customized guns are reliable. The same statement applies to persons who carry but do not shot them.

My experience is that smoothing the action reduces friction to a significant degree. The owner can readily tell the difference. My opinion is that it is folly to install lighter springs unless smoothing has occurred. Because the J hammer arc is shorter and has less distance to travel, the hammer requires a stronger spring to deliver minimum force. Hence, reducing friction is imperative if altering mainspring weight. Apex sells a longer replacement firing pin to compensate for their reduced weight mainspring. Cajun Gun Works uses the same approach.


Altering rebound spring weight is the second effort when performing Smith action jobs. In J frames, reducing the weight of this spring is the step most likely to produce an unreliable revolver. The reason is that the very small size of the frame gives us a revolver with a much shorter distance between trigger at rest and the grip itself. This geometry increases the probability that the trigger finger will ride the trigger in such a way to prevent reset. The next pull turns the cylinder without cocking the hammer. Hence, a lighter rebound spring may be a poor choice. Larger grips, if shaped in a certain way, can slightly offset the negative effect of this geometry. My choice is not changing the rebound spring. In J frames I am able to get acceptable results by smoothing action parts without changing spring strength.