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Thread: J-frame Light Strikes

  1. #1
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    J-frame Light Strikes

    I have a 442 which has lately been exhibiting occasional light strikes with a variety of factory ammo (mostly Fiocchi, Remington, and Precision Delta) that all seems to work fine in other revolvers. There is no discernible end-shake, and even after installing a 9 pound hammer spring (which Wolff considers “extra power” over the factory 8.5 spring) and Apex extended firing pin, I’m still getting some light strikes.

    To illustrate the inconsistency of this weapon’s primer strikes, in the photo below, the primer on the left fired just fine, but the primer on the right did not:



    Any ideas on causes, or how to fix this? I don’t mind going up a bit in hammer spring weight, but don’t know where to buy anything heavier than 9 pounds.




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  2. #2
    Member Hizzie's Avatar
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    Apr 2014
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    Did you use compressed air to blow out firing pin channel to rule out obstruction? Any signs of hammer dragging on inside of frame?
    Quote Originally Posted by caleb View Post
    Oh man, that's right. I forgot that some people feel like they need light SA triggers in DA guns instead of just learning to shoot the gun better. You can get a Redhawk DA trigger pull down to 10 lbs, and if you can't manage that you suck and should probably just practice more.
    *RS Regulate Affiliate*

  3. #3
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    If you pocket carry, do as Hizzie instructed. If it still gives light strikes, then you may need to pull the side plate and give it a thorough cleaning. My 37-2 gets that treatment about every other year.

    Chris

  4. #4
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    I did as you all helpfully suggested last night: I disassembled the weapon down to its little bitty parts and cleaned everything, including blowing out the firing pin channel with compressed air. Lack of unusual internal wear marks as well as the overall consistent smoothness of the trigger press indicates that the hammer is not dragging as it travels.

    But unfortunately, this afternoon, I’m still getting light primer strikes.

    What should I try next?


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  5. #5
    Member Hizzie's Avatar
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    Well if everything looks good I’d put oem parts in gun and email S&W. Probably needs a trip home.
    Quote Originally Posted by caleb View Post
    Oh man, that's right. I forgot that some people feel like they need light SA triggers in DA guns instead of just learning to shoot the gun better. You can get a Redhawk DA trigger pull down to 10 lbs, and if you can't manage that you suck and should probably just practice more.
    *RS Regulate Affiliate*

  6. #6
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    Well, it is now on its way to S&W. Hopefully it won’t be expensive to fix.

    This kind of situation is exactly why one should always have at least two copies of one’s carry gun. (I can’t not live the snub life during the summer!)


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  7. #7
    The different looks of the primers are probably more a function of the one being in a fired round vs the other in an unfired round than an inconsistency in the strike.

  8. #8
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    I notice the center of the indentation in the one that fired is closer to the center of the primer, which is where the anvil is. Could be some issue with firing pin alignment. Firing pin striking the side of the channel before emerging will use up some energy. I'm not yet sufficiently familiar with the guts of a J frame to propose any root causes.

    I had a similar issue with an SD9VE. Didn't even get it to the range before I realized the firing pin was hitting the inside of the striker channel before emerging. I speculate that's why it was sold for cheap by the previous owner with the appearance of less than a box of ammo having gone through it. Turned out the MIM striker was bent like a banana. S&W sent me a new striker. I kept the old one for the archives.
    .
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    Not another dime.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by bofe954 View Post
    The different looks of the primers are probably more a function of the one being in a fired round vs the other in an unfired round than an inconsistency in the strike.
    Some of the fired cases showed similar deviations in striker quality, although I agree that the inconsistency appears even more dramatic in the photo I submitted.



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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    I notice the center of the indentation in the one that fired is closer to the center of the primer, which is where the anvil is. Could be some issue with firing pin alignment. Firing pin striking the side of the channel before emerging will use up some energy. I'm not yet sufficiently familiar with the guts of a J frame to propose any root causes.

    I had a similar issue with an SD9VE. Didn't even get it to the range before I realized the firing pin was hitting the inside of the striker channel before emerging. I speculate that's why it was sold for cheap by the previous owner with the appearance of less than a box of ammo having gone through it. Turned out the MIM striker was bent like a banana. S&W sent me a new striker. I kept the old one for the archives.
    I thought of this too, but since I replaced the firing pin and cleaned out the channel without result, if there is something still causing the pin to not be properly aligned through the channel, I don’t know what else to do about it.

    I also thought maybe the hammer pin (or whatever it’s called - the pin fixed to the receiver around which the hammer rotates) might be jacked up in some way. If so, likely nothing I can do about that either, other than send it back.


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