Lightening a trigger pull in DA

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Shotgun Willy

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I've got one of the S&W model 64-6 revolvers with the bobbed hammer that were on sale from J&G Sales a few years ago and I was wondering about lightening its trigger pull. The trigger pull is very smooth but heavy, so it's not needing smoothed up, just lightened up. Anybody done that on one of these beauties?
 
Are you familiar with the insides of a S&W revolver.

First get a schematic of your gun or one similar to it.

Become familiar with it.

You can get a schematic from the owner's manual very
often or on the internet.

After familiarization come back and ask for advice again.

In the meantime squirt a few drops of thin oil, Rem OiI for
instance, inside the hammer well, trigger area and work
the action. Let the gun "cure" for a bit. Try action again.

If the gun is for self defense, oten better to not lighten action.
 
Work on strengthing the "trigger puller" and those associated muscles, and youll be fine. ;)

Seriously, dry fire the snot out of it for a little bit every day, and it will lighten right up. Or, at least it will appear to lighten up.
 
Good article; covers most of the usual problems.
It's worth getting the Wolf assortment, starting with the 11lb. Twelve pound is often the Godilocks weight.
If you go too light on the rebound spring, the trigger may not return promptly, especially if released slowly.
I've had ignition issues with the ribbed mainsprings; Federal primers are indeed the softest.
Polish everything that slides on anything else; polish with a fine stone. Don't really remove metal.
Check for push off on single action when you're done.
With a double action revolver, a lightened pull doesn't really put you at much risk of an ND (keeping your finger out of the guard, yes?). A really light single action pull is a different question.
Moon
 
Thanks guy, but the main reason I'm considering lightening the trigger pull is because I'm losing the strength in my hands due to a neuropathy, coupled with carpal tunnel in my dominant hand. Building the muscles is not going to happen, slow the loss maybe, but not build. I'd noticed that the DA pull on the model 19 I inherited from my father seems much lighter and always goes bang so I wondered what could be done to my 64. I've seen the schematics but the hand problems I have will have me taking it to a gunsmith to get the work done. I may just get it converted to DA/SA if that's what I need to do. I'll probably relegate this to a range toy and use my Ruger Security 9 for self defense if there's not a simple/reliable answer to my problems.
I should have probably explained all of this in the original post but I wasn't wearing my glasses and was having problems typing.
 
Last edited:
Shotgun Willy,

Because of your hand problems, then lightening the DA pull via
a newer trigger return spring may be the way to go. Main thing
is to avoid short stroking. But with the weaker hand, that danger
may well be mitigated and you'll be fine. Important thing is that
the trigger returns to reset with some authority after pulling it.

Seems like what you need is a duplication of the Model 19 trigger.

I like the suggestion you consider the Wilson Combat spring kit
over the Wolff kit.
 
OP, I hear you about neuropathy. It is slowly starting to go numb in parts of my left arm and hand, all due to a syrinx the neurologist found in the middle of my cervical spinal cord. :(

I like the Wolff spring kit. With one you can get a set that has a few different rebound spring weights allowing you to tune the gun to your preference. I have used a bunch of them in my S&W and Ruger revolvers.

I bought the same type of used Model 64, mine was pretty cosmetically challenged when it got to me. I put some newer style grips on it, knocked down some of the scratches and painted the front sight white-then-orange to help me see it.

IMG_1538.jpeg
IMG_1539.jpeg

(The Model 64 with its .357 Mag cousin, a Model 65.)
IMG_1440.jpeg

When I took the side plates off the gun and removed the rebound slide/spring I used 1500 grit wet/dry to smooth all sides of the rebound slide and also the shelf it slides on along with juuuust touching the areas that move together to make them glass smooth. (Don’t do much, it can ruin the parts.) I use the mid power rebound spring and reduced power mainspring from the Wolff kit

https://www.gunsprings.com/SMITH+&+WESSON/K,+L,+&+N+FRAME/cID3/mID58/dID264

With lots of dry fire, the trigger pull is just at 8lbs DA and about 2.25 lbs SA.

IMG_1541.jpeg IMG_1540.jpeg

So far the gun has been reliable, but I reload my .38’s with Federal primers that seem to be pretty easy to light off. Harder primers may or may not work as well with a reduced power mainspring so be sure it is reliable with a hundred rounds or so if you swap.

The steps to open up, polish and respiring these guns can be found on you tube, the Brownells series of steps is a great one to use. :thumbup:

Good luck, and stay safe.
 

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trackskippy said:
Work on strengthing the "trigger puller" and those associated muscles, and youll be fine. ;)

Seriously, dry fire the snot out of it for a little bit every day, and it will lighten right up. Or, at least it will appear to lighten up.
Click to expand...

Strengthening your trigger finger is a very valid exercise that will help you shed your "trigger princess" moniker in no time. ;) BUT MAKE SURE YOU USE SNAP CAPS!!! The metal on metal slap of the hammer without the cushioning of the firing pin against a primer is hard on the hammer and firing pin. Buy a cylinder full of snap caps and go to town on strengthening your trigger finger. With a stronger trigger finger you will soon find that you will shoot every firearm better.
 
Smooth is much more important than light.

You can have smooth, reliable, or light. You can only have 2. I opt for the first two.

Build up muscle in your hand and fingers. Once you do that you won't be concerned with light.
 
Shotgun Willy said:
…so it's not needing smoothed up, just lightened up. Anybody done that on one of these beauties?
Click to expand...

I rework the triggers on just about everything I own. From bolt gun rifles, to AR’s, 1911’s, revolvers including S&W’s, Kimber’s and Colt’s.

The most intimidating part of starting is to disassemble and reassemble with the proper tools and tricks. I suggest start with YouTube University :) to learn how to properly take a S&W sideplate off. And then disassemble and reassemble a couple times so the intimidation is gone.

Once there, consider Wolff replacement springs and polishing the internals. It’s said that a Colt or S&W with 10,000 trigger pulls is about as smooth as you will find. Some of us just don’t have that patience, lol.

I’ve developed a technique which involves 1000 grit lapping compound that will get a new revolver to 10,000 in about 300 to 500 dry fire trigger pulls. I’ve used it recently on a brand new Kimber KS6 and a brand new S&W 586. But this technique is non-conventional and pretty advanced, so you don’t want to start here.

Good luck. It’s a good hobby once you are no longer intimidated.
 
GRIZ22 said:
You can have smooth, reliable, or light. You can only have 2.
Click to expand...

I can, and do, have all three in just about every gun I own. In an AR, that usually means a Larue or Timney.

Reliable to me means any primer. I don’t have any “Federal primer only” guns, but I understand why a Bullseye shooter may end up there.
 
Last edited:
Ru4real said:
I’ve developed a technique which involves 1000 grit lapping compound
Click to expand...

Is that kind of like the Toothpaste Trick?

I once had a company armorer tell me all I had to do was fire and dry fire 2000 times and the action would smooth right up.
It didn't, I turned it over to a gunsmith who smoothed it right up for a fee.
 
Jim Watson said:
I once had a company armorer tell me all I had to do was fire and dry fire 2000 times and the action would smooth right up.
It didn't, I turned it over to a gunsmith who smoothed it right up for a fee.
Click to expand...

You did the right thing. Dry fire has its merits, and I wholly recommend it, but it's no substitute for a bona fide action job by someone who know what they're doing. Pull a stick through a picket fence a few thousand times, and it'll just feel like a smoother stick through a smoother picket fence.

Shotgun Willy said:
I've got one of the S&W model 64-6 revolvers with the bobbed hammer
Click to expand...
Shotgun Willy said:
I'll probably relegate this to a range toy
Click to expand...

It's been mentioned that lightening the action too much can affect reliability, which is true. You actually gain a bit of reliability by bobbing the hammer, so you can generally tune the action even a bit lighter before getting into reliability issues. This is, of course, assuming the gun's in spec and things are straight, true, plumb, and properly lubed, which is why it's a good idea to do a spring swap as part of a good action job by someone who know what they're doing.
 
fxvr5 said:
Maybe in your experience, but not in mine.
Click to expand...

Ok.

Very few revolversmiths can give you all 3. Usually light is a little more than others can give you.

Austin Behlert could give you all 3. But he was a rarity. He did a reliable and smooth 6# trigger pull. I've seen guys claim 4 1/2#. But not reliable.
 
Willy - several years ago, I had to lighten the mainspring on a Ruger SP-101 .38 Special for an elderly parent. The gunsmith I took the gun to wouldn't "do" the work due to liability concerns. However, he did talk me through it and even let me use the couple of tools I needed. This was a coil spring, not a leaf spring and this is what you may have. I don't know for certain. If it is a coil spring, you can try using diagonal pliers or end nippers to bite off a single turn (just ONE) then reinsert the spring and try it. IIRC, I ended up taking off 2.5 turns on this spring and brought the DA pull down to about 7.5 lbs. and the SA to about 3 lbs. Subsequent shootings with mixed ammo suffered no F2F problems. This coil spring was the only one I adjusted.
I understand your neuropathy problem as it has a tendency to affect older or arthritic people more. My right hand feels as if I'm wearing a leather glove most of the time.
Good luck with your project !
 
JTHunter said:
Willy - several years ago, I had to lighten the mainspring on a Ruger SP-101 .38 Special for an elderly parent. The gunsmith I took the gun to wouldn't "do" the work due to liability concerns. However, he did talk me through it and even let me use the couple of tools I needed. This was a coil spring, not a leaf spring and this is what you may have. I don't know for certain. If it is a coil spring, you can try using diagonal pliers or end nippers to bite off a single turn (just ONE) then reinsert the spring and try it. IIRC, I ended up taking off 2.5 turns on this spring and brought the DA pull down to about 7.5 lbs. and the SA to about 3 lbs. Subsequent shootings with mixed ammo suffered no F2F problems. This coil spring was the only one I adjusted.
I understand your neuropathy problem as it has a tendency to affect older or arthritic people more. My right hand feels as if I'm wearing a leather glove most of the time.
Good luck with your project !
Click to expand...
S&W Model 64 has a leaf-type mainspring that is very easy to replace. :thumbup: Rugers are also easy, I’ve done Mk pistol, 10/22, GP, SP and single action triggers on my Rugers. :)

I, too suffer from neuropathy in my left hand 24/7. As a result, it feels like my middle finger, ring finger and thumb are partially asleep, and the touch/pain sensation in my entire left arm is reduced to levels far below my right. I fumble and drop stuff all the time because I can’t feel what parts of my left hand is doing. It’s a miserable thing sometimes.

No amount of strength training or PT will bring back the feeling to normal for me. It will be inside the cervical spinal cord surgery to drain my syrinx and hope it helps. The risk for a surgical error is paralysis. :(

Stay safe.
 
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