Taurus 85ul spring change report

[halfded]

Changed the springs in my Taurus 85ul today, and as requested, I'm posting the results.

I ordered the shooter's pack from Wolff, which contains a 9lb hammer spring, 9lb trigger return spring, and 6.5lb trigger return spring. I took everything apart, took the old springs out, and swapped in the 9lb hammer spring and the 6.5lb trigger return spring. Also, after reading about light primer strikes, I clipped a loop off the firing pin return spring. Closed everything up and when I tried to cock the hammer, was met with MUCH resistance. The trigger return spring was too long. No problem, I just cut a loop off there too. Put everything back together and all was good. The trigger pull was a lot lighter and smoother.

I grabbed a box of ammo and a pair of ear plugs, and hit the woods. Loaded up some reloads I got at the gunshow last weekend...bang, bang, bang, bang, *click*. Count to 30 and open the cylinder. Light primer strike. 3 out of 15 FTF all together. Walked back to the house and opened 'er up AGAIN. Changed out the reduced hammer spring for the stock one, buttoned it back up, and headed back out. Everything's back to normal. No light strikes or FTFs.

The combination of the reduced hammer and trigger springs made for an awesome trigger in DA and SA, but too many light strikes for a carry gun. The 6.5lb trigger return spring alone still produces a noticeable difference. DA isn't much different, a little lighter and a little smoother. SA, on the other hand, is great. Light and crisp, with almost no overtravel. All in all, worth the $13 and some change for the set, but I wish I could've used the hammer spring.

Anyone interested in a 9lb hammer and trigger return spring for a taurus 85, 73, or 605 let me know, cover the shipping and they're yours, I have no need for them.

 

[Old Fuff]

You can run into trouble shortening just the trigger spring. If you are rapidly pulling the trigger in fast double-action fire you may start pulling the trigger backwards before it has fully returned, and if you do so you'll tie up the gun.

In my opinion the slight improvement isn’t worth the risk.

 

[MCgunner]

Mine was so good out of the box, I never bothered with it. It just slicked up even more with use. The trigger on an 85 is not something that gets griped about, much.

 

[halfded]

Isn't the trigger bind up going to be a problem no matter what spring you use? Sounds like that would be more shooter error than mechanical error to me. There was nothing really wrong with the trigger in mine either, just like tinkering and thought this would be a fun, easy little project. Gonna run another box or two through it tomorrow, and if there's no problems, it's good for me.

 

[MCgunner]

Jerry Miculek installs something crazy like a 20 lb trigger return spring in his Smiths for that reason, to make sure the trigger keeps up with his finger. Me, I ain't Jerry Miculek, but the point is well made that an under powered return spring could cause the same problem with someone more mortal when firing rapid DA.

 

[Old Fuff]

Isn't the trigger bind up going to be a problem no matter what spring you use?

Yes and no…

So long as the spring is strong enough to keep the trigger up with your finger you’ll probably be O.K. However if the spring is weak enough to make the trigger return sluggish your finger may in a split second start backwards before the trigger has gone far enough forward. As you practice and your hand and finger strength increases the more chance you have of jamming the gun because the cylinder stop won’t release the cylinder. This is the reason all of the big three (Smith & Wesson, Ruger and Taurus) strongly recommend that the OEM springs not be switched out for lighter ones in a defensive weapon.

 

[halfded]

I see what you're saying now. The weaker the spring the less likely it is to give that extra "push" on the trigger finger to prevent a jam. Just changed the spring back to factory. Not enough of a difference to be missed, just kinda disappointed things didn't work out; the trigger pull with the 2 springs combined was pretty sweet. Thanks for the info guys.

The grasshopper grows ever wiser...

 

[Old Fuff]

Nowhere is it written that you can't buy a set of snap-caps and dry fire the revolver, both to smooth the action and also build up hand/finger strength.

Also these revolvers tend to come from the factory bone-dry, and occasionally you find metal chips and abrasives from the manufacturing process. Having them completely cleaned and lubricated can work wonders.

 

[halfded]

Yeah, I've probably dry fired mine 4-500 times so far, plus acutal shooting time. It's definitely getting better everytime I shoot it though; just wanted to change the springs to have something to fiddle with. Got my money's worth though for all the time I got to spend taking it apart. I like watching how things work, fascinating.

My revolver didn't come dry, it had what looked like watered-down motor oil in it. A little bit of metal shavings too. I cleaned it out the best I knew how at the time which improved the trigger dramatically. Then the other day when I finally detail stripped it, I cleaned and lubed everything. I was surprised how much factory issue crud was still in there. Cleaned all that out and the trigger improved a little more. I guess it keeps getting better with time huh?

One last question, when i detail strip and clean, is fp-10 a proper lubricant to use on the hammer pins and that kind of internal stuff? Hasn't really caused any problem so far, just worried about it being too thin and not staying put when I shoot. Also, does anyone else ever have lead bullets jump crimp a little in their 85? The manual says this can happen with +p loads, but I was shooting standard LRN and almost every cylinder, the last round would have come unseated. Doesn't happen with jacketed rounds though.

 

[MCgunner]

Taurus packs their revolvers with some kind of oily, gooy crap in the lockwork now days and often they are terrible until that stuff is cleaned out and the lockwork is lubed properly. On their small frame guns, they have the spring rates pretty well down, too, and that gives them the good out of the box trigger they tend to have and, as you've figured out, they do break in with use and smooth out.

I like Corrosion X for outside and inside. It really does cling to stuff better than lighter oils. But, it's sort of a personal choice. I oil my shotguns down with it because they get used in rather rough conditions, salt marsh and bay waterfowl hunting. Corrosion X is the best for that application that I've yet found.

 

[camsdaddy]

I second corrosion X. It is wonderfull stuff for any and everything. For anyone interested you can probably get it at your local airport and if now you can find it at Aviall and Aircraft Spruce. I found out about it when I was working at my local airport and our mechanics are crazy about it.