Taurus Model 94 .22lr

[Dr_B]

I recently bought a Taurus Model 94 and have had no problems with it. It is accurate and fun to shoot, except for one thing: the DA trigger pull is so darn hard. I'm not going to get rid of the gun just because of the trigger pull. Instead, I'd rather do something about it so I can keep plinking without wearing out my hand pulling that trigger. I've seen some posts here and there mentioning Wolf springs. Anyone have advice on either an easy modification or perhaps a replacement spring I could buy?

 

[JR47]

Small-framed rim-fire revolvers usually have a very hard trigger pull. Try dry-firing it for 10-15 minutes a day for a while. This will enable the parts to mesh better, and reduces the trigger pull.

Taurus, like just about any other importer, ships it's guns with a preservative in and on them. This is NOT a lubricant, and should be thoroughly removed, and the gun lubricated properly before firing. My CZ came the same way.

 

[Seven High]

Mu suggestion is to remove the side plate and use compressed air to blow out the insides. You might find metal shavings. Then lubricate the lockwork.

 

[JerryC]

I also have the same gun. Get some #4 plastic screw anchors to use for practice firing. Fire a lot. It loosened mine up quite a bit. Don't dry fire (without something in chamber, like the plastic screw anchor) a rimfire, it will screw up the firing pin. I have also heard that cutting one ring from end of trigger spring will help. Don't cut too much or put too weak a spring in, rim fires need a pretty good hit for consistent fire.

 

[MedWheeler]

Ditto on post #4; make sure you read it before following the advice in post #2. Those little yellow drywall anchors do come in handy. Heck, they'll even cycle in some semi-autos.. I think they might actually be size six, though, check and see.

 

[oldfool]

the Taurus 94/941 series is famous for having possibly the worst DA trigger in the marketplace; moreso than can be excused by the "small frame triggers are stiffer than large frame triggers" truism, and/or the "rimfire DAs have stouter mainsprings than centerfire DAs" truism

Beware of lightening up the mainspring, it tends to result in lots of light strike misfires in almost all cases with 94/941s. Many have tried the Wolfe spring kits with T-94/941s; very few have been pleased by the results on these specific models. Swapping the trigger return spring out for a lighter spring can help a little, but not a lot (and can cause trigger reset failure if taken too far). Clean flush internals by all means, yes, but don't try to stone polish internals on current manufacture Taurus revolvers, they are too sloppy fit already. (If you had a much much older vintage 94, you probably wouldn't be complaining in the first place, but Taurus doesn't even try anymore, especially not with their rimfires.)

Taurus Salesmen aside, I have yet to meet a real world DA shooter who succeeded in getting a 94 trigger anywhere close to what they themselves felt was good DA. ALL revolver triggers get better with dry fire count and live fire count; those which start out better stay better, those that start out worse stay worse. If you want good, buy good. If you want cheap, buy cheap. There is no magic.

If it shoots ok for you in SA only, and you don't have other mechanical issues with it due to factory misfit, just shoot it SA only and be happy with that. Tin cans probably won't care if you don't care.
All rimfires are fun. Do with them whatever they do best for you.

 

[jollyroger]

I have had several .22 revolvers, including a Taurus model 94. I tried to lighten up the DA pull with Wolff springs and got misfires. The problem with rimfire pistols like this is the lack of mass in the hammer, which is small. To enough energy in the strike to set off the rimfire, you have to couple the small hammer with a heavy spring. By contrast, the H&R rimfires were small guns with large, heavy hammers. Because they had more mass, H&R could use a lighter mainspring and still get reliable ignition.

The similar-size S&W J-frame .22's have the same problem in DA, incidentally.

 

[weregunner]

I've got a 94 with 5 inch barrel.

There are people who have successfully used Wolff Springs and had no problem.

I was not one of them though.

What I did was get some "snap caps" for .22lrf and proceeded to dry fire practice with the gun. It took a few days and about 500-1000 full repetitions. The action did smooth out and the trigger pull lightened. Not a lot but enough for the gun to be a understudy gun for the lager centefire revolvers. .22lrf ammo costs much less than centerfire rounds. More bang for the buck.

As far as trigger pulls go the gun writers and instructors documented that just about all the .22lrf revolvers have hard trigger pulls. This do because enough energy needs to be imparted into the hammer and firing pin to give the rims a healthy whack go set the primers off.

I had an older 94 and traded up as it were for the new model because I wanted to. Personal choice. The first 94 served me very well,was accurate, and durable.

The new one keeps up with the Taurus 990 I own. It shoots very tight groups out to 25 yards and the 94 keeps up with it.

 

[weregunner]

I also own several H&R and NEF revolvers in .22lrf and .22WRM.
Good guns,those.

 

[steven58]

My uncle and my best friend both bought 94s. Both had rough & heavy DA pulls and heavy SA pulls. Both were significantly improved by a local gunsmith for $60.00 each and are now downright tolerable.
However, neither one comes close to my S&W model 17's stock trigger and aren't even on the same planet as the 17 after it was tuned.
I'd prefer a used S&W 17, 617, 18 or a Ruger to the Taurus 94.

 

[powwowell]

In my opinion there are no light pull DA, .22lr revolvers out there. And that includes Ruger and the revered (for some) S&W kit models.

I have a Taurus 94SS4 that was manufactured several years ago (2003). It has excellent fit and finish. Locks up tight and it is more accurate than I am. Dry firing it, will never give it a light DA trigger pull. So what? It is what it is. A fine affordable .22lr revolver.

 

[MikeJackmin]

With regard to cleaning out the innards, I tried this once, several years ago (with a stainless S&W) and it worked great:

Remove the grips. Put on gloves and eye protection, and squirt brake cleaner into all the openings you can find. Cock the hammer and spray into the gap; spray into the hole in front of the trigger, the hole the hand rises from, the firing pin hole, and of course, up through grip frame itself. Let all the gunk run out, and when it starts running clear, you're done with this phase of the operation.

With the gun utterly dry and unlubed, dryfire it, 1000 times, double action. This will hurt, but not take as long as you might think. I used several fingers, one at a time, to get the job done.

Now hose the innards down again, but this time with your favorite, non hardening aerosol gun lube (NOT WD40). Let it drain overnight, put the grips back on and you're done. (I think I used RemOil, because it was what I had on hand. There are probably better choices available now).

This particular gun benefited greatly from this treatment, and suffered no harm that I could detect. I was concerned that aerosol lube might not hold up well but it's been several years and the gun still feels great.

I suppose a blued gun might have flash rusted? Dunno if that's a real risk or not, but it's something to consider.

 

[MCgunner]

Only 22 DA revolver I ever fired with a decent, not great, DA trigger was a Smith and Wesson M17 K22. I fire my Rossi 511 SA, mostly, but do practice some DA with it and figure if I can hit with IT, I will have no problems with my .38.

The gun is VERY accurate and has a GREAT SA trigger. It makes a great field gun and I'm not going to need DA for rabbits, anyway. I don't carry the gun for self defense, so DA is not a priority on that gun for me. I just left it alone. It fires every time and shoots where I point it. I'll shoot my .38s or .357s if I want a good DA trigger.

 

[mnrivrat]

You can not compare the model 94 to the K-framed S&W gun. The mechanics are significantly different, and very much favor the larger frame gun.

Even the old S&W J-framed guns like the Model 34 and 63 with their 6 shot cylinders have a mechanical advantage over the 9 shot gun. A Taurus model 94 will never be able to ignite rimfire primers at the lesser poundage of the above mentioned guns. The DA pull can be made smoother and slightly lighter. This can be done mostly by appropriate stoning/polishing, and by using a lighter trigger return spring. There is darn little room for lightening the hammer spring.

 

[PapaG]

We've sold twenty or thirty over the past couple years and almost every one made a trip to our smith....and they came back a little better. Ain't much you can do. Strange thing is that the ones made 20 years ago were better in the trigger dept. taurus is no help in the service dept for this problem, either.

 

[gbran]

I have the 941, 22wmr and it too has a very hard 2a trigger. I say; so what? When I'm plinking, I never shoot in da mode anyway. Most folks don't.

 

[Dr_B]

I've cut one full turn from the hammer spring and that reduced the trigger pull to an acceptable weight. It still fires reliably. I think with use it will smooth out more. Not a bad plinking gun for the price.

 

[Trebor]

I have a Model 94. I thought the DA pull was OK, until I got a S&W Model 18. Now I understand, and share in, the complaints on the heavy trigger pull.

Mine also had to go back to the factory once for repair (don't they all) and came back with an even HEAVIER trigger pull and a note that the trigger was out of spec orginally.

 

[stevekozak]

My friend has a 94, a two incher, that has a really nice double action trigger. I was very shocked the first time I shot it. I had had a Taurus before, in .38 Spcl. and it had a horrible trigger on it. She bought the gun new, and has never done any work on it. She says the trigger was this way from day one. I guess her gun is just an anomoly.