The effect of a heavier hammer spring in a single action rimfire revolver

[WVGunman]

Ok, here's the sitch: My girlfriend bought me a Ruger Single Six .22LR as a b-day present about 18 months ago. (Yeah, she's a keeper. The girlfriend, I mean. But the gun too.)
Anyway, ever since I have been tinkering with this gun to see how accurate I can get it to be. I am no great shot, but I do shoot better with other guns than this one, so there is improvement to be made. I have replaced the grips and both front/rear sights so far, and these have helped.
I recently read that a lighter trigger spring and a heavier hammer spring decrease lock time, which should increase accuracy. So I ordered a 30 ounce trigger spring and a 28 pound hammer spring from Wolff and they are in the mail. I'm guessing the trigger spring should halve my trigger pull and the hammer spring will be about 20% more powerful than stock.
The Problem:
I just read today though that heavier springs will "beat up" a gun, and wear it out earlier. This gun was a gift, and I have put considerable time and money (for me) into improving it, so obviously I don't want it to wear out early. Does anyone have any experience with installing stouter hammer springs, and the effect that had? Did it wear the gun out? Did it improve accuracy?

 

[johnjohn]

Just my own idea, I own a box/stock Single 6, and I don't think you could ruin it in a lifetime of shooting/experimenting. Ymmv

 

[BCRider]

Read around about accuracy issues and improvements for the Single Six. I suspect that a heavier hammer spring is well down the list of things that can or need to be done.

There have been a number of threads written about the compromise bore size to allow the guns to shoot .22WMR. And some folks have used the Paco Kelly bullet sizing kits to plump out the bullets to fit better.

You'd also want to compare the chamber throats and bore size and check the timing for accurate lining up when cocked and the forcing cone/threaded area for a constriction and a bunch of other things that will affect accuracy far more than a slow hammer.

There's also more than one way to speed up the lock time. Lightening the hammer is one method.

Obviously doing a lot of this stuff is getting pretty serious. I only point it out to suggest that you may not get as much improvement from the spring swap as you think.

You're most likely also going to find that you end up with just as heavy a trigger pull or an even harder pull. The stiffer mainspring is going to force the sear and hammer hooks together with more force. And that force is a key factor in the trigger pressure needed.

But the springs are pretty cheap so it's worth playing with them in various combinations to see how they perform.

 

[243winxb]

Factory springs are on the heavy side to start. No need to go heavier.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

A heavier hammer fall can jar the gun off target before the bullet gets out of the barrel too.

It might be a step backward from an accuracy standpoint.

It used to be common to put a lighter hammer spring in Colt SAA's because of the super strong factory spring jarring the gun too much.

Slower lock-time is not as bad as having the gun moved for you when the hammer hits.

rc

 

[MutinousDoug]

I bought a new Bearcat in 1998 that suffered from vertical stringing when shot offhand. The Bearcat is significantly lighter than the New Frontier. Shooting from sandbags significantly reduced that tendency to string shots. I surmised that the stringing was a result of variation in grip as I found the Bearcat awkward to hold without a grip adapter. I bought a LIGHTER hammer spring from Wolff that seemed to resolve the offhand stringing. Eventually I modified an old Mershon grip adapter (very similar to a Tyler T-grip but plastic) to correct the problem I had with the grip. All is good now.

See 243's and RC's posts above.

 

[MrBorland]

rcmodel beat me to it.

The heavier the hammer and/or the heavier the spring, the more momentum is imparted to the gun, and it's momentum that jars the muzzle upon hammer strike. As it's a rimfire revolver, I'd advise against a lighter spring, as well.

 

[DNS]

Very strange since i've always been way more accurate with anything like a standard SAA grip. I'm curious what type of sights you went too. Large hands maybe?

I'd for sure bench or bag to see if its you or the gun.

 

[Jaymo]

And, here I am wanting to put a lighter hammer spring in my EAA Big Bore Bounty Hunter.
It has a hammer spring that feels like two springs stacked together.
It's factory trigger/bolt spring was pretty much that. Two piece spring that gave you one leg on the bolt and two legs on the trigger.
Put a Wolff wire spring in and made a huge difference.
I figure a standard weight SAA hammer spring will further improve it.

I installed a Wolff trigger spring with my OEM hammer spring in my Single Six.
That, and some fiber optic sights. I'm happy with the results, so far.
The only thing I would do to mine, is replace the barrel with one having a bore size that is correct for .22 LR.

 

[Shimitup]

As other suggest I think the stock springs should do fine. You haven't mentioned trying an assortment of ammo. I suspect if you start trying as many different brands and velocities as you can get your hands on you'll find a sweet spot with one or more of them regardless of the Single Six over bore that BCRider mentioned. I recently found that my Single Six and my S&W 17 both like Federal Automatch, while nothing yet surpasses CCI Green Tag or CCI standard velocity in my Ruger MK1.

 

[Jaymo]

Oh, how I wish I could find some more CCI Green Tag ammo.

 

[Drail]

Actually the weight of the hammer has no effect on how much energy is delivered to a primer - the main spring is where all of the energy comes from. I have bobbed hammers down to a fraction of their original mass on DA revolvers and semi auto pistols and have never seen one misfire unless the main spring was also reduced. A bobbed hammer will move faster than a stock one - that is the only difference. Reducing the friction between the moving parts has a much bigger factor than spring rates.

 

[CraigC]

I run 17lb Wolff hammer springs in all my Single Sixes and Blackhawks.

 

[MrBorland]

Actually the weight of the hammer has no effect on how much energy is delivered to a primer - the main spring is where all of the energy comes from. I have bobbed hammers down to a fraction of their original mass on DA revolvers and semi auto pistols and have never seen one misfire unless the main spring was also reduced. A bobbed hammer will move faster than a stock one - that is the only difference.

You are correct that the same energy is delivered because it's the spring that's supplying the energy - the hammer's merely transferring that energy.

Also true that (all else equal) a bobbed (i.e. lighter) hammer travels faster...but because it's traveling faster with the same energy behind it, it delivers more power. Power, rather than energy or momentum, is what actually ignites primers, and why one can bob the hammer on a DA revolver and lighten mainspring energy somewhat without loss of reliability.

Outright bobbing a SA revolver's hammer isn't an option, of course, but I've often wondered to what degree it can be tuned by lightening the mainspring after skeletonizing the hammer.

 

[Red Cent]

Curious MrBorland. Please expand.

"but I've often wondered to what degree it can be tuned by lightening the mainspring after skeletonizing the hammer."


I have a pair of 3 screw Blackhawks that feel like they have thin rubber bands for hammer springs. Solid hammers though.

We know that the hammer/spring thing is like a balancing act. Weight/momentum/power. You can trade them around a lot.

 

[MrBorland]

Please expand

Well, I imagine the action can be reduced to an unconscionably light (read: unsafe) SA trigger pull, but just reducing reciprocating mass of the hammer would speed up the hammer a bit. Depending on the spring tension and mass reduction, one can reduce lock time and hammer momentum (and its associated muzzle jar), while maintaining hammer power. The result ought to be a bit of an accuracy boost without loss of reliability.

 

[Jim K]

I would see no reason to use a heavier hammer spring unless the gun is misfiring due to a light firing pin blow, which is not the case here.

Let's be realistic here. The Ruger Single Six is a nice gun, and I like it a lot. But it is a single action is it is never going to be a target pistol on the order of a K-22 or a Model 41 no matter how much time and money is put into it. Enjoy the Ruger as what it is - a neat plinking and informal target pistol, and get something else for the National Matches.

Jim

 

[ThomasT]

There have been a number of threads written about the compromise bore size to allow the guns to shoot .22WMR. And some folks have used the Paco Kelly bullet sizing kits to plump out the bullets to fit better.

I have read that several times and one day decided to see if it were true. I measured 6 different 22LR bullets and they all measured .225 to .226 in diameter. I used a real micrometer and NOT a set of calipers for the measuring.

The 22 mag bullets pretty much measure .224. So thinking the bore of a Ruger single Six is a compromise is just wrong. Good luck finding any 22lr rounds that have a .223 diameter. If they are out there I have never seen them. Besides the soft lead bullets used in 22s will bump up to fit the bore and chambers when fired.

 

[Drail]

Most of my Ruger SA revolvers have all had heavier than stock mainsprings installed just to get the hammer to fall faster than the stock setup. But all of my S&W DAs have bobbed hammers and lightened mainsprings. I had a Super Single Six for a few years and it was reasonably accurate with .22 LR - but with .22 Mag. it was a tack driver out to 75 yards or so.

 

[CraigC]

But it is a single action is it is never going to be a target pistol on the order of a K-22...

I've never found the Single Six to be wanting compared to the K-22. Neither will ever compete with a good fixed barrel auto like the 41.

 

[Jim K]

It is very difficult to get as good a trigger pull on any SA revolver as one can get on an S&W K series, plus the longer and relatively heavier hammer fall, and somewhat more difficult cocking (for rapid and timed fire) generally keep SA's out of the formal target game. That has nothing to do with either the barrel quality or the inherent accuracy of the gun; it has to do with how well the gun can be used by the top shooters.

Jim

 

[WVGunman]

I've never found the Single Six to be wanting compared to the K-22. Neither will ever compete with a good fixed barrel auto like the 41.

That seems odd... almost all revolvers have fixed barrels too.

 

[WVGunman]

Lots of replies here, but I see no negative consensus, i.e., that replacing the springs will accomplish nothing. Sure, other mods might accomplish more, but new springs is what I'm doing NOW. So, as long as they do something, for $15, I think they'll be worth it.

 

[243winxb]

Fixed barrel- One chamber, not 6 is what I think poster means?

 

[CraigC]

It is very difficult to get as good a trigger pull on any SA revolver as one can get on an S&W K series...

What??? I'm sorry but that's nonsense. Any traditional single action can have a crisp 2lb trigger, many times without even tuning. Even a Ruger New Model can be professionally tuned to be almost as good. You can't get any better with a S&W. The S&W has ZERO advantage in this area.

...plus the longer and relatively heavier hammer fall, and somewhat more difficult cocking (for rapid and timed fire) generally keep SA's out of the formal target game.

DA's are used in bullseye shooting because they are DA and because they are quicker to reload. Not because they are more accurate or easier to shoot more accurately. If that were true, SA's would not be used so prominently in IHMSA. Besides, your comments were relating to accuracy, not the viability of the single action in bullseye shooting. If the course of fire was more suitable to SA's, Freedom Arms would dominate.

That seems odd... almost all revolvers have fixed barrels too.

I state fixed barrel to differentiate autos like the S&W 41, Browning Buckmark and Ruger MK-series from others with floating barrels that are built like a service auto and are far less accurate. A revolver has six chambers and for production guns, an inch at 25yds is excellent accuracy. A good fixed barrel auto should easily be able to halve that with most doing better. No K-22 will shoot with the 41 for raw accuracy.