Redhawk 45Colt/45 ACP light primer Strike

Well my reduced power 13 lb. spring from Wolfe has caused a light strike in Double action. The pack contained a 14 13 and 12. I will try the 14 and see what happens. The 13 was fine when cocked first and I was rapid firing double action when it occurred on the 4th shot. The 45 Colt rounds were pretty close to max and the primers were LP CCI 300. My Goal is to have a smooth pull on Double action that is reliable with a load that is one hand controllable. I have some work to do on both

sunfish, if you can't make it work with the CCI primers, try the Federal 150. I have an old 3rd model transitional 44 M&P(1947) that was converted to a target pistol by Kings?, with King sights and hammer and trigger mods that can't be fixed without new(replacement) parts. Single action is fine but DA with WW primers was iffy. Switched to Federal 150s and works every time. It seems the 150's require less energy to ignite and are what Clarks recommends for their very light action jobs. Bob!! :wink:

If I remember correctly, CCI primers are harder than the others. Might try Federal or WLP's. Make sure the primers are properly seated. Good luck with your project!
gramps

I had the exact same result, as have many people with Redhawks, that tried a reduced mainspring. It is the design of the gun. Only professional work and a new longer firing pin can bring the trigger pull down significantly. Fortunately even though the double-action is a little heavy it usually has a very smooth action. It is so smooth that you can stage the double-action pull and make it almost like single-action. ...and as mentioned Federal primers are the most sensitive and CCI the hardest with Winchester primers in the middle.

...oh and welcome to the RugerForum.

I failed to mention that I now load all of my 44 Specials with the 150 primer, no matter which of my 44 specials I intend to shoot. Of course, the M24's, M29's, 69's and Ruger Blackhawks would fire anything that even resembled a large pistol primer. Bob! 8)

I concur with Jimbo357. I had a Redhawk that I put in a Bowen extended firing pin (gave 0.055" protrusion) that had 0.063" headspace and .002" endshake and it required a 14 lb mainspring to ignite WW large pistol primers. This gave about 10 lb double action. With the 12 pound Wolff spring in it double action was about 8.8 lbs but would only work with Federal primers. When firing double action the hammer arc is less than in single action. This causes the hammer to fall with less velocity due to the spring not being as compressed. On the other hand rapid double action will compress the spring further than slow double action. Bowen has noted this on his site.

As an aside WW only offers one large pistol primer vs. the standard and magnum ones other firms offer. Perhaps this makes them a bit less sensitive. I wonder where Remington primers fit in the spectrum??

Try this from Iowagen's Redhawk manual. "The fix is quite simple .... just grind about .020" from the top step of the hammer. This will place more energy on the firing pin and less on the frame. Make sure your hammer fits "square" in the frame slot. Sometimes Ruger leaves a bit of metal in the corners, which limits hammer contact with the transfer bar. In other words, the top step face of the hammer should fit flush with the frame. I usually round the side edges of the hammer's top step just a little to make sure the corners clear."

Got a chance to shoot it with the 14lb and it was a wash. It would not consistently bust off even in single action. I'm going back with the Ruger spring at least until I shoot up all the CCI LP's on hand. There is a small rub on the hammer I want to address and may bevel the side edges to be sure. I'm not brave enough to start working off the face of the hammer yet.

If you have a rub on the side of the hammer a set of hammer shims might alleviate this issue without the need to start filing on things.

I learned some good info on this thread about primers.

I've got a batch of Sellier&Bellot Primers that are so hard that my 44 Mag and 44 SPL loads will almost only go off in SA. The DA just doesn't have enough oomph to get the primers to ignite consistently. Same result on 2 different guns.

Well I have went back to the Ruger main spring and did the dry firing thing in a bucket of #1 and it did improve the trigger pull somewhat. There was some kind of an issue with the reset and I noticed that the trigger guard latch was not in all the way and when I got it in it went away. This pistol is really finicky but it does shoot to the point of aim. Something else that seems to help is a mixture of anti seize and STP on the main spring rod and spring. I'm really trying to like this pistol but it has not been plug and play I tell ya. Sunfish

The Redhawk trigger mechanism can be a bit tricky to balance trigger pull vs. getting light strikes.

Here is a pretty good explanation of all of the specific bearing surfaces in the action and what their function is.
http://www.ktgunsmith.com/redhawk_action.htm

If you go through and polish (note I said polish, not hone or remove metal) some of these non critical dimension surfaces you can really smooth up the action without needing the precise jigs and stones needed for a true trigger job.

I have 2 Redhawks and have spent a lot of time trying to get the right balance between hammer springs and light strikes.

This is what I've learned (and my opinion on a few things) -

The factory spring is too heavy for DA shooting. Forget about it. Many (most) people with the factory 17 lb spring shoot Redhawks in SA mode only. I like to shoot DA so I'm messing with lighter springs.

The Wolff springs come in 12, 13, and 14 lbs. 12 and 13 are too light. They need to offer 14, 15 and 16 lbs. The factory standard is 17 according to Wolff.

If you want a 15 or 16 lb spring, take a 14 and add a small piece of the 12 lb to it. The mainspring strut is plenty long and you can stack springs on it. I've done it. It works.

If your hammer is rubbing against the frame, you need hammer shims. http://www.triggershims.com
While you're at it, get some trigger shims too.

Get an extended length firing pin from Bowen.

I installed the Bowen firing pin a few days ago and, at the same time, took out my 14 lb plus piece of 12 lb mainspring, reinstalled the 13 lb spring and guess what.......light primer strikes. The 13 lb spring really is too light, even with the Bowen pin. I'm going to try the 14 lb spring without the extra spring that makes it a 15 lb spring and see what happens.

My guess is that I'll need to have a 15 lb spring, which gives about a 10 lb DA trigger pull, even with the Bowen pin. At that point, I should finally have a super reliable gun. But I will continue to use Federal primers. Why press my luck?

Installing the Bowen pin is not easy. It only works on early Redhawks with the pressed in recoil shield. When in doubt, speak to your gunsmith.

It was mentioned somewhere that Bowen is supposed to be coming out with an extended firing pin for the new style firing pins. I think one could maybe make the 14 lb spring work but would require minimum headspace, maximum firing pin protrusion and a shimmed action. At one time Magnaport claimed with tuning a Redhawk could be in the high 9's in double action.

i sent in my redhawk 5050 today to give them a shot at solving the light primer strikes in double action