Posted in smith section too. trigger pin help needed. SBH

So I watched the Ruger take down video on youtube the other day. He uses a punch some how to hold the spring down. I was trying to take my super blackhawk hunter apart today and can not figure out how to hold the spring down and punch out the pin. Any pointers for this? Need to change the hammer.
The manual show a screwdriver being used but is not very detailed.

Thanks in advance,

The bad news is, you may have a tight trigger pin. Once you do get it out you can polish it so it slips in and out easy. Also take the sharp edges off the groove that the spring locks into to make it easier to disengage the spring the next time. I just us a small screwdriver blade to push straight down on the back end of the spring with the frame in a padded vise. The first time, you may need another person to drive the pin out while you hold the spring down.

The good news is:
REPLACING JUST HAMMER and/or PAWL:
Recognize, you do not need to hassle with the PESKY LOADING GATE SPRING, pull the trigger pin, trigger OR transfer bar JUST to remove the hammer and pawl. Once you remove the grip frame, the hammer pin is the only other part you need to remove. Then just pull the hammer back and all the way down, then depress the hammer plunger in the base of the hammer with a small tipped screwdriver to clear the trigger extension where the transfer bar connects to it. Let the hammer & pawl fall out. Install in reverse! Piece o' cake.

NOTE: While you have the grip frame off, it's always good to examine the upper end of all the grip frame blind screw holes for thread shavings that weren't cleaned out from the factory and get crammed in there by the screws.

Also check the two trigger guard screw holes where they are exposed by the milling cut if your grip frame has the two projections that go into the main frame. Almost always there will be a huge flat 'roll-over' burr in each hole from the milling cuts that expose the holes. If they are present they generally cause the 1st 1/8" of removing those two screws to take extra effort to unscrew. You'll need to break off the burrs and pick them out with a dental pick or equivalent tool.
The newer guns no longer have these projections and milling cuts, but both early and late frames can have rollover burrs in those two screw holes from drilling the hammer pin hole.

You make it sound easy. Glad I asked. Any chance you got a pic though? I think I get what you are saying but this is my first time. Going at it safe and slow.

Thanks,

Well I did as you said and got the hammer swapped easy. Thanks so much for the insight.

As for the trigger pin.... I will want to learn this at some point but that one in the super hunter is a bear. It doesn't want to move at all it seems.

I'm sure I will have more questions in the future. Glad Ruger fellows are so forth coming.

If you ever need to know anything about the P-series I will try to help.

roylt said:

Well I did as you said and got the hammer swapped easy. Thanks so much for the insight.

As for the trigger pin.... I will want to learn this at some point but that one in the super hunter is a bear. It doesn't want to move at all it seems.

I'm sure I will have more questions in the future. Glad Ruger fellows are so forth coming.

If you ever need to know anything about the P-series I will try to help.

Click to expand...

Brownell's sells a neat tool to get that loading gate detent spring to stay down while your two hands are freed up for the other work. Have a look at this: Ruger SA Gate Detent Spring Clamp - 080-906-000WB . I use it alot and it never fails to please.

I use a 1/8" punch. once you do it a few times its easy.
A few years ago I made one of the Brownells clamp thingy. It work but by they I had the punch thingy down pat. Ever what works best for you is the way to go.
Eric

Two things that I'll say about the trigger pin removal:

1) Use 3 hands. A vise, gun clamp, or other fixture to hold the revolver is INVALUABLE!!! It always feels like a job that requires 3 hands. The brownells 'clamp thingy' works great to free up a hand, but I spend more time putting it on than it's worth. A vise will hold the revolver in place for other assembly/disassembly tasks too, so it's really worth it just to clamp it in from the start.

2) Direction is everything. I sometimes catch myself trying to press the trigger pin out from the detent spring side, and after about 5min of cussing at it, I remember how to do it the right way. The trigger pin is a LOT easier to remove if you press it out from the opposite side of the detent spring. Equally, you have to press it IN from the detent spring side first.

I lock my Ruger SA's upside down in the vise, then use brass punch that I flattened to a screw-driver-like flat tip to depress the detent spring with my right hand, and then simple pressure from the pad of my thumb against the "trigger end" of the pin will pop the pin out far enough to get ahold of it. No punch, no hammer, no 3rd hand, no cussing...

All good advice!

I never remove the pin all the way from the frame unless I want to remove the spring. I push it in from the trigger side of the frame as you suggest, but only far enough to remove the trigger and/or cyl latch. I leave the pin over the spring and under tension. After replacing the parts, I can just push the pin back in w/o having to depress the spring again.

I made up a slave pin that keeps the trigger and cylinder latch aligned while the trigger pin is installed. Now there are only two things to keep aligned as you slip the pin in from the gate side of the gun. The slave pin just falls out as the trigger pin takes it`s place.
There are more than one way to skin a cat. Whatever one works for you is the one to do. :wink:

If your still stuck just call the shop Saturday 10-2 east coast time and I'll walk you thru it
8048329545

Well this time I just needed to change the hammer out but on another project I will need to remove more parts to change the gate. This specific trigger pin was very hard to move even a little to center in the frame. I think it is stuck like Hondo mentioned. I'm leaving it as is and moving on.

Thanks so much for all the replies. I'm sure I will be back again when the time comes.