LCR 22Mag - need help/question

[GunnyGene]

This is about my wife's new gun, which I mentioned in another thread. We went out back this morning to get some target practice with it. Trigger pull on this DAO is long and heavy (~10lbs), but is smooth and consistent throughout the pull. I know that DAO revolvers need a minimum hammer spring weight to ensure a good strike, but is it possible to reduce the weight to say 7 or 8 lbs without causing function problems?

My wife likes the gun generally - fits her small hands well, etc., but has to use both index fingers to pull the trigger back enough to fire it. She can't rack the slide on semi auto's, even .22's, so that's out. She knows that some exercise to build her strength up would help, and/or wearing her brace might also, so she'll be doing that, but if there's a way to reduce the trigger weight that would also help.

Any advice with this would be appreciated.

 

[pisgah]

Rimfire ammo needs a heavier whack than centerfire for reliable ignition,especially when the gun is small and light. Unfortunately, a heavy DA pull is pretty much standard in rimfire revolvers, and almost mandatory for small, light ones.

 

[greenmtnguy]

If she can gain enough confidence to move on to the 38 Spl version, you could lighten the springs and still not reduce firing reliability to any significant degree. As has been said - rimfires need a stiffer spring to strike and reliably ignite the mixture in the cartridge's rim. You might get away with going to an 8 pound spring if you practice and stick with a single brand of ammo that proves to work well with the lighter springs. But switching brands, etc may suddenly turn up failure to fire

 

[OldePhart]

Also keep in mind that changing the main spring on most revolvers doesn't get you as much as you think in terms of trigger weight...and can introduce problems other than the obvious failures-to-fire. Depending on the actual design of the gun, and I'm not at all familiar with the LCR action, you can as a very general rule of thumb expect to get roughly 1/2 pound off the DA pull for each pound off the main spring because of the camming action of the trigger. As for the problems that aren't as obvious as misfires...with a "weak" spring the time between when the sear releases the hammer and when the hammer falls on the transfer bar is longer...meaning more chance for POA to change especially with a very light gun like the LCR.

Just some thoughts...

 

[GunnyGene]

Thanks, y'all. That's what I figured. We'll have to come up with some other solution, I guess.

 

[hittman]

My LCR's seemed a bit smoother and easier after 500 rounds or so.

I don't have the rimfire version, just wondering if the same may be true on it.

 

[pjkid]

Thanks, y'all. That's what I figured. We'll have to come up with some other solution, I guess.

I suggest not messing with it until she has shot a few boxes thru it.
My wife is very attached to her LCR 22mag

 

[Bearcat]

The .22 WMR seems to have a bit heavier pull than the .22 lr version.

Now that Win. has the new 36-grain HP ultra-high velocity varmint loads, you might try the .22lr version with these hot, new cartridges. Still not as fast as a .22 magnum, but plenty for self defense and the occasional field use.

 

[GunnyGene]

The .22 WMR seems to have a bit heavier pull than the .22 lr version.

Now that Win. has the new 36-grain HP ultra-high velocity varmint loads, you might try the .22lr version with these hot, new cartridges. Still not as fast as a .22 magnum, but plenty for self defense and the occasional field use.

Already got the .22mag, so won't be getting the lr. Wife and I worked it out. She gets my Sig 1911-22lr (surprisingly she can rack the slide on it! ), and I get the Ruger wheel gun. What she doesn't know (yet), is that I only caved because I'll be buying an SR9E this year. Please don't rat on me. :wink: :mrgreen: