Rugger SP101 .22 Trigger/Hammer Stiffness

[salsa]

My daughter young teenage daughter wanted a handgun and since mine are 357s I wanted to start her out with something that would be easy to shoot/learn on. After much (but apparently not nearly enough) research and talking to several gun shops, I bought a Ruger SP101 .22. Problem was that the trigger was so stiff she could not shoot it. The hammer was even worse for SA shooting. I brought it too a gunsmith who changed out the springs. Seemed to help quite a lot (daughter could now dry fire both DA and SA) until I went to the range where I had 50% misfires. Brought it back to the gunsmith who tightened it up a bit but it was now too stiff again for her to comfortably handle. I took her to look at a used Bearcat and a Single Six. Surprisingly she like the Single Six better, but it was used and they were asking quite a bit for it. Found a good selection of Single Six's and Single Ten's at Turners and she really liked the way the Single 10 with 10rd barrel felt and that's what I just bought. I'm in CA, so have to wait 30 days to pick it up.

I'm a bit torn between keeping the SP101 for myself, though I'd have to change out the grips to make it more comfortable for me and selling it. Looks like the most I'll be able to sell if for privately is around $475. I paid $$600 plus tax, CA fee, gunsmith charge to change springs and now, if I keep it, new grips. I'll be into it for almost $750. The DA action is fine for me now, but the Hammer is still way to stiff to use SA, which I sometimes like to do. I'm assuming that things will ease up a bit after several hundred rounds. Any suggestions or similar experiences with this gun and how it handles down the road after being used more would be much appreciated.

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum!
First, I admire you for starting your daughter out on a 22. It is an excellent choice to teach proper shooting skills with.
Now, as for your SP-101 in 22 LR.
First, I'd hesitate to call a guy who just swapped out springs a gunsmith. A GOOD gunsmith should be able to smooth up the action to where it's slicker & easier to use. We own several SP-101's around here, including an original 6 shot SP in 22 LR. It was just used this past weekend in a NRA Women On Target training clinic by some elderly ladies. NO problems with any of them using it.
I can offer two suggestions.
One, contact Ruger & politely tell them how hard it is for your daughter & you to operate this gun. They will very likely send you a pre-paid shipper to return the gun to them to see if anything is causing such hard operation. If so, once they go through it,, it'll come back much smoother.
Or, you can find a real gunsmith to do a "cleaning up" of the action.
Springs can help, but sometimes a gun needs a lot more. It should not be hard for a teen lady to operate.

 

[kwh]

My SP101 .22 had a fine S.A. trigger but gritty hard D.A. trigger. D.A. heavy pull is primary criticism of SP101 .22. I agree your pistol needs help from Ruger. Also the SP 101 are easy to disassemble, look on you tube . You can do it. I ordered a shim kit and polished with 7000 grit and replaced rebound spring (Wolf) only. As above, making the mainspring too light will result in misfires in the harder to ignite rim fires. I now have a sweet D.A. action and no misfires.

 

[salsa]

Thank you for your replies and advice. I've been out of town, but will contact Ruger asap.

 

[Kevin]

hittman is right. Dry firing will also help. Sometimes when I have the house to myself I do that while watching a movie.

 

[RedlegM109A1]

I have the SP101 .22LR. There is no getting around the fact that the DA trigger is a hard pull, and pulling the hammer back for SA is not exactly easy either.

The trigger will naturally smooth out after some live and dry firing. It will always be a relatively hard pull. It is notorious that if you try to lighten the pull very much that you will start getting misfires as did the OP. That is why the gun has a stiff trigger pull.

These are fabulous pistols but they do have a stiff, albeit smooth trigger pull. I do very well shooting mine DA, but after a couple of hundred rounds my trigger finger begins to get tired.

 

[salsa]

Thanks, but even after shooting a few hundred rounds, I didn't not enjoy shooting it and my daughter still had problems with it. So had her go with me to see what she liked and could handle reasonably well and she picked a Single Ten with 4.625 barrel. I pick it up tomorrow and I think its something we'll very much enjoy together.

 

[Jeffro57]

Salsa, I found this older thread doing a search, and first off, wondered how you and your daughter are enjoying your single ten? (I've owned my Lipsey's model for awhile now, and love it!) I found the thread because I wondered about the outcome of your SP101 .22 with the obnoxiously heavy trigger pull. (Mine just went back, with an RMA and free shipping for the same problem) Did they take care of the problem?
Thanks, Jeff

 

[timnc]

I don't know how your situations turned out; but, I just went through the same thing. Returned gun to Ruger on July 17 and got it back today with the problem resolved. They replaced the hammer strut & mainspring plus repaired the crane,cylinder & barrel. Super fast service and,of course,at their expense.This is only the second time in 50 years[over 100 different firearms] that I have had to return a Ruger to the factory[last time over 20 years ago] and they have provided excellent service both times. I can live with that.

 

[Jeffro57]

Well, I got mine back yesterday. They told me my SP101 (.22) was within spec, and they did nothing to it. I did, however, get a sticker.

 

[Pat-inCO]

I got a Ruger Redhawk many years ago that was less then optimal. What I did was
to spend ten or fifteen minutes several night per week dry firing it. One LARGE thing
is that I "rode" the hammer with the heel of my hand so it didn't slam into the frame.
Was that necessary? I don't know, but in just a few weeks it had improved noticeably.
Kept after it for another month or so and it had "come in" very nicely.

Inexpensive and effective.

 

[Jeffro57]

I decided I didn't want to have to dry-fire my SP101 22., and "break it in" for a couple years, before I could shoot in double-action with any knid of accuracy. I had the shims, and the Wolff springs ready to go, and last night I did the detailed trigger job, just like on YouTube.
I went with the 14lb. hammer spring, and the 8lb. trigger return spring. I'm fairly mechanical, and was able to get it done without too much trouble. I tested it out with drywall plugs, once I was done, and was able to get a double-action reading on my Lyman's digital scale of 11lb. 3oz. average! Before the trigger job, I'm guessing it was around 14 to 15 pounds, and sticky! The single-action pull went from 5lb. 5oz. average, to 4 lb. 4oz.
This morning I couldn't wait to hit the range! I shot double-action only (maiden voyage testing, and I forgot to try single-action!), and pulled the trigger 64 times and got 64 bangs! I used Aguila Super Extra, Winchester white-box, Federal AutoMatch, and CCI mini-mag HP's!
I wish it had come from the factory with a more reasonable trigger pull (much like both of my S&W 617's did), but I'm glad I've now got a smooth shooting kit gun!

 

[Toxophilus]

Ditto to what Jeffro57 posted, I installed the Wolff 12lb main spring and the 8lb return spring; also polished the entire innards w/2000 grit where instructed... it is so smooth now that... my wife took it as hers

http://www.sp101trigger.com/

 

[Clovishound]

Is your daughter insistent on a revolver? An SA semi would take care of the problem. My grown daughter started shooting earlier this year and instantly fell in love with my Mark I target. It has a 2.5 lb trigger in SA only. It is now her gun. She shoots it very well.


Hope you and your daughter have a lot of good times together at the range.