S&W Action Job

[Superposed]

I need to smooth/reduce the trigger pull on two S&W Model 642 revolvers. Can anyone recommend a good gunsmith that can do this work in the Chattanooga/Knoxville areas?

Any help is appreciated.

Superposed

[3gundave]

Predator Custom Shop in Knoxville. 865-521-0625

[Bassoneer]

Predator did my 642 trigger job and it is awesome. Smoothed it out and even put some lighter springs in it - now very, very smooth and 100% reliable. I also had an issue with the "hand" hitting something and they fixed it at the same time to make the 642 like butter. They have also worked on another S&W Model 13 for me and repaired some end shake and made everything like new. Very professional and reasonable pricing. It's in an industrial looking building on Papermill Drive here in Knoxville. You will be glad you did it. Make sure you ask for the master gunsmith - can't recall his name but he is a little older than the other guys. There were several folks working there who know what they're doing, but I think they specialize more in AR-15's and such for the SWAT team...the master gun smith did both of my S&W jobs and he is fantastic. B

Edited October 5, 2012 by Bassoneer

[Dolomite_supafly]

Predator Custom Shop is a great place to have work done. The smith is Bob Howard and he is an absolute master at doing triggers on most guns. He is also amazing with 1911's.

They have some of the fastest turn around times as well as reasonable prices.

Dolomite

[graycrait]

an alternative is DIY with this video: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/262030/gun-video-trigger-job-complete-action-tuning-for-smith-and-wesson-revolvers-with-jerry-miculek-dvd

Even if you don't do the job, watching this video will take the "magic" out of it. It ain't rocket science and can be done at the kitchen table with a screw driver and decent stone. Good screw drivers are helpful.

[Will]

Buddy ordered Wolf Spring kit for $12 had gunsmith put in ,action like a target revolver and goes bang everytime.

[DaveTN]

That video that is linked here is for K, L and N frames. J-frames do not have a light trigger or have a glass smooth action by design, and won’t no matter how much money you spend. I personally wouldn’t mess with one, and that’s what most of the Gunsmith I have known have told me.

[graycrait]

Granted, due to the aluminum body there isn't a lot you can do. But the internal workings of the J frame are nearly equal to the bigger frames. I've found Miculeks video translates well to small S&W revolvers also. Remember that the aluminum should not be addressed in any way with abrasives other than a very light stroke if there is a small offending burr edge in a critical spot. Never ever touch the edges where the side plate fits, steel or aluminum.

Things that can be done is to spin the posts with fine steel wool a bit. Then Flitz the trigger and hammer pin holes. The rebounding block can always stand a little polishing on the bottom and back. The rebound spring can be lightly rubbed with a piece of fine abrasive and another piece of abrasive can be rolled up and the rebound spring hole polished a bit. The sides of the hammer that contacts the bosses can be lightly polished as can the bosses but with care. The cylinder stop can generally be cleaned up a bit also, as well as the slot it protrudes up through to engage the cylinder. Where the cylinder stop and trigger meet and connect thes areas can be polished. Although the hand is often pretty smooth on the sides that can also be addressed a bit as can the slot the hand fits through to engage the cylinder star. The star itself can be cleaned up a bit if need be. In rare cases a shim or two can help, especially with an older gun. The firing pin hole can be examined for smoothness also. These are all little things that contribute to slightly smoothing a piece of mass production that while nicely built can always benefit from a bit of careful hand work. Putting lighter hammer springs seems to be a fools errand except on a gun that is reliably set-up to shoot one kind of cartridge with a specific primer. In an Airweight J-frame anything that can be done to smooth, not lighten the trigger, can be of benefit. Yes, you can make greater gains with a full size steel revolver, but there is always room for improvement on a gun that is made with economies of scale in mind.

As a side note I took a friend's Ruger SP101 aprt one time to see what the professional gunsmith did that cost 180.00. I showed my friend that the gunsmith put in a couple of shims that cost 5.00 and did absolutely nothing else. I don't think the shims were necessary. I figured 10 minute job at most. I understand overhead costs, experience and availability are worth some money, but gee, I thought it was a bit extreme.

[DaveTN]

I respectfully disagree, and I only posted what I did because it’s a safety issue; and it’s only fair to warn revolver owners of that before they go trying a trigger job. I have done many trigger jobs on many Smith & Wesson revolvers. I am a Toolmaker by trade and I have done many competition guns of my own. I have never done a J-frame and wouldn’t help someone else do theirs. I am not disrespecting the J-frames as I have carried them for many years and a model 36 is the only gun in my collection that I have had for over 30 years; it was my first off duty gun. But they are “belly guns†or “pocket guns†not target guns. There is a reason you won’t see anyone shooting a j-frame in competition.

The mechanical designed of the j-frame spring system is totally different than the others. That wasn’t by accident it was by design. These guns are carried in places that aren’t really safe; like pockets. Sure, if you keep it in a decent holster all the time the chance of something pulling the trigger is pretty slim, but many people don’t.

I don’t do action jobs (other than some minor clean up) on carry guns; I certainly don’t take a stone to them as I would a competition gun. There is no testing or licensing for Gun Smiths so unless you know personally the quality of a Smiths work you have no idea what you are getting. Too many passes of the stone and you may have a gun that will no longer lock up, or worse; not fire when you need it. The fact that you go fire a box of ammo with no problems doesn’t mean it won’t fail at the worst possible time. That’s true of most any work you do to a carry guns.

Now… you want a glass smooth revolver action that is sweet to shoot, and will impress your friends? Get a K or L frame, a stone, some oil, do some research and go to town. Just do yourself (and everyone else) a favor and don’t put it in the SD rotation.

Waat to “smooth up†your J-frame a little bit? Put a couple thousands rounds through it and enjoy.

[graycrait]

Dave, I enjoy that we can agree to disagree. As you can see by my post I didn't advocate lighter springs. However, current state of MIM and Airweights in general doesn't allow for a very smooth J-frame. You can't realize much improvement but you can gain a bit if you smooth some things up carefully. However, you are quite right when you say shoot it. If you have the time and money to shoot 5K rds through your pocket gun then by all means go do it and it will probably be as smooth as it will ever be. I sort of beat that whole deal and carry a semi-auto rather than the J-frames. But I do like the snikety snick of a nice running revolver machine.

[Howler]

S&W offered to smooth out a J-frame trigger for me a few years back, I think the cost was around $60. I never took them up on it but a friend of mine did. When his gun returned the trigger felt much better than stock.

[Bassoneer]

It is extremely common to do action jobs on S&W J-frames. It comes up once a week on the S&W forum because honestly, most of the new S&W's don't get the care and individual attention to detail that they did 50 years ago before they leave the factory. Lighter (Wolf) springs are a big favorite also. In my case, the "hand" was actually rubbing something and it made the action awful - maybe I'm biased, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. By no means does this mean the gun will have a hair trigger...it is a long (and stiff, even with new springs) trigger pull. But, having direct and personal experience with this one, I would not hesitate to send anybody to Predator's shop for the master gun smith to do an action job on a J-frame. It is a good thing all around. And if anybody wants a lot more good information about revolvers, read the book by Grant Cunningham - he is a gunsmith and favors revolvers - especially Rugers. Best wishes, B