B.P. Revolers and the Back Strap Spring

[Ace Lungger]

Had a BP pistol in my hand today, and couldn't believe how hard it eas to cock the hammer!!
So i went to half cock, cyclinder spun good and smooth! So I was wondering, does a B.P. gun have to have
a heavy main spring to hit the cap hard?
Like i said I am a dumby when it comes to the Darkside?

I will be great full for any and all reply's.
Thanks
ACE

[hellgate]

Most of them come out of the new box with way too heavy of a hammer pull. In general, a C&B needs a harder hammer fall to keep the hammer down onto the nipple to prevent the hammer from being blown back by the backthrust through the nipple. This backthrust will dislodge the cap and cause it to get into the works or under the hammer and cause jams. However, they are usually quite operable at lesser stiffness. One remedy is to replace the nipples with those with a smaller flash hole so there is less blowback and the hammer can be significantly lightened. You will never be able to lighten them as much as for most cartridge guns that don't have to contend with flame at both ends of the cylinder. I have some guns that do just fine with the stock nipples but I do not shoot heavy loads in them (more powder, more lead, more pressure, and more blowback if I do). I would recommend you try an Uberti Remington New Mod Army. It is the ONLY C&B that I have found that has a FUNCTIONAL mainspring tension screw. On my two Milleniums I have merely backed the screws out all the way to not touch the mainspring and then torqued them in so I get about 3/4 of a turn of contact and they will handle everything from 20grs-30grs powder and a .454 ball or a LEE 200gr conical with no problems other than fouling after a while. All the other Remingtons I have owned (Pietta and Euroarms) had the screw on the front of the grip frame but they were too short to reach the spring. I did no more "smithing" than polishing the moving parts inside and greasing all contact surfaces except the sear. I had a couple of Pietta Remingtons of old manufacture that had atrocious hammer pulls due to too long of a mainspring that rubbed on the back of the hammer when cocked. After I shortened them a smidge the pull was significantly better.

[Mako]

Ace,
What make are your pistols? I want to try and get some of those springs , seriously.  I have 6 Uberti cap pistols and they all came with wimpy springs. Cartidge shooters would think they were pretty nice being out of the box.  I have been buying USFA SAA mainsprings from Brownells and modifying them slightly in length to fit the Ubertis in order to get a marginally acceptable hammer strike.

About stage 5 of a match you will be glad you have those springs. A little bit of fouling on the cones, on and around the hammer and you start getting soft hits and misfires.  I clean the back of the cylinders, the cones, the hammer face and the hammer slot between every stage and every once in a while I still get the odd light hit.  I have an original Colt '60 built in 1861 and it has a relatively heavy mainspring, I use it as my baseline for what a mainspring on a percussion revolver should be.  It is still heavier than my re-springed Ubertis.

Regards,
Mako

[Ace Lungger]

This is a 1851 Navy US Marshall sold buy Cabela's it is pietta made. I have never been around the Magic Smoke, all my cartidge pistols I have them tuned as best as I can, i have played with actions jobs for 20 years or so, my uberia are about 2 1/2 pounds, I like them light!

Thanks for the advice Pards!!
ACE

[Roosterman]

I too wish I could find a good spring for my C&B guns. My first pair of Pietta Navies I got had real light springs. I figured they must have lost their temper so I ordered a couple new ones. Got the same wimpy springs..... I put a shim under all my main springs now to give them a little more zip. Pietta or Uberti, all the same wimpy springs in their colt clones.

[Dick Dastardly]

FWIW, when Bill Ruger designed the ROA he used a coil hammer spring.  It has a different feel entirely.  The guns are good out of the box and you don't have to be Superman to cock them.  If you get a chance, shoot some ROAs.

DD-DLoS