Trigger/bolt spring breakage

[PJ Hardtack]

At the first local two day CAS event, what could go wrong - did!

I ended up with the wrong size caps for new cones I put into one of my .44 Remmies. Took 2-3 hammer falls to go "Bang" on some chambers. Won't do that again ....

Before my wife fired her first shot, the trigger/bolt spring broke in one of her .38 Spl. Uberti Stallions while she was loading. Good thing I had brought along extra guns, my old Ruger Vaqueros in .44 mag.

Back home, I managed to fit a spring for a '51 Navy to the Stallion. I had to shorten the trigger arm and narrow the width slightly to fit the frame, but it works. New springs coming.

But the gremlins did not go away ..... in removing the grip frame, the little spring on the right side took off when I removed the screw. I finally found it, only to loose it again!

I removed EVERYTHING on the bench, searched the floor with a flashlight on my hands and knees and couldn't find it. I made up another by trimming a spring, but it was too powerful. Standing there scratching my head (I THINK it was my head), my wife showed up to check on how it was going and said - "What's that?"

She saw the spring behind a spray can of lube, one of the several cans I had previously moved THREE times before! Ever have one of those days ..... ?

[Blackpowder Burn]

Yep........glad to see I'm not the only person that Murphy gets his jollies with! 

[Charlie Bowdre]

I feel your pain! At our annual CAS Round up  this past week
1. Base pin screw fell out of my main gun El Patron. Gone
Shot the match with one El P and one Open Top. Did I mention 2 different calibers

2.Mixed up my shotguns ammo (my 97 original hates reloads) had two stage jams ...

3. On my best stage run I lost my focus and reacted to someone in the crowd saying NO NO No ,thought I had mixed up the target sequence ,completely lost focus . Three misses and One P 

4. I shoot (or try to shoot) Duelist. My problem is my 66 year old hands do not work as well as they did 40 years ago. Major attack by the Ritis Brothers. Had to switch to shooting two handed for rest of the match. Lucky for me it didn't knock me out of Last Place.

BUT ..it was a great weekend of camping and shooting with my pards.

[Coffinmaker]

Hi PJ,
I've had worse days.  Not much worse, but still worse.
Since we're talking about your Sweetie's Stallions, even though you have new trigger/bolt springs coming, I'd like to suggest you switch to Pietta Trigger/bolt springs.  Much lighter than Uberti.  You'd be surprised at just how much of the hammer draw weight is in the Trigger/Bolt spring.  Make sure your timing is spot on and the Bolt fits the cylinder notches too.
Not that it has ever happened to me, but while I was still a professional (Gunsmith - now retired) I always kept a supply of those tiny little hand plunger springs on hand.  Now that I'm retired, I still keep a couple on hand.  Not that I've ever "lost" one.
You also might want to consider (if you haven't already) "Lee's Gunsmithing Gunfighter" reduced main spring kits for her guns.  Very user friendly.  A suitable substitute are the reduced power main springs offered by VTI GUNPARTS.

Coffinmaker

[PJ Hardtack]

Got some wire trigger/bolt springs coming from VTI. No flat ones in stock.

"Miz Josie" shot her .44 Spl. flat top Ruger Blackhawks today with .44 Russian ammo and was hitting rifle targets at 20 yds with them, so She's going to continue with them this season.

Dutchy - I can relate to your arthritis problem. Weeks ago I set up a reaction in my right hand due to over use and it's just coming round now. For a while I thought I might have to revert to being a two paw shooter.

Any and all shooting for me will be on hold for at least 10-14 days as Tuesday next I go under the knife for my 2nd cataract surgery. Good-bye trifocals!

Then after I heal, my next shooting occasion will be a modern 3-Gun event where I'll be using some new fangled thing that doesn't even resemble a gun called a "Tavor". "Miz Josie" will be shooting an equally weird looking contraption called an AR something or other. It ain't even black, but some Gawd awful colour mixture called "Muddy Girl".

Can I say that here without threats to have my mouth washed out with soap? My local pards don't even want to hear about it, threatening to revoke my citizenship in 'Rope Burn City'.

[Coffinmaker]

Hey, 'round here, we don't care what yer shooting, just soz yer shooting something 

Coffinmaker

[Professor Marvel]

My Good Gentlemen

regarding the sproinging of bits and pieces , I not only share your pain but am trying something to fix it.

Since I have been doing more putzing  than shooting lately, I am getting my jollies taking apart and tinkering with my Colt Open Tops ( wife's 1849's and 1851's, my 1860's and avenging angels) and my Rem 1858's . In so doing I find myself spending far too much time dropping and losing and finding too many small pieces.

Thus I am building Prof Marvel's Klutz-Proof Assembly Container - aka a poormans glove box. I have built gloveboxes for chemical safety before, but this is much easier as it does not need to be airtight. Even a 16"x16"x24" cardboard box will do for pistols.
cut 2 round holes for snug cloth sleeves taped in ( bare hands & fingers for easy handling) , and a large plexi window for "lookin' thru" and Bob's Yer Uncle. All the parts stay inside no matter how much explosive springys are involved! Everything can be held together with duct tape and/or clear packing tape. If one wishes a more robust and longer-lived box, one can use a large tupperware storage box with removable ( or even hinged!) lid .

Hey, 'round here, we don't care what yer shooting, just soz yer shooting something  

Coffinmaker

My Good Coffinmaker - due to circumstances all my shooting of late has been either Hot Glue bullets +primers, or ~1 gr powder/RB Gallery Loads - do those count ?

yhs
Prof Marvel

[PJ Hardtack]

I like the idea of the idiot proof box! Any amount of trouble assembling one outweighs the time spent on hands and knees looking into dark places even spiders avoid.

I also learned to value the third hand of a padded vise and rubber floor mats to cushion dropped parts.

[Coffinmaker]

Professor M,

You Betcha.  You getta BANG of some sort, it counts. 

Coffinmaker

[Abilene]

a magnetic bowl for keeping your parts from wandering off can be handy as well.

[Coffinmaker]

Well .......... I put a BIG flat rare earth magnet on the bottom of Remington # 10 Cap Tin.  Ever try to get something OFF a rare earth magnet??  Especially something small??  Like an itty bitty spring??  It can be somewhat troublesome.  Don't ask me how I know this
valued piece of information   I have also heard on good authority, one can knock the little tin of small parts on the floor (footsaver matt)
and it will bounce under the workbench with all the small parts still in it.  Far enough under the workbench it cannot be reached. 
DO NOT ask where I heard/learned that lil tidbit  
Some sparkling moments of ingenuity do not necessarily have a wondrous outcome.

Coffinmaker

[Thumb Buster]

Feeling your pain Coffinmaker.  I have one of those cheap magnetic 'mechanic's' trays and have made the mistake of placing the small set screw, plunger and spring for my Uberti's in it.  Thank goodness for thumb nails!  Then I promptly drop them teeny-tiny parts that, 'lo and behold, fail to drop back into the magnetic tray.  Hands and knees with the brightest flashlight I have as well as a magnetic pick-up tool don't always work for me.  However I do recover long lost metal items I had given up on and ordered anew.  Hard on the knee's, old eyes and the patience factor....

[PJ Hardtack]

Gentlemen, I am sooooo happy to hear that I am not the only one to experience these aggravations.

My wife tells me that my Regular Army vocabulary comes out of me in such moments; phrases and expletives I thought I had forgotten.

To be honest, there have been times I have resorted to prayer after exhausting all other possibilities. Now I remember to use prayer as a FIRST resort and you know, it works better .... :>)