Mainspring tightness on N frame S&W
- Thread starter Lavan
- Start date
If I remember correctly, the strain screw comes from the factory flush with the frame. You can turn it out, slightly and usually still have reliable ignition and perhaps a better DA trigger pull. I don't bother.
I don't think it was ever intended to be a way to "adjust" the trigger pull weight, I think its there so that you can relieve tension on the spring in order to disassemble it.
I don't think it was ever intended to be a way to "adjust" the trigger pull weight, I think its there so that you can relieve tension on the spring in order to disassemble it.
ammo.crafter
New member
Spring
The trigger spring will change the tension when firing. I routinely change all trigger springs on all S&W revolvers.
The trigger spring will change the tension when firing. I routinely change all trigger springs on all S&W revolvers.
The big flat spring in the grip is the hammer spring and through the hammer strut/link, drives the hammer forward. The screw's sole purpose isn't for adjusting spring tension (or trigger pull as some here believe) but for tightening the spring down. You don't want that screw to loosen up. The most we (police armorers) were allowed to do was to file the screw down slightly and afterward tighten it down all the way. Filing the end off the screw is something I never did because reliable ignition is a must on service sidearms. We needed reliable firearms b/c it was a matter of life or death and not target shooting.
The rebound slide spring is what gives you the DA trigger pull. When they were made of musical wire we could cut up to two coils off if we wanted to lighten the DA trigger pull.
Before loosening that screw, I suggest y'all take an armorer's course to learn the inner workings of a S&W revolver. Alternatively, take a NRA Summer School Revolver Repair Course to learn how to work on them.
The rebound slide spring is what gives you the DA trigger pull. When they were made of musical wire we could cut up to two coils off if we wanted to lighten the DA trigger pull.
Before loosening that screw, I suggest y'all take an armorer's course to learn the inner workings of a S&W revolver. Alternatively, take a NRA Summer School Revolver Repair Course to learn how to work on them.
The guns come from the factory with the screw head flush with the frame. IF all the way in, or backed out was the right way to do it, I think the factory would do that.
Making a modification to the screw, or even adjusting it to a different position MAY result in something better suited to your desires, but is can also result in changing the reliability of the firearm, and not always for the better.
I was trained by the US Army Ordnance Center & School (1975) on the S&W revolver, and know the correct way to take them apart and put them back together.
A lot can be done to S&W revolvers to make them "feel better" in your opinion. As long as it is your gun, your opinion is the one that matters. If its not your gun, other people's opinions count more.
I don't touch the strain screw. generally speaking, unless I get a used gun with the screw all the way in, or standing proud, in which case, I turn it flush and see if the gun runs properly. If not, it gets repaired.
Making a modification to the screw, or even adjusting it to a different position MAY result in something better suited to your desires, but is can also result in changing the reliability of the firearm, and not always for the better.
I was trained by the US Army Ordnance Center & School (1975) on the S&W revolver, and know the correct way to take them apart and put them back together.
A lot can be done to S&W revolvers to make them "feel better" in your opinion. As long as it is your gun, your opinion is the one that matters. If its not your gun, other people's opinions count more.
I don't touch the strain screw. generally speaking, unless I get a used gun with the screw all the way in, or standing proud, in which case, I turn it flush and see if the gun runs properly. If not, it gets repaired.
The problem with using a S&W revolver's strain screw to adjust the mainspring tension is that, if not tightened all the way in, they tend to continue to back themselves out and eventually cause light strikes. By bottoming out the strain screw, you're applying a small amount of torque that prevents it from backing out again unless you purposely remove it. This is why filing the strain screw is a somewhat accepted practice as it removes some tension from the mainspring but still allows the strain screw to be torqued so it doesn't back out an remove too much tension and cause light strikes.
Personally, if I want to change the tension of the mainspring, I prefer to simply swap it out with a reduced power aftermarket one. A power-rib mainspring from Wolff is rather inexpensive and, if I get light strikes or other issues from it I can always re-install the factory one with no need to permanently modify the gun or its parts. Honestly, I don't really go for reduced power mainsprings anymore as I, like others, have found that the rebound slide spring has much more effect of the trigger pull than the mainspring does anyway.
I had the same issue when I bought my Pre-Model 27. I noticed that the mainspring had a much more pronounced curvature than that of my other S&W revolvers so I swapped in the factory one from my M28-2. The spring from the M28 fit just fine and the effort to cock the hammer and trigger pull were made much more reasonable. I suspect that the spring in my Pre-27 had either been replaced or somehow bent in the 60+ years before I acquired it. I simply left the M28 spring in the Pre-27 and ordered a replacement factory-power mainspring for my M28 and life has been good since
Personally, if I want to change the tension of the mainspring, I prefer to simply swap it out with a reduced power aftermarket one. A power-rib mainspring from Wolff is rather inexpensive and, if I get light strikes or other issues from it I can always re-install the factory one with no need to permanently modify the gun or its parts. Honestly, I don't really go for reduced power mainsprings anymore as I, like others, have found that the rebound slide spring has much more effect of the trigger pull than the mainspring does anyway.
I had the same issue when I bought my Pre-Model 27. I noticed that the mainspring had a much more pronounced curvature than that of my other S&W revolvers so I swapped in the factory one from my M28-2. The spring from the M28 fit just fine and the effort to cock the hammer and trigger pull were made much more reasonable. I suspect that the spring in my Pre-27 had either been replaced or somehow bent in the 60+ years before I acquired it. I simply left the M28 spring in the Pre-27 and ordered a replacement factory-power mainspring for my M28 and life has been good since
This might just be my personal experience, but I've had experience with dozens of S&W revolvers since the 1970s that didn't have the strain screw bottomed out or torqued down, and none of them ever had the strain screw move at all.
IF I ever had one back out, I think I'd just use something as a threadlocker (there are tons of things what will work) and just reinstall it flush with the frame.
IF I ever had one back out, I think I'd just use something as a threadlocker (there are tons of things what will work) and just reinstall it flush with the frame.