problem with my iver and johnson top break

T

topbreakfreek

New member
i bought a used IJ .38 hammerless top break it worked great at first . My friend pulled the trigger when the gun was empty ( dry fire) and now every time i pull the trigger it stays in the fired position, with the firing pin visable and does not reset after the shot, the trigger stays to the back of the trigger guard to fire the gun again i have to manually put it forward .can anyone please help? thanx
 
Sounds like the trigger return spring is broken.
If this is one of the old IJ's [late 1800's to early 1900's] it may be very hard to find the part/parts to fix it.
 
99 and 44/100% of the time, that is the problem. Due to fitting, I would have a gunsmith perform their art. IJs are a little finicky and akin to trying to reassemble an egg in the dark. This is common to all breaktops.
 
The old IJ's were pretty well made, but they are OLD, and many were used a lot. They were a little less expensive than a Smith, for example, many were carried daily for defence, for decades, with little maintenance.

Try www.armscollectors.com

for information on the older IJ revolvers. The site holder is a real expert, very helpful and there is a lot of info there on these guns.

Mark
 
On the plus side, though, so many of these particular guns were made that you may well be able to buy one cheaply just for the parts.
 
Iver Johnson top break Problen

I read a book about gun smithing and the author said the IJ and H & R were harder to work on than S & Ws, so if you were to do it your self, you may not get it back togather, if you do not have any gun smith experience. (Just my two cents worth)
 
Yes, it's safe to fire without the trigger return spring.

What causes these springs to break is, quite often, the poor quality metallurgy that plagued springs in many, many (even high quality) guns of the past.
 
thanx

it's me again
is there any way to do a makeshift trigger return spring?, or any way i can fix it myself? i am new to firearms and dont have alot of money?
 
Do you have the broken spring? or is it missing? If missing, you will have to figure out where it goes and what dimensions to use. If I remember correctly it is a simple "V" spring and shouldn't be too hard to fabricate.

Dean
 
No reasonable way to "fix" a spring. Use the old broken spring as a pattern for making a new one. Find one that is a little bigger than what you need and start filing.

Dean
 
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