Ruger Forum

Waveform · October 23rd, 2012, 01:56 AM

Anybody changed out the hammer spring on their Redhawk (not Super Redhawk) using the Wolff spring Pak? According to Wolff's website the factory spring is 17lb and the pak has a 12, 13 & 14lb spring. I would be interested to hear about anyone's experiences - the difficulty of making the change, which spring used and how much of a difference you think it makes. Thanks!

Wave

bwinters · October 23rd, 2012, 04:50 AM

I dry fired my way to a redhawk trigger job 5-6 times dry fire much smoother trigger.

Waveform · October 23rd, 2012, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwinters

I dry fired my way to a redhawk trigger job 5-6 times dry fire much smoother trigger.

The trigger feels pretty good but the pull is a lot heavier than I expected. I put a Lyman digital gauge on it and averaged 11.7 pounds in DA. Based on what I read I was expecting 9 or 10 pounds. Ruger designers stated they could get reliable ignition as low as 7 pounds in DA so that got me thinking lighter hammer spring. I would guess the 12 lb hammer spring would get me down to 8 pounds pull?

Wave

hightechredneck123 · October 23rd, 2012, 02:59 PM

I did, I won't do it again. I took the gun completely apart to clean it (it was filthy) and ruined the spring trying to put it back in. I had to stop and order a replacement from Brownells. I'm pretty good mechanically, but getting that pistol back together was frustrating. On the plus side, the trigger is much better now. I used the 14lb spring.

exlogger · October 23rd, 2012, 03:38 PM

I would start with the 12 pound spring. Take it for a test drive to see if you get reliable ignition. If you do? You should be around 8 or 9 DA pull.

Waveform · October 23rd, 2012, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hightechredneck123

I did, I won't do it again. I took the gun completely apart to clean it (it was filthy) and ruined the spring trying to put it back in. I had to stop and order a replacement from Brownells. I'm pretty good mechanically, but getting that pistol back together was frustrating. On the plus side, the trigger is much better now. I used the 14lb spring.

Gee, that's not encouraging. But honest! Thanks for sharing your experience and I will take it under advisement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by exlogger

I would start with the 12 pound spring. Take it for a test drive to see if you get reliable ignition. If you do? You should be around 8 or 9 DA pull.

That's kinda what I thought. Any first-hand experience or tips to share? hightechrn has given me pause on this....

exlogger · October 23rd, 2012, 04:10 PM

You ain't gettin no pause from me. The first thing I do when I get a gun is take it apart to see how it works. Then I see if there is any way to make it work better. I can hear my dad right now calling from the grave, "Son, you messed around till you broke it now you ain't got nothin!"

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Waveform · October 23rd, 2012, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exlogger

You ain't gettin no pause from me. The first thing I do when I get a gun is take it apart to see how it works. Then I see if there is any way to make it work better. I can hear my dad right now calling from the grave, "Son, you messed around till you broke it now you ain't got nothin!"

.

Haha! I like your attitude exlogger! I like fiddling around with my stuff and taking things apart. I guess the worst thing that can happen is I'll end up with a "gun in a bag" and have to go to my local gunsmith with my head hung low. I do have a Redhawk diagram so if the thing blows apart in my face maybe I can figure out where all the little pieces go. Thanks for the input!

Wave

McD · October 23rd, 2012, 04:42 PM

check the online videos, lots of them, and you may be a bit better prepared to complete the job.

BUT, if stuff flies everywhere and you give up, put it all in a box and let the forum know. One of us might take it off your hands and reduce your stress level. It would be a kind and gentlemanly thing to do.

hightechredneck123 · October 23rd, 2012, 05:34 PM

I don't mean to discourage you. I made several mistakes. Easily fixable mistakes. I didn't familiarize myself with the disassembly instructions first, I didn't pay attention as to how it actually came apart, and I didn't take my time. I had to go to Youtube and the Ruger site to get some help. By that time I was frustrated, and that didn't help.
All my fault, not the gun's fault.

Rover · October 23rd, 2012, 06:27 PM

I changed out the springs over the years on 4 different Redhawks I had and each was an individual as far as what worked. On the last one I had which was tuned beforehand by Actions by TJ (not Jacobson) with the 12 lb spring in the DA pull was 8.8 lbs. I got reliable ignition only on Federal primers and WW factory ammo along with Corbon which I had at the time. With the 14 lb mainspring in it the DA was about 10.5 lbs and the DA worked also with my handloads using WW primers. Never tried CCI. One problem with the Redhawk in having only one spring is one can get a nice and light SA pull but the DA can be unreliable. I might add the last RH I mentioned also had a Bowen extended firing pin giving 0.055" firing pin protrusion with a headspace of 0.063". I think some of my prior Redhawks may have had a bit lighter trigger pull but did not have the gauge to measure them at the time.

Waveform · October 24th, 2012, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hightechredneck123

I don't mean to discourage you. I made several mistakes. Easily fixable mistakes. I didn't familiarize myself with the disassembly instructions first, I didn't pay attention as to how it actually came apart, and I didn't take my time. I had to go to Youtube and the Ruger site to get some help. By that time I was frustrated, and that didn't help.
All my fault, not the gun's fault.

I've been there my friend and I know how that feels. I fix things for a living and I catch myself getting into that mindset too often, especially when the owner is hovering nearby being billed by the hour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rover

I changed out the springs over the years on 4 different Redhawks I had and each was an individual as far as what worked. On the last one I had which was tuned beforehand by Actions by TJ (not Jacobson) with the 12 lb spring in the DA pull was 8.8 lbs. I got reliable ignition only on Federal primers and WW factory ammo along with Corbon which I had at the time. With the 14 lb mainspring in it the DA was about 10.5 lbs and the DA worked also with my handloads using WW primers. Never tried CCI. One problem with the Redhawk in having only one spring is one can get a nice and light SA pull but the DA can be unreliable. I might add the last RH I mentioned also had a Bowen extended firing pin giving 0.055" firing pin protrusion with a headspace of 0.063". I think some of my prior Redhawks may have had a bit lighter trigger pull but did not have the gauge to measure them at the time.

Thanks Rover - great feedback. Sounds like despite a professionally tuned action job the lightest 12lb spring gave you unreliable ignition. I assume you stayed with the 14lb spring? I think I'll order the Wolff pak and see if I can handle the change out. If I get the hang of it it may make for an interesting project.

Wave

ExArmy11b · October 25th, 2012, 07:23 AM

The factory spring in my 4" .44 Magnum was absolutely perfect, slicker than any of my S&W's so I saw no need to mess with it.

I used a lighter spring in my .357 Redhawk, I don't know who made it but it's a dark copper colored one, not the usual light "gold" colored factory spring........it works fine with Federal ammo and I don't use the .357 RH for any kind of defense, so it's not an issue.

I agree, the Redhawk can be a "bear" to take apart and re-assemble........I don't plan to mess with mine any more than I have to. I use my Alaskan for woods carry, so at least if I drop it in a creek it will be a LOT easier to break down and detail clean than my Redhawk would be=)

In fact, I'm one of the few if any people who actually would like a heavier spring in my Redhawk...........I would like a stronger trigger return and also the strikes in the primers are a little lighter than I'm comfortable with.

Some Redhawks, especially some of the older ones, are notorious for light strikes and FTF's. Cylinder and Slide sells a Redhawk spring kit, as well as an extended firing pin to correct these issues.

I used the lightest Wolff springs in one of my GP100's, and it gives a SWEET DA pull, but now the gun will only reliably pop Federal and Remington primers. It's knocked out of the box as a defense gun, but the good part about owning a pile of Rugers is that you can play with a lot of them to make them sweet range shooters, and still leave your carry and HD guns bone stock

Waveform · October 25th, 2012, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExArmy11b

.... but the good part about owning a pile of Rugers is that you can play with a lot of them to make them sweet range shooters, and still leave your carry and HD guns bone stock

ExArmy - thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts. Your quote above is exactly where I'm coming from! I don't have to mess around with triggers and springs and such but I enjoy it and it makes for a little more interest on the range. I don't fiddle around much on any of my carry/HD guns.

Wave