I recently acquired a decent Baby Russian but the latch spring is gone. A previous owner tried a ball point pen spring in there but I think that is all wrong and it must be some kind of leaf spring. Does anybody have a picture of one that I can look at so I can go about making one?

Also, is the extractor supposed to snap back on this model? This is the one with the short extractor rod housing.

Thanks for any replies!

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Gazz

David Chicione has schematics of the Baby Russian and it does have a coil spring for the latch cam. I would guess that a ball point pen spring would be too weak, but you should be able to find one that works at a hardware store. You could also check with David to see if e might have an original spring. Check out the link below.

38sa

The extractor is supposed to snap back into the cylinder when gun is fully opened. I would dissemble and check for grime and hardened grease in the assembly and see if it works after a thorough cleaning. If not, check for broken parts.

Thank you for the response. My apologies for my mistake but I have the one with the long extractor rod housing. Actually I have both but, the one with the long housing is the one that does not work. The diagrams from the Dave's website may have provided the answer though. I seem to be missing the latch cam which is what transfers the spring power to the latch. Time to get out the needle files!

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Gazz

You are correct in the first place in that a long extractor housing is the main identifier for the Baby Russian. If you look down the page on OldWestGunsmith link above, you will see a schematic for a Baby Russian.