Help me improve a 17-4

[Dewy12]

I've had this .22 for a couple of years. It's a p&r from 1979/80 long barrel. Trigger was terrible-notchy, rough, hard to pull. I like to keep things factory, so I decided to shoot it to smooth it. Well, 1800+ rounds and it's not much better. I've decided to make this a project. I've got a target trigger/hammer from a forum member. A gold dot front sight is in the mail. It wears some slightly modified stocks. This is going to be my bullseye gun. In 2 weeks I am going to a gunsmith that has agreed to let me stay while he performs an action job and installs the sight. So, what else would you all have the gunsmith do to this project? Sorry for long post.

[weatherby]

Besides a good trigger I find having the right grips very important

[Engine49guy]

Dozens of good tutorials on You tube :

Gunsmithing - How to Lighten and Smooth the Trigger Pull on a S&W Revolver - YouTube

Slicking Up The Smith & Wesson Revolver - Part 1 - YouTube


Besides good stocks and an action job I prefer the smooth combat trigger, the .500 wide serrated target trigger doesnt work well for me at all.

[weatherby]

Originally Posted by Engine49guy

Besides good stocks and an action job I prefer the smooth combat trigger, the .500 wide serrated target trigger doesnt work well for me at all.

Good point that trigger doesn't work well for me either.

I have a smooth .400 I find far easier to be precise with.

[H Richard]

The .400 trigger with the surface polished and the edges radiused. The internal parts polished and properly lubed.

[sodacan]

I would have the gunsmith inspect the gun when he opens it up to find out what the problem is before any modifications are made. It would unusual for a gun of that vintage to have a problem trigger. Good luck.

[lrrifleman]

I have a 17-4 from the same era, that has the 3Ts. The DA trigger is a challenge, but for bullseye, I only shoot it SA, no matter which stage I am shooting. I prefer the S&W Target Stocks, but on my 4 screw K38, I do have a Hogue Monogrip for PPC. I would not suggest any other work if it hasn't already jumped out at you as needing it!

[pharmer]

I've got a 17-3 that has the same problem. As the gun gets dirty (repeated firing and ejecting) the trigger gets heavier. Bring a toothbrush and a chamber brush to your range session and clean as necessary. 50 rds seems to be the limit. Joe

[Dewy12]

I'm a little surprised no one suggested a reduced power main spring and rebound spring. I know that rimfires need more power for reliability, but will the reduced springs work in this revolver? The target trigger is the .400. The grips came with another gun. They are diamond targets that someone sanded the front smooth. Hard to describe but they are perfect for me.

[model17]

My 17-3 is way smoother in sa/da than my 17-4 full target version. They are both equally accurate. The blue on the -3 is also way nicer than the dull -4 SW changed the blueing process around this time I believe (late 70s ?)The -3 with SW wood combats gets the most use!

[Cariboo Canuck]

Originally Posted by Engine49guy

Dozens of good tutorials on You tube :

Gunsmithing - How to Lighten and Smooth the Trigger Pull on a S&W Revolver - YouTube

Slicking Up The Smith & Wesson Revolver - Part 1 - YouTube


Besides good stocks and an action job I prefer the smooth combat trigger, the .500 wide serrated target trigger doesnt work well for me at all.

I gave up waiting for the first video to down load. In the second video, the guy lost me when he pried up the sideplate with a screwdriver. Then he didn't even had the off set tool for removing/replacing the rebound spring, which he could have made up easily from a screwdriver.

I'm somewhat leery of home gunsmithing on my class S&Ws with pinned barrels and recessed chambers.

In CAS, the guns that gibble the most are "tuned" guns done by the owner or some "Cowboy" who fancies himself a frontier gunsmith, which usually means over polishing of critical parts.

A now deceased gunsmith friend of mine refused to work on a gun until the owner had put at least 500/1000 rds through it, depending upon calibre. If it was really rough out of the box, his advice was to ship it back to the maker under warranty.

I did that once with a Bangor Punta 4" M28 with a rough cylinder ratchet. It was a hassle shipping it back to the USA, but it came back acceptable.

[Engine49guy]

Perhaps I should have made the point that Im not endorsing either video just suggesting there are alot to choose from and pasting two for those that arent so computer savvy.

BTW my computer loads the videos in seconds and I have a marginally slow server that works through my cellphone so might want to check your computer for bugs or that your system is up to date.