I inherited this pistol from the estate of a deceased brother in law. The widow has no knowledge or records of it's history except a faint memory that he might have had some trigger work done at some point. He was not really a shooter as such, but did like to own different types of firearms.

Fast forward to today. It's been 2 years since his passing. In looking at the pistol for the first time today, it's in really nice shape with target grips, bluing 98% plus. 1966 vintage. In double action dry fire, all seems to go as intended. However, occasionally in single action, the trigger will follow the hammer down (trigger moves back forward rather than remain back) upon firing if I'm really delicate with the trigger pull. If pulled firmly, it works as intended. Oddly, I tried putting a slight side pressure on the trigger as I pulled and it seems to work fine then as well, at least the 10 or so times I tried it. I have not fired this pistol so cannot speak to it's firing reliability.

Please forgive my phrase of "trigger jump". I'm sure there's a well known name for this condition within the S&W smith community.

I'm NOT a gunsmith. I do tinker. I have not had the side plate off as of yet so no pics. Any idea where I should look? Although not terrible, there appears to be evidence of screwdriver use on the sideplate screws.

Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Actually, the condition you describe is called "push off". If the SA hammer notch and trigger bevel are unaltered and undamaged, proper function can likely be restored by professionally "re-sharpening" the trigger bevel.

I have repaired many triggers suffering from this condition by simply re-sharpening the bevel according to the correct "bench-top" method taught at the S&W armorer's school. Usually, no further intervention is required.

Sometimes, when previous owners have substituted an altered or lighter aftermarket rebound spring, the condition can be repaired by simply returning a full length, OEM rebound spring to the gun.

Remember to use a quality trigger pull gauge after any work to verify the trigger pull is at or above the factory recommendation of 3 pounds.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

Welcome to the S&W Forums.
First thing to do is to give it a thorough cleaning and proper lubrication. Old, dried, dirty, gummy lubricant can induce a multitude of malfunctions. If a good cleaning and proper lubrication does not fix the issue, then as Armorer951 said, it could be the single action engagement surfaces or a weak rebound spring.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

The mental image I get from the description is more like when the trigger is pulled, the hammer kicks the trigger forward, than pushoff. Sometimes when the trigger is pulled, the DA sear can catch on top of the trigger and kick it forward with the hammer fall. This happens more often with a trigger stop than without, because the trigger doesn't go as far back with a stop.

With pushoff, the trigger goes forward also, but that is a function of the rebound spring pushing it.

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protocalldesign.com

Thanks Armorer951, Stansdds and Protocall Design for your comments. I will definitely pull the side plate and give it good clean and lube. I do also want to clarify the condition. Forgive me as I'm still not too familiar with the internals of the revolver and their functions. When the trigger is pushed forward, it has considerable force as if it being pushed by the main hammer spring. I will have to study up to be able to discern the SA sear, DA sear and rebound spring.

I'm familiar with trigger stops when installed through the trigger and visible from the outside. If that is what you are referencing Protocall Design, then there is no trigger stop. However, if it's an internal stop of some fashion, I don't know .... yet.

When you clean out the revolver works be sure to take your time and do it right. After all that time of not being shot I'm sure it does need a detailed cleaning. Use a good light gun oil like Rem Oil to put a light coat on all the friction surfaces. I'm sure that will help no matter if it solves your problem or not but I have a feeling it will fix it. (crossing fingers lol)

Good luck...

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

First thing to check is the main spring strain screw, make sure it is tight and all the way in. If it is backed off as some folks do to get a lighter DA pull.. It will cause what you describe. Easy to do before tearing into the inner workings.

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Shooter Ready
Standby

I've seen so-called "trigger jobs" with this, the result of some ham-fisted wannabe messing with the SA surfaces of the trigger and/or hammer.

The good news is you can usually replace those parts with no fitting; S&W's quality is that good, especially from that era.

Plenty of used parts on eBay, too.

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Richard

Thanks to all for your feedback and suggestions. I wanted to provide an update and bring this thread to a close. I did do a cleaning by removing the sideplate and as many parts as I dare. honestly, it was already nice and clean in there. The hammer spring screw was properly installed and tight. I could see by working the action by hand that occasionally the single action notch on the trigger would catch on the double action notch on the hammer during very slow single action firing. I did add a slight amount of lube to the sliding surfaces inside and put it back together. Original problem still present. Not always, but occasionally. Again, I'm not a smith by am now convinced that someone had be in there.

Took it to a show along with a few other items just to gage the market and test reaction. The first person to pick it up was VERY interested. i completely explained the issue, even unstrapped the gun (strapping required at shows in my area) and showed him the issue. The potential buyer was not concerned in the least by the condition. We struck a deal and the 28-2 left my possession.

Thanks again to all. I truly enjoy this forum, have learned a great deal and appreciate the tremendous sharing of knowledge and experience.