.015 solved Governor light primer strikes issue

[[email protected]]

When test firing the new Governor, intermittent light primer strikes occurred when using 410 shotgun ammo. It was not brand specific but Remington was the least reliable. Had a long discussion with S&W home office and they said Federal ammo would be their first choice. The second issue was reducing the trigger pull from 10-12lbs to 8 or 71/2lbs. 45 LC and ACP would fire most of the time, but 410 would fail 95% of the time. S&W didn't have extended length firing pins, nor did they recommend any changes and stated that theirs was fully reliable at the 10-12lbs trigger weight. Now enters Cylinder & Slide who sells extended firing pins for the newer S&W revolvers. C&S is .015 longer than the factory and provided 100% reliability using all 3 calibers in my Governor. WARNING, dummy rounds or dry fire caps must be used during dry firing drills with the new extended length firing pin installed.

 

[Pre 29]

I have never heard of using longer firing pins in S&W. Most of the time when I see light primer strikes in a revolver its due to someone backing off the strain screw to lighten the trigger pull.

 

[Jaymo]

I have never heard of using longer firing pins in S&W. Most of the time when I see light primer strikes in a revolver its due to someone backing off the strain screw to lighten the trigger pull.

Bought my pre-Victory CHEAP ($125 OTD) because of that.

 

[[email protected]]

I have never heard of using longer firing pins in S&W. Most of the time when I see light primer strikes in a revolver its due to someone backing off the strain screw to lighten the trigger pull.

I agree, but after returning the strain screw to factory setting, still had light primer strikes. Not all 410 primers are seated to the same depth, hence, light primer strikes with factory firing pin. They manufacture extended firing pin for newer S&W after 1986 for a reason Tks Pre 29

 

[Capttjk1]

With my Governor, I have had a few light primer strikes with Winchester .410 shells. Not many, but maybe 1 out of 50. I have never had any using Federal. Federal .410 handgun loads seem to run 100 percent in my Governor.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I agree, but after returning the strain screw to factory setting, still had light primer strikes. Not all 410 primers are seated to the same depth, hence, light primer strikes with factory firing pin. They manufacture extended firing pin for newer S&W after 1986 for a reason Tks Pre 29

The "reason" is generally to support a user modification that Smith doesn't recommend. So did you have light primer strikes before you backed out the strain screw?

 

[scooter123]

Even withthe C&S extended firing pin you will find issues with Remington ammunition. I initially had my 625JM with the C&S firing pin tuned to 8 lbs. 2 ounces per my Lyman Digital trigger gage and had issues with Remington UMC not firing reliably. Because of that I re-tuned all of my revolvers to a 9 lbs. trigger pull where they are 100% reliable with Federal, Speer, Remington, and Winchester ammunitions. I can also tell you that in a side by side comparison it's nearly impossible to feel any difference between 8 and 9 lbs. trigger unless you stage the trigger. Since I consider staging a DA trigger as both a Bad Technique and a Bad Habit I don't find a 9 lbs trigger the least bit heavy.

PS; if you want a heavy but smooth DA trigger for training purposes get yourself a Dan Wesson 15-2. I've tried everything I could think of and can state with certainty that a DW 15-2 will not fire a CCI Magnum primer unless the DA trigger requires a minimum weight in excess of 12.5 lbs. At 12 lbs. you can get to about 70% reliability with a standard pressure Federal primer and 50% with a CCI primer but any lighter and nothing will fire in double action. Now on a positive note, by polishing the spring guide the action in the DW is ball bearing smooth. However, due to the coil spring design and the leverage points for the trigger a light DA trigger just isn't possible. After shooting the DW for a bit I have to be careful with my S&W revolvers because the DA trigger actually feels almost weightless.

 

[july1952]

I've never had light primer strikes with my Governor. It goes bang with everything I put through it, .45 ACP, .45 long colt, .410 slugs, buckshot and birdshot. Only problem I've encountered was using Remington .410 slugs. They fired okay but the shell crimp was too long and prevented the cylinder from turning. Had to use a sharp razor blade and cut off the shell crimp.

 

[JFoster48386]

Just gave our Governor it's first shots at the range. Using Winchester .410 ammo we had light firing pin strikes about 50% of the time. Using Remington .410 ammo we had light strikes about 25% of the time. What trigger weight is everyone using these days to eliminate the light strikes?

Jon.

 

[cowboy4evr]

JFoster48386 , I bought a Smith model 29 that had the same problem . I sent it back to the factory . They had inquired if I shot reloads , I said " yes " . It came back with a note stuck in the barrel telling me to only shoot factory . I knew that was wrong .
After some thought and looking into the matter , I discovered the firing pin was only dimpling the primer about 1/2 depth compared to my other 44 and it looked more like a " needle " strike instead of rounded bottom dimple . I ordered a new firing pin from Brownells , replaced it myself and the problem went away . It's a very easy fix . I hope this helps , Regards, Paul

 

[Hondo44]

There's no such thing as intermittent light hammer strikes. Whether too light or just right, all hammer strikes are the same (barring some other issue).

What you have is intermittent primer ignition.

 

[moto17]

There's no such thing as intermittent light hammer strikes. Whether too light or just right, all hammer strikes are the same (barring some other issue).

What you have is intermittent primer ignition.

uuuuhhhh, that is not correct. if the firing pin is only coming out say 75% of the distance that it is required to come out, it may be enough to ignite some, but not all primers. there is a range of min impact force/distance that is required to ignite primers. the firing pin should extend out and with enough force to cover the higher limit of force/distance required and then some. If not then you will have intermittent "light" strikes....SMH...

 

[moto17]

Just gave our Governor it's first shots at the range. Using Winchester .410 ammo we had light firing pin strikes about 50% of the time. Using Remington .410 ammo we had light strikes about 25% of the time. What trigger weight is everyone using these days to eliminate the light strikes?

Jon.

I had the same exact issue the first use of my newly purchased governor. I cleaned/lubricated very well the gun/firing pin and tightened the strain screw all the way and fired it a couple days later. Much improved, but still about 5-10% light strikes through all shell types. to me, for this quality gun, totally unacceptable. I sent back to S&W and I hope they do not tell me nothing is wrong or to use different ammo. Also if you/anyone has to tighten the strain screw all the way just to get the gun not to light strike, then there is an inherent problem in the firing pin/mechanism and using the strain screw to fix it is not really fixing the problem. the strain screw should have some variability in it to adjust trigger pull. telling people that the strain screw has to be tightened all the way for the gun to work correctly is just plain wrong. I really hope S&W fixes the problem as I love the gun, but hate the "light strike" issue.

 

[Hondo44]

uuuuhhhh, that is not correct. if the firing pin is only coming out say 75% of the distance that it is required to come out, it may be enough to ignite some, but not all primers. there is a range of min impact force/distance that is required to ignite primers. the firing pin should extend out and with enough force to cover the higher limit of force/distance required and then some. If not then you will have intermittent "light" strikes....SMH...

I think you missed the meaning; what you said is true but the hammer strike is the same light strike each time, not intermittent. And occasionally it results in FTFs because due to primer variations, you get intermittent primer ignition, not intermittent hammer strike.

Hope that helps,

 

[stu1ritter]

moto17, you best read the S&W Armorers manual to correct your thinking about the strain screw. It is ALWAYS tightened, tight. Adjustment is made by filing/grinding the end of the screw and measuring the hammer lift weight.

Stu

 

[Hondo44]

[email protected],

I've seen strain screws vary in length, even for the same model and caliber guns.

The first thing I do is remove another strain screw from another S&W revolver and compare lengths. If longer (it won't be much) try it in your Governor.

Another way is to take a used primer, remove the anvil, and stick the cap on the end of the strain screw, install, and tighten all the way. Then shoot it. If the light striking goes away and you get ignition !00% of the time, request a new screw from S&W cust svcs, not the parts dept, they'll likely send you one free.

Or just leave the primer cap in place. You can also file the cap thinner and experiment so the trigger pull is no harder than it has to be.

 

[moto17]

moto17, you best read the S&W Armorers manual to correct your thinking about the strain screw. It is ALWAYS tightened, tight. Adjustment is made by filing/grinding the end of the screw and measuring the hammer lift weight.

Stu

After talking to s&w, i guess the strain is supposed to be tightened all the way and there is not supposed to be any adjustment in trigger pull pressure in the governor at least.. shop has the gun now. Will keep updated on what the say. But im cautiously optimistic.

 

[moto17]

[email protected],

I've seen strain screws vary in length, even for the same model and caliber guns.

The first thing I do is remove another strain screw from another S&W revolver and compare lengths. If longer (it won't be much) try it in your Governor.

Another way is to take a used primer, remove the anvil, and stick the cap on the end of the strain screw, install, and tighten all the way. Then shoot it. If the light striking goes away and you get ignition !00% of the time, request a new screw from S&W cust svcs, not the parts dept, they'll likely send you one free.

Or just leave the primer cap in place. You can also file the cap thinner and experiment so the trigger pull is no harder than it has to be.

Interesting thought....s&w has the gun now I'll see what they say, but thanks for the advice.

 

[moto17]

I think you missed the meaning; what you said is true but the hammer strike is the same light strike each time, not intermittent. And occasionally it results in FTFs because due to primer variations, you get intermittent primer ignition, not intermittent hammer strike.

Hope that helps,

Yes, I believe we are talking about the same thing really. "Light strike" is somewhat of a "misnomer"

 

[moto17]

When test firing the new Governor, intermittent light primer strikes occurred when using 410 shotgun ammo. It was not brand specific but Remington was the least reliable. Had a long discussion with S&W home office and they said Federal ammo would be their first choice. The second issue was reducing the trigger pull from 10-12lbs to 8 or 71/2lbs. 45 LC and ACP would fire most of the time, but 410 would fail 95% of the time. S&W didn't have extended length firing pins, nor did they recommend any changes and stated that theirs was fully reliable at the 10-12lbs trigger weight. Now enters Cylinder & Slide who sells extended firing pins for the newer S&W revolvers. C&S is .015 longer than the factory and provided 100% reliability using all 3 calibers in my Governor. WARNING, dummy rounds or dry fire caps must be used during dry firing drills with the new extended length firing pin installed.

Can you explain why you need the snap caps to dry fire the extended firing pin?