642 Performance Center Spring Questions

[SmokinLoon]

I just installed Wolff springs in my 642 Performance Center. I installed an 8 lb hammer spring and a 14 lb rebound spring and I'm not exactly sure if I'm feeling much difference. I believe it is a bit lighter, but not significant enough for me to go "oh yeeeaaah, sweet!".

Anyone know if the stock springs for a PC gun are less weight to begin with? From what I've read right here in these forums regarding the 442/642, swapping out the stock hammer and rebound springs for the 8 lb and 14 lb Wolff spring are supposed to help.

Anyone know what my new spring combo equates to for a trigger pull weight?

This is my daily carry gun, it goes with me nearly everywhere hence me not dropping too far under the stock weights.

Thoughts???

 

[armorer951]

The PC J-frames that I have worked on the past two or three years have had the springs in them you mention in your post ( Wolff 8/14) ......so yes, they are a bit lighter than stock springs.

I believe the stock OEM mainspring is rated at 8.5 lbs. so the difference is minimal.

 

[AtomHeartMother]

I put an apex spring kit in my 642....not a performance center model. I also polished the action. Spring kits will help but if you really want to feel a difference an action job is in order. If you're patient dry fire/range time will wear the action in as well.

 

[mauiblue]

I installed an Apex Spring Kit in my Model 638 and it made some difference from stock but not anywhere near what a Wolff spring kit did in my Model 686 Plus.

 

[SmokinLoon]

The trigger action itself is the smoooothest I've felt on any j-frame double action. I have no issues with that, I was only trying to lighten the DAO trigger pull slightly without sacrificing reliable ignition. I didn't think the difference was going to be much and it isn't, I just wanted someone to chime in and help me think I wasn't crazy.

I think I'll put a few hundred rounds though it and shoot it "as is". I'm not really sure how much better it can get, really. The double action pull is lighter than all the rest of my S&W revolvers (10, 67, 66, BG38), my Taurus 605, and MUCH less than my 1944 Webley Mk IV.

 

[gnystrom]

OP, you are not crazy. The PC center j-frames I have shot or own do have the same feel as when I put in various Wolff kit springs. I run my non PC J frames now using the Wolff mainsprings and their 15# rebound slide springs. If the trigger action is smooth, you should have what you need in a good reliable SD gun.

 

[SmokinLoon]

You took out the PC springs....and put the same weight springs in.
Placebo effect. "I did something, so it must be better."
That's why trigger pull guestimates are usually wrong, and a gage tells the story.

I just emailed Smith & Wesson, we'll see what they have to say. If the springs that came in the 642 PC are lighter than typical, then the springs I removed will be installed in to a "soon to be purchased" base model 442 or 642 soon enough.

 

[tcon]

Late last year, my wife got a 642 and I got M&P340. For this conversation, they are basically the same gun. I knew I was going to do a polishing job to important surfaces of the action parts of both because I wasn't thrilled with what I felt when creeping through during staged slow-cycling. So I dry fired each 1500-2000 times to get things settled in and took each to the river several times to blow through some live rounds. This dry-firing process eased the trigger pull on both guns, strengthened my hand and helped with muzzle control of these new small revolvers.

I was satisfied with the pull on my 340 so I wasn't intending on replacing springs. My thinking was that these are strictly self-defensive pieces and I did not want to alter them from factory configuration unnecessarily. The action did need smoothing so I opened them up and there were the bits of metal dust you would expect with new guns after a break-in which I cleaned out when I took them apart.

I polished the contact and rub points and edges (after learning what to and what not to do) that could have been responsible for the roughness on both revolvers. On my wife's 642 during reassembly, I put in a 13# Wolf trigger rebound spring just to see if going from Smith's 18# to Wolf 13# would make hers a bit easier. There was a difference in pull that I could feel, the trigger returned 100% consistent so I left it in.

I'm happy with both guns. With both, slow cycling now feels like sliding on ice. No roughness. My .357 has a bit stiffer trigger which is OK since it's my pocket-holster defensive piece. My wife's 642 has the lighter trigger of the two partly because of the lighter rebound spring. She does well with it, likes the trigger pull and doesn't mind +P ammo.

 

[armorer951]

To the OP......To determine the spring origin, all you have to do is take a look at the end of the springs you found in your PC J-frame. Are the springs closed and "flat ground" on the ends?

The S&W springs will all be closed ended and "ground flat" at the end of the spring. The after market Wolff springs are closed at the ends but not ground.

The photo below on the far left shows the S&W OEM mainspring from my model 442-1 (non PC), purchased in December of 2015. The photo in the middle is the OEM rebound spring from the same gun (blue). The spring in the photo on the right is an 8lb. Wolff J-frame mainspring.

 

[SmokinLoon]

To the OP......To determine the spring origin, all you have to do is take a look at the end of the springs you found in your PC J-frame. Are the springs closed and "flat ground" on the ends?

The S&W springs will all be closed ended and "ground flat" at the end of the spring. The after market Wolff springs are closed at the ends but not ground.

The photo below on the far left shows the S&W OEM mainspring from my model 442-1 (non PC), purchased in December of 2015. The photo in the middle is the OEM rebound spring from the same gun (blue). The spring in the photo on the right is an 8lb. Wolff J-frame mainspring.

Great piece of information. Thanks a many. According to the info and pics you've provided, both springs (hammer and rebound) that were in my 642 PC from S&W were NOT S&W springs. The springs I removed had the rounded ends and were not "ground flat".

Now I'm anxious as can be for S&W to email me back with the info.

FWIW- I went out and bought a digital trigger pull weight gauge. Below is what I measured all of my S&W revolvers to be at for a double action break. I used an average of 5 attempts.

642-1 (2015): 9 lb 4 oz (w/ Wolff 8 lb hammer spring 14 lb rebound spring and less than 200 rounds)
10-6 (1969): 10 lb, 8oz (stock, well broke in)
67-1 (1977): 10 lb, 3 oz (stock, well broke in)
BG38 (2012): 10 lb, 1 oz (stock, less than 200 rounds)
66-8 (2015): not accessible, will test later.

for comparison's sake, I measured the Taurus 605 too: 10 lb 8 oz The spread was much wider and the trigger no where near as smooth as any of the S&W's.

 

[SmokinLoon]

FYI: I received a reply from S&W regarding the spring weights on a 642 PC. The spring weights are the SAME, regardless of PC or not.

So, my me installing the Wolff springs I did the trigger pull is less than factory specs. I wont complain with the 9.4 lb pull I now have on my 642 PC.