K frame rebound slide spring upgrade

[mojave30cal]

Well, I have this mid-20's S&W 38 special M&P revolver I picked
up for a project gun. I disassembled it and clean it. It was dry
and cruddy on the inside.

I am having a difficult time re-installing the rebound slide and
spring. The spring is too stiff. I have a S&W 29-3 that was in
a fire and suffered smoke damage to the bluing. I disassembled
it, cleaned it and put it back together. I had no problem getting
the rebound slide and spring back into position.

I want to replace the factory rebound spring with a Wolf spring
and possibly a Wolf main spring. Does anyone know what the
factory trigger pull for the 38 M&P was set at? The Wolf springs
come with a number of trigger pull weights. Don't know which
one to get?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Alk8944]

The best tool to install a rebound slide spring is a size zero Phillips screwdriver. Align the notches up and down so the notch on the bottom aligns with the rebound slide stud. Push spring in and push down on the slide. While holding down firmly remove screwdriver and push slide down fully. There is no reason to change the spring, installing the rebound slide can be difficult and some never figure it out!

 

[TM44]

The special tool I use is a ball point pen. The ball tip fits inside the spring and it's round shape allows it to slip over the stud. I too tried a screw driver but all it accomplished was to slice my thumb open.

 

[chief38]

I made a tool from an old screwdriver that is pretty much the same as the Brownell’s tool sold for this purpose. I’ve used screwdrivers and Bic pens and yes they work ok, but the tool I made is about the best - at least for me.

 

[Baxter6551]

I watched a Jerry Miculek do your own trigger job video and he used a ball point pen (as others noted). I was struggling trying to use the Brownells tool to reinstall the spring. I said well heck if it works for Jerry …. Viola !!! Done.

 

[mojave30cal]

Update: I purchased a newer rebound slide spring and had
no problem installing it. Trigger resets as it should. Thanks for
all the help.

 

[Jebus35745]

So the pre war rebound springs are the same as post war? Larry

 

[mojave30cal]

Well, it seemed like the pre-war rebound slide spring was much
stiffer than the post war springs. The post war spring was much
easier to install. Functions the same.

 

[mojave30cal]

The main issue I had with this M&P was that the hammer was
hard to cock. The seller on GB said the gun functioned properly.
Well, it did not, and I couldn't return it. The hammer had to
be pulled all the way back, and then you had to add additional
pressure in order for it to lock. If your finger slipped off of
the hammer, you could have an accidental discharge. Very
dangerous. Also, when the trigger was pulled, the hammer
went forward and made a very clunky sound.

After I disassembled it, I noticed the main spring looked funky.
Actually it was home made. The bottom of the main spring
would not stay in that slot at the bottom of the grip frame,
even though I tightened the strain screw all the way. So, I
bought a used S&W main spring off of Ebay. It arrived today
and I installed it. Now the hammer works like it should. Nice
smooth action befitting an almost 100 year old M&P.