Lipsey 432UC First Range Report : Update in Post #11

[flundertaker]

Been dry firing this one for 2 week, probably 600-700 trigger pulls on it waiting for ammo and good weather. The day finally arrived. Got to the range today for really what I considered a function test rather than a legitimate practice session. Also wanted to try out the various loads I had gathered. Overall pretty satisfied. Function was excellent, timing was spot on. Figuring out the hold with fixed sites took me a bit. Need to bury the dot in the rear U for sure. All shooting was done at 7 yards. Ammo was High Desert 98 gr wadcutter, 100 gr JHP, 100 gr lead Round Nose and Buffalo Bore 130 gr +P hard cast. The BB were definetly loaded hot. Lots more recoil compared to the rest, probably won’t be my carry load. The wadcutters were very mild and based on the ballistic reports for .32 tgey have the best penetration so while contrary to conventional wisdom, I think I’ll be carrying these. The LRN and JHP had a bit more recoil than the wadcutters but not bad by any means. It’s just the reports that they offer nothing over the wadcutters in terms of penetration, so why use them? I fired 114 rounds and had zero issues, no light primer strikes. I will install the Apex spring kit and function test again. If I can lessen the trigger pull and have 100% reliability, great. If not I’ll stick with the factory springs and just keep breaking in the trigger to smooth it out further. The only issue I had at all was sticky extraction. I didn’t lube the gun at all before heading to the range so the extractor rod was a bit dry but some of the cases required me to pull the from the chambers. Hopefully more rounds will smooth out any machining burrs or anything causing the friction.
My technique needs to improve for sure. Once I have the gun figured out more focused practice will follow.

Ets: target pic is appearing rotated 90* counterclockwise. Many of my shots are in the 10-11 o’clock area.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

... I fired 114 rounds and had zero issues, no light primer strikes.

I will install the Apex spring kit and function test again. If I can lessen the trigger pull and have 100% reliability, great. If not I’ll stick with the factory springs ...

Not bad for a day on the range.

You got 100% reliability so why mess with it? When I was a cop it was in the revolver era. Some cops will mess with the trigger and got duds when they needed to shoot. JMHO

 

[Beju]

It might depend upon how long your revolver was sitting on a shelf (and in what orientation), but some of the UC guns arrived fairly dry. My 642UC and my father's 632UC (both early guns) were dry inside, while the 442UC that I got in November had more oil in it.

 

[flundertaker]

Not bad for a day on the range.

You got 100% reliability so why mess with it? When I was a cop it was in the revolver era. Some cops will mess with the trigger and got duds when they needed to shoot. JMHO

The factory trigger pull is off the chart stiff. Reliable yes but super heavy. Earlier today I installed the apex kit and it reduced the pull weight by about 1/3 is my guess. I’ll hit the range next weekend to function test it for reliability. If it’s not 100% I’ll return it to factory. Yeah I want the best of both worlds but if I can get it, why not?

 

[flundertaker]

It might depend upon how long your revolver was sitting on a shelf (and in what orientation), but some of the UC guns arrived fairly dry. My 642UC and my father's 632UC (both early guns) were dry inside, while the 442UC that I got in November had more oil in it.

I opened it up to install the apex kit earlier this afternoon. It was pretty dry inside.

 

[Rider1300]

I agree with the above….if it ain’t broke why fix it. Mine hit the scale at 8.4 lbs on my Lyman scale. No light strikes ! I wouldn’t mess with

 

[pokey074]

Nice! I just put another 50 or so rounds through my 432UC yesterday. Zero malfunctions with a mix of Federal 85gr JHP and my 100gr reloads. The shootability of this gun continues to impress me.

 

[H Richard]

Have you lubed the action? Often new revolvers have no lube inside as the assembler just missed that step. I always pop the side plate on a new revolver to check and usually to add a few drops of my favorite lubricant.

 

[flundertaker]

Have you lubed the action? Often new revolvers have no lube inside as the assembler just missed that step. I always pop the side plate on a new revolver to check and usually to add a few drops of my favorite lubricant.

It was factory dry. I added a few drops of clp to the hammer pivot and rebound slide.

 

[Dutch87]

Have you lubed the action? Often new revolvers have no lube inside as the assembler just missed that step. I always pop the side plate on a new revolver to check and usually to add a few drops of my favorite lubricant.

Mine needed some lube on the pins, some moving parts, and a lot of dryfire. Now, it feels just as nice as my 638 that's seen incredible amounts of the above - only took ~4 weeks of work but it's more than fine for me, and on the factory springs too!

 

[flundertaker]

Range Trip 2 w/ Apex Duty Kit Installed

Ok, so i swapped in the Apex Duty Spring Kit. Very straight forward but I bought the SmithMaster rebound tool and watched Apex's install video a few times. Made the job easy. The trigger pull is significantly lightened.
Today I hit the range to make sure function was 100% and I didnt have any light hammer strikes as others have experienced. I happy to report I had zero issues out of 100 rounds fired. Not a single light strike and my groups shrank a bit from my first outing. Very happy over all with the exception I am developing an annoying habit of stacking the trigger. While the pull is lightened, its still a mile long. I find myself pulling to just short of the sear release, almost like its a 2 stage trigger. I just need to pull all the way thru. I know its because of the length of the pull. Nothing can be done about that, its the nature of double action I suppose. Suggestions on overcoming this before it becomes a real habit?

 

[Beju]

I would say just dry fire a ton, and don't get too concerned with shooting as fast as possible until you get used to the trigger.

I mostly shot DAO for a couple of years, then striker-fire pistols for the next decade, then got back in to DA trigger pulls with a Ruger LCR. The LCR is known for a 'false reset.' so that took some getting used to when shooting quickly.

One of the upsides of DA revolvers is that you can do a lot of dry firing without having to worry about slide manipulations or manually cocking hammers. IME, if you add a little bit of oil and do severral hundred dry fire pulls on a new S&W, you'll knock a good half lb off of the trigger as it breaks in. However, I would recommend use of snap caps to provide some firing pin cushioning.

 

[mag318]

flunertaker, Nothing wrong with staging a properly timed S&W DA trigger.

 

[steelslaver]

Considerate on your sight alignment and slowly but surely that last bit of pull will become quicker, Focus on the sights and pull through

 

[CH4]

My buddy just picked up one with the ti cylinder. Had to send it back because of an excessive BC gap of .011. He should receive it back his week.

 

[H Richard]

I have heard that the current "normal" BC gap is .010-.012.

 

[Dutch87]

Ok, so i swapped in the Apex Duty Spring Kit. Very straight forward but I bought the SmithMaster rebound tool and watched Apex's install video a few times. Made the job easy. The trigger pull is significantly lightened.
Today I hit the range to make sure function was 100% and I didnt have any light hammer strikes as others have experienced. I happy to report I had zero issues out of 100 rounds fired. Not a single light strike and my groups shrank a bit from my first outing. Very happy over all with the exception I am developing an annoying habit of stacking the trigger. While the pull is lightened, its still a mile long. I find myself pulling to just short of the sear release, almost like its a 2 stage trigger. I just need to pull all the way thru. I know its because of the length of the pull. Nothing can be done about that, its the nature of double action I suppose. Suggestions on overcoming this before it becomes a real habit?

Ton of dryfire, really
- Your finger will get experienced
- And the gun will smooth out.

I remember being skeptical of that ^
But after enough dryfire, a J-frame, even with it's stock springs In my opinion, can get surprisingly smooth. Weight aside, when the trigger feels smooth, it really centers the gun in your hand and you can work with that.

I've been very pleasantly surprised by my 432UC's trigger with some lube, dryfire, and patience.

 

[flundertaker]

Yup, working on lots of dry firing. Getting my money out of these snap caps. Also installed the Diamond texture VZ high horn grips. Fit was rough out of the packaging. Nowhere as easy to fit as the factory grips but got them on. Feels very good in the hand, just enough texture without being a cheese grater. Color looks better as well versus the black cherry.

 

[bipe215]

Thanks for the info on the Apex kit. Just put one in my 432 and really like it.

 

[Eagle1*]

that's a great looking J frame.