Victory double action question

[jakerson9]

I bought a Victory a few months ago - SN V2642**.
It was a mess, cosmetically and functionally.

The last owner was a retired armored car driver who carried it as his duty firearm for about 35 years. I don't think he ever let a drop of oil touch it in that time.

It is now functionally ok, but the trigger pull is a mess.

Is there a simple guide out there to improving trigger pull?

 

[DWalt]

In what way is the trigger pull a mess? Could well be that everything inside is simply gunked up with years of congealed oil and dirt. Before doing anything else, tear it down completely, give everything a solvent bath and lube, reassemble, and see what happens.

 

[DCWilson]

Or give it the "tune-up in a can" treatment if you are hesitant about launching into a complete teardown cleaning. Get some spray Breakfree CLP or some other gun lubricant/cleaner, take the grips off, and hose down everything inside the frame through the space in front of the hammer and the open part of the grip frame. Set it on something absorbent and let it sit overnight. Repeat the soak in the morning and let it sit again. Then blow out everything you can with some compressed air. I think you will be surprised at how much smoother the action will feel after doing that.

 

[DWalt]

A spray can of carburetor cleaner or brake cleaner also works to blast out the corruption if you prefer to avoid removing the sideplate. As your revolver appears to have had decades of use and neglect, a full teardown and cleaning would be preferable. There are videos on YouTube which go through the steps of the disassembly procedure. All you really need is a proper screwdriver to correctly fit the sideplate screws and some minimal mechanical aptitude.

 

[jakerson9]

Thanks for trying to help. Sorry for not being more specific. I guess I was a bit frustrated.

Upon getting it, my first step was to remove the years of crud, neglect, corrosion, rust and funk from every inch of the revolver. I'm good with tearing it down, and have experience with a few newer J-frame revolvers.

Single action trigger pull is maybe 8-9lbs. Stout, (smooth and crisp) but not horrible. Double action, on the other hand, feels like pulling a small bus. It has to be at least 20lbs +

But I do not really know what to do with the strain screw at the bottom front of the grip - how that should affect the tension on the mainspring - and if that will lower the double action trigger pull... some.

AND - I'm not sure if I should just replace it, or replace it and the rebound slide spring - or if I should just treat it like a ruger redhawk, which to me is pretty much a single action revolver with a "double action in case of emergency" option.

So - What are your opinions?

Here are some "before" photos. I will post "after" photos after I find the right grips.

 

[tlay]

Ouch! Road hard and put away wet! It has had a hard life. Try some Flitz on the bluing. It will help. As for the double action it sounds like someone has changed the mainspring. Try changing it for a stock one. Backing out the strain screw can cause misfires. Bad idea if you use it for personal defense. You can try backing it out until you get your desired pull and if you do not get any misfire on different ammo, you can shorten the screw.
But if it were me I would pull everything out and clean and lube and stone the rebound slide and check it first.

 

[DWalt]

I think I would try replacing the rebound and hammer springs and see what happens.

 

[jakerson9]

cleaning up 70 years of neglect...

Removing rust and corrosion - and lightly stoning the rebound slide made some difference on the trigger.

I'd like to find the right grips, but I am also removing external rust and corrosion. I still have a LONG way to go with this, but so far, so good...

 

[tlay]

I would bet good money it has been refinished. The side plate has a large seam and lettering is buffed out.