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Reliability Lost on Trigger Job mod. 85 Taurus?

tr fox
Gunsmith? in Phoenix area talked my mother-in-law into letting him lighten the trigger pull on the Taurus model 85 that I assisted her in getting for her CCW permit.

She was used to the trigger pull on a .22 semi-auto and didn't like the trigger pull on the 5 shot revolver. Her gunsmsith? wanted to lighten the trigger pull for her but I told her to build up her hand/finger strength and get used to it in order to not risk getting the hammer blow to the primer too light to reliably fire the round.

I also told her that if she ever needed to shoot the gun in order to protect herself, she would find that she had more strength in her trigger finger than she would need.

Gunsmith? talked her into lightening the trigger pull so I hope it is still reliable.

Only way I know of to lighten the trigger pull on a revolver is to weaken the hammer spring. If that is the case, especially for a CCW firearm, I would always worry about in a life/death situation the hammer might not hit the primer hard enough to always, always fire the round.

Anybody know?

Quote "Somehow government decided that the Constitutional Bill of Rights has become the Bill of "Suggested" Rights and are to be rationed to the citizens as the power elite sees fit"
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • richbug
    If he does a true "action job", there are a lot of rough edges that can be smoothed out on a taurus. If he just changes springs you might not like what you get back as far as reliability. federal ammo is the most likely to go bang wth a light spring job.

    My border collie is smarter than your honor student.
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  • richbug
    If he does a true "action job", there are a lot of rough edges that can be smoothed out on a taurus. If he just changes springs you might not like what you get back as far as reliability. federal ammo is the most likely to go bang wth a light spring job.

    My border collie is smarter than your honor student.
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  • Der Gebirgsjager
    Gee...Kind of like reading, "The Godfather, Part VI...My Mom Has a Gunsmith". Although I think it unusual for a Mother to have a Gunsmith, I don't see why that should invalidate the Gunsmith's opinion or work. You should probably take the finished product to the range and fire a hundred-or-so rounds through it before maligning the Gunsmith?. Also, if your Mom has trouble pulling a trigger double action you could teach her the techinque of holding the revolver in her strong hand with her weak hand wrapped around the grip fingers of the strong hand, and cocking the hammer with the thumb of the weak hand. A practiced person can cock the hammer with the weak thumb and pull the trigger with the strong index finger with surprising rapidity and accuracy. By the way, both my Wife and Daughter rely on the Taurus 85 .38 Spec. (unmodified) for their personal defense, and I often carry one as well when the situation warrants.[:)]
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  • tr fox
    quote:Originally posted by Der Gebirgsjager
    Gee...Kind of like reading, "The Godfather, Part VI...My Mom Has a Gunsmith". Although I think it unusual for a Mother to have a Gunsmith, I don't see why that should invalidate the Gunsmith's opinion or work. You should probably take the finished product to the range and fire a hundred-or-so rounds through it before maligning the Gunsmith?. Also, if your Mom has trouble pulling a trigger double action you could teach her the techinque of holding the revolver in her strong hand with her weak hand wrapped around the grip fingers of the strong hand, and cocking the hammer with the thumb of the weak hand. A practiced person can cock the hammer with the weak thumb and pull the trigger with the strong index finger with surprising rapidity and accuracy. By the way, both my Wife and Daughter rely on the Taurus 85 .38 Spec. (unmodified) for their personal defense, and I often carry one as well when the situation warrants.[:)]




    That would be difficult for me to do since she has the gun and lives in Phoenix, AZ and I live in KC.

    OBTW, I posted "mother-in-law", not "mother".

    Quote "Somehow government decided that the Constitutional Bill of Rights has become the Bill of "Suggested" Rights and are to be rationed to the citizens as the power elite sees fit"
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  • nmyers
    Changing springs does not necessarily reduce the reliability of a revolver. I have installed Woolf spring kits in several revolvers, & have never had a problem. There are cheaper springs, but Woolf springs are engineered for specific gun models.

    Having said that, a female friend bought a Taurus (without consulting me) that she is unable to fire double action. She refused to spend any more money to remedy the situation, & plans to use it single action if needed for defense. (Sigh.)

    My advice to women who have little strength in their hands is to buy a S&W Ladysmith, as they are designed for just these folks.

    Neal
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  • tr fox
    Neal, interesting post. I still like a revolver for any man/woman who is not very, very familar with firearms. It is a case of "5 (or 6) every time" as opposed to semi-auto where there are more things to go wrong and more things to do to correct those things that go wrong.

    What about training to pull the trigger with the stronger middle finger with the ring finger laid along side the frame?

    Quote "Somehow government decided that the Constitutional Bill of Rights has become the Bill of "Suggested" Rights and are to be rationed to the citizens as the power elite sees fit"
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  • nmyers
    I agree. I should have been more specific. I was thinking of the J-frame S&W revolvers. The 9mm auto S&W Ladysmiths are nice too, but only for the experienced shooter.

    Shooting with the middle finger is a dangerous departure from the usual use of a handgun for self defense. Most firearms are designed so that, when gripped normally for firing with the forefinger, they will line up (approximately) with the target as an extension of the arm. Use of the middle finger will cause fumbling, poor alignment, & flinch from fear of pinching the shooters finger in the cylinder.

    When confronted with a Close Encounter of the Worst Kind, most of us will not be able to aim the gun. With the exception of a few highly trained LEO's & military special ops personnel, most of us will only be able to hold the gun between ourselves & the attacker, & pull the trigger until the threat is gone or we are out of ammo. You can't see your sights; it will be impossible for you to take your focus off of the threat. Only your training, practice, & instinct will save your life.

    Neal
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  • tr fox
    You could be right but because of my job I have held people at gunpoint on 3 different occasions. On one of those occasions I had two men at gunpoint at the same time. You might be right that if the shooting started I would have lost most of my control, but in regards to what I did encounter I had no problem with gun and self control and I am just an average person.

    Quote "Somehow government decided that the Constitutional Bill of Rights has become the Bill of "Suggested" Rights and are to be rationed to the citizens as the power elite sees fit"
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  • tr fox
    quote:Originally posted by richbug
    If he does a true "action job", there are a lot of rough edges that can be smoothed out on a taurus. If he just changes springs you might not like what you get back as far as reliability. federal ammo is the most likely to go bang wth a light spring job.

    My border collie is smarter than your honor student.


    He didn't charge hardly anything so I assume his work involved only the spring alteration.

    Quote "Somehow government decided that the Constitutional Bill of Rights has become the Bill of "Suggested" Rights and are to be rationed to the citizens as the power elite sees fit"
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