Hi Folks,

I've seen this discussed before but never really paid much attention since I never saw the need for myself. Now that Im up in AK, I've started getting my wife into carrying while we are out hiking and fishing. Due to the selection of guns we have on hand, my Ruger sp101 is the most logical choice for my wife.

She does not have any health issues (artharitis, etc) but she is quit small and dosent have the same grip strength as I do so Id like to replace some springs in order to make the trigger pull easier for her. Hopefully there's a way to do this while maintaining the reliability of the gun.

So, how should I go about this? any recommendations on which springs to buy/replace?

thank you!!!

I own two SP101s. All I found necessary was to replace the trigger return spring to a lighter one purchased from Wolff Gunsprings. It's an easy job.

You can also change the hammer spring, but be careful to test it for light primer strikes.

https://www.gunsprings.com/RUG...01/cID3/mID52/dID234

Might also want to consider Pachmayr Compac grips as well. I have them on my SP101 3" .357. Very comfortable.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...r-sp101-rubber-black

Be aware that light strikes (failure to ignite the primer) can occur if one changes the hammer spring.

Also, be aware that sluggish return of the trigger can be a problem, after replacement of the trigger return spring. It may be necessary to de-burr and smooth the parts for a lighter spring to work, at all, and debris or thickened lube can more-easily affect the return of the trigger, even if the return is normal when everything is clean and warm. (Cold temperature can thicken lubricants and protectants.)

I know petite women who have amazingly hand strength. A small build is not equivalent to weakness.

If hand strength is truly a problem, perhaps due to truly tiny hands not having sufficient leverage to work the DA trigger, a single-action revolver is a viable option. (The tiny hammer spur of the SP101 may not be the best for cocking in a hurry.)

I replaced the trigger spring and the hammer spring (9 lb) and have had no problems with light strikes. My wife used it to practice and get her CCW with. The springs were Wolff.

Thanks for the advice, Ill look into the Wolff springs.

And yes, I know that being petite is not a measure of hand strength, but my wife dosent have that sort of grip.

I had an SP101 that had a horrible crunchy trigger. Sent it back to Ruger twice. Second time came back better than a K frame from the 50's!! It was that good.

Wolff springs and a quick clean up/polish will get you a much better trigger. Also take a look and see if the hammer is dragging on the frame, and if so shimming will give you a marginal improvement.

On my 3" SP-101 I had our very own Chris Orndorff change out the trigger return and the hammer spring. I don't recall what pound springs, but no light primer strikes and it really improved my grouping. Chris also installed a Meprolight front sight. Great revolver!

I had come across this site which provides step by step instructions on the sp101.

Hope you find this useful. I have not gone through the steps shown yet so I cannot say they work or not, but the instructions seemed pretty clear on disassembly, etc.


http://www.sp101trigger.com/index.html

Thanks for all the advice, I'll check out the website tomorrow when I'm at work and have wifi. I ordered the Wolff spring kit from midway and since it was only 10 bucks and had tonjustify the shipping up to AK I was able to add in a few #330 connivers traps to go get me a few beavers with.

I really need to get my wife practicing more since she Gowan out walking and jogging by herself, there's been some wolf activity lately so I don't want her out there unarmed.

Update:

I ordered the wolf spring kit, I put in the 10lb hammer strut spring and the 8lb trigger return spring and just cleaned it up a bit while I was in there.

Drastic improvement on the trigger pull and my wife is having no problems with it. We put about 200 rounds through it the other day of mixed 357 mag and 38spcl and didn't have a single failure. After she shoots a few more boxes with no failures I'll call it good to go.

We're out here in the middle of nowhere in Alaska so I want her to be prepared.

Had the Wolff Spring kit added to mine and it is a WAAAAAY better trigger...and no light strikes.

I will never understand why a manufacturer wouldn’t put the time and quality of parts into these expensive items we call firearms. Can you imagine Lexus making a J-frame?

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
I will never understand why a manufacturer wouldn’t put the time and quality of parts into these expensive items we call firearms.

I'm not sure that's the issue. I think gun makers go heavy on the springs to assure reliable ignition with all types of ammo. If you change springs and start getting light strikes, they can just say you shouldn't have changed the springs.

They make a product for the mass market. The fine-tuning is up to the individual consumer, as with so many products: cars, bikes, guitars, amps, all that stuff is subject to heavy tweaking.

FWIW, I went one level lighter on hammer and trigger springs with my SP101 9MM. Sluggish trigger return sometimes resulted in short stroking the trigger, and tying up the lockwork until the trigger was released and allowed to go fully forward. Also, my revolver produced light primer strikes with some harder primers. I replaced the factory springs and these issues were resolved.

I have also seen full sized 357 revolvers with light springs display similar issues. They functioned with .38 Spcl. just fine, but when using .357 ammunition, ignition was unreliable.....ymmv

I received a Wolff kit from Midway and put in the 9 lb hammer spring and 8 lb reduced trigger return spring last night. The trigger feels better, but it needs some range time to evaluate ignition.

I found that the trigger return spring had an odd kink in the middle of the spring, after removal.

quote:

Originally posted by Nipper:
Might also want to consider Pachmayr Compac grips as well. I have them on my SP101 3" .357. Very comfortable.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...r-sp101-rubber-black

+1 The Pach Diamond Pros on my SP101. Awesome grips, for just your very situation

I have three SP101's and a GP100 that have all had the mainsprings replaced with Wolff springs.
The GP100 currently has a 12# spring.
The DAO Sp101 has a 10# spring.
The other two SP101's have 9# springs.
Have not had any problems with light strikes/FTF with any of them.

ALSO, all three SP101's have HOGUE Monogrips installed in place of the factory grips.
A great improvement for these guns IMHO.

I do like the factory grips.

With the 9 lb springs, no issues with light strikes or ignition on magnum cartridges?