Go West

+1 on the mainspring. You can shim with washers as suggested or play with Ruger hammer springs until the problem is solved. If you have hard primers, try to get 100% ignition with them and then switch to your preferred primer.

Got whipped once for something my brother did. He was playing fireman by swinging a cat overhead. Sounded just like a siren. Never wanted to even try something bad after that, once was enough to see the light.

Most of my bird experiences involved doves. I call them suicide doves for that reason. Most of the time I see the puff of feathers in the rear view mirror. Once bounced a blackbird off my helmet while riding my bike at about 80. One hand came off the bars, but otherwise no harm to me, can't say the same for the bird.

What's the going price range for Stevens hammered doubles? I would think they would have to be inexpensive or a shooter would choose a more recent gun.

The 1892 and Colt SAAs were used in Civil war era movies before they started to use more period correct firearms. Speaking of 1892's, it's not like they shoot faster than an 1873 and would actually be more of a penalty to use in CC.

Bifocals at 40 and hearing aids at 60. My shoulders sound like a Colt action, 4 clicks, sometimes sound in need of an action job (crunchy). Recently retired, so there are some benefits.

Once you clear it (Cerro-cast or special tool) toss your cases that have a cannelure, especially if they are .38 or .357. Since I rid my stash of brass with cannelures, I have not had this issue again.

Quality rigs will last a decade or more and will save you money in the long run. Sometimes you can find good used rigs for substantial savings.

Their data mining and Lefty ways caused me to escape FB. I also try not to use Google. These outfits are a threat to freedom.

Brave browser, DuckDuckGo search engine. Brave has built-in ad blockers and may have issues with some sites. You can also disable the blocker if you really insist, though.

I've seen many misses by shooters looking at their holsters. I did it myself. Last stage, last gun, last shot...... Sometimes your timing gets out of whack and you find yourself looking at the holster before firing instead of after. It happens.

I have found that low pressure pistol cases really don't stretch. However, after accumulating about 15 gallons of .38 special brass and having some case swapping from matches, there is some variation. I'm not inclined to trim it all to the same length, so a FCD makes it a non-issue.

Owe you a penny.

I used to work in Phoenix area steel shops. Periodically, some of the welders would quit to go work at the mine, but 6 months or so later they would come back and be looking for work again.

Sorry to hear of your loss. Pets make our lives so much better than they otherwise would be.