Uberti Cattleman - trigger is too light!

[Warden Callaway]

I was just thinking about this topic and how you were making out.

 

Good luck.

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

From your photo, the trigger looks to be the problem with the hammer falling when pushed...

The full cock notch may be suspect , as well but from your photo I can't be sure ...

 

 

Jabez Cowboy

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

Looking at your photo your gun uses a coil spring and plunger for the hand. It does not use the old flat spring.

[Griff]

Looking at your photo your gun uses a coil spring and plunger for the hand. It does not use the old flat spring.

And you'll get a LOT more service life out of the coil spring and plunger also!

[Nahiossi]

I don't know for sure which system the pistol originally used (flat spring or coil spring). The previous owner may have found issues with the coil spring and decided to change it because of this. All I do know is that that when I took it apart, I found the broken flat spring. Being that I am quite inexperienced with working on firearms, I decided to replace what was broken as that way I could be sure that it would work again.

 

When I transplanted the hammer (which was working fine) from my other pistol into the faulty gun, the problem was still evident, which suggests that the trigger is causing the issue. I tried using the "good" trigger to double check but it was a touch too long and was getting caught up on the bottom of the trigger guard.

[Lead Reckoning]

Nice up date .

[Nahiossi]

So after waiting and waiting, my trigger finally came off of back order and was posted from VTI and arrived at my letterbox today. So straight after work, I rushed out to the shed to start work. My first job was to get the old hand spring out. I tried Driftwood's suggestion of using the new spring to drive the old spring out but this wasn't happening. So instead, I stuck it in the vice and used some small slotted scredrivers to gently remove the old metal. The next step was to fitthe new spring and this is where it got a mite interesting.

 

The new spring was too thick to fit into the slot, caused by the space between the two legs as you can see in right of the picture below.

 

 

The vicegrips made short work of this gap and soon it was thin enough to fit. Some more pursuassion with the hammer and screwdrivers and it was sitting in the right position.

 

Now it was time to reassmble the pistol. I admit to watching a few youtube videos to make sure I was doing it in the right order but eventually the trigger wsa in place along with the hammer and the springs and it was time to test the action. Staight up the issue of the hammer falling without using the trigger was no longer evident. the second thing was that (at least to my mind and without any measuring instruments) the action seemed a lot more positive and "crisp". The trigger is still light but due to a lot of range practice with my other SAA it wasn't as unnerving as when I first posted in this thread and I am happy with it,

 

Of course this wouldn't be a typical repair for me without something else rearing its ugly head. As I proceeded to do the final tightening of the screws (especially the three that attach the trigger guard to the frame) I noticed that the trigger wasnt moving as freely as it should. In fact the trigger seemed to be caught up on the trigger guard itself. It's only a couple of mm off and I was able to ge the trigger working properly when I backed off the screws a touch.

 

So it looks like I have two possible solutions. One would be to file down the bottom of the trigger to ensure that it has full range of motion or alternatively I could make a shim out of some leather or rubber offcuts to act as a spacer between the trigger guard and the frame.

 

However as it was getting cold and dark in the shed, I decided to come back inside before I did something silly. Tomorrow I will reassess the situation and see what I can come up with

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

OK, your pictures of both the hand and the trigger show that they have been BADLY rounded off by someone trying to do a trigger job who HAD NO CLUE how to do one.

 

Those parts at their engagement surfaces should be flat and still have sharp edges (without having burrs). Rounded edges on the hand tip mean you can't get a consistent advance of the cylinder to proper lockup position. (Each notch in the ratchet will be caught by the hand at a different spot!)

 

The trigger tip fits into the full cock notch of the hammer. It being rounded off means that the trigger does not have one single pull weight, as the contact point moves around as the trigger is pulled, and the "negative angle" caused by rounding that edge at the rear side of the trigger tip means it releases without any additional pressure for the last few thousandths of the trigger pull. A highly dangerous trigger job in itself!!

 

But the hammer has also been butchered! The full cock notch appears to be thinned down to about 1/2 of the thickness of the tip of the trigger. You would have almost zero engagement with the rounded trigger tip and this narrow ledge of a full cock notch. No wonder you have a hair trigger. All three parts will need to be replaced or rebuilt by careful tig welding, then properly fitted to give a 2.5 to 3 pound trigger pull. This probably IS a gunsmith job.

 

Good luck, GJ

[Nahiossi]

So tonight I got a chance to have a look at the two options I mentioned above. Whilst the filing would have done the job, I was a bit nervous doing it. I decided to look at fashioning a spacer to go between the trigger guard and the frame. Rummaging through my odds and sods box, I found an old mouse mat that was perfect. It had just the right amount of give and wasn't too thick to interfere with anything.

 

I cut a section to fit and punched some holes it it for the screws to pass through and a slit for the trigger The first trial suggested that the trigger now had enough of a gap between it and the guard and wasn't going to get caught up. I then finished reassembling the pistol and loaded it up with some dummy rounds so that I could test fire it properly. It passed with no issues. The final final test is this Sunday when I will take it out to my range and use it in a target pistol match. Being that this match is shot at distances of 25 and 50 yards, I don't expect any stellar scores but it will give me a good opportunity to see where the pistol's point of aim is.

 

I appreciate the advice that everyone has provided in this thread and whilst the trigger is much better (and safer) now, there is still a lot of work that is required to be done on the internals. However as a begginer gun for getting into single action, it will definitely serve it's purpose for now. I am just looking forward to getting out there and shooting in my first SAS match!

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Dropping the trigger guard away from the frame will change the trigger and hammer geometry once again. And has the chance of being wobbly and of letting more dirt into the action.

 

Now, I see you have a field expedient done to get to your first match, but filing the lower end of the trigger would have been a much faster and easier fix for this.

 

Good luck, GJ