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Which LB Main Spring?


Skiddsteer1

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I have a new set of consecutive New Ruger Vaqueros. I want to shoot duelist with them. I have plenty of Federal and CCI primers. Obviously I wish to reduce the hammer pull. I have 3 sets of Wolff main springs. 17,18, & 19 lb. Which should I use? I would also like a recommendation on who could work on these revolvers for me. Thanks.

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We have two sets of Jimmy Spurs Rugers and a third pair are with him now being worked on.  If you're going to have them worked on I wouldn't bother with changing the springs as the gunsmith will be modifying those anyway.


If you're not going to send them to a smith then I would use the 17 lb springs. 

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1 hour ago, Skiddsteer1 said:

I have a new set of consecutive New Ruger Vaqueros. I want to shoot duelist with them. I have plenty of Federal and CCI primers. Obviously I wish to reduce the hammer pull. I have 3 sets of Wolff main springs. 17,18, & 19 lb. Which should I use? I would also like a recommendation on who could work on these revolvers for me. Thanks.

Bet you ordered old model Vaquero springs.

NMV come with 17 lb hammer springs.

Order directly from Wolff and ask that the springs be pulled from the same lot run. This will keep them equal....

Do some research and maybe call Wolff Gunsprings. 

https://www.gunsprings.com/RUGER/SMALL+FRAME+(XR-3)+SINGLE+ACTION/cID3/mID52/dID229

 

Edited by The Original Lumpy Gritz
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15 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Bet you ordered old model Vaquero springs.

NMV come with 17 lb hammer springs.

Order directly from Wolff and ask that the springs be pulled from the same lot run. This will keep them equal....

Do some research and maybe call Wolff Gunsprings. 

https://www.gunsprings.com/RUGER/SMALL+FRAME+(XR-3)+SINGLE+ACTION/cID3/mID52/dID229

 

Lumpy, these are not NMV's. They are NRV's. Thanks.

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2 hours ago, Skiddsteer1 said:

I have a new set of consecutive New Ruger Vaqueros. I want to shoot duelist with them. I have plenty of Federal and CCI primers. Obviously I wish to reduce the hammer pull. I have 3 sets of Wolff main springs. 17,18, & 19 lb. Which should I use? I would also like a recommendation on who could work on these revolvers for me. Thanks.

If you’re going to shoot Duelist, you may want them short-stroked. I would recommend you check in your area and see if anyone has some you could try out and preferably done by different gunsmiths. I have some done by Shotgun Boogie, Three Cut, Outlaw Grips and Boomstick Jay. Currently the ones by Shotgun Boogie are my main guns!  
 

Try before you buy if at all possible. If you’re close to Tennessee I’ll let you try them and see what you think. 
 

Randy

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The honest answer is no one can tell you the answer to your question.  I just tuned a pair of NMVs for a Chronicle article.  One was a nightmare.  The other was easy.  Just a few things that can impact mainspring selection.  A - firing pin protrusion.  B - the fit of the tail of the pawl (the part sticking straight down) to the gripframe.  What length strut and what spring seat the gun has - I or H.  G are Longhunter 15 pound springs.  The one on the left for I and the one on the right for H.  AND depending on how much friction your gun has you can use the shorter spring to get a lighter hammer pull in a gun with the I springseat.  F is a Shotgun Boogie spring that I was able to use after adjusting/eliminating some key friction points.

 

Springs are cheap.  Buy several and try different springs with the primers you want to use and adjust until the gun fires reliably.

 

 

DSC_0003.thumb.JPG.96210f78800e4a6c5db0515ca30bc03a.JPG

Edited by Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933
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6 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

NRV:huh:

The guns say New Ruger Vaquero's and nothing else. They are not New Model Vaquero;s.. They sat around un-fired for a few years. Thanks.

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4 minutes ago, Skiddsteer1 said:

The guns say New Ruger Vaquero's and nothing else. They are not New Model Vaquero;s.. They sat around un-fired for a few years. Thanks.

PS I have a set of New Model Vaquero's so one would think I know the difference. Thanks.

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39 minutes ago, Skiddsteer1 said:

The guns say New Ruger Vaquero's and nothing else. They are not New Model Vaquero;s.. They sat around un-fired for a few years. Thanks.

Do they have the lock inside the grip area?

The factory hammer spring is 17lbs.

The factory trigger return spring is 30oz.

Folks refer to them as New Model Vaqueros. ;)

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2 hours ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

The honest answer is no one can tell you the answer to your question.  I just tuned a pair of NMVs for a Chronicle article.  One was a nightmare.  The other was easy.  Just a few things that can impact mainspring selection.  A - firing pin protrusion.  B - the fit of the tail of the pawl (the part sticking straight down) to the gripframe.  What length strut and what spring seat the gun has - I or H.  G are Longhunter 15 pound springs.  The one on the left for I and the one on the right for H.  AND depending on how much friction your gun has you can use the shorter spring to get a lighter hammer pull in a gun with the I springseat.  F is a Shotgun Boogie spring that I was able to use after adjusting/eliminating some key friction points.

 

Springs are cheap.  Buy several and try different springs with the primers you want to use and adjust until the gun fires reliably.

 

 

DSC_0003.thumb.JPG.96210f78800e4a6c5db0515ca30bc03a.JPG

Curious, as to what the issues were with the problem version. :huh:

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23 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

What's a "LB" mainspring?:huh:

Pound

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3 hours ago, Skiddsteer1 said:

PS I have a set of New Model Vaquero's so one would think I know the difference. Thanks.

I don't believe there is a difference.

 

I'm pretty sure there are OMVs and NMVs and that's it.  The NMV says 'New Vaquero' at least my SASS Vaqueros do and so do my son's Vaqueros. 

 

If there is a third variation of Vaqueros I've never heard of it.

Edited by Captain Bill Burt
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I run 14# wolf springs in mine.  They reliably set off Federal, Winchester, and Fiocchi primers.  If you want to run CCI primers, you'll probably need to stick with the 17# factory spring to set them off.  My 14# springs only work on the CCI primers about 1/2 the time.  While you're in there changing the hammer spring I would recommend going to a 30 oz trigger spring too.  After that run the guns for a couple of thousand rounds and then decide what, if any, additional work you want to have done to them.  Rugers usually don't need too much work to be competitive in SASS.  The only other thing I have done to mine is go to a Super Blackhawk hammer, and added the sure hit wrap around brass front sight.  

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11 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

:lol: Well, DA:excl: :lol:

I wondered the same thing until you asked, then it hit me due to the replies.

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1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Do they have the lock inside the grip area?

The factory hammer spring is 17lbs.

The factory trigger return spring is 30oz.

Folks refer to them as New Model Vaqueros. ;)

Yes, they have the lock inside the grip area. Thanks.

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If you are going to run the CCI. Stick with what is in there. They are a very hard primer.  

Personally. I would save the CCI for something else.

Go with the Federal primers in my pistol. 

 

Wife just started shooting Duelist. She didn't like the Ruger Bisley. Which MANY Duelist and GFer like. Including myself.

They felt too big for her. So, she went with the Ruger Vaqueros.

But she wanted the lower hammers. Went with the SBH. Which is lower. Then ended up going with the Bisley hammers and short stroked. 

Even switched to the Bisley trigger in them also. All the work done by Boomstick.  

She is pretty happy with this setup. 

 

Got to say. They feel pretty sweet. 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Wild Eagle said:

I run 14# wolf springs in mine.  They reliably set off Federal, Winchester, and Fiocchi primers.  If you want to run CCI primers, you'll probably need to stick with the 17# factory spring to set them off.  My 14# springs only work on the CCI primers about 1/2 the time.  While you're in there changing the hammer spring I would recommend going to a 30 oz trigger spring too.  After that run the guns for a couple of thousand rounds and then decide what, if any, additional work you want to have done to them.  Rugers usually don't need too much work to be competitive in SASS.  The only other thing I have done to mine is go to a Super Blackhawk hammer, and added the sure hit wrap around brass front sight.  

They come with a 30oz trigger return spring from the factory ;)

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12 hours ago, Leadspittinlefty said:

Hey skid, wolf 14 or 15,  14 seems to really slow down lock time.

See me at Granite city and I will show you how to tune the trigger springs, do not buy the 30 oz.

Factory are fine once tuned.

 

Lesdspittin Lefty

OK Lefty, good to hear from you. See you at Granite City. Skid.

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On 3/15/2024 at 8:01 AM, Skiddsteer1 said:

Lumpy, these are not NMV's. They are NRV's. Thanks.

Ruger New Vaquero= Small frame three digit prefix 

Exception, 44 Special three digit prefix, but is marked Vaquero 

 

 

Ruger Vaquero= Large frame two digit prefix 

Exception,  Reintroduced 44 Magnum built on a large frame, two digit prefix, but marked New Vaquero 


“Model” does not appear in the name of either. 

I really don’t care what people call them, just know what you have when you order parts, or list them for sale.
Ruger muddied the waters long ago. 
 

Edited by John Barleycorn, SASS #76982
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Do you have transfer bars in place, or removed?  If transfer bars are in place, you are likely to need a slightly harder  spring, since the hammer impact must move that larger mass, and also be attenuated by two impact points enroute to the fp.  

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On 3/15/2024 at 5:46 PM, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

They come with a 30oz trigger return spring from the factory ;)

 

 

I believe that they actually come with a 32 oz spring from the factory.  In any case, every 30 oz trigger spring I have seen for sale has been advertised as reduced power.B)

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