David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. LXIII Redhawk Trigger

[Lee Martin]

Redhawk hammer and trigger are lost wax (investment) cast. Heat treatment through-hardens the parts, imparting great durability. A proper trigger job sustains a consistent letoff for years. On the other hand, a fugitive trigger----no matter how good the steel and heat treatment----is doomed to early failure. Redhawk incorporates a single spring to power hammer and rebound trigger.

Hammer and trigger in approximate relationship of single action cock.



Redhawk hammer with hammer dog (a.k.a. double action fly or DA sear). The dog is polished if necessary to remove burrs or tool marks.



Trigger holds transfer bar (12 o'clock) and pawl (1 o'clock); neither is touched for trigger job. (Mainspring strut is seen at 9 o'clock.) First rule of an amateur is to remove metal without knowing why. Don't!



Single action cocked. Redhawk trigger angles are designed to regain----i.e., a slight hook angle. Redhawk SA may be adjusted down to 3-1/4 pound letoff. A lighter letoff will cause trigger to rebound at hammer fall and catch hammer dog on trigger. (A fugitive SA job does the same to an S&W.)

A light mainspring risks misfires, especially in double action, where hammer fall is less.



Hammer, showing full cock dog and notch. Do not touch the notch! The only exception is for an experienced smith with dead square tool. Stones are not dead square. Basically, this is no reason. This is why nomenclature must distinguish between dog and notch.



To reduce full cock dog requires skill and patience. Those who possess one but not the other should stay away from revolver lockwork. The object is to reduce takeup (creep) while preserving engagement. Work proceeds slowly, revolver reassembled and tested with multiple dry fires----via as many teardowns as necessary.



Roughness of the trigger sear may be polished on a very fine flat stone or fine crocus cloth on a hard dead-flat surface, such as steel or glass. Do not distort bevel. Surfaces indicated "POLISH" are to remove----only if present----roughness or tool marks----to smooth double action.

Trigger sear tip is critical to preserve regain in hammer notch. "ALTERNATE... CAUTION" indicates modification of trigger tip angle, and is never done at expense of regain. Do not narrow or reduce width of hammer or trigger, nor of engagement surfaces.



Hammer dog (a.k.a. double action fly). Trigger tip raises hammer via the hammer dog in double action. Polish if rough but, per the other parts, do not in the process remove metal. Compared with many DA revolvers, Redhawk carry-up is early, with cylinder latching well before hammer fall, both SA and DA. Removal of metal retards carry-up (a.k.a. timing). Observation is your friend when working on a firearm. Ignorance is Murphy's friend. A friend of Murphy is your enemy.



To reduce full cock dog, hammer MUST be dead-square to a fine dead-flat diamond stone, ceramic stone or fine composite stone (such as a top quality India stone or Japanese chef stone. A small machinist's clamp may help. Place a sheet of paper between hammer face and stone. Do not stone hammer face.



Eze-Lap diamond sharpening steel cuts finely and offers a surface flatter than many sharpening stones. Imperative hammer is square to "stone" during short push & pull motion to reduce full cock dog. Paper shields nose of hammer from abrasive. Take too much and the hammer is ruined. Proceed slowly, patience is a part of the coordination. To insure correct contact patch between hammer & trigger, clean/reassemble/dry fire frequently.



A clean single action letoff improves offhand shooting, which any self-respecting handgunner must be ready for.



Width of hammer and trigger narrow slightly to prevent sear rub on frame. Width of sear contact patch remains unaltered during trigger tune. The test single action letoff, gently squeeze trigger. At hammer fall, trigger sweeps rearward. Trigger must not kick forward at hammer fall. Trigger kick is proof of unsafe engagement; a sure sign of a fugitive trigger job. The single action squeeze/sweep test applies to SA and DA revolvers.





Hammer with double action dog and mainspring hook.



Still on trigger job from 1982.



Better view of single action dog & notch. n action, entire loackwork area is lubricated with one or another motor oil, synthetic motor oil, moly-disulfide grease. Menu may include Anti-Seize Compound and auto transmission fluid.



5-1/2" Redhawk, offhand @ about 85 yards. Temperature somewhere between zero and 15-fahrenheit. Federal .44 Mag 180 JHP.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[bradshaw]

My appreciation continues for Lee slapping up these pictures. Process involves coordination of work on hammer and trigger and applies to other Ruger lockwork of same design. Process does not apply to Smith & Wesson drop-forged, case hardened hammer & trigger. The case-hardened S&W hammer & trigger have a very thin, very hard skin. Wear away that skin with abrasive destroys the part, results in a fugitive trigger job.

My experience with powdered metal hammers and triggers is limited to Dan Wesson lockwork, some of which was nickel plated to toughen surface. While a light clean single action break is readily achieved with the DWA----an SA letoff that lasts----I have worn out DWA hammers & triggers shooting double action. Cannot speak for robustness of newer, non-forged S&W hammer & trigger, since my Smiths sustain the old school technology.

Lubrication contributes longevity to lockwork, including engagement surfaces.
David Bradshaw

[cmh]

Thank you

[Snyd]

Thank you sir!

[tek4260]

Bravo! Thank you Mr Bradshaw. This will become the standard reference for RedHawk trigger jobs!

[squawberryman]

Mr. Bradshaw, I know Bill Ruger Sr. invented the MKI pistol. Past that I've no idea who invented the Blackhawk, Blackhawk conversion, 10/22, Redhawk, Red Label, etc. Did Bill Sr. invent all of that stuff and continue to do so until the time of his death or did he have a team of like minded fellows?

[bradshaw]

squawberryman.... Bill Ruger really was self-made. The world is full of engineers who couldn't sharpen his pencil. Educated, yes. Driven? Absolutely. Ruger's Standard Auto launched the empire, a piece of conceptual brilliance made all the more radiant by the field of junk .22s since piled up around it. I have little doubt that John Moses Browning would have hefted Bill's pistol, shot it, and nodded. Then the 10/22, another work of brilliance. Flipped the world of .22 rifles on its head. About ten years ago a guy brought me a Remington Model 597 semi-auto .22 rifle. To fix its rotten trigger, he said. Wrestling an octopus and a gila monster at the same time would be more fun. What a piece of chintz. Rube Goldberg with a Maxwell Coffee can, tin snips, a hammer, and a jug of cheap booze.

Ruger had help with some important designs. Aspect of spending time with Bill, a flood of questions and insights, often one provoking the other. Development of the transfer bar for single actions, to name one. The Security-Six and Redhawk, to name two more. These were not mere lateral strides. Rather, conceptual struggles with very specific goals in mind.

So I can't answer your question perfectly, just apply paint to the canvas...
David Bradshaw

[squawberryman]

I would imagine to receive a smile from Bill as an engineer was a wonderful thing. You answered it for me sir.

[tek4260]

Worth a bump to the top with the newest Redhawks hitting the streets!

[bradshaw]

tek4260.... no one should touch a trigger job without clear intent. Clear intent armed with a degree of fine motor skill. I appreciate your support in this direction, which object is to advance marksmanship with the revolver.
David Bradshaw

[tek4260]

And I appreciate your tutorial. Fine motor skills and intent would be useless in this case without your detailed tutorial.

[mbogo]

Mar 22, 2015 13:15:41 GMT -5 squawberryman said:

Mr. Bradshaw, I know Bill Ruger Sr. invented the MKI pistol. Past that I've no idea who invented the Blackhawk, Blackhawk conversion, 10/22, Redhawk, Red Label, etc. Did Bill Sr. invent all of that stuff and continue to do so until the time of his death or did he have a team of like minded fellows?

squawberryman,

Many of those questions are answered, in detail, in R.L. Wilsons book, Ruger and his Guns. Plus it is a very good read.

[ezekiel38]

Thank you Mr. Bradshaw! Great tutorial on a robust revolver. Dangerous territory for a guy like me to venture into. Appreciate your knowledge, experience, and candor.

[bradshaw]

"I know Bill Ruger Sr. invented the MKI pistol. Past that I've no idea who invented the Blackhawk, Blackhawk conversion, 10/22, Redhawk, Red Label, etc. Did Bill Sr. invent all of that...”
----squawberryman

"Many of those questions are answered, in detail, in R.L. Wilsons book, Ruger and his Guns.”
----mbogo

*****

The SingleSix and Blackhawk revolvers are Bill Ruger's design improvements of the Colt Peacemaker, not inventions. Hiram Maxim invented the machine gun. John Moses Browning designed a machine gun around the invention patents held by Hiram Maxim. This, Bill Ruger explained to me, was a signature of Browning's brilliance.

Harry Sefried (1921-2005) has his fingerprints on numerous Ruger developments, including design of the spool magazine in the 10/22, the best box magazine ever made for a .22 rifle. Harry Sefried moved from High Standard, where he designed the High Standard Sentinel revolver, which eliminated the sideplate associated with Colt and Smith & Wesson. Sefried designed the Redhawk. I would like to know the origin of the modular trigger assembly of Ruger’s first double action, the Security Six, the direct forebear of the Redhawk. As Bill Ruger, Jr., observes, a “solid frame” absorbs discharge forces symmetrically, whereas a sideplate frame absorbs pressure asymmetrically.

Over at Dan Wesson Arms, and no doubt inspired by the Redhawk, a large frame .44 Magnum----Model 44----incorporated the “solid frame” design, with modular trigger assembly. The DWA M44 carried the modular trigger a step further, incorporating the hammer in the module. This allows trigger action to be observed, a great aid to performing a trigger job. (The lockwork of the DW have nowhere near the strength of Redhawk lockwork.) LOST WAX, aka investment casting, allows construction a “solid frame" double action capable of containing high pressure centerfire cartridges while keep frame mass within reasonable bounds. To equal or approach solid frame strength with a side plate design requires more mass.

Dan Wesson’s interchangeable barrel design was patented by Karl Lewis, and was incorporated on Dan Wesson’s .38 Spl/.357 Mag revolvers, notably the high performing Model 15. While the DWA grip spike designed is attributed to Karl Lewis, it seems the GRIP SPIKE concept is more an evolutionary development than one-up invention. Warren Center incorporated the grip spike on his Contender tip-open pistol. I never asked Warren much about his development of the Contender. Reckon I was too young and focussed on throwing lead. Warren Center personifies the dignity of humility and understatement.

Dan Wesson died while splitting firewood in 1978. I believe his engineer Paul Brouthers factors heavily in development of the M44 .44 Magnum, DWA’s first “solid Frame,” and basis for the Model 40 Super Mag, DWA’s .357 Maximum. According to Dan Wesson Arms, I had the first M44 to leave the factory, thinking 1981. After performing a trigger job and condemning one 8-inch barrel, I took it with 6-inch barrel to Goliad, Texas, for Dan Wesson’s solid frame debute in IHMSA silhouette. As there had not been time to dope the sights, I sighted it in as I went along, with Jim Whitcomb spotting, probably spelled by Ken Fryer. Came off the line with 30x40 Creedmoor and 25x40 Standing. Next shot the Redhawk, while turning the M44 over to anyone who wanted to try it. Immediately following the match, orders tarted pouring in for the M44.

Although the Redhawk cleaned the chickens at 50 meters and gobbled a number @ 100 meters (yes, there were two banks of chickens @ 100m.) Ruger’s new DA .44 received much less interest from silhouetters. Both the DWA M44 and Ruger Redhawk had many things right. Had attributes of the two been combined, we would have one monster big bore double action.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Alaska454 and Dan.... another look at the hammer hook.
David Bradshaw