Hammer replacement on a Vaquero

[gumshoe4]

Greetings, all.  First time poster and pretty much a novice with single action revolvers.

I've owned a Vaquero 3 1/2" .45 Colt for awhile and decided I didn't care for the OEM hammer on it because it was too narrow and too high.  Three or four years ago, I got a Bisley replacement hammer, which was advertised as a drop in hammer, from Power Customs, and replaced the OEM hammer.  As time progressed, I decided I didn't care for the Bisley hammer either.

So, I ordered a wide, SBH type hammer from Brownells and replaced the Bisley with it.  I was of the impression that the SBH hammer was also a drop in.  Everything went back together just fine and everything functioned as normal except for one problem...the hammer did not engage the sear, so the gun could not be cocked.

Please excuse my ignorance...but does anyone have an idea what happened here?  If I need to find a local gunsmith who will agree to work on it, I'll do that, but around here, gunsmiths generally repair guns, but refuse to work on guns which have been customized because of potential liability.

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance for your assistance!

[Alaskan454]

This sounds like a familiar path. At one point or another I've tried just about every hammer, grip, and barrel length on a SA revolver. What you are likely experiencing is a hammer/trigger combo that needs fitting to properly function. Most I have worked on were the opposite but any gunsmith who understands revolver function can help you out.

[lwfpdchief]

Want to sell your bisley hammer

[z1r]

if no one local will touch it due to being "customized", put the original hammer back in and take it in to have the SBH hammer installed.

[gumshoe4]

Thank you, all. I think you're right. I'll probably reinstall the OEM hammer and we'll figure out where to go from there.

[lws]

Check your trigger spring. Also push the trigger forward to see if it will engage right.

[dmize]

Make sure your trigger spring is above the trigger. If it happened to get between the trigger and frame the hammer wont engage.

[gumshoe4]

Thank you. I spent about three hours today taking the gun down, reinstalling the Bisley hammer and putting it back together, with the help of several videos. For some reason, I just couldn't do it today...I've reassembled the gun before, but it just wasn't clicking today, so I stopped and put everything away.

I'll try again later, when the aggravation has settled down a bit.

Thanks for the help, guys...

[dhd]

It's a good idea to temporarily walk away sometimes. I tend to be militantly tenacious and that isn't always a good way to be with small expensive stuff as small expensive stuff can fly far far away "accidentally"...

I don't have the pieces in front of me, but it worked with the factory hammer, worked with the Powers hammer, and doesn't work with the SBH hammer correct? As others have pointed out, those spring and plunger things like to be in specific places and that can be a PITA with some BH's because they like to be a PITA. Compare all three hammers side by side or on top of each other as the case may be. One is different or reassembly is not correct. I vote for reassembly not being correct but may be wrong. I've swappped 4 SBH hammers and all worked decent from the start. I would've thought the Powers hammer would be the one most likely to be thrown across the room, but since it worked I'm scratching my head.

When I took my first BH apart, I reassembled after polishing the guts, and it didn't work. Had to take it apart and reassemble again to get all those guts where they were supposed to go. Springs and plungers don't like to be bent either. Depending on your interest in these fine revolvers, you may eventually buy spares of those parts that don't like to be bent. I won't even get into free spin pawls...