HELP! Problems with my single action not going "bang."

[alleywaypip]

Hi everybody, I am new to single action revolvers and got my first a month ago. It is an EAA Big Bore Bounty Hunter 7.5" barrel chambered in 44 Magnum, a Colt SAA clone made in Germany. I took it out the first time and shot about 35 rounds of 44 Magnum as well as 35 rounds of 44 Special without a hiccup. The trigger pull, however is gruesomely heavy, and so I changed the trigger sear spring and mainspring out to lighter "medium strength" options from Wisner's.

Although happy with the newfound easy action, I began to suspect that the hammer pull might be too light to set off the primer, so I took it out to the range today, and sure enough, nothing. It did however fire 2 out of 5 shots that I loaded in the magazine. I proceed to disassemble the gun at the range, first changing back to the original mainspring, and then once again to return to the original trigger/sear spring. Not a single primer successfully fired after disassembly and reassembly 3 times, eventually with all default parts back on the gun. My supposition is that the firing pin may not be engaging, or the transfer bar may have something to do with it.  Maybe the firing pin is not protruding enough.

I hope that I made some kind of error in reassembly, but I just don't have the proper knowledge of these guns yet. My screw heads are looking a little rough after all the leatherman play they experienced today, but I was determined to get the gun shooting ASAP .

Any advice would be helpful. I have dry fired the gun quite a bit. This is the tenth gun that I have owned, and I have modified most of them, including AK, Mosin, Hi-Power, 1911, Pump Shotgun, so I am very comfortable modifying guns, messing with triggers, and doing light machining.

Thank you



TL:DR -- My first Single action worked fine out of the box. After messing with it, now does not fire.

[bobwright]

Do this: Clear the gun to make sure its empty. I know, you've cleared it already, but do it again, just to be sure.

With the gun empty, cock the hammer and insert a yellow wooded pencil (or a red Coca Cola pencil) with an eraser, with the eraser down, into the muzzle until it is against the standing breech and located at the firing pin aperture. With the muzzle up and vertical, pull the trigger. The pencil should shoot out the muzzle a little distance upward.

If there is no movement, then (1) your firing pin is broken (2) the mainspring is too weak, or (3) the transfer bar is not working properly. I'm not too familiar with the Bounty Hunter, so not too sure how it works.

If you action cycles properly at all angles of muzzle attitude, maybe the transfer bar is not engaged.

Bob Wright


I found a schemattic drawing on Numrich's site. Could be the trigger is not engaged with the transfer bar?

[magnum314]

Jan 12, 2019 14:25:44 GMT -5 bobwright said:

Do this: Clear the gun to make sure its empty. I know, you've cleared it already, but do it again, just to be sure.

With the gun empty, cock the hammer and insert a yellow wooded pencil (or a red Coca Cola pencil) with an eraser, with the eraser down, into the muzzle until it is against the standing breech and located at the firing pin aperture. With the muzzle up and vertical, pull the trigger. The pencil should shoot out the muzzle a little distance upward.

If there is no movement, then (1) your firing pin is broken (2) the mainspring is too weak, or (3) the transfer bar is not working properly. I'm not too familiar with the Bounty Hunter, so not too sure how it works.

If you action cycles properly at all angles of muzzle attitude, maybe the transfer bar is not engaged.

Bob Wright


I found a schemattic drawing on Numrich's site. Could be the trigger is not engaged with the transfer bar?

Sorry to hear that...certainly takes the fun out of range time! I will say this...I have had a broken firing pin on a brand new Bounty Hunter years ago...it came to me that way unfortunately. And bobwright's advice for checking is solid. 

[bagdadjoe]

Bounty Hunter licensed their transfer bar from Ruger. Not sure if it is the same exact mechanism. I no longer have one, so I can't look. Very well made guns, the trigger being the one fly in the ointment.
I put a Gunslinger mainspring in mine..it helped.
Hope you get it straightened out. My Bounty Hunter, unlike the "low-left" Vaqueros I had, hit to point of aim.

[caryc]

Jan 12, 2019 14:25:44 GMT -5 bobwright said:

Do this: Clear the gun to make sure its empty. I know, you've cleared it already, but do it again, just to be sure.

With the gun empty, cock the hammer and insert a yellow wooded pencil (or a red Coca Cola pencil) with an eraser, with the eraser down, into the muzzle until it is against the standing breech and located at the firing pin aperture. With the muzzle up and vertical, pull the trigger. The pencil should shoot out the muzzle a little distance upward.

If there is no movement, then (1) your firing pin is broken (2) the mainspring is too weak, or (3) the transfer bar is not working properly. I'm not too familiar with the Bounty Hunter, so not too sure how it works.

If you action cycles properly at all angles of muzzle attitude, maybe the transfer bar is not engaged.

Bob Wright


I found a schemattic drawing on Numrich's site. Could be the trigger is not engaged with the transfer bar?

Bob, very cool. In all my years on gun forums, I've never heard that one before.

[alleywaypip]

Okay, guys, I figured out that the transfer bar, although engaging with the trigger, is not clearing the face of the rear of the firing pin. If I manually move it over top the firing pin, or shake it back and loose it over, then the pencil trick is working. There must be a part not doing its job to elevate the transfer bar over the rear face of the firing pin.

[kelye]

Is there a spring and plunger on the hammer end of the base Pin?

[alleywaypip]

Well, Wadda you know, I stretched that base pin spring out and now the transfer bar is clearing the firing pin! The pencil trick is still frighteningly weak compared to my Hi-Power, but I think I'll take it to the range for a test, while maybe shopping for a base pin spring upgrade. Thanks.

[dmize]

That plunger spring can get gummed/gunked up and is often over looked when cleaning.

[alleywaypip]

Anyone know where I can get a quality replacement spring for the rear of the base pin?

[goodtime]

www.gunpartscorp.com/search#query=BOUNTY%20HUNTER%20SPRING