Hammer Springs

[Scradoozy]

I have a PPKS that is 20+ years old. It was always a good shooter but after sitting for a few years and getting back out it has a lot of miss fires. Looking at the rounds that fail to fire it seems to be a light strike. Even the ones on the spent casings seem light even though they fire. I can restrike without cycling so I pull trigger 2 to 3 times and it will eventually fire the round.

May seem elementary to some but it seems to me the hammer spring has weakened. Does this sound correct to some that know about such things?

Assuming I replace the hammer spring, Why would I not put the strongest spring I can find in it? I don't see why I would put a stock spring in it if a heavier spring is available. Can someone enlighten me on this subject? Does that make it harder to cycle? More stovepipes?

Any opinions welcome...

[Clod Stomper]

A heavier spring will make your trigger pull heavier. If it used to work reliably, just get a stock weight spring.

[dcloudy777]

https://www.gunsprings.com/index.php?page=items&cID=1&mID=70&dID=305

 

Wolff doesn't even list an extra-power hammer spring.

Edited December 9, 2015 by dcloudy777

[Scradoozy]

Hmmm...
Haven't looked to see what was available yet. Had not considered a heavier spring might not be available. I would not want to go lower so I suppose stock is the way to go.

Thought a heavier spring might need a more powerful (higher quality) round to cycle reliably. I might get that spring pack with a couple lower lb Springs and just see what happens compared to stock. Maybe the lighter spring would need less energy to cycle and could use cheaper plinking ammo? Don't know if my logic holds water, but the pack is just $10 so I might try it and see what happens.

Thanks guys

[Dolomite_supafly]

Hose the gun down with WD-40 and let it set for 15 minutes then blow it out with high pressure air. Make sure to really saturate the firing pin channel from the breech face. This normally fixes most guns with a lot of rounds or if if gas been sitting.

[Scradoozy]

I will try that. Wd40 fixes a lot of things. That and ductape...

Although I have heard that consistent use of wd40 can be bad longterm, a single use might loosen things up..

[Dolomite_supafly]

WD40 is not an oil so when you try to use it as an oil it leaves a lot to be desired. As a cleaner it is one of the better gun cleaners out there.

[Clod Stomper]

I think you're confusing the hammer spring with the recoil spring. A heavier or lighter recoil spring would change the recoil impulse required to cycle the slide. It will not affect how hard the hammer strikes the firing pin.

A heavier hammer (or "main") spring will make the hammer hit the firing pin harder but will also make the trigger pull heavier.

I would try Dolomite's suggestion first though. Probably just a crummy firing pin channel.

[Scradoozy]

Not confusing Springs. Just trying to think of how much energy is going to be needed to reset hammer with slide cycle. Wasn't sure if it would be significant and cause more problems rather than solving.

I will try the washing/soaking in wd40 and see if a good cleaning solves problem before changing anything.

Thanks for thoughts...

[musicman]

What I will point out is that the correlation of firing pin pressure required vs cost of ammo is not something that necessarily relates. And actually, the idea above that cheaper ammo may need less of a whack often turns out to the be opposite.

A round's "power" as mentioned above comes from the powder charge (type and weight) in correlation to projectile weight, not necessarily the primer.

It is the hardness of the primer cup that can lead to misfires with light strikes. Some brands of primers are consistently harder than others. This does not have anything to do with the priming charge, though that is another variable that CAN have an effect on overall "power" of a round, but generally much less of an effect than the powder charge.

Just wanted to define those distinctive differences as that may help in understanding the situation.

As Dolomite said, cleaning the firing pin channel is the absolute #1 place to start. Good luck!

[Clod Stomper]

Not confusing Springs. Just trying to think of how much energy is going to be needed to reset hammer with slide cycle. Wasn't sure if it would be significant and cause more problems rather than solving.

I will try the washing/soaking in wd40 and see if a good cleaning solves problem before changing anything.

Thanks for thoughts...

Ok, gotcha.

Yeah, a good cleaning will be the cheapest place to start.

[dcloudy777]

What I will point out is that the correlation of firing pin pressure required vs cost of ammo is not something that necessarily relates. And actually, the idea above that cheaper ammo may need less of a whack often turns out to the be opposite.

A round's "power" as mentioned above comes from the powder charge (type and weight) in correlation to projectile weight, not necessarily the primer.

It is the hardness of the primer cup that can lead to misfires with light strikes. Some brands of primers are consistently harder than others. This does not have anything to do with the priming charge, though that is another variable that CAN have an effect on overall "power" of a round, but generally much less of an effect than the powder charge.
 

 

"Cheap" ammo these days often translates as "former Combloc"... which more often then not means hard primers.  That may be where the "cheap ammo needs heavier hammer springs" doctrine come from.

[Scradoozy]

All good info guys!

Soaking and cleaning today. We'll see what it does at the range when I can get there...

[musicman]

"Cheap" ammo these days often translates as "former Combloc"... which more often then not means hard primers. That may be where the "cheap ammo needs heavier hammer springs" doctrine come from.

Precisely why I posted. In fact, OP's thoughts were actually contrary to this. That's why I wanted to clarify some details.

Here's the post that prompted the info I shared:
"Thought a heavier spring might need a more powerful (higher quality) round to cycle reliably. I might get that spring pack with a couple lower lb Springs and just see what happens compared to stock. Maybe the lighter spring would need less energy to cycle and could use cheaper plinking ammo? Don't know if my logic holds water, but the pack is just $10 so I might try it and see what happens."