There's a reason why Ruger uses a 23 lb hammer spring and it's called "lock time". Lock time is the time it takes, after the sear releases, for the hammer to move forward and strike the transfer bar and in turn, strike the firing pin. During the long lock time, it allows your hand to move a considerable amount .... meaning marksmanship is notably worse with a lighter hammer spring and longer lock time. SA revolvers have the longest lock time of any type of gun so rather than install a reduced power hammer spring, I do a "real" action job. When I finish, trigger pull is usually 2.5 lbs with virtually no creep, yet it still uses the factory hammer spring. The trigger spring doesn't affect lock time so you can replace it and get a trigger pull even lower than 2.5 lbs.
Seems many people are hung up on a light trigger pull. I think it's safe to say that most people prefer a light pull to a heavy pull, but In all honesty, a light trigger from using reduced power springs does feel better, however it seldom improves accuracy and in fact it usually makes it worse because of the increased lock time. Trigger creep is another major issue. Creep is the feeling of sear movement before the sear releases. To me, there's nothing worse for marksmanship than feeling like the gun is going to go off 2 or 3 times before it actually does. Oddly enough, when you use reduced power hammer springs, you tend to feel the creep more than with the factory trigger pull. Why? The sear notch in the hammer is factory cut at a slight angle. If you lay the gun down on a bench and closely observe the hammer .... as you squeeze the trigger, the hammer will cam back slightly. This has a very significant impact on both trigger pull weight and creep. If you square up the hammer's sear notch, the sear will release without camming the hammer back, which makes a vast improvement .
To do this task, you need a trigger/hammer jig so I use the best one possible .... the gun itself. Below is a picture of a perfect jig. The trigger pivot pin is installed backwards so it's notch will lock into the loading gate spring to secure it. The hammer pivot pin uses a grip screw to hold it secure. I didn't show the makeshift hammer spring but it is a rubber band connected to the hammer spur and the looped over the barrel at the junction of the frame.
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So here's the drill ... push the bottom of the trigger forward then cock the hammer. Look very closely at the hammer spur as you squeeze the trigger. The objective is to reshape the sear notch so the hammer neither moves backwards or forward as the trigger is squeezed. Once the sear is at the proper angle, you can polish it for an even better feel. I use a muslin buffing wheel and 500 grit compound to polish both the sear notch and the trigger extension. You won't believe the difference plus it doesn't have any ill affect on lock time. Infinitely better than just using reduced power springs.
