Ruger SP101-22 Spring Job

wayupnorth

wayupnorth

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so i picked up a Ruger SP101-22 last year, was looking forward to getting that pistol for a loooooooooooooooooong time and i hate to admit it i was highly underwhelmed with it. The gun itself is great, the fit and finish is perfect but the trigger pull..... ughhhh!

so after complaining many times and parking it in the safe for the last year i was directed by a fellow CGN to a web page that shows you how to do a trigger job on the ruger sp101 and told to get off my arse and replace the springs and stop my crying and bellyaching already.

with the dieing of winter i decided that doing the spring job on the SP101 would be a fitting last project to do in preparation for nicer weather and being able to hit the range more often.

I contacted Wolff Springs and ordered up a bunch of springs (and be ye for warned, there is a minimum that they will ship so you end up ordering springs for a couple guns which isnt a bad thing) specifically i picked up their SP101-22 'spring kit'.

tonight was the night.
with ipad in hand and after going over the web page a couple times i tore into the SP like a fat kid on a candy.
keep in mind that this is the first time ive done a complete take down of a revolver EVER!
holy small springs batman!

I did do a non scientific test before i went out to the shop, i handed the pistol to my wife and asked her to pull the hammer back, i just wanted to make sure i wasnt being a vag about the hammer on this gun. i was relived to see that she couldn't even pull the hammer back OR even get the gun to cycle in DA. which is funny because my wife's favorite gun is my Ruger GP100 and she burns up full power 357mags in that with no problem. the SP101 was in definite need of some cleaning up to get it to work.

long story short i get her ripped down and replaced both the main spring and the trigger return spring and the gun is soooooooooooooooo much better now! my thumbs dosnt cry when i try to cycle the gun anymore!
i do think they should have sent a 10lb spring as it definitely could have been a lighter spring im thinking.
if i ever put in another order with Wolff i think ill order up a 10lb just for giggles.

so lesson learned.
if you are like me and have a SP101-22 and you hate the trigger pull like i did then spend the while $9 and get the spring kit from Wolff.

I think now that i have taken the gun down and back together and have a understanding of it i may take it apart again tomorrow night and polish up some of the components so they run a bit smoother, that should also help cut down on the pull a bit.

if memory serves me correctly in SA i went from a 8.5lb pull down to a 4.5lb pull with just the replacement of the springs.
i cant give you a number on the DA as my trigger pull tool only goes up to 8lbs and it was maxed every time.
with the springs replaced its popping now in DA just over the 8lb mark so probably around 9lbs.

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from what i could find on the net the stock main spring that comes in the SP is a 16lb one and the kit you get from Wolff has 3 springs to choose from - 13, 14, 15.
the trigger return spring that comes stock is a 10lb and the one you get in the kit is a 8lb.

on the net most of the write up's recommend going to a 10 and 10 spring for both.
 
Careful with trigger springs. Not sure about .22s but tried the 3 different Wolff trigger springs in my GP100 and had failures to ignite problems with all but Federal Primers. Ended up going back to stock.
 
The horror stories of trigger pull almost kept me from buying one of these. I don't find mine so bad, although owning an SKS means never having to say "Wow, that trigger sucks compared to my SKS!" about any gun. Let us know if you have any trouble with light strikes when you get it to the range.
 
Got my SP101 in 357 yesterday and i am pleased with both the DA and SA pull of the trigger, not S&W way but a lot better than i thought, i will shoot it this way for starter... JP.
 
wayupnorth said:
so i picked up a Ruger SP101-22 last year, was looking forward to getting that pistol for a loooooooooooooooooong time and i hate to admit it i was highly underwhelmed with it. The gun itself is great, the fit and finish is perfect but the trigger pull..... ughhhh!

so after complaining many times and parking it in the safe for the last year i was directed by a fellow CGN to a web page that shows you how to do a trigger job on the ruger sp101 and told to get off my arse and replace the springs and stop my crying and bellyaching already.

with the dieing of winter i decided that doing the spring job on the SP101 would be a fitting last project to do in preparation for nicer weather and being able to hit the range more often.

I contacted Wolff Springs and ordered up a bunch of springs (and be ye for warned, there is a minimum that they will ship so you end up ordering springs for a couple guns which isnt a bad thing) specifically i picked up their SP101-22 'spring kit'.

tonight was the night.
with ipad in hand and after going over the web page a couple times i tore into the SP like a fat kid on a candy.
keep in mind that this is the first time ive done a complete take down of a revolver EVER!
holy small springs batman!

I did do a non scientific test before i went out to the shop, i handed the pistol to my wife and asked her to pull the hammer back, i just wanted to make sure i wasnt being a vag about the hammer on this gun. i was relived to see that she couldn't even pull the hammer back OR even get the gun to cycle in DA. which is funny because my wife's favorite gun is my Ruger GP100 and she burns up full power 357mags in that with no problem. the SP101 was in definite need of some cleaning up to get it to work.

long story short i get her ripped down and replaced both the main spring and the trigger return spring and the gun is soooooooooooooooo much better now! my thumbs dosnt cry when i try to cycle the gun anymore!
i do think they should have sent a 10lb spring as it definitely could have been a lighter spring im thinking.
if i ever put in another order with Wolff i think ill order up a 10lb just for giggles.

so lesson learned.
if you are like me and have a SP101-22 and you hate the trigger pull like i did then spend the while $9 and get the spring kit from Wolff.

I think now that i have taken the gun down and back together and have a understanding of it i may take it apart again tomorrow night and polish up some of the components so they run a bit smoother, that should also help cut down on the pull a bit.

if memory serves me correctly in SA i went from a 8.5lb pull down to a 4.5lb pull with just the replacement of the springs.
i cant give you a number on the DA as my trigger pull tool only goes up to 8lbs and it was maxed every time.
with the springs replaced its popping now in DA just over the 8lb mark so probably around 9lbs.

002_zpsgeikftjd.jpg

003_zpsdp2t05s4.jpg
Click to expand...

As a comparison, an earlier production example of the SP 101 in .22LR

 
Thanks to this thread, I looked into new springs for my SP101 .22 as well. I sent a PM to wayupnorth, he directed me to a few good web links with step-by-step take-down and polishing. As careful as I was being to NOT pull the trigger with the trigger group out, the pawl spring popped out when I was tapping the trigger group on it's end to get the trigger spring cup out. Luckily, the pawl spring didn't shoot across the room and I was able to figure out how to get everything back together after I polished it all up on the inside (and the were very few burrs inside).

Original pull - my gauge tops out at 14lbs and it was maxing it out on DA. SA was at 8.5lbs as well.

After springs/polishing (I installed the Wolff 13lbs hammer spring and the 8lbs trigger spring) - DA is now 10lbs and the SA is 3.25 pounds. That should be just about perfect.
 
caramel said:
Got my SP101 in 357 yesterday and i am pleased with both the DA and SA pull of the trigger, not S&W way but a lot better than i thought, i will shoot it this way for starter... JP.
Click to expand...

I got one earlier this year and although I knew the trigger pull would smooth out with use, I did put one of the Wolff springs in (can't remember which one now, but not the lightest) as well as doing some internal polishing, all of which resulted in a better trigger pull. I doubt it can be made as smooth as a S&W but it's not bad at all. The weather becoming somewhat unfriendly (even here in balmy coastal BC) I wlon't likely get to the range much now but I dry-fire it every time I go into my gun room. I could probably do even better on the internal polishing and use some exotic lubricant like Brownell's Action Lube Plus but Im happy with the improvement so far.
 
wayupnorth said:
so i picked up a Ruger SP101-22 last year, was looking forward to getting that pistol for a loooooooooooooooooong time and i hate to admit it i was highly underwhelmed with it. The gun itself is great, the fit and finish is perfect but the trigger pull..... ughhhh!

so after complaining many times and parking it in the safe for the last year i was directed by a fellow CGN to a web page that shows you how to do a trigger job on the ruger sp101 and told to get off my arse and replace the springs and stop my crying and bellyaching already.

with the dieing of winter i decided that doing the spring job on the SP101 would be a fitting last project to do in preparation for nicer weather and being able to hit the range more often.

I contacted Wolff Springs and ordered up a bunch of springs (and be ye for warned, there is a minimum that they will ship so you end up ordering springs for a couple guns which isnt a bad thing) specifically i picked up their SP101-22 'spring kit'.

tonight was the night.
with ipad in hand and after going over the web page a couple times i tore into the SP like a fat kid on a candy.
keep in mind that this is the first time ive done a complete take down of a revolver EVER!
holy small springs batman!

I did do a non scientific test before i went out to the shop, i handed the pistol to my wife and asked her to pull the hammer back, i just wanted to make sure i wasnt being a vag about the hammer on this gun. i was relived to see that she couldn't even pull the hammer back OR even get the gun to cycle in DA. which is funny because my wife's favorite gun is my Ruger GP100 and she burns up full power 357mags in that with no problem. the SP101 was in definite need of some cleaning up to get it to work.

long story short i get her ripped down and replaced both the main spring and the trigger return spring and the gun is soooooooooooooooo much better now! my thumbs dosnt cry when i try to cycle the gun anymore!
i do think they should have sent a 10lb spring as it definitely could have been a lighter spring im thinking.
if i ever put in another order with Wolff i think ill order up a 10lb just for giggles.

so lesson learned.
if you are like me and have a SP101-22 and you hate the trigger pull like i did then spend the while $9 and get the spring kit from Wolff.

I think now that i have taken the gun down and back together and have a understanding of it i may take it apart again tomorrow night and polish up some of the components so they run a bit smoother, that should also help cut down on the pull a bit.

if memory serves me correctly in SA i went from a 8.5lb pull down to a 4.5lb pull with just the replacement of the springs.
i cant give you a number on the DA as my trigger pull tool only goes up to 8lbs and it was maxed every time.
with the springs replaced its popping now in DA just over the 8lb mark so probably around 9lbs.

002_zpsgeikftjd.jpg

003_zpsdp2t05s4.jpg
Click to expand...

NO...the ten pound hammer springs are perfect for the .357 SP-101 like mine...not for the .22! Wolff knows what they're doing, the 13 pound spring works for a few makes of rimfire ammo with some misfires, and the 14 pound spring works for pretty much all of them with the possibility of the odd misfire. The 15 pounder is foolproof, but only one pound lighter than Ruger's stock spring... So you have to decide what works best for you...I'd choose the 14 pound spring in the .22 SP-101. I put hammer shims on and polished my .357 SP-101, and then installed the 10 pound hammer spring and 8 pound trigger spring. I could've gone with the 9 pound spring, but then I'd have to shoot American Eagle/Federal ammo exclusively for their softer primers, or deal with misfires...so I went with the ten pound spring and the gun's smooth and works with all the ammo I've shot so far.
 
Finally got mine to the range - I am getting misfires now on DA, happened once on SA. Do I stiffen the hammer or trigger spring?
 
Zedbra said:
Thanks - I'll bump up to the next hammer spring.
Click to expand...

If you have a few cases to spare, drill out the flash hole a bit and you can test the gun with primers only in the basement (maybe wrap it in a towel to reduce the bang). This will prevent the cases from backing out against the recoil plate and jamming up the cylinder. :)
 
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