H&R Handi light strikes...

[Canuck65]

As title states I am having light strikes on my H&R Handi .223.
I am pretty sure I've done all I can do to get it working and I am just not having any success.
Things I've tried

-New hammer spring from Wolff springs. These are supposed to be extra power springs but wire measures same diameter as original. I ordered a 5 pack of these and have tried a few different ones but no luck.

-Polished firing pin and channel as well as clipped 1.5 coils off of return spring so it won't be fighting hammer spring as much.

-Polished hammer pivot pin

-Took hammer stop down some to get an extra .030" firing pin protrusion

-Tried hammer spur thinking more hammer mass might help but was actually a softer hit, not surprised as velocity has a greater effect on kinetic energy than mass does.

With my .223 barrel on I can get it to fire after 2-5 hits. Have tried some factory ammo and my reloads with Ginex and CCI primers, picked up some Federal primers to try today as they are known to be softer. If those work great, but they won't help issue with shotgun shell.

I have two 12GA barrels and one has a less than perfect headspace so that likely plays some roll. On that barrel I get a very shallow pin prick of a hit.
The other barrel which is headspaced perfectly has same issues. Both have been tried with Federal and Challenger mini shells as well as Federal 2 3/4" target loads as well and some 9mm with barrel insert.

I am beginning to feel if I can't get any progress with this I'll be parting it out as spares parts, stocks and barrels. I have a bunch of H&R stuff and really want to get it working.
Does anyone else have similar issues and were you able to correct them?

Before assuming it's something wrong with the rifle, 1st thing to check is headspace. Assuming you're hand loading because you mentioned Ginex primers. You might be oversizing your brass either due to improper set up, or some other factor like grease/wax buildup etc. It really doesn't take much.

Use a headspace gauge and measure a piece of fired brass and compare it to a piece of freshly sized brass. You want less than 4 thou difference, and ideally, you only want to bump your shoulders back 2 or 3 thou.

You can get tools for this purpose pretty cheap from all of the major manufacturers (Hornady, RCBS, Lyman, etc. - or - you can make one in 5 minutes with a scrap piece of metal and a drill press. In a pinch you could even use a piece of hardwood.

Clean your dies well and set them up to only bump your shoulders back as far as necessary. Once you find the sweet spot, lock the ring down and they're good to go forever.

My apologies if you already considered this - I posted here because I didn't see any discussion about an ammo issue.

I hope you sort it out - good luck.