More changes to the Ruger Blackhawk

First off I love the gun. I can shoot it very accurately and even in 357 it is loads of fun to shoot. I have this problem of not being able to leave things alone so I have taken the gun completely apart, which is fairly easy compared to a Smith & Wesson, and made some changes. First I replaced the existing hammer with one from a Super Blackhawk. That hammer is a bit lower and eaiser to reach for cocking the gun. It was a pain holding everything together to get it back in the gun but it went in eventually.

Next is some trigger and hammer shims. Rugers are well built, strong and dependable and at $150 less than a comparable Smith & Wesson there are corners cut. The fitting of moving parts, while servicable, could use some work. A couple of .003 or .005 inch shims and some lube smooths everything out. While the gun is apart some minor polishing also helps.

Next are the trigger and hammer springs. I haven't done this yet but I am for sure going to lighten up the trigger spring. The hammer spring is another story. The experts say a lighter hammer spring adds to the time between the trigger being pulled and the hammer striking the firing pin. This could make the gun less accurate.

Since I am getting a thrill out of working on the gum I will reduce the hammer spring and if it hurts accuracy I will put the old one back in.

Here is a pic with the new hammer. Hopefully you can see the difference from the picture from previous post. This pic also shows the grips I made. The originals were a bit short and slippery. This was my first attempt at making grips. I have bought a set of Hogue grips and usually have them on the gun as they are really comfortable and absorb most of the recoil.