Wife Having Trouble with Model 37 Heavy Trigger

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ChasHam

New member
My wife no longer has the hand strength for a one handed DA trigger pull on her EDC S&W Model 37 lightweight nickel plated two inch 38 Spl J frame revolver. It's in primo unmodified condition- despite her carrying it daily since I purchased it new 40 years ago. And it doesn't have more than a few boxes of factory ammo through it either

She's not comfortable handling a semi-auto and really needs to stick with a compact revolver. I've considered installing a lighter spring-- but am concerned about primer strike reliability.

She shoots two-handed and can pull the trigger fine if she uses both her right and left pointer fingers simultaneously. But that's probably not an ideal solution for an EDC personal defense gun-- nor is cocking the hammer prior to shooting in a threat situation.

Ideas?
 
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603Country

New member
My wife hated my semi auto pistols and insisted using a revolver for her LTC class. The instructor convinced her to use his S&W M&P 22 for the shooting, and she loved it. We got her something very similar, which is a new S&W M&P 380 EZ and she’s really fond of it. Some folks call it a Granny Gun, because it’s easy to rack the slide and load the mag. You can get it with a safety or without. Have a look at one, if you can find one. Selling like hot cakes. I had to work hard to find one.
 
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Drm50

New member
I would go for a light spring kit before I bought another revolver. If wife has had
it for 40yrs she's use to it. I have no experience with LCR, plenty with LCPs. No
doubt LCR is quality piece.
 
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Bill DeShivs

New member
Simply change out the trigger return spring with a lighter one.
A good gunsmith can also do an action job to reduce/smooth the trigger pull.
 
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10-96

New member
+1 what Bill said. 40 years of womans purse mystery goo and fuzz would probably rate a trip to a GS anyhow. A lighter rebound spring wouldn't effect reliability at all, unless the installer uses a 12lb or lighter spring. I've never had reliability problems with a 13lb spring.
 
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kenny53

New member
I put a Wolff 10 pound trigger spring my SP 101, made a lot of difference. Try a lighter spring and shoot a couple of boxes of ammo. If no light strikes you should be good to go.
 
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ChasHam

New member
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I think I'll try some of the spring kits first. The price is certainly right and installation is easy enough. I've had the side plates off many Smith and Colt revolvers for thorough cleaning. I'll follow up with a lot of tesl firing using an assortment of reloads on hand and also the carry ammo.

The Ruger LCR looks like it's probably Plan B at this point.

Now of course if I was the one with the trigger squeeze problem rather than my wife, you know that the LCR would be Plan A...
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
"...plates off many Smith..." Smith's require a special tool to remove and install the trigger rebound spring housing. About $20 at Brownell's.
Even with a proper trigger job and new springs she still may problems. Assuming her hands are arthritic, doing anything may or may not make any difference. Even a pistol will hurt to shoot with arthritis.
Mind you, if she's not practicing with the thing, she might as well not have it.
 
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Buckeye!

New member
My wife likes my LCR 357... Slightly more weight than the LCR 38spl .. so it dampens the recoil a bit , while using 38spl ammo ... I have found the Federal 130gr HST ammo , even though listed as +P ,is more than manageable ...
 
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4V50 Gary

Staff
Another vote for the Ruger LCR polymer frame revolver. I've been teaching older women and they have trouble with slides (semiautomatics) and most DA revolvers except for the Ruger or S&W polymer M&P revolver.
 
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RKG

New member
Bill DeShivs said:
Simply change out the trigger return spring with a lighter one.
A good gunsmith can also do an action job to reduce/smooth the trigger pull.
Click to expand...
In a S&w double action revolver, the weight of the DA pull is dominated by the main spring, while the weight of the SA pull is dominated by the rebound slide spring.

Going too light on the main spring risks light primer strikes. Going too light on the rebound spring risks failure of trigger reset.

When I encounter a S&W DA with mediocre trigger, the first thing I do is clean the lockwork and then polish the bottom and sides (but not the top) of the rebound slide and also the tunnel in which the rebound slide travels. Often, this is all that is required.
 
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FITASC

New member
S&Ws don't require a special tool to remove the trigger spring. S&W armorer school showed how to do it with a screwdriver!
Click to expand...

True, and I have done it that way; but the tool O'Heir mentioned DOES make it a lot easier. Now, you could go buy a $1 screwdriver and modify the tip like the tool has as well.
 
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Jim Watson

New member
Wolff - gunsprings.com - will sell you a package deal with a somewhat lighter mainspring and a selection of rebound springs.

I require that my defense guns fire reloads with CCI primers which are relatively "hard." That way I am confident with factory loads.
My 642 will do it with a reduced mainspring, my M38 requires the full power spring.

The rebound spring must give snappy trigger return, if it feels mushy or if your trigger finger "outruns" it on the reset, it is too weak.

As RKG says, you will get a better and easier trigger if you reduce friction, not just swap springs.
 
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pete2

New member
I find that S&W factory mainsprings vary a lot from gun to gun whether the coil or the leaf. I recently replaced a mainspring in a new 642 that was extremely heavy. It's now about the same as a 642 that I've had for several years. I've seen the same stuff on N and K frame guns. I'd suggest a Wolff standard spring, it may be just what you want. In any case shoot a couple hundred rounds of ammo to make sure it doesn't misfire with the lighter mainspring. If it misfires you gotta go to plan B and learn to live with another gun.
 
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Bill DeShivs

New member
RKG- you have it backwards. The rebound spring affects the D/A trigger pull. I'm sure that was a typo. I agree that polishing the slide makes a lot of difference.
 
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