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August 6, 2010
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I have a DW Model 15 with a 6" barrel. Very smooth action, very accurate. One BIG Problem.
It eats anything I want to feed it SA. BUT in DA fire, one chamber always FTF. I talked to a gunsmith friend who suggested trying a different type of ammo, so I did (Remington then Winchester WB). With both brands it fired everything fine SA, but one chamber FTF DA.
To be safe, I fired the same ammo both SA amd DA out of my S&W 686. No FTF either way.
Could it be that one chamber was bored a couple of thousandths too deep at the factory so that one chamber isn't getting the full force of the hammer strike in DA?
Other than replacing the entire cylinder is there anything to do?
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
February 28, 2009
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The first thing I would do is tear it down and give it a good scrubbing. Then, maybe some new springs.
-Mike
August 6, 2010
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Already had a gunsmith take it down and clean it thoroughly. What weight is the trigger spring from the factory? Where can I buy replacements?
Also, just out of curiosity, even if it was dirty internally (or externally), how would this keep one chamber from firing each time?
September 26, 2010
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EWK Arms has the spring kit you seek.
Supporter
Moderators
January 24, 2009
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I agree, if it has been scrubbed thoroughly, then weak springs would be my next suspect. Let us know how you make out...
Supporter
Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Sorry to make you go back out and shoot again, but.... is it the same chamber EVERY time? Take a sharpie/grease pen, etc and mark all cylinders 1-6. Then start shooting and verify that it is the same chamber every time.
SHOOT
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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SHOOTIST357 said:
Sorry to make you go back out and shoot again, but.... is it the same chamber EVERY time? Take a sharpie/grease pen, etc and mark all cylinders 1-6. Then start shooting and verify that it is the same chamber every time.
SHOOT
FTF inconsistency between DA and SA in a Dan Wesson is a clear symptom of an incorrectly tightened grip screw.
"Could it be that one chamber was bored a couple of thousandths too deep
at the factory so that one chamber isn't getting the full force of the
hammer strike in DA?."
Yes, this could be a reason it follows one particular chamber, but it will still be the grip screw at the root of the problem 999 times out of 1000.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
August 6, 2010
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Incorrectly tightened grip screw? Hell, it doesn't cost anything to tighten it a little more and see what happens. I never dreamed of that, but then I'm new to DW's.
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
February 28, 2009
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RossA said:
Incorrectly tightened grip screw? Hell, it doesn't cost anything to tighten it a little more and see what happens. I never dreamed of that, but then I'm new to DW's.
I think that what Steve is telling you is that the grip screw is too tight, protruding too far into the spring chamber and causing binding. Go to the hardware store and buy a 1/8th or 1/4 inch nylon spacer. Slip it onto the grip screw and re-tighten. It may solve the problem. It has worked for me on a couple of Dan's.
-Mike
February 21, 2011
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Agreed 100% I was having FTFs in DA with a new grip on mine & all I needed to do was put a couple of washers in to limit the bolt's ability to go in too far.
Try the pencil test, which is independent of the chambers & see what happens.
(open cylinder, point muzzle vertically UP insert long pencil with eraser, rubber down, into muzzle so it is resting on the firing pin & fire several times in S/A & D/A mode. The pencil should jump the same height every time. Back off screw a couple of turns & repeat. Does the pencil jump more?)
Matthew Quigley on handguns:
“I said I never had much use for one. Never said
I didn't know how to use it.”
August 6, 2010
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OK, I tried some experiments today with interesting results. Can't get to the range for a few days so this is all I can do for now.
1. Put a pencil in the barrel and down into each chamber one by one. Pulled the trigger SA on each chamber and the pencil jumped clear out of the 6" barrel each time.
2. Did the same thing firing DA, and the pencil barely moved far enough for an inch or so to pop out of the end of the barrel.
3. Got a couple of small washers, took the grip screw out of the grip and put the washers on as spacers. Maybe 1/8-3/16". Put the screw back in and tried the same experiments.
4. On SA the pencils again jumped out of the barrel.
5. On DA the pencil didn't even come out of the barrel a little bit on a couple of chambers.
Now I'm totally confused. Should the SA hammer strike be so much more than DA?
Why would backing off on the grip screw LIGHTEN the DA strike?
And why on only some chambers, but not all?
DWF Supporters
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November 17, 2008
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You are getting some strange results. Ido know that the grip screw will interfere with the hammer spring if it is threaded in too far but can't say what you have going on. Do the test again with the grip removed and eliminate the grip screw issue altogether. I don't know that it will tell you anything but what can it hurt.
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
July 7, 2011
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RossA said:
OK, I tried some experiments today with interesting results. Can't get to the range for a few days so this is all I can do for now.
1. Put a pencil in the barrel and down into each chamber one by one. Pulled the trigger SA on each chamber and the pencil jumped clear out of the 6" barrel each time.
2. Did the same thing firing DA, and the pencil barely moved far enough for an inch or so to pop out of the end of the barrel.
3. Got a couple of small washers, took the grip screw out of the grip and put the washers on as spacers. Maybe 1/8-3/16". Put the screw back in and tried the same experiments.
4. On SA the pencils again jumped out of the barrel.
5. On DA the pencil didn't even come out of the barrel a little bit on a couple of chambers.
Now I'm totally confused. Should the SA hammer strike be so much more than DA?
Why would backing off on the grip screw LIGHTEN the DA strike?
And why on only some chambers, but not all?
I am posting this over a year later in the hopes that someone else won't have to go through what I went through to figure out what actually causes this problem. The cylinder ball tension screw must be tight enough to cause the cylinder to close up fairly smartly. It takes out any forward motion/slack between the cylinder and the shim in the crane. When the firing pin strikes the primer, if the cylinder is sloppy and moves forward, even a few thousandths of an inch, it absorbs the energy resulting in a weak primer strike. It will be erratic and unpredictable. It will be worse with CCI (hard) primers, and maybe even unnoticeable with Federal primers (softer). It took me months to figure this out, so I sure hope this posting helps some else and they won't have to go crazy figuring this out.
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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Thanks for the update and hopfully someone may solve this problem with your fix!
July 7, 2011
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Thank you, I failed to mention, I tried everything like a new hammer spring, I even added on additional spring to the the new spring to make sure it was not a hammer spring issue. The gun was like new, so it made no sense, but I realized when I took it apart to clean it, I reinstalled the ball tension screw and did not know how it should be tensioned, and so under tightened it and caused all this problem myself!
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