Easing the Mainspring on a Single Barrel Iver Johnson
Ambrose
Member Posts: 3,163 ✭✭✭✭
My wife had a single barrel .410 shotgun but her late husband traded it for a Ruger 10/22 (a good trade in my opinion!). She still sputters about that from time to time. At the gun show last week, there was a .410 IJ and I was going to buy it for her but the hammer was so stiff it took both my thumbs to cock it. I knew she would never be able to do it. Is there a way to lighten up the hammer spring on those guns? I can cut coils with the best of 'em but flat springs make me nervous. I don't think she (or me, either!) could hit anything with one of those old full choke .410's, but if she had one, her late husband could rest easier.
I have an O/U .410 and with the IC choke tubes, she's about 50% on hand thrown clays. The down side is that the gun is too stiff for her to open.
Comments
You can thin a flat mainspring both width and thickness. The finished job MUST be polished smooth, no deep scratches. Keep the original taper as much as possible and polish with fine sandpaper, no need to buff it. A deep scratch MAY cause it to break at that point. If using a grinding wheel be careful to not overheat and lose the temper in the spring. Be aware you are playing a game of user operation vs. reliable function.
I'm guessing the spring is not original to the gun. Altering the thickness of a flat spring comes with risks.
if it is a champion it should have a coil spring. numrich shows them in stock. buy you a couple and "tune" as much as you want