Hammer shims by Power Custom are designed to eliminate hammer drag quickly and easily, and according to Reid, they usually work like a charm.

Check The Trigger
Once any hammer drag has been eliminated, you also need to look at the trigger as well. Just like the hammer, the trigger pivots around a pin. Also just like the hammer, it’s subject to drag on the inside of the frame. As with the hammer, indications of contact with the frame will normally show up as wear marks on one or both sides of the trigger.

Just as with hammer drag, trigger drag can cause a number of potentially serious problems. First, if the trigger is moving back and forth or side to side on the pivot pin, this can--and almost always will--have an effect on the consistency and quality of the trigger pull. The contact points on the mating surfaces between the trigger and hammer will vary each time the gun is fired. Also, I have seen revolvers in which drag prevented the trigger from automatically moving completely forward after the gun had been fired. This has usually occurred when the rebound spring was weak, and the trigger would literally stick to the rear.

Here again, Power offers shims to correct this condition. As with the hammer pivot-pin shims, the trigger shims are available in packs of 10 for K-, L-, and N-Frame revolvers. The individual shims are only .002 inch thick and about .245 inch in diameter. They’re made of the same material as the hammer shims. Due to the design of Smith & Wesson revolvers, the trigger pivot-pin shims must be significantly smaller in diameter, and in case you’re wondering, you can’t substitute the hammer shims for the trigger or vise versa. Installation and use of the trigger shims is the same as for the hammer shims.

As I said before, this is normally an easy fix and a great way to make good revolvers even better.

Until next time, good luck and good gunsmithing!