Target Bulldog Problem

[BigJohnE]

I have a 1970s model Charter Arms Target Bulldog with an odd problem. Was wondering if its worth exploring further. Had one guy who works on guns at my local range look at it, but he wasn't 100% sure of what it was & I know there's a lot of knowledge on here, so here it is:

Lockup is good & double-action is smooth with no problems at all, but single action is the issue. It shoots in SA, but when you pull the trigger, the hammer travels about 2mm then stops. It drops the hammer from there if you keep the backward motion on the trigger. So it's pretty much "click, boom" after you cock it and pull the trigger. But like I said, double action has no issues at all.

Any ideas on what I should be looking for to fix it?

 

[RamRoddoc]

Interesting, I'll be following this as I'm a total knob when it comes to revolvers. I am aware that if someone has taken this thing apart it is a serious mofo to get back together. There is a jig they use at the factory to get back together. I would not take one apart.

 

[TxBoyX2]

That's weird, and the first time I've ever heard of that. I'd have to take it apart, and look for some damage. It might just be something as simple as a kinked/stressed spring.

 

[BigJohnE]

That's what I was wondering too. The hammer, mainspring, and guiderod assembly all look right, but that's about as far as I'm skilled enough to look.

 

[77REBELBOWTIE]

Sounds like a bad or damaged spring. Could also have a burr on either the frame itself or one of the internal components. I would have to have it in hand to really figure it out.

 

[1006]

Just a wild guess, but if no one has been working on it, I wonder if a piece of trash could have gotten into the action.

DA mode cocks the hammer further than SA mode on some guns, giving the hammer a little more force.

 

[BigJohnE]

Just a wild guess, but if no one has been working on it, I wonder if a piece of trash could have gotten into the action.

DA mode cocks the hammer further than SA mode on some guns, giving the hammer a little more force.

I'm going to try looking further into the action and see. I got it in a trade and everything was fine. I cleaned it, shot it and on the 2nd cylinder, it started doing this. If I can't find anything else, I'll try to find a local gunsmith who won't charge me more than the gun costs to fix it for me. You guys have all given me some good direction to start in. Thanks. Any other ideas are welcomed and I'll post if I find anything else and/or what fixes it.

 

[markj]

Usually with the SA the hammer goes back more than in DA...

I had something similar but not identical in an older Dan Wesson revolver. In SA, after you pulled the trigger, sometimes the trigger would "kick" back fwd and you would get a light strike.
Turns out it was the DA pawl striking the SA cocking ledge on the trigger. The notch in the hammer that the pawl rides in was worn and allowed the pawl to come further out than it should causing the interference.

The lock work of the Dan is different than the Charter, but they are fairly similar in a lot of ways.
I had a Charter that I had apart and smoothed out the action, don't remember any real problems getting it apart or back together. Had a few pins that needed to be punched out, but other than that it was a lot like a SP-101 or GP-100 Ruger. (the guy who started Charter used to work for Ruger. He presented them with his Idea for a compact 44sp and they shot him down so he started his own company).

 

[TxBoyX2]

I'm going to try looking further into the action and see. I got it in a trade and everything was fine. I cleaned it, shot it and on the 2nd cylinder, it started doing this. If I can't find anything else, I'll try to find a local gunsmith who won't charge me more than the gun costs to fix it for me. You guys have all given me some good direction to start in. Thanks. Any other ideas are welcomed and I'll post if I find anything else and/or what fixes it.

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