Short Stroke Information
Take the time to read this whether you have had a conversion or are thinking about it.
There are pros and cons to having a short stroke done. Here are my opinions. It costs a bit of money. A short stroke makes the action cycle faster with less rearward motion of the hammer. It takes about 1/2 inch out of the travel. This could decrease your overall stage times. It takes some time to get used to as the hammer pull is a lot shorter. The action will be extremely smooth and more reliable, (with the Ultimate Short Stroke). The short stroke takes all the slop out of the stock Vaquero design so the tolerances are now very tight.
Do you need your revolvers short stroked? You have to make that call. Most shooters that are highly competitive have it done. Most competitive shooters find it less fatiguing and it can reduce overall times when you get the hang of it. It’s also fun to show off your guns with it. I would shoot someone’s guns with my short strokes before you take the plunge. One of the best reasons to have a short stroke done is if you have low profile hammers in your guns. When shooting a stock gun with a low profile hammer (Super Blackhawk® hammer) you will notice the hammer now hits your strong hand in the web. The short stroke will keep the hammer from doing this as the travel is shorter. On the other side of that, many one handed shooters like for their thumb to come lower to the grip frame, so short strokes are not helpful. The revolver functions similar to a colt now. Load and unload in the half cock. It is unsafe to load six rounds as the transfer bar is gone. Loading six will put the firing right on a primer.
Facts you should know about “Short Stroke” conversions.
1. Most gunsmiths have moved away from brazing to convert the parts. Brazing is like soldering, but to a higher temperature. The parts are being “glued” together. It requires heating the parts up to a dull red, around 1400 degrees. This process takes the hardness out of the parts and the metal is now soft. You can’t re-harden a brazed part. Furthermore, look at the hammer on guns that have had a pad brazed onto them. You will notice a divot developing where it is striking the firing pin in the frame. Eventually the divot becomes so deep the gun won’t fire. The lower part of the hammer will also be soft. The lobes and notches will wear out faster than a TIG welded conversion. Also notice on brazed conversions how the hammer is misshapen and full of scratches on both sides. This is due to grinding the oversized brazed parts to be flush with the sides of the hammer. Brazing equipment runs about $45.00.
2. TIG welding is the way to go when hand building a short stroke. TIG welding was developed for the Aerospace industry and NASA. TIG welding uses an inert shielding gas and creates a molecular bond with an incredibly small heat signature. The parts welded become one piece of metal, not two stuck together. The low heat signature minimizes/eliminates distortion. TIG welding allows deep penetration of the weld due to the shielding gas and the advanced technology of the arc. It also allows for pinpoint accuracy in the weld. TIG welded parts can be heat treated to re-harden them. TIG welding takes a considerable degree of skill, but the end product is far superior. A quality Inverter TIG welder costs about $2800.00.
3. Pre-made kits can have issues as many have experienced. Most gunsmiths know that no two revolvers are the same. You can take two identical revolvers and switch some of the parts. Sometimes one of the revolvers will not work properly when this is done. Manufacturing tolerances vary and hand fitting is required when making single action revolvers. In most cases precise hand fitting is required when short stroking a revolver to get it to be flawless. Just like a tailored suit, hand made short strokes are the “Ultimate” in fit and function of the parts.
4. Don’t let anyone tell you they “invented” the short stroke. We all invented our short stroke. Those of us building short strokes have our own idea of what works best. We all have a different design with a different end result. Make sure you understand that we all do it differently. Ergo, we all “invented” our short strokes. Most of us that have been gunsmiths around Cowboy Action Shooting for 25-30 years know the history behind short stroking. Wes Flowers, AKA Wes Fargo, should be credited with developing the first “popular” short stroke. He had many different designs for the Vaquero that included four click conversions, half cock conversions and what he called a “Cruger”. He was considered the “Short Stroke King” back in late 90’s. Credit where credit is due.
All of my “Ultimate Short Strokes” are TIG welded, hand built and not pre-made. Each revolver takes 4.5 to 5 hours to complete. I use the correct filler metal when TIG welding to match the parts. After welding, all parts are heat treated to reduce stress and increase longevity. Custom built, extended firing pins are part of this package. Trigger sears are shaped with double angles. Cylinder stop heads are precisely fit to the cylinder notches and pawls are shaped to engage the cylinder ratchet more positively. All aspects of “Premium Action Work” are part of this conversion. Short stroked revolvers have a two year unconditional warranty.
If you prefer hand crafted parts that are fit perfectly to each revolver rather than mass produced parts that sometimes don’t work right, then the Ultimate Short Stroke is for you.
Short Stroke Quality Standards.
Below are some of the small things that make a difference when loading and shooting your short stroked revolvers. First things first though. You can make a Short Stroke too short and some do. There needs to be enough momentum in the hammer to fire the primer, so if you make them really short, you have to have a stiffer hammer spring and a rougher action. Most pre-made kits are this way. You have to sacrifice lightness and smoothness. A revolver with an action that is stiffer and rougher will be harder to keep on target than one that is smoother and lighter. You can spend twice as much money on some short stroke kits that are stiffer and rougher and only gain 1 to 2 millimeters in hammer pull. Shorter is not better. The “Ultimate Short Stroke” is the smoothest and lightest on the market and it is affordable.
1. Hammer Travel from rest to full cock should be the same on any two guns. If one hammer pulls farther back, this will throw you off when shooting.
2. Trigger Setback. The trigger should be significantly farther back than a stock gun when at rest. This means less motion of the trigger finger. The trigger on a gun improperly short stroked, without Trigger Setback, will move back and forth 1/2 inch and feel mushy. It almost feels as if something is broken inside the gun. Setback is hard to do and requires a full understanding of the internal geometry.
3. Hammer Stops. With a Hammer Stop, the hammer will stop moving when the trigger and the cylinder stop sets. This will reduce wear on the pawl/hand and the cylinder ratchet. Not critical to have in most cases. Best for people who really slam the hammer.
4. Loading Position of the Cylinder. Pull the hammer to “half cock”, open the loading gate and rotate the cylinder counter clockwise until it stops. The cylinder you are about to load should be centered in the loading window.
5. Precise fitting of the small parts. Cylinder stops, pawls, triggers and hammers receive individual shaping to fit mating surfaces perfectly. Kits can’t do this.