Hammer following/Overhaul needed

My Series 80 Colt is exhibiting hammer follow, usually to the safety shelf but sometimes all the way down, with my Nelson Conversion. I've tried different ammunition, same results. I'm assuming the hammer/sear engagement is worn to an unsafe degree. What's the collective wisdom here: are the drop-in trigger kits a viable option? I know I can send it out for repair to one of the gunsmiths listed here but the shipping and insurance to and from often add up to the cost of the job itself. If a drop-in kit is the way to go, which one should I be looking at?

I tried the Nighthawk kit in my Series 70 Clark Heavy slide. It worked okay but it disabled the grip safety. It was a loaner from a friend to just try it out, so I did not try to make the grip safety work.  It did work as advertised as far a the trigger pull weight and ease of installation.

Perhaps the hammer isn't fully cocking ( edge of sear vs full engagement) and the snap from 22 is knocking it off? And I assume it doesn't do it with a 45 upper?

I like the Rock River hammers and sears, about $28 for hmr.

^^^^^^^+1

Go with the lighter mainspring spring or Recoil spring and see if that corrects it

I haven't tried it with the 45. Also, this set-up has been working very well up till a couple of days ago. Same mainspring, 19lbs I think. All of a sudden it went from almost 100% reliable to following every four or five shots, to following virtually every time. I was a little leery of it doubling or tripling with the 45 top end. The Nelson unit works fine on my Les Baer. Regarding the Nelson recoil spring, it will cycle the softest 22s I have on hand. Maybe it's too light a spring and the frame is getting jarred by the recoiling slide?

What weight is trigger pull?
Sear length is often contributing factor. Rare to see sears worn out unless overtravel was not set properly and hammer batters the sear.
Jon

Ball powder debris in the notch isn't good either...have you cleaned the sear and hammer? Jst a stab

Jon Eulette wrote:What weight is trigger pull?
Sear length is often contributing factor. Rare to see sears worn out unless overtravel was not set properly and hammer batters the sear.
Jon

I don't have a trigger pull gauge, but I just made one using 200 gr bullets. The trigger will not support 2.5lbs, so that's not good. No modifications have been done to any of the internals since the gun was put together for me 10-12 years ago. Sear spring, maybe?

bruce martindale wrote:Ball powder debris in the notch isn't good either...have you cleaned the sear and hammer? Jst a stab

I'll check that. I have been shooting a lot of 22s lately, not the cleanest shooting.

John McCormick wrote:

Jon Eulette wrote:What weight is trigger pull?
Sear length is often contributing factor. Rare to see sears worn out unless overtravel was not set properly and hammer batters the sear.
Jon

I don't have a trigger pull gauge, but I just made one using 200 gr bullets. The trigger will not support 2.5lbs, so that's not good. No modifications have been done to any of the internals since the gun was put together for me 10-12 years ago. Sear spring, maybe?

Try adding middle leaf disconnector pressure on sear spring.
Jon

+1 on leaf spring.  Weather change may impact leaf spring pressure. Warm metal / cold metal.  Last season my totally reliable gun in the spring through fall all of the sudden had hammer follow in the winter. Luckily simple fix. Added weight to both middle and left fingers. Middle to make sure you are resetting disconnector, left to make sure sear pressure is tighter.

I had the same problem with my Kart 22 a couple years ago.  I called Nowlin.  Bought a matched hammer & sear for a 2.25 lb pull, seems like it was around $100.  Dropped it in and away i went, perfect with a little tweaking of the sear spring for weight.  Might be your cure if Jon's suggestion doesn't work for you.  I had already done what Jon suggested before I ordered the new parts.
Phil

I know I should do this one step at a time, but I've increased the tension on both the disconnector and sear fingers. The trigger now lifts 5-5.5lbs. Trigger reset is much more positive now, too. I'm going to shoot it and if it holds, I'll dial back the tension a little and try for 4-4.5lbs.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. After adjustment of the sear spring and a thorough cleaning of the internals the gun now shoots fine. There's a great deal of knowledge on this forum, and a willingness to share it. Much appreciated.