[Charlie98]

Well, in 2004 I finally found one of my Unobtanium guns... a stainless 5.5" Bisley in .41Mag! Bought it NIB off GB, had it shipped and got it home. Like all new firearms, I tore it down to clean and lube it up, getting to know the thing. First off I noticed the cylinder actually rattled on the base pin, with so much cylinder endplay I decided I wasn't shooting it and I would send it back to Ruger. Wellllll... years passed and there it sat. Trying to get a straight answer from UPS on how to send a handgun back was an exercise in futility. And then I happened upon the Belt Mountain replacement base pins! So, for a few bucks I got a nice locking base pin that pretty much eliminated the end play and the cylinder rattling.

Let me say that this isn't my first Ruger SA pistol... I have been through about 5 others, none of which EVER gave me accuracy that I felt was even reasonable. From my first, a Single-Six, through 2 Vaqueros and 2 Bisleys, none of them shot worth a darn... handloads, heavy bullets, light bullets, factory.... nothing.

So, off to a friend's property to shoot in peace. I had 3 loads worked up... a 255grn LSWC over a charge of Unique, the 210grn Gold Dot over 19.5grn H110, and that big, beautiful 250grn Cast Performance flat nosed, gas checked cast over 19.0grn W296.

At about 25', starting with the warmup... the 255 cast, they shot about 10" high into about 8". Swell...

OK, off to the CP loads... crank the sight down... still 5" high into about 5". Ok, a little better... :

Last chance, fingers crossed with the Gold Dots... back up to about 8" high, again into about 5".

This is almost exactly what happened with my Single-Six, I could not crank the rear sight down enough to shoot POA and finally took the useless thing off. I don't really want to do this with this pistol, it's not intended as a plinker, but, jeez!

I'm going to clean it and try it again in a few weeks, but in the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

 

[planeflyer21]

Call Ruger and have them issue you a shipping label. The average UPS clerk won't know squat.

If you don't want to let Ruger handle it free of charge, there are shim kits you can get for the front to rear play. Does it lock up okay?

My stainless 5.5" Bisley .45 Convertible groups less than half that, with either .45 Colt or .45 Auto...although the POI is quite a bit different between standard .45acp and hot .45 Colts.

You can also try one of the Belt Mountain base pins.

But I'd let Ruger take a stab at it first.

Jon

 

[Charlie98]

Call Ruger and have them issue you a shipping label. The average UPS clerk won't know squat.

If you don't want to let Ruger handle it free of charge, there are shim kits you can get for the front to rear play. Does it lock up okay?

My stainless 5.5" Bisley .45 Convertible groups less than half that, with either .45 Colt or .45 Auto...although the POI is quite a bit different between standard .45acp and hot .45 Colts.

You can also try one of the Belt Mountain base pins.

But I'd let Ruger take a stab at it first.

Jon

There is no endplay on the cylinder, I think the base pin was undersized or the cylinder pin hole oversized, or a combo. I did install a Belt Mtn pin and it got rid of most of the cylinder rattle. The cylinder does lock up well... no problems there. If there would have been issues with that, I wouldn't have shot it today.

I'll set down and try it again, maybe I had an off day... (although I didn't when shooting the AR, the 1911 and my beauty model 10! ...so today wasn't a total loss... ;D )

 

[jpickar]

Try learning to shoot, that should help! ;D ;D ;D

John

 

[Charlie98]

Try learning to shoot, that should help! ;D ;D ;D

John

Well... I learned to shoot from Uncle Sam... we worked on that today as well!

 

[Tedak]

Well C98, as long as you keep getting all the bad ones, the rest of us Ruger-buyers are grateful! ;D

If I buy any more crappy S&W's, I'll send 'em your way and you can do the same for me with the Rugers.8)

Seriously though for a moment (and just a moment), has anyone else shot these mis-printing Rugers to confirm that it is the gun? The lock-time with these revolvers is longer than the S&W's that I was raised on. I've only been shooting Ruger DA's for 6 years and SA's for 2, so the "learning-curve" is still fresh in my memory. I need to concentrate more on follow-through because of the increased lock time.

 

[biku324]

I recently had and quickly traded off a Ruger New Model Vaquero in 357. It was truly a thing of beauty; it also had an nice trigger. Beyond that, nothing I tried would hit an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper at 25 yards - it shot 7"- Lord knows high with my favorite 13 grains of 2400/158 grain load, higher still with a Unique 125 grain load, and unfathomly badly with some remanufactured 38 specials. It also shot 4-8" left with everything.

Everything mechanical seemed within spec; I've had a number of Blackhawks in three calibers that were excellent, and currently treasure a Security Six and a Speed Six.

 

[Bird Dog]

I had the same problem with a Mark III Hunter 22. I had the rear sight as low as the screw would allow and it was still shooting high. I sent an e-mail to Ruger:

Thank you for using the Ruger On-Line Customer Support Request Form. This e-mail is in response to your question or comment of 09/27/2010 Request No: 72493 Comment /

question: Hi, I purchased a mark 3 hunter this year and I have a small issue with the sights. I have the rear sight elevation bottom out and and the gun still shoots 1.5 inches high at 25 yds. I'm very pleased with the performance of this pistol, I just want to know what can be done with this issue. If my serial number is needed I will provide it as I do not have the gun in front of me now. Any info will help. Thank you for your time

Response: Please try this for me; please back out height adjustment screw counter clockwise, three full turns. Now push adjustable rear sight all the way down with your thumb do not let go, now screw in height screw all the way down (there should be no movement). This will get you to your lowest position. Please reshot, and try again. If you are still shooting high, the only thing I have to offer is a square notch blade for your rear sight. This is cut just a little lower than the v notch.
If you should need further assistance please call our Service Department at 928/778-6555 between 8:00 - 4:00, Monday thru Friday, at a time convenient for you. A Ruger Representative will be happy to help you. If you need further information, please visit our website at www.ruger.com or contact us at: Revolvers, shotguns, rifles, 10/22 Charger Pistol: (603) 865-2442

Pistols: (928) 778-6555

Serial Number History Information: (603) 865-2424 Please note: This e-mail is sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message. Sincerely,Ruger Firearms.

I tried this and it fixed my problem. Hope this helps.

 

[MontanaMan]

Charlie it sounds like you did the right thing by getting the Belt Mountain base pin, that's a must have for Catherine and I in all of our Ruger single actions. There is .002 play built in to the gun at the factory, the Belt Mountain pin cuts that to .001 and with the locking function it's even better. I know the owner of Belt Mountain and he's a great guy. Now on to the rest of the situation, mic your cylinder throats, if that's not available to you do this instead. Drop a bullet through the cylinder throats, see if you have any very tight or very loose ones. If that turns out to be the case then address that, it's not uncommon since the reamers get over used by the factory, their specs are a bit loose too compared to say Freedom Arms etc. The last thing you can easily check is the forcing cone, see if there's any lead building up on it in a particular location, it usually ends up all on one side if the timing is not right. I'm surprised that you and the others are having these problems, every one of my Rugers is exceptionally accurate. I've owned quite of few of them over the years and they've all shot well for me. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you.

MM

 

[Charlie98]

The Ruger Vaquero I had previously (a 5.5" .45Colt) I still have, it is insanely rugged and I use it as a camp pistol pared with my brother's .45 Trapper. It shoots a little high and a little left with my 255grn Unique load; I don't intend to shoot it beyond 15yd, anyway, so accuracy is less an issue, but it is characteristic of what I have found with Ruger pistols.

Ted, I hadn't thought about the longer lock time... that's interesting. It does... take a week for the hammer to fall. I'm going to shoot off a rest next time and hopefully eliminate some of the human variables.

Montana, I have been serching for info on the Rugers and, besides the base pin, there is the issue with the cylinder throats. There is a company (name escapes me at the moment...) that will ream them with about a 3 week turnaround... I will probably send in both the Vaquero and Bisley cylinder and see... I don't have much to loose besides $50 or so.

I had a Smith 657 that had a VERY rough cut forcing cone (measured .010 on the left side... I think I still have lead slivers in my left hand...) that I sent back to Smith, so I intend to examine that when I break it down for cleaning next week.

jpickar... here are the first 5 rounds down the Smith's tube after I got it back, shot offhand at 25'...

...so I can get around on a handgun... ;D

Thanks, guys! I'm not trying to sound like a Ruger basher or a cry baby, I'm just at my wit's end with these things...

 

[jpickar]

Nice group there!

John

 

[planeflyer21]

Kinda weird with my Bisley BH too. Like I say, with softer loads it hits low and left about 3"-4".

With hot loads (Ruger/TC only) POI and POA are the same...haven't touched the sights from the factory.

Jon

 

[Charlie98]

Kinda weird with my Bisley BH too. Like I say, with softer loads it hits low and left about 3"-4".

With hot loads (Ruger/TC only) POI and POA are the same...haven't touched the sights from the factory.

Jon

Well, I had anticipated some differences with bullets, that's why I brought 1 of everything... certainly it would like something.

 

[MontanaMan]

Charlie if you know someone that has a reamer you can probably do the cylinder throats yourself. The last one I did by hand and we just turned the reamer with our fingers. Might save you some time and a buck or two. The Vaquero shooting to the left is very common, just turn the barrel a bit until it shoots center with your chosen load for it. I like the Lyman 454424 cast from pure wheel weights in my 45 Colt, they drop at 263 grains from that alloy, then I lube them with LBT soft. Depending on what I'm doing I either load them over a mild charge of Universal Clays or a stiff jolt of W296. The Universal Clays load is a perfect camp and woods bumming load that runs about 900 fps out of a 4 5/8 inch barrel. The W296 load is plenty for deer well beyond 50 yards and it looks to me like you shoot more than well enough for those ranges. I also really like the Cast Performance 265 grain LBT gas checked bullet over the same powder charges. If you send your gun in to a good pistol smith have him open up the forcing cone just a bit too.

MM

 

[lever addict]

I shot my Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan today! 2 1/2" barrel 240 gr Noslers over 10 gr of Unique. All I can say is what my buddy said. Incredible! I'm sorry to hear of your problems. This is my third Ruger and never a problem. Everybody makes a bad one now and then. :

 

[Charlie98]

Well, I cleaned the Bisley up, checked the forcing cone (not rough, actually very nicely turned out) and greased everything up. I'll be off to the indoor range tomorrow... I have 5 different loads, including 2 factory loads (that I forgot last time) so I have a pretty good variety of bullet weights and propellants.

...hope springs eternal... :-\

 

[Eli Chaps]

Shame you've had these bad experiences Charlie. :-\

I shot (very) amateur IPSC/IDPA matches with my 1st generation Glock 21, put it through it's paces on many law enforcement tactical and qualification courses, and trusted my life to it, but my Blackhawk would be the last handgun you'd get out of my hands.

 

[Barenjager]

I too find it more difficult to shoot consistantly with single action revolvers than with double actions. Part of that, no doubt, is due to shooting far more often with DA's, but the fact remains I must work harder to shoot tight groups with SA's.

Pay particular attention to the consistancy of your grip, both the position of your hand and the amount of force you use, and think "follow through" with each shot.

Roe

 

[Charlie98]

Pay particular attention to the consistancy of your grip, both the position of your hand and the amount of force you use, and think "follow through" with each shot.

Roe

AH! You read that Ross Seyfried article, too...

Yes, that's why I want to go to the indoor range... nothing else to contend with, just focus on what I'm doing.

 

[Golfbuddy45]

I have 4 Rugers, 2 Semi-Autos (.22 Comp Target and 9mm SR9), 1 SA - Single Six Hunter .22Magnum w 7.5 in barrel, and 1 DA Super Redhawk .44 Mag w 6.5 in barrel.
Every one of them are tackers even the 9mm is very accurate compared to many other pocket guns. Last set of targets I shot with my .44 magnum are pretty much typical:

Target 1 4 shots - tweaked the sights a bit, target 2 8 shots, target 3 5 shots

and this with my Single Six Hunter - 25 yards -