[Gmac]

I ran about 32 rounds of ammo through my new Ruger Bisley 45 L.C. today which makes a total of 100 rounds since I bought it new. After 12 or so rounds I began to experience cylinder binding, slight at first then once I had to rotate the cylinder with one hand while cocking the hammer. The effort required was negligible but the cylinder wouldn't rotate by simply cocking the hammer. Barrel/cylinder gap appears to be small (haven't measured it) Ammo used was PMC cowboy loads-250 grain flat nose cast lead @ 800f.p.s. My question is should the gun go back to Ruger or will this problem go away with use? All opinions appreciated!

[Tom C.]

One possibility: excessively small barrel-cylinder gap, magnified by cylinder end shake. I had it on a .30 carbine Blackhawk. If that is the situation, send it back. They will probably replace the cylinder. You can cut the barrel and open up the barrel cylinder gap and compensate for excess end shake.

[TallPine]

Clean the front of the cylinder carefully and see if it still binds.

If it binds again after X many rounds, the gap is quite small.

[Old Fuff]

Besides the obvious (leading on the front of the cylinder combined with a tight barrel-cylinder gap) be sure the basepin didn't creep forward while you were shooting. A stronger cylinder latch spring may be in order.

[Tom C.]

It is usually a good idea to replace the cylinder base pin with a Belt Mtn. pin, and the base pin latch spring with the stiffer Wolff spring. That will take some of the slop out of the cylinder. That plus judicious cutting of the barrel breach could solve yoru problem. Brownell's has a kit for that. I use the kit to recut the barrel forcing cone as well. They usually aren't concentric.

[tex_n_cal]

Another vote for Belt Mountain base pins. In the case of my Bisley .45, it was about .0023" larger in diameter than the factory pin. It noticeably removed wobble from the cylinder.

Feeler gauges are pretty cheap - you can get them at a auto parts store, to determine the real gap. Tighter is usually better, within reason:)

[Jim K]

Does the gun ever loosen up after a short time, or does it stay that way?

You could have a too-small barrel-cylinder gap and the cylinder is binding when it expands from heat. First check the front of the cylinder to see if there are marks at only one part of the cylinder (indicating the cylinder is not even). If that is the case, send the gun back to Ruger; don't trust anyone else to do the job. If the marks are even all around, any good gunsmith can trim the back of the barrel and ream the throat.

Note that this is entirely aside from carbon or powder residue, which can also bind a cylinder with too-small a gap. The gap should be .006 or close. A bit more is OK, but much less (.003-004) is too little.

Jim

[Gmac]

Thanks for the input everyone, the gun is on it's way back to Ruger. Compared to my Blackhawk 41 mag. ( which is factory stock) the action seemed rough and the face of the forcing cone looked like it hadn't been finished at the factory. There are also sharp edges where the grip frame attaches. Overall it's not up to Ruger's normal quality standards. One employee at the shop where I bought the gun said Bisleys have a stiff action. Having no prior experience with one I can only compare it to my 41 which is " slicker than greased lightning".I have large hands so the Bisley grip works well for me and the gun was really accurate so I hope Ruger corrects the problem. If not, well live and learn!thanks again everyone.

[461]

Please let us know how it turns out. I've got a Bisley .44 that has no problems, but I'm always interested in a major manufacturers customer service. Ruger has a very good reputation for making good on their products.

[Tom C.]

In my recent experience, new Ruger NMBHs are a work in progress. I usually have a bunch of work to do to tune them to get them the way I want them. I have the Brownell's tool set to recut forcing cones and square the barrel breach. I usually have to open the cylinder throats and polish the chambers. The cylinder end shake has generally been good. The triggers are usually awful and require spring kits and stoning the engagement surfaces to get a decent trigger pull. I just replaced a pawl to tighten up the lockup in a new .357. And I always replace the cylinder base pin and base pin lock spring. If all this stuff was done by the factory, it would probably double the price of the gun and I couldn't afford them.

[Gmac]

Guess I just got lucky with my first Blackhawk ( it's a new model also). I don't expect Freedom Arms quality in a $400 gun but I do expect it to work! I think this one slipped past their Q.C. people. When it comes back from Ruger I'll post an evaluation.

[winwun]

Gmac, how did you ship the gun back to Ruger? On my BH's, I have silver soldered a little knurled tab, about three quarters of an inch square, on the front of the cylinder pin to facilitate pulling it. How Ruger ever thought the pin could be pulled the way it was is beyond me.

[Gmac]

WINWUN, I took the gun back to the dealer& and he shipped it back to Ruger. I've always gotten excellent service at this shop. As an aside the dealer said he'd sold two Magnun Research (I think) 475 Linebaugh revolvers that developed the same problem----- must be something in the air! He told me one of his customers always sends new revolvers back to Ruger because they smooth up the action even if there's nothing wrong. I guess it's wait and see time, if Ruger doesn't solve the problem I've been leaning toward a Taurus in 454 Cassull anyway.