Belt Mountain base pin

[Gmac]

I intend to work up some "Ruger only" loads for my 45 LC Bisley. Some people on this forum recommend installing an aftermarket base pin & I was wondering if this is really necessary. I realize they're not that expensive but I am borderline poor! My 41 Mag. Blackhawk (stock) handles max. loads with no problems. Just wondering & thanks in advance.

 

[JoeHatley]

This may help: http://www.realguns.com/archives/008.htm

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[tex_n_cal]

yes, they are worth it...

As I recall on my Ruger .45 Bisley, the original pin checked .2472" diameter, while the Belt Mountain pin checked exactly .2500". There was noticeably less play in the cylinder after changing out the pin.

Depending on your gun you may have to lightly polish down the new pin to get it to fit, but mine slipped right in.

Other than handloading this is the cheapest accuracy job you will ever find.

 

[Old Fuff]

Gmac:

The aftermarket base pin is not necessary relative to shooting maximum "Ruger only" loads, but it is desirable in that it usually improves accuracy - sometimes a little, and sometimes a lot. In addition a locking screw in the front keeps the pin from "jumping the latch," and moving forward because of the recoil generated by hot handloads. In short, it would be a good idea to get one when you can afford it, but in the meantime go ahead and enjoy your revolver.

 

[tex_n_cal]

I should have also mentioned - that you can get them with the deeper finger grooves (as I did with mine). It makes them a little easier to grasp and remove than stock.

 

[Jim March]

It's possible to solve the latch jump issue with a stronger latch spring. You need to take a regular screwdriver and carve a notch in the middle so you can unscrew the latch (alter a hex-bit if you're cheap, with dremel or a sharp-cornered grinder).

Stronger springs are cheap and available from Wolff.

The Belt Mountain base pin with a hex-screw head is a better solution though...

 

[Majic]

Gmac, have you had the chamber throats reamed uniform yet? Another worthwhile investments if you haven't had done yet. 45 caliber Rugers have tight throats that needs to be opened up to allow full accuracy potential from your loads.
Usually a throat job (about $30), a base pin ($22), and a spring kit ($14) will make it shoot like a totaly different revolver.

 

[Gmac]

WOW!!! I've gotten a wealth of information already! Thanks a bunch guys! (And gals?)!

 

[popbang]

TheBelt Mountain Base pin is not needed unless you are having a probelm. Shoot the gun first and see if it is giving you acceptable accuracy. Chamber reaming is a good idea especially for shooting lead, but if your loads will be jacketed the improvement may be minimal. In the end try what you have and see how it works.

 

[Grayrock]

Old thread- NEW old problem: I have a .357 Ruger Vaquero Birdshead that used to make the base pin jump upon recoil, thereby locking up the gun. I installed a Belt Mountain base pin and fixed the problem for a while. Now it is starting to do it again. Not as often, but enough to interfere with my competition times (CAS). Any suggestions? The plowhandle model I have is stock and does not have this problem. ??

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Have the base pin hole in the cylinder mic'ed to see if it's in spec.

 

[Old Fuff]

Grayrock:

On the front of the Belt Mountain base pin you should see a small acrew. Remove the screw, assemble the pin, and reach down through the screw hole with a small punch with a pointed end. Give the punch a light tap with a hammer.

Remove the basepin and center punch the mark left on the bottom of the barrel by the first punch. Then drill a shallow hole the size of the screw, and about .060" deep.

Replace the basepin and put back the screw, running it down into the hole you just drilled. Thereafter the pin shouldn't move.

Remember to back off the screw before removing the basepin.

Or as an alternative: Replace the basepin latch spring with a stiffer one.

 

[Grayrock]

Unfortunately I got the standard pin, not the locking pin.

I guess next I should try the latch spring.

 

[Virginian]

I don't think you need a Belt Mountain base pin, or a stronger latch spring, or a pin with a locking screw to gouge a mark in your barrel.
I have not experienced a significant enough improvement in accuracy to justify them to me. Yes I did get a very small improvement from two, but I got just as good an improvement from having a standard pin slightly knurled at the local hot rod shop for $5. I did not have a gun that had a "sloppy" fit to my mind. For most of my Ruger revolvers I just don't think I need it.
If you have a problem with the pin jumping, 5 minutes with a little round file should completely solve the problem. If you look at how this assembly is designed, if the fitting is properly executed it should work perfectly with no need for locks or stronger springs.
I don't think there is anything wrong with the Belt Mountain pins, and the ones without the locking screw won't hurt your gun, I just don't think I need to spend $25 plus so I can have a Belt Mountain base pin to talk about at the next gathering at the watering hole. Note: It did take me over $100 to get to this point (hangs head in shame, sadly).
I do like a longer ejector stroke, and to be able to remove the base pin without taking off the ejector and housing, so I just grind off and refinish the standard Ruger base pins. I bought one spare for like $7 in case I mess up.

 

[22LongRifle]

Glad to here you like your 41 Maggie! I had one that just about ruined my marriage. I couldn't get it to group with anything but JHPs. I really wanted to get a nice heavy bullet, like Paco talks about, in it and carry it for SEMO deer.

+1 on sending the cylinder off to get the throats checked. I ate PB&Js for lunch for a month at work and it was worth it. Helped out the groups. Not to the ones I wanted, but did close them up by half. The base pin and spring kit helped also.

Good Luck!

22lr

 

[Reddbecca]

Last year I bought the #5 Keith Style base pin for my Blackhawk. The cylinder is no longer as loose as it was so the accuracy has improved somewhat. Installation was difficult, since I had to sand the end of the pin down a little bit at a time until finally the fit was snug without being excessively tight. My guess is the tight fit is to discourage pin loss when firing serious loads.

 

[Jim March]

Since this thread has come back from the dead let me add that the New Vaquero I bought after I posted above (in '04) didn't need a new base pin. The gun was tight'n'right as is. I did do a spring kit and while I was at it added the stronger latch spring that came with the kit.

Did I need it?

No idea, but since jumping the latch is something you do NOT want even once if you can avoid it, the spring mod doesn't hurt anything.

(Guys: some modifications are a trade-off, sacrificing "x" for "y". Others aren't. Stiffer latch pin springs fall under "aren't" and are free with a mainspring/triggerspring kit.)

One more thing I've since learned about BM base pins: every once in a while, they *hurt* accuracy.

This happens when a gun's basic alignment between cylinder and barrel is screwed up from the factory - what we call a "bad monday gun". Everything is still "in spec" but in all the wrong directions. Stock, the base pin was allowing enough slop for the gun to align itself on firing. With the BM pin, the barrel and cylinder were being held more tightly in an out-of-alignment state. Bullets were being distorted hitting the barrel at a cockeyed angle.

So:

WARNING: AFTER INSTALLING A BELT MOUNTAIN PIN, RUN "THE CHECKOUT" TO MAKE SURE BARREL/CYLINDER ALIGNMENT AT FULL LOCKUP IS STILL GOOD.

M'kay?

Understand: this isn't BM's fault and it's not at ALL common. But bad Rugers do ship. Per Linebaugh and others, a gun this bad can only be truly made well with a custom cylinder with chambers aligned to that particular cockeyed frame. At that point, the gun will shoot very well unless something really odd is going on (barrel not straight with the frame or something).