Forcing Cone Wear and other anomolies GP100

[P Flados]

The OPs photos show minimal erosion, but I do not think Ruger should be cutting forcing cones that rough. Photos were nice.

Here is a Dan Wesson model 15 with erosion:



I have a mini lathe. With the Dan Wesson the "fix" was easy (see next post)

 

[P Flados]

I single point cut a new forcing cone. I was not happy with the finish, but it seems to work pretty good.

 

[JB111]

I single point cut a new forcing cone. I was not happy with the finish, but it seems to work pretty good.

View attachment 1148912

There is a noticeable improvement from your first picture to the second.

I would be inclined to agree with your assessment of Rugers handy work. To be fair though, none of my other Rugers look quite as rough as this one.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Here is my GP100, this is erosion and what I always felt was premature erosion.
This gun has only shot 158gr coated lead bullets and plated bullets at the appropriate speeds until recently I started shooting 2400 loads through it.
It still shoots good and this is my target from yesterday,

 

[dannyd]

Like everything else Ruger's GP100's have changed in quality control; I have my first GP new in the box from 1988 and my last one 2020 you can definitely tell the difference, but they still all shoot better than me.

 

[JB111]

I figured I would update this thread with a remark about Ruger's customer service which really surprised me. I contacted them via their website in regard to less than stellar accuracy and a very rough looking forcing cone. They emailed me telling me to call for a rma. I called in and the lady on the phone told me I would have to pay my FFL to send it in, even though the gun less than 2 years old. I am not paying when the gun is 18 months old and has no more than 200 rounds through it. I could see the charge if usage or misuse of it a long with age caused my issues, but not on a like new gun. I told her not to worry about it. I have never had a bad experience with Ruger before. First time for everything I guess. As I have said before, I can live with the less than stellar accuracy because it's only use is a nightstand/indoor self defense gun, but the roughness and unfinished look of the forcing cone bothers me. The more I examine it, it looks as if the crown is not concentric, or just not cut evenly. I will take a few pictures and post them.

 

[JTHunter]

What some saw what they saw as "rust" may be nothing more than hot gasses escaping from the gap between the cylinder and the cone and "burnishing" the metal, giving it that bronze look.

 

[IWAC]

That doesn't look like erosion to me. How does it shoot? Does Ruger use some sort of broach for its forcing cones?
My Match Champion has a very long forcing cone like yours, but has no striations. Ruger's forcing cones are said to be either 3 or 5 degrees, but it has been claimed that (all...some...a few??) Match Champs have an 11 degree forcing cone, (GP 100s, too?) to make them better suited for lead bullets. I believe I am going to lightly polish my forcing cone using my Lewis Lead Remover, and leave everything else as is.

 

[JB111]

That doesn't look like erosion to me. How does it shoot? Does Ruger use some sort of broach for its forcing cones?
My Match Champion has a very long forcing cone like yours, but has no striations. Ruger's forcing cones are said to be either 3 or 5 degrees, but it has been claimed that (all...some...a few??) Match Champs have an 11 degree forcing cone, (GP 100s, too?) to make them better suited for lead bullets. I believe I am going to lightly polish my forcing cone using my Lewis Lead Remover, and leave everything else as is.

It shoots alright. It is not the most accurate revolver in the world but functions fine. I had meant to come back to this thread with pictures of the crown and the rifling at the end of the barrel but forgot to do so until now.

To me, the crown looks uneven and there are a few anomalies in the bore towards the end on the rifling ng. I wonder if that is why the accuracy is not as good as it should be.

 

[IWAC]

Looks fine to me...concentric and all. Do you get a "star" of powder/lube on the muzzle after shooting? If it's evenly distributed all around, it means the crown is doing its job. Go around gently with a q tip. If it leaves fibers caught on the rifling, there are burrs in the crown, which may "shoot out" over time. Orrrr...McArbo and probably Brownell's sell Crown polishing things for not much money that may solve the problem.

 

[JB111]

Looks fine to me...concentric and all. Do you get a "star" of powder/lube on the muzzle after shooting? If it's evenly distributed all around, it means the crown is doing its job. Go around gently with a q tip. If it leaves fibers caught on the rifling, there are burrs in the crown, which may "shoot out" over time. Orrrr...McArbo and probably Brownell's sell Crown polishing things for not much money that may solve the problem.

I have never really paid attention to the pattern around the muzzle after shooting. I will shoot it tomorrow and find out. I have however, used a q tip to check for burrs, none to speak of. It just isn't as accurate as it should be. As I have said before, it's fine for what I use the gun for, but the accuracy is not stellar by any definition of the word.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

It looks to have some little chingaso spots or tiny chips in the crown right at the bore opening. These may be causing accuracy to suffer a small amount. It might be worthwhile to see about recrowning it with one of the tools from Brownells.

 

[JB111]

It looks to have some little chingaso spots or tiny chips in the crown right at the bore opening. These may be causing accuracy to suffer a small amount. It might be worthwhile to see about recrowning it with one of the tools from Brownells.

I believe you are seeing are just marks on the surface of the metal from a shabby polishing job at the factory, for lack of better terminology. A q-tip around the crown results in no hang ups or anything catching, so I ruled out burrs, chips and the such.

 

[Dave T]

I'd say you're worried about the wrong things. Neither the forcing cone nor the crown look like problems to me. What I would be concerned about, and would have questioned Ruger about, is a rear sight that won't hold it's zero. YMMV.

Dave