Old Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt

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BigFatKen

BigFatKen

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I bought a used Ruger. I fired it once and now the trigger will not fall by itself. It will go off if I give the hammer a little push with the trigger pulled. It appears to just be dirty. Is it tricky to take it apart? Or will a little oil do it? I hesitate t oil it and make it worst.

I hesitate to send it to Ruger as they would put in the six-shooter safe system. This is an unaltered model so it is 1973ish or older. I really like the trigger on my old .41 mag
 
If you've got parts so gummed up the hammer won't release that's nature's way of telling you it's time to do a complete overhaul cleaning :D

I think you need to open it up and break down the whole thing. Soak the parts in M-Pro cleaner, clean and coat with CLP or oil. Then reassemble. This will give you a chance to find any weak springs or rusted parts.

The internal workings are thankfully straight-forward:

http://www.gunsworld.com/exploded/rugoldbh.htm

Getting the two parts of the frame back together is the one tricky part of the operation.

Use care not to scratch anything. That's a VERY nice and highly collectible Blackhawk variant.
 
OK, there's some important things that will make this easier:

1) Pull the grip panels.

2) Cock the gun.

3) Put a cross-pin of some sort made of decent quality metal (not a paperclip!) sideways through the bottom of the mainspring strut (part 29 on that diagram).

Now when you lower the hammer, the mainspring, mainspring strut and the "keeper" will all come out in one piece. Leave 'em that way if possible, otherwise you'll have to reassemble that group back to that point to get the gun back together.

The other tricky point is the "three hands problem" when depressing the one "flat spring" in the whole gun, and it's...WAITASEC, that's the WRONG PICTURE FOR YOUR GUN!

45LC Blackhawks were built on the New Model frame. That's an old model. Different innards!!!

You want:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/sc...721&m=13&mn=Ruger®&model=New+Model+Blackhawk+

Now as I was saying: the spring at part 17 is a pain. Once the grip frame is off, flip the gun over. Pushing inwards on that spring allows a cross-pin to slide out, it's the pin the trigger pivots on.

What else...on disassembly, watch out for the spring at part 37/38. It may come popping out of there. And on re-assembly, the spring-loaded plunger at part 6 and 7 can break if you're not careful.

When putting it back together, it's easiest to leave the legs off of the trigger return spring. The end touching the trigger will fit in easily and then once it's all bolted up put them back. Also, when putting the grip frame back on be sure not to "guillotine" the end of the spring at 37/38.

Don't let these issues worry you too much, as all of these parts are cheap replacements :).
 
It's been a while but I'm finally trying

The left side reads:
"RUGER BLACKHAWK
.45 CALIBER
The right side shows it to be a 1971 manufacture date. Number 45-02600 era.
1971 ends with 13200 and 1972 starts:
45-13201


I got it apart, cleaned, oiled and "somewhat" put back together. I had no clue what I was doing. I just would work on what seemed to fit and if I got stumped, I would put it down for a while. But I just took it apart two days ago, so its not been apart for a year.

Well, I got it to the point where everything fits except with the little exception of the hammer won't come to full cock.

I thought I would humbly ask again if there is a trick or I'm hoping that it is a simple thing that I don't have to take it all apart again.

I have added the link to the disassembly booklet which is a pdf format.

http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/PDF/InstructionManuals/36.pdf

Ken
 
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Did you remove the cross pin holding the mainspring? If that's not it you'll have to take it apart again. You do have the right manual though, you have a nice Old Model .45 and they are quite desirable.
 
Did you remove the cross pin holding the mainspring? If that's not it you'll have to take it apart again.
Click to expand...

I cocked hammer, inserted nail into little hole and then took it apart. The main coil spring came out nicely when it was then taken apart and went into a slot easily.

I'm sure I have to take it apart again but short of just putting it back together over and over again while hopeing that I did something different, I was wondering if there is some trick to it.
 
Ken,
You're correct with the fact that you have an Old Model 3 screw Ruger. I have Jerry Kuhnhuasen's Shop Manual for Ruger SA Revolvers (which is a great book) at home and can help you. How far to you have it tore down?
 
At this point it sounds like there may be something more serious wrong with it, so I'd suggest swinging by a smith. It's impossible to tell for sure without actually seeing the thing.
 
How far do you have it tore down?
Click to expand...

It is together right now. I'm sure I will have to take it apart. I did not take out the little pin that holds the main coil spring in. I used the nail trick as above and it came out without being what I'm sure is a monster problem if you had to recock the mainspring without some kind of press.

I'd like you to confirm in that thread whether you're dealing with new model or old.
Click to expand...



Member above calls it an old model. it has an excellent trigger.

Well, they WOULD be, but Ruger won't sell them to you. See my thread...
Click to expand...

There is no way it is going to the factory. Five rounds is more than enough to hunt deer with.

At this point it sounds like there may be something more serious wrong with it, so I'd suggest swinging by a smith
Click to expand...

I will have to try at least a few weeks off and on for up to a year of trial and error before I pay a smith. I really don't need it until November 2007. I got it apart and mostly together, I will fix it. I did not take out the springs with the two little feet.

What I have determinded is;
Fact, it was not broken, just dirty. All of the parts that cme out lookled like the diagram and not bent, broken, etc.. It fired with a little push on the hammer and then it fired until I was told to give it a cleaning which it needed. I would not have wanted to trust a nice buck with all the lint and crap that came out.

Likely, if I got it apart and got it together, I can put it together again correctly. I will just try to assemble it again.


I'm sure I can do do it again and find the thing that is not connected. Thank you, one and all for the hints.
Ken:)
 
Well it might be a very simple fix, but without some detailed photos or a hands-on examination it's tough to say. What I do in these situations is just double check the exploded diagram and try again. The only way I figured out how to deal with the teardown on my old Police Positive Special was by trial and error. On Ruger SBH's that #@@$ pawl spring plunger is always hard to deal with, but in this case did you even remove the frame?

http://www.gunsworld.com/exploded/graphs/rugbhold.gif

rugbhold.gif
 
Ken,

I strongly suggest you buy a copy of Kuhnhausen's book. It is very informitive and will be cheaper than taking the gun to smith. The book has detailed instructions and diagrams, many more than just a basic exploded diagram. It also helps to have the correct screwdrivers when taking a gun apart so you don't bugger up any screws, specailly on a 3-screw 45 Colt Balckhawk. There are fewer OM 45's than OM Flattops. It shows what every part is suppose to look like. I know you can purchase this book at Midway USA.
It sounds to me that you have only taken out the mainspring, you are going to have to probably take it down farther than that for a good cleaning and re-lube. Again I refer you to the book.
Also whatever you do don't send it back to Ruger. They will take out the old lockwork and add the transfer safety bar modification to it and they do it a retro fit manner. They will then send your gun back with the old lockwork parts and they will stamp the underside of the cylinder frame with a letter.
If this all proves to be too over-whelming for you let me know I can take that "problem child" off your hands for a fair price.:D
 
Putting a period on this one

I cleaned it some and tried a reassembly before I got too far. It would go not back together right. The hammer would not retract.

I took it to a gunsmith who cleaned it and found out the same thing. He said "I scratched my head an finaly figured out you bought it assembled improperly."

It should be good to go now.
 
The final insult !!

I had it cleaned at http://www.marksoutdoors.com/ . They just offered me $200 for it. It is like new except for slight holster wear on left front of barrel. There were only 21,803 of these made and mine is the first year of produvtion. I find it hard to believe that unaltered 3 screw Rugers are worth so little. My .41 mag cost me $79 new. Thats an inflation rate of only 150% in 40 years and you can't make them anymore for legal liability reasons.
 
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