Ruger 3 screw Single Action Revolvers

[joe_security]

A friend has enherited a pair of Rugers, a 3 screw Blackhawk .357 and Single Six .22 , also 3 screw. I advised him that these do not have the transfer bar safety system, therefore he should not load 6 rounds into either of them. We verified this by looking into the frame/cylinder and seeing the firing pins protruding through the frame with the hammers down, unloaded of course .Does Ruger still offer the free safety upgrade on these ? Both have the black Ruger logo on the wood grip, and are very nice looking blue revolvers.

 

[S&Wfan]

I suspect Ruger will offer this free "upgrade" until the cows come in. In these days of class-action/get rich lawyers trolling for a victim wanting to sue a big company, those non-hammer block 3-screws are just a huge lawsuit just waiting to happen!

BTW, if your friend has his Ruger converted, Ruger will also return his original 3-screw's parts in case he wants to convert it back for sale to a collector. It is claimed that the upgrade does not harm the gun in any way.

I once hunted with a 3-screw Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum. I can't tell you how many times I quietly cocked the hammer back, thinking a deer was approaching . . . only to have to lower the hammer quietly when the deer didn't materialize. This meant that many nights in the dark I couldn't remember how many rotations to turn the cylinder so the hammer would be over the empty chamber. I'd have to get out a flashlight to tell . . . and I hated to do that in the dark before descending from the deer stand.

Alas, I finally traded it off for a Model 29 S&W and never looked back!

The 3-screws are much loved guns though . . . as long as one is careful! Then again, so is the old Colt "Peacemaker" . . . another famous revolver without a device to block the hammer from being able to contact a live primer.

T.

 

[kanook]

Load a chamber

Skip a chamber

Load the next 4 chambers

Pull back hammer to full cock and then lightly pull the trigger while holding on to it.

Your hammer will rest on the empty cylinder chamber.

 

[RippinSVT]

I prefer the 3-screws, and own a few. They seem to be better built and smoother guns. I would not personally convert any of my own because I love the 4-click hammer and the traditional Colt-esque layout.

That being said (and not to hijack the thread), I just bought an early 1960's Super Blackhawk .44mag that has been converted. I didn't get the original parts with it, and it chaps my ass to find out that the new-model hammer they installed was not the same type as the old Bisley/target hammers they came with. Anybody know why this was and where I can find an original parts set?

 

[sw282]

Colt wisely decided never to lawyerize their model Ps like Ruger did. A fix to a Ruger for a problem that never really existed

My daughter just bought a 3 screw 357 that has not been altered. Best trigger on a Ruger I have ever felt

 

[BlkHawk73]

The safety lies solely with the shooter, not the gun! Leave 'em be! If you feel you gotta have a whole 1 additional shot, trade 'em off to someone that'll appreciate them as they are and not an altered mess. Once altered, they ARE no longer the same eve if the original parts are put back. They mark the cylinder frames.

Ruger will also return his original 3-screw's parts in case he wants to convert it back for sale to a collector. It is claimed that the upgrade does not harm the gun in any way.

Hit or miss, have heard MANY folks say they didn't get the old parts back and I happen to know a short time ago they had a LARGE quantity of these OM parts awaiting disposal.

 

[Starter52]

I've recently acquired an old 3-screw Ruger Blackhawk. No way am I sending it off to be neutered. I like it just the way it is. Five shots is plenty for me.

Just my opinion.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Just teach your kids well so they don't have an a/d.

 

[MADDOG]

Another one to say-----Do not convert them. Learn to shoot them as they were made. I really like the Ruger "4 clicker's".

 

[texagun]

BTW, if your friend has his Ruger converted, Ruger will also return his original 3-screw's parts in case he wants to convert it back for sale to a collector. It is claimed that the upgrade does not harm the gun in any way.

Many have reported that Ruger is no longer returning the original parts. Having a nice 3-screw converted will lower it's value considerably. I have an unconverted 3-screw and it has the best single-action trigger I have ever felt. I wouldn't think of sending it in for conversion....especially since they are no longer returning the old parts.

 

[BCCL]

I know Ruger used to return the original parts, because I bought several back in the day that the owner gave me them with the gun...and which I promptly re-installed.

If they no longer are (and as lawsuit jumpy as they are I can believe it), then don't let them ruin those guns!!!

As kanook said, "load one, skip two and load 4" and you'll be fine.

Those 3 screws have great triggers, but the "conversion/perversion" will feel like you have gravel in your gun.

 

[danjet500]

If you feel you must get the conversion done and are unsure whether you will get your old parts back, remove the old lockwork and then send in the gun for the conversion. However, I agree that you should leave it as it is.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I had an "old model" Super Blackhawk made c. 1971 that had a conversion in it. (It already came that way, but was otherwise in good shape and the price was right.) It had a very poor, extremely heavy trigger pull. My brother "stoned" the cylinder pawl and halved the pull weight. Some years later I wanted to have some unrelated repairs done preparatory to selling it, so I sent it back to Ruger. There was no charge, but there was a new cylinder pawl in it and the same trigger pull it had before. Bottom line: I do not recommend having Ruger put the safety conversion in "old model" SA revolvers. Either keep the chamber that rests under the hammer empty, or just be careful not to drop it if fully loaded. (The balance and weight distribution is such that if it is dropped from more than three or so feet, it will flip muzzle-up in the air and may land on the hammer spur. Even if you have the hammer on the first "safety notch" this can be sheared off with sufficient impact force.)

 

[W.E.G.]

Another vote for:
DON'T MESS WITH THEM!

If those guns were cap-and-ball revolvers, would you send them off to be lawyerized too?

They are like any other gun.
Learn how to use them CORRECTLY, or sell them to somebody who can.

 

[tango2echo]

Converting is a good way to ruin a near perfect revolver.

A call would confirm it, but I do not believe that Ruger is still returning the original parts.

If you wan't one with the TBS, sell me all the 3-screws and use the money to buy new guns with the TBS.