Ruger Blackhawk jammed

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hd5

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My elderly father in laws .357 is locked up.
Can't get the base pin out, cylinder wont turn, hammer wont cock.
I have done a lot of searches and nothing works.
It is fully loaded btw, although between chambers.
I removed the base pin retainer completely and filled it with Hoppes..
Finally caved and got out the vise grips and piece of leather still can't budge pin. It turns with cylinder, should not do this should it?
Gun looks imaculate on the outside but think I see some internal rust. Could it be rusted in place?

Any help would be appreciated
 
hd5 said:
It turns with cylinder, should not do this should it?
Click to expand...
No. Sorry, I can't help much further than that.
But I don't understand - you said the cylinder won't turn, so how could the base pin turn with it?
My first thought when I read the title to this thread, "Ruger Blackhawk jammed" was that the base pin was not pushed all the way in. If the base pin is not pushed all the way in, or if it has backed out just a little during recoil, it will not be pushing on the transfer bar. If that happens, the transfer bar will catch on the firing pin as you try to cock the revolver. You will not be able to cock it, and the cylinder won't turn as you're trying to pull the hammer back. It's a relatively common problem with Ruger Blackhawks.
 
Blackhawks will jam up pretty tight if you shoot rat/snake shot cartridges in them. It's the only trouble I've ever had with mine.
 
Check all the little pins and levers. My convertible can lock up if I'm changing out the cylinders and the loading gate and cylinder pin aren't perfectly seated. There's a combination that makes it easy (loading gate open, then pop cylinder pin, then seat pin before closing gate... I think). If I do that wrong, I'm fighting with it to lock up properly.

But then again, it's my only revolver so I'm an idiot.
 
.308 Norma said:
My first thought when I read the title to this thread, "Ruger Blackhawk jammed" was that the base pin was not pushed all the way in. If the base pin is not pushed all the way in, or if it has backed out just a little during recoil, it will not be pushing on the transfer bar. If that happens, the transfer bar will catch on the firing pin as you try to cock the revolver. You will not be able to cock it, and the cylinder won't turn as you're trying to pull the hammer back. It's a relatively common problem with Ruger Blackhawks.
Click to expand...

This is what I though of first as well.
The base pin being out just a fraction of an inch can bind it up tight.
 
There is a good chance that your cartridge rims are too thick.
Is it loaded with Federal cases?
Some early Blackhawks suffer from too little clearance between the cylinder and recoil shield.
 
floridaboy said:
Blackhawks will jam up pretty tight if you shoot rat/snake shot cartridges in them. It's the only trouble I've ever had with mine.
Click to expand...
Why? What happens to cause this?

Back to the locked up Blackhawk: OP didn't state whether this is an Old Model or New Model. The hammer on my New Model CAN be cocked with the base pin pulled forward. Whether that is true of an Old Model, I don't know.

OP states that the gun is fully loaded. First thing I would do would be to remove the main spring that powers the hammer. Then I'd attack it from the bottom by removing the grip frame, hammer, trigger, transfer bar (if it has one), cylinder bolt, etc.

I suspect that something is keeping the bolt in place.
 
hd5 said:
My elderly father in laws .357 is locked up.
Can't get the base pin out, cylinder wont turn, hammer wont cock.
I have done a lot of searches and nothing works.
It is fully loaded btw, although between chambers.
I removed the base pin retainer completely and filled it with Hoppes..
Finally caved and got out the vise grips and piece of leather still can't budge pin. It turns with cylinder, should not do this should it?
Gun looks imaculate on the outside but think I see some internal rust. Could it be rusted in place?

Any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...

If this is from storage, and not use?

Pull off the stocks and soak the frame in kroil, or even diesel fuel, for a day or two.




GR
 
It seems that firing snake shot in my Blackhawk causes the primer to back out some. Thus binding the cylinder up. It's the only trouble I've ever had with mine in 30 years of owning it. I'm no expert or gunsmith, but I've read that it's a common problem.
 
floridaboy said:
It seems that firing snake shot in my Blackhawk causes the primer to back out some. Thus binding the cylinder up. It's the only trouble I've ever had with mine in 30 years of owning it. I'm no expert or gunsmith, but I've read that it's a common problem.
Click to expand...
it does run low pressure, which can equal primer sticking out. I never had the issue, and used to shoot it in a Vaquero though.
 
Thanks for all the input... Let me do a better job of problem description...

Cylinder does not turn fully, but will rotate a short distance and the base pin is firmly attached.
Hammer won t cock.
Cartridges are all freely slideing back and forth in chambers.
They may be .38 cal.
Yes it was stored in drawer. forever
Primers are not backed out.
Loading gate will open.
I used a piece of leather and vice grips on end of base pin and still managed to mar the barrel a little.
Pin did not budge. Btw it is all the way in. He may kill me gun looks pristine or did
 
Last edited:
Cp1969 i guess I will follow your advice tomorrow. Have a fear of springs flying everywhere....

I've had a single six for almost 40 years. Never had a lockup on it yet.

I take my semi autos apart without fear, but revolvers make me nervous
 
With your latest description of the problem, you can disregard the bolt.

I think what you're looking at is the base pin is indeed seized with the cylinder, which is what you suspected all along.

When you can get the hammer and transfer bar out of the way, you will be able to use a dowel (I'd use wood or brass punch) to gently tap on the base pin to shake it loose and drive it forward. Follow the advice from Grarandimal above and try to get penetrating oil in both ends of the cylinder. Kroil is good. Let it work for at least a few hours.
 
hd5 said:
Cp1969 i guess I will follow your advice tomorrow. Have a fear of springs flying everywhere....

I've had a single six for almost 40 years. Never had a lockup on it yet.

I take my semi autos apart without fear, but revolvers make me nervous
Click to expand...

Not to fear. The Blackhawk is a very simple gun. Go here and then click on "Instruction Manual" at the bottom of the page. Starting on page 22, it gives disassembly and reassembly instructions along with exploded parts diagrams. https://ruger.com/products/newModelBlackhawk/overview.html

Let us know how it turns out.
 
Definitely take the grips off and remove the mainspring assembly, so the gun won't go off when working on it. Then, remove the grip frame and check cylinder lock, push out the hammer pin and remove the hammer, if possible. Then, if it's still stuck, use the Kroil. If it's a high primer, lightly tap the front of the cylinder to see if it will free up the cylinder by pushing the primer in . There's usually a bit of play there.

Also, push a rod down the bore, mark it at the muzzle to and check the length, compared with the distance between muzzle and cylinder face. Perhaps it could be driven back into the chamber, if there's no round there?

(I once had a bound-up S&W revolver sent to me for repairs and found that the owner had "fired" 5 reloads without powder, the fifth bullet jamming the cylinder at the gap. I had to remove the barrel to get it freed-up. The sixth round was fully-charged, so if the gun had fired, the man would have been seriously injured. I drilled through the bullets, installed lubricant and after heating the barrel to liquefy the lead a bit, drove the bullets out. There was a slight bulge in the barrel, but the guy said it shot fine.)
 
Thanks Picher. Been working on it for a few minutes every once in a while.
Have removed grips, main spring .
Can't get the smaller pin out . Guess it is trigger pin.

It is stuck between chambers,btw.

It just occurred to me tonight i have a ultrasonic cleaner and with handle removed it will fit except for barrel. Filled it with diesel and ran an hour. Will repeat tomorrow.
I can't figure out how to remove the transfer bar.
I can barely see the end of the pin and think it's rusted up.
Father in law kept gun in trunk of car many years while working. Back before we could legally conceal and think it drew moisture, he's not the type to let a gun rust..
 
I really don't like working on it full of .357 rounds... Maybe I killed them with the diesel in the ultrasonic cleaner
 
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