Ruger Single Six ejector in Heritage Rough Rider

[WestKentucky]

I am posting here simply to provide an easy to find reference for folks searching for a fix to a broken ejector head on a Heritage rough rider, or Heritage manufactured gun.

The gun which I currently have is a QFI Western Ranger which after quick google search was confirmed to be made on the same tooling as the HRR. The ejector rod head is plastic with a metal pin that protrudes into the cylinder to eject the spent shells. This one is broken. I have a Single Six and tried the ejector rod from it and it would fit with the cylinder removed, but was too long. I purchased another one from MidwayUSA for about $10 including shipping. The new one arrived today and after a quick adjustment to remove about 1/4 inch it fits perfectly.

To remove the ejector rod housing you simply remove the single flat blade screw near the end of the housing. Take care to use a properly sized screwdriver so as not to damage the screw. Remove the broken rod by pulling it out from the open end. Keep your spring. Reverse those steps to reinstall. I could have used the old part as a length reference but I felt it wrong to do that rather than properly size the new part. To adjust length I installed the ejector rod and housing and then marked the proper length by using a knife edge to scratch the new ejector rod at the location where it protrudes from the frame into the cylinder window. I then removed the rod, and using a bench grinder I carefully shaved that excess material off. This could have been done with a hacksaw in minutes but my grinder was more easily accessible. The ruger rod is tapered with a blunt tip so I used a belt sander to quickly recreate that taper. This could easily be done with a file, or it could be left square as the taper only serves to help line up a cylinder slightly out of alignment when the ejector rod is pushed to the rear. The repair took roughly 10 minutes to complete.

Here are pictures of the gun after repair. Sadly I forgot to take pictures during the repair. I also included a picture of the broken ejector. The Ruger part is FAR above that stock part in durability as it is all metal and is more robustly made.