Ruger Vaquero: .45 LC or .357 Mag?

[RyeDaddy]

It arrived today! I'm glad I got the 45, it just looks right with the wide barrel. Brand new in the box, it's flawless. Haven't gotten to shoot it yet, but it looks great next to my Marlin 1895CB, and my 1874 guitar. I'll be making a range trip this Friday for sure, as my brother and I both have off, and he wants to sight in his new Savage 30-06. Hogs have a surprise coming this year.

One thing I've found a little troublesome is that the transfer bar seems to get caught up alot on the pin, which I think will work itself out as the bar gets tapered at the top from using it. Anyone have experience with this?

I'm sorta nervous about the recoil, as the ammo I've selected is a 325 grain at 1325 FPS, and a 260 grain at 1450 FPS, but I'm not a small guy, so I'm sure I'll manage, it's just alot more than I'm used to in a pistol.

 

[Jim March]

The transfer bar is supposed to be pushed backwards by a spring-loaded pin in the end of the base pin - the "axle" that the cylinder spins on.

OK. Pull your cylinder. On your gun I don't think the base pin will come completely out of the gun without taking the ejector rod and housing off. But don't sweat that yet. Look at the end of the base pin. Make sure that the springy tip isn't broken off or is gummed up. if it's in there but "jammed in" and gunked, put a drop of oil in that tip and wiggle a paperclip around in there to try and free it.

If you can't get it free or if it's broken off, you'll have to replace the base pin. I strongly recommend Belt Mountain:

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/brandlisting?brandid=1817

Their own page is often down:

http://www.beltmountain.com/

 

[RyeDaddy]

thanks for the help. My base pin seems to be fine, the pin sticks out and is springy as it should be, I don't know what's with it, I'm gonna drop some oil on it anyway.

 

[ScottsGT]

Recoil on the .45LC is not that bad. Don't worry about it.

 

[Jim March]

Ryedaddy: URGENT: Make sure your base pin is seating all the way into the gun!!!

It is impossible to overstate how important this is. I believe earlier in this thread I talked about base pins "jumping the latch" on recoil. It's possible this has happened with your gun and the base pin no longer wants to seat all the way in.

If that's the case, you could have a problem. It may be as simple as some extra pressure needed to seat it all the way. But if this is going on, I recommend an upgrade to a Belt Mountain pin with a set-screw to make sure it doesn't jump the latch again, and run the checkout in detail to make sure the frame hasn't been boogered by the base pin holes being twisted and hammered under recoil by a loose base pin.

Trust me: if that "springy pin" is OK, then the transfer bar should NOT glitch itself against the bottom of the firing pin as you cock it. Try cocking it with the gun unloaded and barrel pointing down to make sure you don't have interference between transfer bar and firing pin.

You must get this matter fully sorted out and understood before firing that gun again. It's mainly an issue of not damaging the gun (or not damaging it further) but worst case it's possibly a safety hazard if the base pin is twisted hard enough on firing to break.

 

[moewadle]

On my 7 1/2 inch barrel

you don't have to take off the ejector rod housing to get a new Belt Mountain base pin in the gun but I don't know if this holds true with the shorter barrels.

 

[Jim March]

If it's a New Model on the larger frame (includes the "Old Vaquero") and it has a 5.5" barrel or less, it's a sure bet the ejector has to be removed to swap base pins.

Some of the longer barreled guns came with the "long stroke ejector", including the SBH Hunter models and who knows what else.

If you buy and install a Belt Mountain "Sheriff's Model" base pin with the shorter head, it MIGHT be short enough to remove and install without tools on the shorter barrels (other than unlocking the set screw of course). I'm not really sure about that but the overall length on a "sheriff's pin" is less.

The New Vaquero and 50th Anniversary 357 Blackhawk can swap base pins with no tools. The cylinder is shorter, therefore the base pin is shorter, therefore it drops free.

 

[RyeDaddy]

Well, the base pin is seated, but it has some play in it, as though the notch for it to clip in is too large, so I can pull it out a little under a millimeter when it's all the way in. If I push in on the base pin while cocking it, it's 100% reliable, but it I'm not pushing on the base pin while cocking the pistol while the barrel is pointing at the floor, it gets hung up 100% of the time. Like the base pin is less than a millimeter too short. Odd... this is a NIB gun, but I don't want to go through the hassle of returning it, and waiting. I guess I'll have to get another base pin. How do those locking base pins work as opposed to a standard base pin? I can see it differs in that the locking one has that screw, but what does that screw attach to?

 

[moewadle]

The locking screw is a "set screw"

in that the tension on the bottom of the screw against the gun holds the pin in place. I believe Belt Mountain encourages you to turn the set screw down somewhat tightly at first and this puts a slight depression in the gun metal and therefore the screw has a permanent seat in which to sit. The principle of the "set screw" has been used in many, many applications. Meaning, not the seat I am referring to above but simply the pressure of the screw against another piece of metal below it will create enough pressure to hold something in place. I should add that I have a Belt Mountain base pin and have used it for perhaps 500 rounds in an almost new New Vaq and it works fine for me. I would have used it more but I had to send the gun off to Ruger to work on a headspace problem with the gun. (Of course, I sent it to Ruger with the Ruger base pin in it, not the Belt Mountain pin.)

 

[Jim March]

RyeDaddy: I'm kinda disturbed by what you're saying about your base pin fit.

It's impossible to overstate how crucial that fit is for your safety, the gun's longevity and the gun's accuracy.

Three possibilities here: this gun's stock base pin had a habit of jumping the latch on recoil and the owner kept shooting it that way, or it's a bad frame from Ruger, or the base pin was ground wrong. OR...maybe the cross-pin latch for the base pin is junk or worn, although...it ain't real likely.

You need to CAREFULLY evaluate what's going on here. And quite possibly return this gun as a complete lemon. At a minimum you're going to have to get a GOOD set of screwdrivers proper for Ruger SA screws and without nicking anything, take the base pin completely out and examine both frame holes with a light and magnifying glass to see what the problem is. It *might* be a bad base pin, in which case a Belt Mountain pin may solve it.

Brownells sells a Ruger SA-specific screwdriver set pretty cheap:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=406&s=

If you test-fire this gun, you MUST check the base pin set after every shot. Firing the gun with the base pin dislodged by the recoil of the previous shot is unsafe.

Worst case, you must be prepared to give up this gun and start over. A gun with a bad frame just can't be trusted.

 

[Jim March]

If it's not clear yet: this is why I won't buy a Ruger sight unseen. Only if I can lay mitts on it and perform the checkout will I buy *anything* new or used other than a new Freedom Arms '97 or '83 frame.

Ruger sometimes ships bad guns, and sometimes get owned by fools. And no, RyeDaddy, I do NOT mean you, I mean whoever shot it with a loose base pin which is most likely what caused your problem.