vaquero-latch bolt drags when gate is open

[michael p. sgrignioli]

this is a fairly new gun [500 rounds] that now has a 360* drag mark on the cylinder,even though i was carefull not to align the cylinder by hand. now i notice that the latch drags when the gate is open and i turn the cylinder to load. on my single- six the latch disapears when the gate is open. during regular cycling,the latch retracts completly with the start of hammer pull and comes back out about halfway thru cycle before engaging indent and locking up. shouldn't the latch be totally recessed when gate is open? is this common on rugers,or should it be adjusted? thanks for any input.

 

[Jim March]

I just checked my New Vaq and sure enough, it's fully dropping the latch when the gate is open.

Hmmm.

Refer to this pic:

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

The upper tip of the flat spring (#37) is driven downwards by the loading gate on opening. That's what retracts the latch. It's possible it's tip is aligned "back from" the gate and the gate isn't tripping it properly. When reassembling my New Vaq I sometimes ran into that tendency unless I was careful.

If that's not it, I'm puzzled as to what's going on.

 

[michael p. sgrignioli]

thank you jim,for your reply.studying closer,mine too drops when the gate opens,it just doesn't drop flush with the frame. it sticks up just enough to constantly ride the cylinder. you can feel the drag on the frame as it comes out of the indent. probably doesn't hurt function, but it bugs the hell out of me. can i file the latch down w/o effecting lock-up? i bought the gun thru davidsons gun locator,so it has a warranty "if the gun ever comes defective". could this be considered "defective" by ruger standards? the cylinder looks like it's seen 20,000 rounds. thanks,mike.

 

[Jim March]

Huh.

First, yeah, Ruger will fix it.

Second, DO NOT file the latch down. It's not worth the risk of the gun coming out of battery on firing. That latch kinda matters, y'know?

Third...if you DO fix it yourself, the first place I would look is at that flat spring #37. I would also get the spring and plunger at parts 6 and 7 of that diagram - if that's gone weak it could affect this issue.

Even if you buy those AND the basic "Ruger screwdriver with multi-bits" for $20:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=406&title=GUN+SPECIFIC+SCREWDRIVER+SETS

...you might STILL come out less than one-way shipping to Ruger. Or at least not much more and you'll be well set to do your own shadetree Rugersmithing.