Ruger 3 screw 44mag locks up

[Tomme boy]

The BIL is coming back for Thanksgiving. I told him to bring back his dads 44mag. I am not sure exactly which one it is but it is a 3 screw that was never sent in. Greg was telling me that it locks up when it is fired. I have never had one of these so I have no idea what to look for.

I do know that his dad never shot factory ammo. I thought he was loading them with a 310 tool. But last night I went through some of the last boxes of stuff I got after his dad past. Well I found a set of Pacific dura chrome steel dies. I took them apart to clean them and they do not have much use on them. Unusual way these dies work. The sizer only sizes. The expander die is also the deprimer die.

So out came the 240gr xtp bullets I have for the muzzle loader. I know he used h110. I feel that might be why it is locking up. So I got out the 2400 and some Win LP primers. I loaded up 10 at 20gr 2400 and 10 with 20.8gr 2400. I think this will be fine to function test the gun.

Is there anything else I should look at? The only time I have had this happen was with some bad brass in a 38 spec that had thick rims. Greg wanted to send it in to Ruger to have them look at it but I told NO!!!! We will try to figure it out.

Anyone know what the cyl gap is supposed to be? And what would the clearance be between the base of the shell and the inside face of the gun? I know those 2 places are what can cause problems.

 

[swc-tr]

A good cleaning and suitable lubrication of the innards generally go a long way to solve malfunction issues.

 

[Lancem]

Had a problem with a model 19 with hot loads and soft primers. Primers would flow into the firing pin hole and lock it up.

 

[MW65]

Loose Primer pockets on brass has got me more than once... I'd actually test light loads thru there as well... 9-10gr unique under a 240gr cast. See if the issue is ammo dependent

 

[Tomme boy]

I cast up a few 200gr swc bullets this AM. Going to PC them and load them later today at around 1100fps. That should be lite enough to see if that may be it. All the brass I have is 1x range brass. I know I do not care for the steel dies. I like carbide. Less work.

 

[shuz]

On some of the 3 screw Rugers, the firing pin occasionally gets stuck in the crater of the fired primer, thus making the cylinder unable to turn. When this happened to me, I simply turned or wiggled the cylinder slightly by hand whilst pulling back slightly on the hammer to thus allow the firing pin spring to move back into its place in the recoil shield.

 

[Charles Graff]

Put some empty size cases in it an see how it cycles. If if will cycle fine that eliminates some issues like rim thickness and bolt spring issues. Clean it good with special attention to the cylinder face and barrel root. It after that it locks up upon firing, then you have a mechanical issue. I would then look for cylinder endshake and cylinder gap issues.

 

[Jeff H]

Ask him to bring unfired cartridges and fired cases from THAT gun, from when it locked up. I've known a few whose handloads were meticulously made for many years, but which started to become questionable as they reached the age where they couldn't be quite be as meticulous as they were when they were younger. This one is very close to home and very recent for me.

I have also known people who had a base pin jump on them and they didn't realize it.

As obvious as that sounds, never take the obvious for granted. Even very smart people tend to over look the most obvious things, assuming that the problem is much more serious than it really is. That's why, back when there was "tech support" for for computers, the first question was always "is it plugged in?"

Ticks people off, but often, immediately after you overhear them disparaging your lineage as they crawl under their desk, the get really conciliatory really quickly. Not saying your brother in law is dumb or arrogant, but that even really smart people need that second set of objective eyes sometimes.

 

[Michael]

Doubtful H110 would be the culprit in and of itself. I used H110 exclusively in a 629 that I once had, 23.5gr with a 429421 to be exact, for pistol silhouette some 35 years ago. If charge weights are higher than what they should of be, then any powder could be the cause. Soft primers as mentioned earlier, also if the chamber walls are not free of any oil or solvent could lead to case set back.

 

[Tomme boy]

I am thinking it is from sitting under the seat of the farm truck all year. I did not know that was where it lived most of its life. I just talked to greg about it. I'm guessing the firing pin is dragging from the gravel dust.

Was at the farm a little bit ago to plant a couple trees. I went through more of the reloading stuff still there. Found a whole box of 500 CCI plastic bullets that were labeled 44-45. Red practice bullets. Had like a $3 price tag on them. And a partial case of 1954 FC 45acp GI ball in 50 rd boxes. There were 8 full boxes. On the outside of the case was $8!!!! it came from some Armory in Pennsylvania. it had a shipping label TYPED!!!! out from 1964.

I just keep finding all kinds of stuff. By the looks of it that is going to happen to someone else with my stuff. Problem there is most of my stuff will get thrown away. A lesson for all of us! I am going to leave a list of my very close friends that reload to just come a take what they want for ammo and reloading stuff. They will see value in the stuff I have. No one in my family reloads so they won't have a clue what anything is. That way it does not end up in the landfill.

 

[Lancem]

Used to shoot those red plastic bullets in my 357 long ago, made for easy indoor range time, couldn't afford to do it now with the cost of primers.

 

[Snakeoil]

I have the hand tool to load those plastic bullets. Bought it NIB at a gun show and modified it to deprime BPCR brass after a match. Still use it to deprime the oddball case.

 

[RBHarter]

I haven't locked one up .
Is this one of the fixed pin OM or the "revised" OM . Mom's has the fixed pin but there was an in-between with a transfer bar that didn't require the trigger to be pulled . Flow is much more likely in the fixed pin version .

I have had the walking base pin deal but it's pretty obvious when it happens .
When in doubt wash it out.

All of my Revolvers have .002-.004 on both ends as individual measures , none over .005+ . Feeler gauges leave a little to be desired but when .005 combined fits and .0055 doesn't

 

[Tomme boy]

Base pin latch and spring and nut are missing. Anyone have a clue on where to get this stuff? Factory discontinued the parts on the old model but are available for the new model. Would these work?

 

[Jeff H]

Ruger Blackhawk Base Pin Latch Nut

You are considering a Factory Original Ruger Blackhawk Base Pin Latch Nut. It's in good shape with no damage to note.

oldarmsofidaho.com

Ruger old model blackhawk new factory parts

Ruger old model blackhawk new factory parts

www.mdsgunrepair.com

Ruger 3 Screw Blackhawk - Old Model Revolver Parts

Ruger 3 Screw Blackhawk - Old Model Revolver Parts

cfnparts.com

Here's a few places to keep you busy. I don't think I have an OM anymore, so I can't compare, but I BELIEVE they are the same across BH, SBH, SS and I don't remember them being unique from the NMs.

 

[Tomme boy]

Got the parts ordered. Took the gun home with me so I will have a 44 to play with once it is back together. Greg is heading back to Oklahoma in a couple of days and won't be back till Easter. He said have fun with it as he does not like shooting it. Gave me a couple of boxes off ammo too to shoot off.

Whats funny is the pics he sent me a few month ago you can see the cross pin is missing now that I know what I am looking at.

 

[Tomme boy]

 

[RBHarter]

There's a solid and heavy spring version also . The 76' in 45 Colts "jumps" the pin and let's the base pin slip out , captured by the ejector rod tab preventing loss , if I go much over 1100 fps MV with 250-265 gr bullets .
I replaced the cross pin , spring, retainer , and base pin . Still jumps the cross pin . I hold it to max Colts loads and maybe a little bit for 1050 fps for business and 900 or so for can slaying. I thought hard about the solid cross pin then about having to take it apart every time I wanted to switch from Colts to ACP and eventually S&W and just put Wolf Springs on the list of someday parts .
I have 2 sets of action springs but those kits don't include the cross pin springs.

Mine probably some wear some where .......I wonder if an 0 ring would eliminate the "bounce" or whatever that let's it jump on the 3rd round . .

 

[Walks]

If that Revolver functions OK without the cylinder latch pin keeping the cylinder pin in place? Then something else is wrong. I've seen very dirty revolvers lock up their cylinder pins. But those were Colt SAA's or their clones. Ya need to get that cylinder pin out. If you can't do it with fingers, then remove the ejector rod housing and pull out the pin with PADDED pliers.
That pin maybe stuck because of poorly loaded ammo that has spit lead to build up around the frame opening.

 

[Tomme boy]

It slides fine. Goes in and out fine. But when it slides forward out of the rear frame the cyl tilts and locks up. I found what fell out and hit my finger. It was a piece of lead from the cyl tilted and fired. I was shooting some old Speer half jackets. You could see where it splattered lead on the face of the cyl.