Ruger New Model Blackhawk, New Vaquero Problem

[462]

I have a New Vaquero -- same-same internals as the New Model Blackhawk -- that I'm pretty sure has a broken hammer plunger. Problem is, the hammer won't go back far enough to compress the main spring to get a pin/nail in the hammer strut hole. I think the broken plunger is jammed somewhere in the action and preventing the hammer from moving but a little bit.

Question: Can the grip frame be removed without compressing the main spring, or will nasty stuff happen if I were to try?

Thank you.

Michael

 

[RBHarter]

No bad things happen. Upon reassembly however your patience and vocabulary will get a heady work out.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

If you're certain of your diagnosis, you have a few options.

The grip frame can be separated from the receiver, but before re-assembly you’ll still have to deal with the tension on the main spring/hammer strut. However, it will be far easier to get control of the hammer spring at that point. I would simply remove the hammer strut and spring, put the strut in a vise and use a fork to compress the spring with the seat in place. Then lock it together with a pin/paper clip/nail, etc. so it can go back in the gun like normal.

In an alternative:

If you can get the hammer strut down far enough to capture it with a pair of needle nose pliers or narrow jaw vice grips, you may be able to lock it compressed enough to get it out. Of course, you’ll still need to deal with the tension on that assembly to get it back together.

 

[Jeff H]

Sage advice from @Petrol & Powder .

On option 1, above, remove the two screws in the back of the grip frame completely first and then back the three bottom ones out a little at a time. I did not do this and it led to a less than ideal situation with the grip frame applying a lot of force perpendicular to the back screws and messed up the bluing in the counter-bore for those two screws. Watch out for the pal spring/plunger as the grip frame finally comes off.

The fork is golden as shop tools go, but still... try not to lean over the spring with your head. The spring will want to bend and slip from under the fork before the whole of its ID is stabilized with the hammer strut. The spring can be a mighty projectile and unpredictable as to its vector.

I can't remember WHY I had to do it, but I did have to remove the grip frame without removing the hammer spring first.

 

[462]

Well, that was weird, but fortuitous: removed the cylinder and the hammer went back all the way. And, yep, once everything was disassembled, the hammer plunger was inside the works in two pieces.

Midway has a plunger and I'll order a new spring, too.

Thanks, guys, for the helpful suggestions.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Hammer plunger?

 

[462]

Yep, that's Ruger's name for it.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Now I'm with you.

image stolen from the internet

 

[david s]

You might just give Ruger a call, they'll say send it back but tell them you'll swap the parts, and they'll forward what you need at no cost. At least that's what happened when my then new 327 Federal Blackhawk decided to break the transfer bar during its first outing.

 

[462]

View attachment 36559Now I'm with you.

image stolen from the internet

It's the one the left.

 

[462]

You might just give Ruger a call, they'll say send it back but tell them you'll swap the parts, and they'll forward what you need at no cost. At least that's what happened when my then new 327 Federal Blackhawk decided to break the transfer bar during its first outing.

Thanks, David .

Called Ruger and a new plunger and spring are on their way, at no charge.

Besides the New Vaquero, I currently have a 10/22 and a .223 American rifle, and have owned two New Model Blackhawks (.45 Colt and .357 Magnum) and a .357 SP-101, and this is the first time I've had a part break. As far as I'm concerned, Ruger's quality and customer service are top drawer.

I would've bought a .45 Colt Blackhawk, a few months ago, but availability and pricing caused me to go with a Uberti/Cimarron Cattleman II, instead.

 

[Jeff H]

All's well that ends well!

I've never heard of one of those breaking before, but while you have it apart, you have an excellent opportunity to inspect for burrs, rough spots, etc. Maybe some smoothing will prevent a repeat offense.

Take advantage of the access while you have it. I usually don't relish the idea of the disassembly/reassembly without marking things up, because it usually takes me two or three tries to get everything dialed in the way I want it.

 

[462]

All's well that ends well!

I've never heard of one of those breaking before, but while you have it apart, you have an excellent opportunity to inspect for burrs, rough spots, etc. Maybe some smoothing will prevent a repeat offense.

Take advantage of the access while you have it. I usually don't relish the idea of the disassembly/reassembly without marking things up, because it usually takes me two or three tries to get everything dialed in the way I want it.

That's my plan. Started with the hammer by improving Ruger's polishing, and will move on to others before the new parts arrive. Good thing I asked for a new spring, because the original fell out and is unfindable.

 

[bruce381]

I started to take pistols apart in a big clear bag, seems everytime I drop a small part it ALWAYS bounces in front of me under my bench
only time i find them is when I clean under the bench or use the tools stored there.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I started to take pistols apart in a big clear bag, seems everytime I drop a small part it ALWAYS bounces in front of me under my bench
only time i find them is when I clean under the bench or use the tools stored there.

I've had my share of lost small parts. I think anyone that works on firearms is in the same boat.
Part of the problem is the fact that so many firearm components are always under spring tension (Plungers, detents, etc.) and they are small parts.
I'm pretty good at avoiding trouble when I'm paying attention, it's when I let my mind wander a bit that I get careless and launch some tiny spring. I tried the plastic bag method and just couldn't make that work for me. In fact, I launched more parts but at least they were contained.

Re-assembly is often more challenging than disassembly.

 

[Thumbcocker]

I've had my share of lost small parts. I think anyone that works on firearms is in the same boat.
Part of the problem is the fact that so many firearm components are always under spring tension (Plungers, detents, etc.) and they are small parts.
I'm pretty good at avoiding trouble when I'm paying attention, it's when I let my mind wander a bit that I get careless and launch some tiny spring. I tried the plastic bag method and just couldn't make that work for me. In fact, I launched more parts but at least they were contained.

Re-assembly is often more challenging than disassembly.

If I ever become dictator day 1 8:00 a.m. The person who coined the phrase : reassembly is in reverse order will be dragged into the street and shot.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

If I ever become dictator day 1 8:00 a.m. The person who coined the phrase : reassembly is in reverse order will be dragged into the street and shot.

That seems a little harsh.

How about you maroon him on a deserted island with a Chinese manufactured “build it yourself” boat kit? Leave a few key parts out of the kit, add a few unnecessary mystery parts and require some specialty tools that are not included. And then just for fun, provide an incomplete set of instructions that have been translated from Chinese to Russian and then to whatever language he speaks.

 

[Bret4207]

That's my plan. Started with the hammer by improving Ruger's polishing, and will move on to others before the new parts arrive. Good thing I asked for a new spring, because the original fell out and is unfindable.

All small gun, fishing reel, camera, carburetor and similar parts are made of "unfindaminium", a metal purported to resemble steel, aluminum or stainless steel, depending on the intended use, but no one has a definite handle on that because once the part escapes, its gone forever. Replacement parts are made of the same material, but once installed take on new qualities allowing them to disappear too! The inventor of the metal, one Dr. Unid P. Schmelfinger of the famous Schmelfinger Laboratory in Lower East North Transylvania, died some year back and his lab work was all lost in a fire said to be of suspicious origin, but the evidence disappeared!

 

[david s]

I've found on occasion that replacement parts tend to be made of "unobtainium".

 

[Rushcreek]

I like it better when the part hits me in the forehead then lands in my shirt pocket- where I found it after an hour of looking elsewhere……