Recent content by slofyr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Wax

My first Ruger was a Bearcat purchased new in 1966, IIRC. It sprayed lead sideways, but still did an adequate job knocking tin cans off of tree stumps, and it was really fun to shoot. Three years later I bought another Bearcat that had the same dang timing problem! Jumping ahead to this...

I've observed the barrel from a Smith centerfire revolver bouncing end-over-end downrange after the shooter fired a hot home load in it. I've also seen a Beretta/Uberti launch the top strap into the ceiling and the side of the cylinder through the lane divider. Not sure what happened to this...

There is absolutely no excuse for any of Ruger's facilities to have quality control problems at any time in the build process. The company has been in business for decades and should have figured it out years ago. Ruger tries to be as good as Smith but just keeps dropping the ball.

Yes, your group size will change if the rear screw loosens. A Buckmark's front sightrail screw threads into the steel barrel. The rear screw tightens into the alloy frame, and therefore cannot be snugged down as tight as the front. Both are retained with cupped star washers which do the job...

Yes, there are two screws that hold a Buckmark's sight rail down. There are also two more that hold the grip panels on. After moderate practice handling a Buckmark's tiny little bullets, and keeping in mind "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey", a Buckmark owner will usually recover from that dreadful...

Even $2000 competition auto-loaders have a buffer. It's designed to keep the slide from beating up the frame. Old Bill designed his 22 auto with what is essentially a sloppy rifle action, and then he put a large pin in there to absorb the hammering. Crude and heavy, but it works. For offhand...

Try Simple Green and a tooth brush [preferably someone else's ;) ], you will be surprised. It's safe for blue or stainless. I clean cylinders with Simple Green in an ultrasonic and they come out spotless, even the cylinder face donuts are gone. Cleaning manually with a brush takes longer, but...

The OEM aluminum housing weighs .317 oz and the stainless weighs .952 oz, so the stainless adds .635 oz to the revolver. This SS Bearcat, as shown with EWK housing, weighs 24.65 oz. Removal and replacement of the housing involves one screw and takes about 20 seconds.

The trick is to age it without scratching or creating clouds. If you have a buffer, try a stiff [clean] cotton wheel. Using an oiled cotton wheel on new bluing will give it a deep glow, but a dry wheel can duplicate holster wear.

Fitting an adjustable rear sight to the Bearcat is a milling operation. Clements does it well and at a reasonable cost considering the work involved. http://www.clementscustomguns.com/sights.html

Drop in a Wolff 30oz trigger spring. It's shaped like the OEM spring and fits perfectly, but has less tension for a lighter pull. http://tinyurl.com/3d7oehy

The last time I shipped a handgun by the required 'overnight' it cost $62 via FedEx. In addition to the ridiculous price, I had to convince the naive nitwit at the counter that it was legal for me to ship a firearm. As soon as "gun" was mentioned, she went pale and literally ran off to her...

Barrel weight does steady the hold. Even with the alloy ejector housing the revolver's weight bias is still noticeably barrel dominant. On my digital postal scale the steel item weighs 1.41 ounces and the alloy weighs .45 ounces. That takes the claimed 32 ounce overall weight of the NR-4L...

Refinement to enable the revolver to hold the 9-ring at 25 yards is not "complaining". Improving the balance for a steadier sight picture is worthwhile. I've previously owned the 22lr Bisley and NR-6L and found them both difficult to hold during a 150 round practice session. The balance of the...