ruger vaquero cylinder stuck in frame after one shot

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Hondo44

Hawkeye
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
Messages
8,041
Location
People's Republik of California
The problem was removing the base pin with the cyl bound up.
A good cyl fit is tight to remove and install. Once the pin is removed the cyl gets out of square with the frame and then you have an experience that you had.

A couple of lessons;

1) if you send back to Ruger insist on a free return shipping label.
2) Practice removing and reinstalling cyl until you acquire the feel for keeping it square in the cyl window. Roll it gently and slowly clockwise until you can feel the cyl notches engage and disengage from the cyl hand (pawl), while focusing on keeping the cyl from cocking to one side or the other.
3) study the recoil shield behind the cyl until you see where it gets thicker for proper head space when shells are in battery.
4) check that any new reloads rotate freely all the way around when loaded one at a time in the cyl. Shoot one or two singly to make sure the fired primer will clear the upper recoil shield after firing.
5) if a cartridge hangsup after firing, do not remove cyl pin, the cyl will get cocked out of square. Turn the cyl forcefully using both hands. Recognize that all your doing is mashing a brass primer back into its pocket to clear the recoil shield so it can be unloaded thru the loading gate. You can't hurt the steel parts of the gun!
6) free wheeling cyls are very helpful in these circumstances.
 
Joined
Oct 24, 2007
Messages
11,654
Location
Kentucky
I'll ask a silly question . . .

Any chance you tried to remove the cylinder to the left side of the frame? That's a guaranteed hangup. The cylinder has to come out the right side thru the open loading gate.

If this is not the case, just ignore me . . . but I've seen this happen before.

:mrgreen:
 

nrobe50

Buckeye
Joined
Apr 8, 2009
Messages
1,113
Location
MN
if Ruger will not send a free return label and they probably won't for a gun thats more than a couple of years old, they will sell you one for 30 bucks. thats probably the cheapest way to return a gun to them.
 

Jimbo357mag

Hawkeye
Joined
Feb 22, 2007
Messages
10,350
Location
So. Florida
After one shot a primer backed out and locked up the cylinder. Can happen with light loads or any load if the shell head is off a little. No need to take the cylinder pin out if this happens just force the cylinder to rotate past the bad shell.

As far as the cylinder being hard to put back in, well it happens to all of us. There is a video that shows how to rotate the cylinder after installed in the frame and then dropping the base pin in place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWmSEuJZp8Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKrBXF4zXjI
 

foxtrapper

Blackhawk
Joined
Apr 30, 2008
Messages
539
Give the cylinder frame a good look. Since they're reloads maybe u had a bullet jump. See if there is daylight,hold up to a white background,between the chamber thats in-line with the barrel and forcing cone.
 
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