Sticky cylinder base pin

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CapnMike

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 18, 2009
Messages
6
I recently purchased a New Model Blackhawk in .357 Magnum. The gun comes with two cylinders. One for .357 Magnum/38 Special. And the other for Luger 9mm. I really like that idea. But I encountered a problem when attempting to remove the cylinder for the first time. The base pin was so tight that I had to resort to a pair of soft jaw pliers before it would even budge. And yes, I pressed the locking pin. When I reinstalled the cylinder and pushed the pin back in, same problem. Once again, I could not withdraw it without resorting to pliers. A close examination revealed the problem was with the raised band running around the pin, just behind the finger grip. This band has a half moon cut out where it is intended to slide along the barrel. I found that the band was just slightly too large and when the pin was fully seated, it wedged against the side of the barrel, effectively trapping the pin in place. I removed the pin and ground the band down slightly. Problem solved. The pin now slides in and out effortlessly. Just curious if anyone else has encountered this.
 

Bruce H.

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
23
Location
Chandler, AZ
It sounds like you have an aftermarket base pin. Probably a Belt Moutain Base Pin. The Ruger factory base pins are different. You would not have that problem with a factory base pin. But, since you were able to fix it, I would leave it as it is.
 

cas6969

Buckeye
Joined
Oct 11, 1999
Messages
1,215
Bruce H.":t4ira5ds said:
It sounds like you have an aftermarket base pin. Probably a Belt Moutain Base Pin. The Ruger factory base pins are different. You would not have that problem with a factory base pin. But, since you were able to fix it, I would leave it as it is.

Sadly that's FAR from the correct I had a Vaquero that was that way, due to... the best I could ever figure out, the front and rear frame holes being out of line. There were a couple of issues with the gun, all pointing to the frame being warped. It was also an issue of stacking tolerances as some of my other pins (both factory and Belt mountain) worked just fine.
 

DGW1949

Hunter
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
3,916
Location
Texas
I had the same problem when retrofitting a NM pin to my OM Blackhawk.
The half-moon cut in the collar wasn't radiused right for my frame/barrel combination.....Easy to fix though.

DGW
 

CapnMike

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 18, 2009
Messages
6
Thanks for the replies. I don't have an aftermarket pin, unless Ruger is selling them that way. As this was purchased new, in the box. And I checked the alignment. It's perfect. Once I ground the rim down on the pin, it slides in and out smoothly with no effort.
 
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