ruger vaquero cylinder stuck in frame after one shot

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xskinman

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
6
my new ruger vaquero cylinder is frozen in the frame after one shot.and apparently off center as i cant reinsert the long rod that holds it in place. please tell me what to do. thanks in advance. xskinman
 

Chuck 100 yd

Hunter
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Messages
3,251
Location
Ridgefield WA
Try rotating the cylinder clockwise ,as seen from the rear, as you drop it into the frame while eyeballing it for alignment. Also make sure that the loading gate spring has not slipped out of it's place in the loading gate.if that happens it jams things up good.
 

xskinman

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
6
the cylinder is off center to the left and has 5 live self loaded shells that i am afraid were not sized correctly with the lee original loader. unable to rotate the cylinder or cock the hammer.can i remove the 5 screws without fixing the mainspring and get some clearance to remove the cylinder?
 

Chuck 100 yd

Hunter
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Messages
3,251
Location
Ridgefield WA
Why did you remove the base pin to begin with ?
Removing the grip frame and internals would get the pawl and cylinder latch out of the way BUT how are you going to capture The main spring if you can't cock the hammer ?I am sure it can be done but I have never tried it myself. Good luck !
 

xskinman

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
6
being a novice, unable to move the hammer back and rotate the cylinder i thought removing the base pin would allow me to remove the cylinder and remove the remaining cartridges.unless there is a solution here,guess i will take it to a gunsmith. thanks for answering my post.
 

Chuck 100 yd

Hunter
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Messages
3,251
Location
Ridgefield WA
If you remove the grip frame screws the main spring will shove the grip frame rearward until it is stoped by the trigger. It will be all bound up.
I believe it would be a mess. I thinkI would take a Dremel cutoff wheel and cut the mainspring in half in the middle, wind the two halves together to take the tension off. Mainsprings are easy to come by, I have several and will give you one. Once it's apart , the problem should be apparent.
 

xskinman

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
6
after cutting the spring, would i remove the 5 screws and see if i could remove the cylinder after it came apart?or do i have to further remove the trigger and hammer.as you can tell i am totally new to this having only looked at a couple of youtubes about disassembling.
 

Chuck 100 yd

Hunter
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Messages
3,251
Location
Ridgefield WA
Well , after removing the grip frame/trigger guard, you will be able to get the pawl and cylinder latch out of the way of the cylinder and eliminate those two from being part of the problem. A soft mallet may need to be used to convince the cylinder to move to the right if the problem is caused by a long brass case or a primer that is not seated all the way. The recoil face at the back of the frame is often slightly higher than the rest of the surface of the frame in that area and can stop cylinder rotation if a high primer or out of spec case comes up against that area. A bright light may show that this is the problem. You might want to get a case gage to check loaded ammo.
Every round I load for handgun and .223 gets checked in a case gage before being considered finished. This takes a little time but there is never an issue when shooting. A hang up can cost you game or a match.
 

xskinman

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
6
thanks Hunter for your help.i didnt feel adequate to do this so i called Ruger. they suggested i tap gently,which i had not done and finally i was able to get the cylinder out. there must be something wrong with the cylinder or frame as i can barely get it back in and out,but at least i got the ammo out.i bit the bullet and sent it to Ruger today.at $120 just for overnight i can see why home repair is the way to go.have you ever heard of this? this was a gun show buy of a 2006 pristine 357 which i had shot 150 38's thru without problem.this is going to be an expensive ruger .my only 2,the other being a mark 4 22 cal. now both have been back home.think i will stick to S&W's
 

daveg.inkc

Hunter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Messages
2,503
Location
Kansas City, MO
Don't cut spring! I have changed main springs with strong hand pressure to re-assemble. press hammer strut down thru seat and pin. Just remove 5 grip screws. It is not under tension with hammer down, much anyway.
 

SweetWilliam

Buckeye
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
Messages
1,609
Location
Ohio
What made the cylinder bind up to begin with? Primers not seated deep enough or the c.o.l. to long?
Because if the cases weren't resized correctly they wouldn't have fit in the cylinder from the get go.
Sometimes the cylinders are finicky getting them back in, a little wiggling usually works. I bet Ruger won't find anything wrong with it.
 

SweetWilliam

Buckeye
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
Messages
1,609
Location
Ohio
Yes if he didn't fully seat the primers they would hit the back of the frame.
What's common, cylinders on new Blackhawks locking up?
Because I've never heard of it.
I would still like to know the initial cause of it locking up. Because I'm pretty sure lack of oil or grease wasn't the culprit.
 

Jimbo357mag

Hawkeye
Joined
Feb 22, 2007
Messages
10,350
Location
So. Florida
Next time you have to send a gun back to Ruger go to an FFL and have them send it 'flat rate' and that will save you a lot of money.
 

xskinman

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
6
when i removed the remaining 5 shells from the cylinder, i then reinserted the cylinder,barely getting it in and then barely getting it out.for some reason the frame opening or the cylinder had changed shape?????. dont know but it was not the shells causing the jam up.it may be something more simple that i could not discern.when i hear from ruger,i will let you know the outcome.thanks again for the interest.
 

DougGuy

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 21, 2014
Messages
171
Usually Ruger will send the brown truck by to pick the gun up and take it back. I cannot believe they didn't email you a shipping label.
 
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
2,700
Location
Texas
OP, were the cartridges you had trouble with .357 mags? If they were, and you hadn't cleaned the fouling out of the cylinder from the 150 .38 specials you fired, that could be the issue.
 

daveg.inkc

Hunter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Messages
2,503
Location
Kansas City, MO
By "common" , I meant a few of mine,when new, are tight, sometimes base pin is stubborn. I have never seen a Blackhawk where cylinder is stuck to point of using a deadblow.
 

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