Blackhawk with a bulged barrel.

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Getting ready for a gun show this afternoon and a guy wanted to trade a Ruger Blackhawk 357 mag for a Ruger P90DC. There was a catch though. The blackhawk has an obvious bulge barrel right in the center of a 4-5/8" barrel. He says there's still enough barrel to center the bullet and it shoots fine. What can I say, I like single actions. I told him I want to think on it. I've had a bullet stuck in a Ruger before and it sure didn't bulge the barrel. That's a thick barrel to bulge. Would Ruger replace the barrel? I'm tempted to just pass, but I hate to see a blackhawk in that condition. Ideas???
 

protoolman

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Well a Blackhawk barrel is pretty easy to change out but not worth trading a P-90 for. I wish I still had my P-90 but I let my son take it.
 

hittman

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OM or NM?

Non-prefix serial number?

Guess what I'm saying is "NO" if its a NM but would need to know more if its OM.
 

nvbirdman

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If it's an OM, Ruger would replace it with a barrel with the warning which would make it obvious that it had been replaced.
 

contender

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Replacement barrels are available,, & if the trade is right,, worth restoring a fine SA. But I'd max the value of a bulged bbl NM Blackhawk at about $225. By the time you buy a barrel, have it fitted & all,,, you would be in the ballpark of a normal NM BKH.
 

z1r

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I gave $300 for an OM .357 with a bulged barrel. Just got the replacement barrel today. Hope to install it this weekend.
 
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How involved is it to install a barrel? Also where did you get a barrel? How much. I would need a NM. I'm not sure the guy that has it will be willing to do business at the number I'm thinking so who knows if it will come together.
 

contender

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Ok, you mentioned a prefix of 34,, so that makes it a .357 right?
A NM bbl,, can usually be found for $40-$50.
BUT,,,, installing it can be where the money comes in. If the bbl needs fitting,, as they usually do,, a gunsmith will need to cut the bbl to where it will install correctly,,(When screwing it down,) AND possibly have to cut the throat & face the bbl to allow for cylinder gap etc.
Gunsmithing time can be a little or a lot.
Now,, there are SOMETIMES ways to do these jobs w/o as much expense. If the barrel screws in easily,, and get to a stopping point about 10 degrees prior to top dead center,, no cutting of the barrel shoulder is necessary. And if the cylinder can rotate while the bbl is screwed in (but not torqued down yet,) w/o any binding or a large gap,, again,, no cutting is necessary.
Hand filing is always an option,, as usually not much material has to be removed. A lathe can easily cut the shoulder of the bbl for fitting. Same for facing the bbl for cylinder clearance. Cutting the forcing cone is sometime necessary if the bbl was faced much. Hand tools or machine tools make the differences.
And of course,, when removing an old bbl,, a proper vise, and tools are necessary to avoid warping the main frame. Same when installing one.
It's usually cheaper to get a gunsmith to do such jobs.

And gosh forbid,, if anything is marred or scuffed during this,, a re-blue may be necessary.
 
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A new model 357 are a dime a dozen unless it's something special.
Personally I'd pass unless it is really dirt cheap. Why mess with someone else's mistake. A good blackhawk shooter is not expensive and pretty easy to find. Why mess
with an obviously abused gun? I don't get it, I wouldn't look twice. ps
 

hittman

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Yeah ..... what powder smoke said .....

Not worth the time and effort unless the trade was a non pre-fix old model.
 
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I'm with Powder Smoke. If you could buy it outright for $175, it might be worth doing. I sure wouldn't trade a working P90 for a project gun you'll probably end up in being upside-down.
 
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Unless you're specifically looking for a project, and cost-be-damned, I'd not even be remotely interested in this offering. When you're all done, you'll still have a NM, very likely similar to one you could buy unmolested for not much more.

Now...If you could get it for just the value of the frame, and wanted to send it out and have it re-barrelled and customized to your tastes, that's a different story. :mrgreen:
 

hittman

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Well......he's holding a broken $125.00 gun and only that much if you actually WANT it.
 

contender

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Sadly,, some folks feel that even a damaged gun is worth more than real world prices. He may THINK it shoots just fine,, but we all know a bulged bbl is still a problem,, to be fixed!
After he tries to sell it for a while,, he'll eventually either sell it to a dummy,,, or he'll wake up to the fact that it's NOT worth as much as he thought.
 
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