Base pin latch

[Leadeye]

Picked up a stainles SBH at the local show for a nice price, now I know why . The base pin latch is letting the pin slide out when shooting locking up the cylinder. The revolver is in excellent condition and I don't see any wear. Anybody else have this issue? Can I just replace the latch spring with something stronger?

 

[Yosemite Sam]

That's the first thing to try...

-- Sam

 

[c.r.]

leadeye,

IF you happen to have some other blackhawks laying around, just start swapping out parts between them and this guy.

Like same said, start with the spring. if that fixes it, then order one from midway or ruger.

if the spring doesn't solve the problem then try the entire base pin latch, then possibly the base pin itself.

it's quite possible that a weak spring could cause the problem, but also resulted in the the base pin getting peened out of shape a bit.

even if you have to replace all the parts related to the base pin, it shouldn't be too expensive

~c.r.

 

[tek4260]

Is the latch seating fully. When fully seated you can see the spring in it looking from the bottom of the frame, or in other words, the latch will be hanging out more than halfway to the left (opposite side of loading gate)

 

[tek4260]

I have never quite understood replacing the latch spring. If the latch closes fully, the spring has little to do with holding the base pin other than holding the latch closed. If it fully seats, all the force of the inertia is taken by the nut itself, not the spring. When it closes less than half, the taper of the basepin groove simply slides the nut out of the way like a wedge.

 

[Leadeye]

The latch closes completly but must loosen when I fire as I noticed the base pin walking out. Once it gets started it moves forward until the cylinder won't turn. It wasn't the load I was using, 8 grains Unique behind an RCBS 250 Keith, a rather ordinary 44 load that I use a lot. I checked the bottom of the base pin notches on all 4 blackhawks, they are all .187 diameter although the stainless pin looks like it is sloped smoother. I will try swapping pins and see what happens. Thanks!

 

[tek4260]

Did you look at the base pin latch when it is fully seated on the other 4 to see if the latch in the one walking was seated the same as the others. The last one I fixed by chucking the base pin in a drill press and using a file to extend(widen) the notch towards the head enough to allow the latch to close.

 

[c.r.]

although the stainless pin looks like it is sloped smoother.!

I think it's quite possible that what you're seeing is true..........However, the question is, was the pin just machined a little cock-eyed, or did something else allow the pin to orignally slip and then because of poor tolerances the battering changed the slope?

It sounds like you have a good handle on what you're looking for.

Best wishes,
C.R.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

That "slope" is a good place to look. Also check the latch pieces themselves. I have a SBHH that was "walking the pin" for a while before I got ahold of it, and the latch parts are worn from repeated bashing. I inverted the assembly and it has more meat to hold the pin in place.

I have never quite understood replacing the latch spring. If the latch closes fully, the spring has little to do with holding the base pin other than holding the latch closed. If it fully seats, all the force of the inertia is taken by the nut itself, not the spring.

But if the spring is weak it can allow the pin to walk out.

-- Sam

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

This question comes up very often. Take a look at this thread. Take a look at my lengthy comments.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=69372

 

[G2]

My 2 cents,

Order a Wolff extra strength. $3.49

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=2546 ... PIN_SPRING

My .41 mag did the same thing, Why?? I don't know. Tried the Wolff Spring and no more problem.

 

[flatgate]

I have one .45 Blackhawk that WOULD NOT retain the base pin no matter what I tried. A locking base pin ended up being the ONLY solution. (John Linebaugh inspected the gun and concluded the tolerances were such that the latch was just too far away from the pin to ever work.)

flatgate

 

[Zeus]

Why not give Kelye a call at Belt Mountain and fix the problem with one of his basepins? that would be the simplest fix I can think of....

 

[SAJohn]

I second Zeus' suggestion.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Because sometimes the Belt Mountain pins do not fix the problem. If the latch does not fit the pin properly, it still needs to be fitted. I have Belt Mountain pins in my Colts and three Rugers. Straight from Belt Mountain, I had to fit the pins to my Colts. Until I fitted them, they were still jumping forward under heavy recoil. If the latch don't fit properly, stronger springs and other such solutions are just bandaids. The real solution is to fit the pin properly to the latch.

And as I said earlier, I do not recommend the Belt Mountain pin with the set screw. As I said, tighten the set screw too much, and you will bend the pin, causing the cylinder to bind. Plus it's a pain always needing to have that tiny little allen wrench handy.