Base pin latch

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Leadeye

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Messages
8
Location
Indiana
Picked up a stainles SBH at the local show for a nice price, now I know why :eek: . 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?
 

c.r.

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
436
Location
Texas
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

Buckeye
Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
1,886
Location
carroll county ms
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

Buckeye
Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
1,886
Location
carroll county ms
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

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Messages
8
Location
Indiana
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

Buckeye
Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
1,886
Location
carroll county ms
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.

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
436
Location
Texas
Leadeye":2a8s4r4i said:
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

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
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.

tek4260":2wruw9ju said:
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
 

flatgate

Hawkeye
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
6,784
Location
Star Valley, WY
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

Blackhawk
Joined
Oct 25, 2002
Messages
737
Location
Olathe, KS
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....
 

Driftwood Johnson

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
699
Location
Land of the Pilgrims
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.
 
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