Bisley ERH moving forward

[48off]

Shy of having a barrel band installed on my .480 Bisley, what is the advice for keeping the ejector rod housing from moving forward? Blue locktite keeps the screw tight but the housing screw recess and the screw itself have been pounded enough to allow a .040 gap between housing shoulder and main frame. Hate to send it back to Ruger, am sure it would happen again. Epoxy? or last resort, silver solder?
Thanks, Dave

 

[ebg3]

Mine did this, erh screw was drilled and tapped crooked. Front of erh was not making contact with barrel at top and bottom. When I get mine back with a new barrel, I may epoxy the ejh to barrel. These guns should have studs in barrels to keep erh from moving.

 

[contender]

Ruger used to put studs in the bbls,,, and several sheared off. They went to D&Ted ones after replacing many.

I have the same gun as you,, and I haven't had similar issues. I've got about 800-900 rounds through it so far,,, and maybe not as many nor as stout as your loads.
Are you shooting factory ammo?
This may be something that you should contact the good folks at Ruger about. Especially since the 454 in the same gun produces a much more noticeable recoil than the 480.

 

[48off]

Thanks guys for responding. My barrel seems to be drilled and tapped correctly. I've shot it around 1000 times, 350-400 gr cast bullets going around 1000 to 1200 fps according to load data, no factory loads. Customer service sent a new erh and screw no charge, typical great service they're famous for. I've read BFR housings are glued on with a Locktite product. I'm thinking of doing the same on the new housing. Other than this, I love it. Great bore, perfectly timed, and accurate when I do my part.
Dave

 

[Mus408]

Thanks guys for responding. My barrel seems to be drilled and tapped correctly. I've shot it around 1000 times, 350-400 gr cast bullets going around 1000 to 1200 fps according to load data, no factory loads. Customer service sent a new erh and screw no charge, typical great service they're famous for. I've read BFR housings are glued on with a Locktite product. I'm thinking of doing the same on the new housing. Other than this, I love it. Great bore, perfectly timed, and accurate when I do my part.
Dave

On my BFR .45-70 the ERH came right off after removing screw...no Locktite on the housing itself.

 

[contender]

I'd not Loctite the housing. The screw,,, yes,,, with removable Loctite,, but not the housing.

 

[Hondo44]

"A body at rest tends to stay at rest..."

I believe the problem is the housing screw is too long, i.e., the hole in the barrel is not deep enough. Therefore even though the screw is tight, it cannot clamp the housing sufficiently tight to the barrel. I've seen this before.

W/o sufficient tightness to the barrel, and especially under heavy recoil, according to the law of physics quoted above, the housing wants to stay where it is while the gun recoils to the rear. Therefore the housing creeps forward and will eventually shear the screw. This is especially true with the heavier steel housings more than the alloy.

Can you move the housing back with the screw tight? Tap the front of the housing to the rear with a piece of wood or the like and see if it closes up the .040" gap.

Solution: dress down the screw length so it will tightly clamp the housing to the barrel.

Note: the reason the older studded barrels sheared the screw is because the screw size was 6-40. The new screws w/o the stud in barrel are 8-36, but can still shear with a loose housing.

 

[48off]

Too long screw sounded logical. With erh in place and screw firmly tightened the slot in relation to bore axis is at 2 o'clock and 8 o'clock. With erh removed and screw back in and bottomed the slot is at 2:30 and 8:30. Darn it, thought problem solved. Don't know what to say about no Locktite on the 45-70. Thanks guys, still open for ideas.
Dave

 

[Hondo44]

When screw is at 2 & 8 with housing in place, does the housing still move? Can you tap and make it move?

If so, the screw is not tightened enough.

Remove the ejector rod, tighten the housing on, and tap forward on the front end of the slot with a brass punch.

 

[48off]

If recoil will move the erh, I am sure if I tap hard enough with a punch it will also move. I will try and talk to a Ruger tech and find out what the max torque should be for the screw. I see Wheeler Engineering makes a torque wrench screwdriver.
Probably should have bought one years ago.

 

[Heliman]

Not entirely off topic, but I had an unfired Vaquero chambered in 40S&W and the first shot fired caused the ERH to separate from the gun. It was defective from the factory. Threaded hole in barrel was disfigured. The factory knew it because there was a film of loctite under the housing. Yours could be a factory defect. It DOES happen!

Dave

 

[powder smoke]

The factory knew it because there was a film of loctite under the housing. Yours could be a factory defect. It DOES happen!

Really!, Kinda disappointing Ruger would let a defective revolver leave the factory.

 

[Heliman]

The factory knew it because there was a film of loctite under the housing. Yours could be a factory defect. It DOES happen!

Really!, Kinda disappointing Ruger would let a defective revolver leave the factory.

I agree! Another member here was present when this occurred. It went back to Ruger and they replaced the barrel.

Dave

 

[powder smoke]

Nice! ps