Blackhawk cracked cylinder

[cellar701]

The gun is a 1980 vintage NM .357 Blued Blackhawk. The revolver is new to me and doesn't look like it's been fired. I was cleaning it and noticed a crack in the cylinder:

As you can see, the crack is not in the thin part of cylinder wall, but directly down bottom of flute for entire length of cylinder and extends in about 3/8".

Anyone seen anything like this before?

 

[SAJohn]

I never have. I would never shoot it. I'll bet Ruger will replace it for free.

 

[45Colt_Man]

Very strange for the crack to be in that area.

Dana

 

[w5lx]

Send the cylinder and the gun back to Ruger. I would not shoot it in the condition it is in.

 

[flatgate]

I'm slightly baffled by this! How/Why? I'd certainly ask Ruger to look it over for you.....

:shock:

flatgate

PS The "typical" crack occurs close to the "chamber" and not between chambers.....

 

[CraigC]

That's got to be some sort of manufacturing defect. Not from overloading. Definitely call Ruger and ask for them to send UPS to pick it up.

 

[cellar701]

I am baffled as well - I cannot see how a cylinder would crack in the thickest part of the cylinder... And of course the .357 cylinders in the large frame revolvers are very stout to say the least ???

I did call Ruger this afternoon and the person I discussed this with (tech support) was ... let's just say I was a little disappointed. If I had lied about it I could have probably gotten it done, but it was a used revolver and I don't know the history, so they won't pick it up. Told me to ship it with a letter and they will look at it.

Good news is the dealer I bought it from is a large stocking dealer and they will ship it to Ruger on their dime and make it right. I fully expect Ruger will fix it when they see it, but I couldn't get that through to the tech rep at Ruger - all he wanted to talk about was some people who shoot are reloading and Ruger sees all kinds of problems, etc. etc.

I'm just glad I saw it before I shot it - something else to look for when purchasing a revolver. When I took it back to the dealer, I had a very difficult time seeing the crack in their lighting, which is very bright flourescent.

 

[rugerguy]

hard for them ( the factory tech) to make a call ( decision) let alone any diagnosis,with out first "seeing" this, yes an absolute structural failure of the material NOT from ANY sort of 'reloading or misuse' and obviouly will be replaced......glad your 'dealer' stood up to the plate, good thing for them to do.............
very GOOD pictures by the way........ :wink:

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I'd guess a flaw related to material and/or heat treating.

JMHO
:)

 

[cellar701]

I agree. My difficulty with the tech rep was he didn't listen very well and discussion was not very technical - I realize they talk to a wide range of individuals. It's not a big deal to me, and I realize it's not Ruger's issue that it costs $50 to ship a handgun from an individual for them to evaluate the problem.

 

[cellar701]

Regarding the photos - thanks - a new camera, and I've been working on some siimple and cheap light box techniques to make it easier for me to share photos. I'll share some of that info which might be useful to forum members in another post in the next few weeks in the Gallery section.

 

[RUFFBIRD]

Thanks for your post! I've never seen this on any cylinder but will be watching for it in the future....

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Yep, that's a good example of "never say never".

:roll:

 

[surveyor47]

I am baffled as well - I cannot see how a cylinder would crack in the thickest part of the cylinder... And of course the .357 cylinders in the large frame revolvers are very stout to say the least ???

Good news is the dealer I bought it from is a large stocking dealer and they will ship it to Ruger on their dime and make it right. I fully expect Ruger will fix it when they see it, but I couldn't get that through to the tech rep at Ruger - all he wanted to talk about was some people who shoot are reloading and Ruger sees all kinds of problems, etc. etc.

Do you guys recall that some people insist that Rugers should be able to withstand loads that go way way beyond pubished reloading data? (But for how long and under what temperature conditions?) With so many people obviously abusing their guns simply because they think that it is POSSIBLE to load a Ruger to certain level, Rugers attitude is certainly predictable. Just because a gun hasnt blown up doesnt mean that it is not in a failure mode- and that point has been made many times on this forum by ballsitic engineers.

 

[mohavesam]

Good catch! That's a radial crack which most likely was in the bar stock. That means all parts machined from that bar have the same potential.

I'd bet Ruger needs that cylinder to recal those other parts and maybe save someone else's fingers, eyes, or face.

Please contact them immediately. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[jimbo1096]

Never seen one from any brand with a crack like that. And from the proof mark it was obviously test fires at the factory. Since your gun is an 80's vintage, I doubt they will recall any other guns from that date range but it certainly would be interesting to hear what Ruger would / could tell us as to the reason behind the flaw. Can your shop tell you where they got the gun. Possible contact past owners just to get for history on teh gun and past usage?
Kudos to your Gun Shop for standing behind their sales. I would definately buy from them again.

 

[Rclark]

was he didn't listen very well and discussion was not very technical

I had the same experience when I was getting a replacement base pin for my .44 Spec BH. He wanted to send me a regular BH base pin, not a medium frame base pin.... But we finally got that straightened out :) . New one worked great BTW... And then I went an' replaced that with a Belt Mountain #5 pin which is even better :) .

Good catch BTW. Glad it is working out.

 

[Arisin' Wind]

Keep us posted on this.