Joe S.
Hunter
ok, to start with, i got my topics crossed up, so i wanted to start a new topic on what i did to fix my issue with my birdshead 45 acp.
this was a present from my wife this year for our 5th wedding anniversary.
i love this gun! it has been a great shooter and a fun companion. the gun and i have been sprayed with tractor hydraulic fluid and it has been carried through the brush at the place on walks and scouting trips.
its a perfect companion. small light weight but accurate.
the only thing that bothered me was the hammer and the grips. i replaced the laminates with some checkered grips from Eagle and fixed that problem. still had the low hammer i dont like on Vaqueros.
fast forward to my "once a bisley" thread (http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=185968). i traded with a guy my bisley stuff off my flattop 44 special for a standard grip frame and hardware from his flattop. i mentioned i dont like the low hammers on Vaqueros, well i dont like tall hammers on blackhawks. so i got the bright idea, i would just swap Vaquero stuff for Blackhawk stuff and have a Blackhawk with low hammer and Vaquero with tall hammer. the flattop stuff swapped easy. no issues there. the Vaquero was a different story. Totally!
i got to noticing that the firing pin wasnt protruding as much as it should. so i called Ruger and they sent me the two transfer bars they use in their guns. the one i didnt already have fixed that issue. i should have swapped transfer bars when i swapped Bisley parts. live and learn.
the cylinder wouldnt rotate with loading gate open so i filed the pawl. and ruined it. ordered another. got the replacement. same thing... it would rotate with the hammer at half cock, but i had to hold it there since i dont have a half cock notch. that is no good.
the other night i had an AH HA moment. it is probably a well duh moment for you, but it is an AH HA moment for me... i realized the grip frame plays a part in the pawl moving back out of the way. the pawl (the little tip sticking down) rests against a notch in the grip frame. this, when tight, allows the pawl to rotate back just enough to clear the cylinder to allow it to free spin or click with the alignment detent. well, if you only attach the grip frame enough to hold it still, but not seat firmly against the frame, that pawl may not rotate back enough move out of the way, causing the cylinder to bind... so i tightened the grip frame down tight, opened the loading gate, and she spun just as beautiful as could be... DUH... or AH HA?
problem solved... but now we have a whole new problem. the gun is locked up. hammer wont move back or forward with me forcing it much less on its own. a little investigation finds one issue is the new screw that i had to order that traps the hammer pin is too long and it is binding on the pin. little file work and thats fixed. gun still locks up and wont move.
so i start filing on the inner ears of the birdshead grip frame. it got better the more i took off but still wouldnt ever get right. so i get to looking and notice the hammer extends down past where i was filing on the grip frame. little file work to the inside and reassembly to test... two or three times of that and it finally gets to where it is supposed to be. what an ordeal!
before the grip frame would bind on the hammer if i tightened the screws in a certain order. if i did it in the "correct order" it would work. i guess the new hammer's width was just enough more that no matter how i tightened the screws, it was binding. funny how such a little amount makes such a difference.
i have heard that Ruger doesnt fit these birdshead grip frames as thouroughly as they do the other grip frames. i guess that holds true for my birdshead anyway.
it feels good knowing that i fixed the problem myself instead of having to send it back.
thanks to Tek and to hondo44. yall helped me alot in the other thread.
i got it sitting with oil right now. soon as i get it back together i will post pics.
this was a present from my wife this year for our 5th wedding anniversary.
i love this gun! it has been a great shooter and a fun companion. the gun and i have been sprayed with tractor hydraulic fluid and it has been carried through the brush at the place on walks and scouting trips.
its a perfect companion. small light weight but accurate.
the only thing that bothered me was the hammer and the grips. i replaced the laminates with some checkered grips from Eagle and fixed that problem. still had the low hammer i dont like on Vaqueros.
fast forward to my "once a bisley" thread (http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=185968). i traded with a guy my bisley stuff off my flattop 44 special for a standard grip frame and hardware from his flattop. i mentioned i dont like the low hammers on Vaqueros, well i dont like tall hammers on blackhawks. so i got the bright idea, i would just swap Vaquero stuff for Blackhawk stuff and have a Blackhawk with low hammer and Vaquero with tall hammer. the flattop stuff swapped easy. no issues there. the Vaquero was a different story. Totally!
i got to noticing that the firing pin wasnt protruding as much as it should. so i called Ruger and they sent me the two transfer bars they use in their guns. the one i didnt already have fixed that issue. i should have swapped transfer bars when i swapped Bisley parts. live and learn.
the cylinder wouldnt rotate with loading gate open so i filed the pawl. and ruined it. ordered another. got the replacement. same thing... it would rotate with the hammer at half cock, but i had to hold it there since i dont have a half cock notch. that is no good.
the other night i had an AH HA moment. it is probably a well duh moment for you, but it is an AH HA moment for me... i realized the grip frame plays a part in the pawl moving back out of the way. the pawl (the little tip sticking down) rests against a notch in the grip frame. this, when tight, allows the pawl to rotate back just enough to clear the cylinder to allow it to free spin or click with the alignment detent. well, if you only attach the grip frame enough to hold it still, but not seat firmly against the frame, that pawl may not rotate back enough move out of the way, causing the cylinder to bind... so i tightened the grip frame down tight, opened the loading gate, and she spun just as beautiful as could be... DUH... or AH HA?
problem solved... but now we have a whole new problem. the gun is locked up. hammer wont move back or forward with me forcing it much less on its own. a little investigation finds one issue is the new screw that i had to order that traps the hammer pin is too long and it is binding on the pin. little file work and thats fixed. gun still locks up and wont move.
so i start filing on the inner ears of the birdshead grip frame. it got better the more i took off but still wouldnt ever get right. so i get to looking and notice the hammer extends down past where i was filing on the grip frame. little file work to the inside and reassembly to test... two or three times of that and it finally gets to where it is supposed to be. what an ordeal!
before the grip frame would bind on the hammer if i tightened the screws in a certain order. if i did it in the "correct order" it would work. i guess the new hammer's width was just enough more that no matter how i tightened the screws, it was binding. funny how such a little amount makes such a difference.
i have heard that Ruger doesnt fit these birdshead grip frames as thouroughly as they do the other grip frames. i guess that holds true for my birdshead anyway.
it feels good knowing that i fixed the problem myself instead of having to send it back.
thanks to Tek and to hondo44. yall helped me alot in the other thread.
i got it sitting with oil right now. soon as i get it back together i will post pics.
