Grip frame swap.

Marshal Too Sweet · Jul 12, 2017

I have a bare SS grip frame I am fitting to a New Model Vaquero 3.5" 45 acp. The original Birds Head grip was gone when I acquired the firearm. I am going back with a NM plow handle that once had the internal grip frame lock. Ruger no longer stocks the lock and I can't locate one. Can anyone tell me if the hammer strut can be made to work without the lock or point in the right direction to get a lock.

Thanks in advance,

DHD · Jul 12, 2017

Having not done this yet, I understand that you'll need a Bearcat spring seat and a plain old Blackhawk strut and spring.

FWIW, I've just ordered a spring seat so I can convert a shooting partners Flattop. Midway and Brownells are out of them......

Marshal Too Sweet · Jul 13, 2017

Thanks DHD, You have put me on the right road.

Hondo44 · Jul 15, 2017

Eliminating the Internal lock:

NOTE: the hammer springs that come with the lock in the New Vaqueros and Flat Top Blackhawks only, are only 25 coils since they were designed by Ruger to be softer/lighter for Cowboy Action shooters. I always retain them when removing locks and also use them as replacements in all other Ruger SAs. Especially Ruger Single Sixes with its shorter hammer resulting in less leverage and harder cocking.

All the internal lock parts and the hammer spring can be transferred to the replacement grip frame, except for the lock of course. Or just the Bearcat spring perch can be used to eliminate the lock from a grip frame that has one, see below. When the locks first made their appearance in 2005 on the .357 Anniversary model Flat Top Blackhawk and New Vaquero, I started making and selling this titanium lock bypass seat:

An even simpler alternative is just a flat piece of steel with an oblong hole for the spring strut that will work; the spring tension will keep it in place:
Back in 2007 I had my Bearcat apart and noticed that its spring seat is the longest seat made for any of the Ruger single actions, go figure!! It just bridges the gap in the grip frames made for the internal lock and I posted its use as a replacement for the lock.

It's an inexpensive Ruger part, that’s all I use now, and quit making/selling my own. Ruger parts dept. will send you a Bearcat spring seat for free (also other non- expensive small parts.

The beauty of the Bearcat spring seat is that it disassembles the same way as the lock with the disassembly pin hole right below the spring so the spring never has to be dismounted from its strut, which can be a gruesome task for many.

To swap the Bearcat spring seat for the lock is the easiest swap there is. You don’t even need to remove the grip frame, just the grips! After cocking the hammer, a disassembly pin like a nail is inserted into the spring strut hole thru the groove in the top edge of the lock. Now uncock the hammer so the spring and strut have play. This allows the lock to be wedged up and out of the grip frame, and off of the strut. Because the temporary pin used to hold the spring compressed, fits in the groove on the top of the lock, the spring is still captured on the strut.

Therefore the strut and spring assembly doesn’t need removal from the hammer slot. More importantly, nor does the spring need to be dismounted from the strut like Ruger SAs w/o the lock, where the disassembly pin is inserted below the spring seat which is captured on the strut along with the spring.

With the regular spring seats captured on the strut with the spring, the grip frame must be removed or at least loosened to change spring weights. It's also more difficult to mount a spring and a seat on the strut, rather than just a spring.

Now once the lock is out of the grip frame, the Bearcat seat slips on the bottom end of the strut below the spring retaining pin. The Bearcat seat also has a round hole in it for the end of the strut, so once on the strut, it can be pivoted 90 degrees, strut and seat moved into position over the gap in the grip frame where the lock was, then pivoted 90 degrees onto the two shelves of the gap.

Now hold in place, cock the hammer, remove the spring retaining pin, and drop the hammer. Voila, all done. The seat doesn't overhang the gap where the lock was very much on either side but once the spring tension is applied, the seat is held tightly in place.

I've been using these for years on dozens of guns and never had one slip yet. Some have reported issues retaining the Bearcat seat on the round corners of the grip frame gap: you can file a small shelf on either side of the gap in the round corners to insure the seat stays put. If you have a Ruger with the new grip spacer and it doesn't fit back in the gun when installing the grips, the bearcat seat must be mounted in the other direction for the spacer to clear the hammer spring.

Grip frame installation tips:

Always unhook both legs of the trigger spring for reassembly, it’s easier to get the spring behind the trigger shelf.

Always leave the cyl out so you can confirm the cyl latch spring/plunger is properly aligned on the latch so it has tension on it by seeing it sticking up thru the frame, before putting in any grip frame screws. Put the cyl pin back in the frame to keep the transfer bar from hanging up on the firing pin when moving the hammer up and down.

The cyl hand spring to the left side of the hammer goes plunger first. Also, you can put a small magnet over the spring to hold it in the hole and just let the grip frame push the magnet out of the way as the grip frame ear slips into position over the hole.
Install all five screws but do not cinch them tight.

Align the grip frame edges flush with the cyl frame by tapping with the butt of a plastic handled screw driver. Tighten one trigger guard screw, then front screw and then one ear screw. Then tighten them all. Check for ease of hammer movement to be sure it's not rubbing on grip frame ears.

NOTE: While you have the grip frame off, it's always good to examine the upper end of all the grip frame blind screw holes (especially stainless guns) for thread shavings that weren't cleaned out from the factory and get crammed in there by the screws.

Also check the two trigger guard screw holes where they are exposed by the milling cut if your grip frame has the two projections that go into the main frame (the New Vaquero and New FT BH guns no longer have these projections and milling cuts). Almost always there will be a huge flat 'roll-over’ burr in each hole from the milling cuts that expose the holes. If they are present they generally cause the 1st 1/8" of removing those two screws to take extra effort to unscrew and can cause screws to screw in too tight and/or break off. You'll need to break off the burrs and pick them out with a dental pick or equivalent tool.