How Many Rounds To Wear Out a Ruger Revolver?

[Gun1]

I've heard that revolver frames will eventually stretch and if they do the frame is irreparable. Therefore, I'm wondering if this applies to all revolvers or just aluminum revolvers? To that end, are there any revolvers that will not stretch no matter how many hundreds of thousands of magnum loads you shoot through them?

 

[NH Rugerman]

I have never heard of anyone who "wore out" a Ruger revolver…single or double-action for that matter.

YMMV….

 

[woodsy]

I don't have any personal experience with a stretched revolver, but metalurgicaly I can say that steel alloys are elastic and so are most aluminum alloys. So if the original designer chose the correct alloy (and dimensions) to handle the designed stresses there should be no permanent changes to the part dimensions over time. But the exceptions can be problematic, such as a part made to the hairy edge of tolerance, and loads somewhat above what was expected, and materials not "up to snuff". I would (and do) trust any Ruger product, but others, not so much.

 

[WAYNO]

I've heard that revolver frames will eventually stretch and if they do the frame is irreparable. Therefore, I'm wondering if this applies to all revolvers or just aluminum revolvers? To that end, are there any revolvers that will not stretch no matter how many hundreds of thousands of magnum loads you shoot through them?

If ya heard it on the internet, it must be true.

Reports were that model 19 Smith's would derange themselves with a heavy diet of magnum loads. Ruger countered this by designing the Security Six. They promised it would forever withstand a constant a diet of magnum loads. I bought my first Security Six in 1974. I am convinced.

And the earliest Old Model Blackhawk's? Running as strong as ever.

Some older top-break revolvers of other manufacturers would stretch and/or loosen up. And even I had a Taurus barrel unscrew itself.

Personally, I have never experienced a stretched Ruger revolver, and I'd bet money that wont change.




.

 

[gunman42782]

If you do wear one out, I would like to hear about it! I have a GP100 i can confidently say has had upwards of 10,000 rounds through it, both .38 and .357 and shoots as good as the day I bought it. Can say the same thing about a P95 of mine.

 

[beentheredone]

"At least half of what you read on this or any other gun forum is pure garbage; the rest is highly suspect."
--- Me

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I have a 357 Blackhawk that I bought new in 1967 that has had at least 125,000+ rounds thru it. Very few have been 357. Most SASS loads and lots of 38s for plinking.
Per beentheredone this post may be garbage BUT I do not speak with forked tongue

 

[GunnyGene]

BUT I do not speak with forked tongue

Prove it. Stick it out and post the pic.

 

[crstrode]

I've heard that revolver frames will eventually stretch and if they do the frame is irreparable. Therefore, I'm wondering if this applies to all revolvers or just aluminum revolvers? To that end, are there any revolvers that will not stretch no matter how many hundreds of thousands of magnum loads you shoot through them?

How old are you?
Unless something is extremely unusual, you will wear out long before your new Ruger will wear out.

For certain, you will run out of money first.

 

[Stantheman1986]

I'm pretty certain that you'll get your money's worth x100 for an $800 Ruger , because it would probably take $20,000 worth of even reloaded ammunition to wear out a GP100

I'd bet that 99.9% of Ruger owners will never wear out a steel Ruger revolver

 

[contender]

Many years ago,, when our gun club was discussing the fact we were training a lot of new handgunners in shooting,, the comment came up about the club buying a few MK semi-auto's so as to; "Not wear out our own personal guns."
To which,, several replied that they'd never seen a wore out Ruger from normal uses.
They finally asked me,, since I was the biggest Ruger fan there.
I too allowed that we'd all be outlived by our Rugers if we didn't abuse them & neglect them.
"Rugged Reliable, Ruger Firearms."
They mean it.

Now,, it is an established fact that some guns,, from other makers,, especially VERY old revolvers can get worn out. It is/was due to lower grades of metal being used.
The comment above about the S&W M-19,, has been proven by people who shoot a LOT of ammo, and especially hot ammo. S&W has had to rebuild several guns over the decades due to serious, yet normal use by owners. (Competition shooters come to mind as being those who use them a lot more often.)

But a Ruger revolver wearing out,, very, very unlikely.

 

[DGW1949]

I've still got the first Ruger revolver I ever bought...It is a 3-Screw .357 Blackhawk that I bought used from Dave's Gun Shop in Nederland Texas back in 1976. Maybe I've been unluckier than others here have been, but over the years I've had to overhaul it twice. The last time I also had to fabricate a new gas ring for the cylinder in order to get rid of excessive end-shake....As to how many rounds it's been fired, I really can't say. I do know that it's the first gun I owned that got used and shot enough to convince me that I needed to take up reloading. Plus, I got no idea how much the previous owner(s) may have used it....Sill though, my point is that when you get down to it, it's just a machine. And yeah, machines are susceptible to wear and tear. That's just how it is.

DGW

 

[rugerguy]

well I have NEVER seen ANY "worn out" Ruger except for finish and over the years I can say MOST other harm ,damage, is from excess and improper cleaning and folks taking their guys apart time after time to see how things "look, work, function, and mainly "boredom"........I've seen more revolvers get tighter tolerances close up from fouling, ;leading, dried grease and gunk from holsters and under the seats of pick up trucks and yes even fishing tackle boxes......and then obviously damage from improper loading , reloading , cast bullets, and on and on,,,,,,but "wear out"???? wear out what?? the bore? lands and grooves? the "grips"? YES, 4140 chrome -moly ( gun slloy) does stretch it expands and it contracts,,,that is the main reason 'stainless alloy" can be a problem because they expand and the contraction is at a slower, speed so it can "stay slightly expanded", and jam up the works, I know ,I learned this from working with S&W back in the early days of stainless guns and the issues the LE/PDs had with guns (revolvers)"binding up",,,and yes when they started the 357 nmags built on a "k" ,,,,TODAY THE NEWER ALLOYS And materials, allow for the 357 magnums build on a smaller frame, J frames, even RUger does with their smaller frame guns,,,just tougher to hang onto and handle 'recoil'..........so the 'old timers ' still "remember" back "then"......not a problem.....
you young guys or new shooters please to NOT believe everything you hear or read on the internet, MOST of the talkers ,sayers , have an "agenda" ( key word, AGENDA ,remember that when you read what anyone is saying) and if you are a Ford guy, don't go to the Chevy forum,,,or whatever "brand" user you may be.....I see folks bad mouthing Rugers on ANY of the "other " forums and I used to be on many of them ,but all this BS socialist media propaganda, is making ME ill,,,,,,,,,,,,,I believe its 'ad nauseum' (sic)
so practice ,practice, practice ( today if you can afford it??) and let us know when you finally "wear one out", I want to SEE it..........

 

[Sam Summey]

The average gun owner will not scratch the longevity of the modern revolver, they do not shoot enough. S&W, I understand, found a problem when the hyper velocity 110 gr 357 Mag was used too liberally, the forcing cones formed radial cracks and the top straps eroded away. The erosion could have been checked with a stainless steel insert like is used in the J frame 357s today, instead they came up with the L frame. The Ruger revolver is more massive in the area that S&W had the "failures", yes, I assume a BH forcing cone will develop radial cracks and throat erosion over time (10K+) of super hot, light weight bullet 357 rounds, but the average shooter doesn't shoot 1000 rounds a year. I once had a Springfield Compact 1911 that had the lug break off of the barrel at 23K rounds. It was caused by Springfield's two-piece barrel design. The back of the barrel, where the hood and barrel lug is, is a separate part of the barrel, it is silver soldered to the barrel, this failure was caused by the lack of silver solder in the area of the barrel joint. The 23K rounds were predominantly not hot loaded, but were 200 gr LSWC target rounds. Springfield Custom Shop cheerfully repaired the Compact by installing a Nolin ramped barrel, I guess I have fired another 8K in the Compact with no problems. If there was a problem with Ruger revolvers, the forum would have the problem plastered all over it.

 

[DGW1949]

........but "wear out"???? wear out what?? the bore? lands and grooves? the "grips"?..........

If that post was for me, please allow me to explain myself.....
To start with an "overhaul" does not imply a broken/dysfunctional revolver. An "overhaul" is merely a procedure whereby an attempt is made to restore a machine to it's original state from a mechanical point of view.......The "wear and tear" addressed on mine has been in the form of springs, pins and action parts. We've all seen sight pins that get loose and walk out. I've seen the newer style grip pins (AKA-spring pins) on Blackhawks and Vaqueros walk out of the grip frame, sometimes far and hard enough to knock a chunk of wood out of the grip. A cylinder pin can become grooved/worn, pawl and latch springs get weak, the latch itself can/will develop a fore and aft groove/depression along it's sides which result in rotational play in the cylinder....One of the more common places for wear on old Ruger SA's that I've seen is that at some point, a groove in the frame can be detected where the cylinder's gas-ring has been riding. Myself, I address that by modifying the front of the cylinder to take a 3/8" OD bushing of the appropriate length which I make from a piece of 4140 bar stock....As a side note on cylinder play; I've discovered that there is quite a bit of variance in the diameter of factory base pins. While doing the most recent overhaul of my old 3-screw, I installed a modified stainless "NM" pin because it is measurably fatter than the one it replaced. That, along with a NOS latch and the previously-mentioned cylinder repair, restored the cylinder play to more like that of a new gun...And yeah, when fooling with this stuff .001" matters. When fitting a new bushing, .0005" matters......At any rate, maybe I wasn't clear as to what meant by the question as posed. If that is the case then no, I didn't mean to imply that at any time, has my old ruger become 'broken' or unusable....just sayin' that stuff wears out.

DGW

 

[El Juero]

Dave Blake was also my first gun shop. used to sight in rifles for him as well. Brought back old memories.

 

[DGW1949]

Dave Blake was also my first gun shop. used to sight in rifles for him as well. Brought back old memories.

He was a good guy....showed me a lot about how to fix stuff.

DGW

 

[rugerguy]

No 'DGW', it was for the OP, I respect your input and past comments, as I noted except for military rifles and the few summers I worked at Camp perry the throats and the muzzles end is what we/ve seen "wear" erosion, burning from powders AND more often again "poor cleaning techniques? but back to Rugers have yet to come across or work on , even seen one that a "may have been "worn out" ( wore off??, yes, seen gun finishes folks just actually wipe the finish off from constant wiping and polishing again with improper usage,,,hell, leave a gun in cardboard box and drive it across the country, cardboard is like sandpaper over the long haul...wish I had a "penny" for every gun we have refinished because if stuff like that.........again Thank YOU 'DGW'...

 

[Gun1]

And this applies even to Ruger's lightweight revolvers such as the LCR, or those are a different story?

 

[Stantheman1986]

And this applies even to Ruger's lightweight revolvers such as the LCR, or those are a different story?

If I had an LCR I wouldn't expect it to hold up to similar amounts of shooting as an SP101