Need advice from serious shooters.

[Caballero59]

Hi guys, I'm new here but it looks like this forum hosts some serious questions. After loading many thousands of 45 Colt & ACP rounds for the last 35 years on a Dillon 550, I had a mishap and bulged the acp cylinder and ringed the barrel on my Flattop convertible. I think the frame is fine and the endshake and cylinder gap remains at 0.002 and 0.005, exactly as before.

I have a very specific question:

Send the gun to Ruger for a new barrel and cylinder?

Send it to a a custom smith who can do the work with close tolerances but more money?
(who would you recommend to do the work?)

Keep it with the 45 Colt cylinder and ringed barrel and buy another convertible with an acp cylinder?
The gun still shoots decent with the 45 Colt cylinder.

Thank you, Scott

 

[hittman]

Welcome to the forum.
Send it to Ruger.

 

[GypsmJim]

This should not be a question. If you screwed up the barrel, it should not be fired.....period. Whet her you send it to a gunsmith or Ruger is your choice.

 

[Caballero59]

The ring is so slight that I didn't have any idea it was there until a week later when I ran a tight patch through it and felt the resistance change at a certain point.

 

[Medicmike3762]

Build a custom! No questions.
Finding the smith you like may be the challenge. Most have long waits and unfortunately many are of the age where they are beginning to retire or are not taking orders. But a couple off the top of my head would be Alan Harton, John Powers, Ronnie Wells.
Alan just text me today about a gun he has wrapped up for me. It was not a complete build but it was a caliber conversion on an old model from 357 to 44 special shorten barrel and fabricate interchangeable sight base and blade. Action work and fit up some ivory’s. Turn around was just over 6 months!
Custom all the way don’t look back!!!

 

[XUSNORDIE]

I'm curious. What was the root cause of the mishap that bulged the cylinder?

 

[s4s4u]

If it shoots good in 45 Colt, shoot it. I never used the ACP cylinder much anyway due to POI issues.

 

[dobegrant.45]

I would send it back to Ruger

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum!!!!!

As I read the OP,, I KNEW there would be replies all over the spectrum of "what to do!"

First,, I've seen a few cases of where a bad reload caused an issue. I have a good friend who loaded about 2000 rounds of 9mm for his competition Glock. Went to test a few the night before he was to go to a big USPSA match. Blew up the gun, and had a hand injury. Luckily,, not so bad that he couldn't shoot,, but bad enough to need stitches, and his scores were way off for his ability.

Now, as to what to do.

Many people feel that any case of a ring in a barrel, or a bulged cylinder should be repaired. I tend to agree with this assessment. While it may APPEAR usable,, you never know what stresses the metal has been subjected to, because most of us have no way to truly pressure test the metal, or anything like that.

Probably the least expensive & fastest turn-around would be for it to go to Ruger. They may well decide to just scrap the gun & replace it, or offer up a reasonable trade.

The custom route,, well, many do enjoy having a truly custom gun, and are willing to wait and spend the money. You will get a really nice gun back. BUT,,,,,,, AGAIN, a custom gunsmith may not have the equipment to test the metal,, and/or refuse to work on one that's been subjected to an over pressure event.

I'll vote to let Ruger make the call.

 

[rugerguy]

good info above, and my train of thought, because none of us know just "how bad" is the damage that was done, none of us can answer that question, get it done back to factory specs and obviously the price will be right....custom is just that "custom", always can get that 'special' what YOU want ( but remember the next guy down the road may NOT like or want, what YOU liked at any given time) and 'named' work is about the only way to get or protect any investment, but again , NO guarantee...........like Grandma used to say , "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade...." Good luck, but better yet do the sure thing.........

 

[Caballero59]

Welcome to the Forum!!!!!

As I read the OP,, I KNEW there would be replies all over the spectrum of "what to do!"

First,, I've seen a few cases of where a bad reload caused an issue. I have a good friend who loaded about 2000 rounds of 9mm for his competition Glock. Went to test a few the night before he was to go to a big USPSA match. Blew up the gun, and had a hand injury. Luckily,, not so bad that he couldn't shoot,, but bad enough to need stitches, and his scores were way off for his ability.

Now, as to what to do.

Many people feel that any case of a ring in a barrel, or a bulged cylinder should be repaired. I tend to agree with this assessment. While it may APPEAR usable,, you never know what stresses the metal has been subjected to, because most of us have no way to truly pressure test the metal, or anything like that.

Probably the least expensive & fastest turn-around would be for it to go to Ruger. They may well decide to just scrap the gun & replace it, or offer up a reasonable trade.

The custom route,, well, many do enjoy having a truly custom gun, and are willing to wait and spend the money. You will get a really nice gun back. BUT,,,,,,, AGAIN, a custom gunsmith may not have the equipment to test the metal,, and/or refuse to work on one that's been subjected to an over pressure event.

I'll vote to let Ruger make the call.

I appreciate your measured response. This is the type thing I was looking for.

 

[Caballero59]

I'm curious. What was the root cause of the mishap that bulged the cylinder?

Don't know. Bulged cylinder suggest maybe a double charge (I was loading 5 gr of 231 with coated 255 RNFP -seating depth is the big deal with ACP!). Bulged barrel suggest squib. Therefore, I really don't know.

 

[Caballero59]

Do you guys agree with my logic that the frame is ok? If the frame had stretched, the cylinder gap and endshake would change, and/or there would be cylinder pin alignment issues, etc. John Linebaugh, when testing Ruger 45 Colt +P loads to the point of failure said the frames were always fine. These were large frames but still...

 

[Caballero59]

What I'm wanting should not be a custom gun but almost is. The stock Flattop configuration is perfect for me but I want almost no endshake and ideally about 0.003-0.004 cylinder gap, round chambers, true chamber/forcing cone alignment, and no thread pinch from screwing the barrel in too tight. Sadly, this is almost too much to ask from Ruger these days. Would a custom barrel and cylinder be more than a $1000? If the FA 97 was $1500 instead of twice that, that would be the way to go.

 

[Medicmike3762]

By custom barrel do you mean a true custom barrel from say Douglas or a ruger barrel you select? Same question with the cylinder? If your having someone make you a cylinder and barrel then yes it will definitely be way more than 1k.

 

[Caballero59]

I would be super happy with Ruger barrel and cylinder properly fitted. No 10 thousands cylinder gap that Ruger says meets their specs. Some say that a tight cylinder gap is is not important but it is to me. Who needs the blast and grit?

 

[Joey]

I would take Contenders advice and send it back to Ruger. They have an excellent service dept, I have sent several guns to them in the past few years and got great results. I definitely would not shoot it, no matter the load. You got away apparently without injury the first time, don't press your luck. You cannot visually identify problems that may have resulted from the event. Send it to Ruger.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Who needs the blast and grit?

Well....there's always air soft if blast and grit bothers you......

 

[Johnnu2]

I think that you will be VERY surprised at the cost of CUSTOM work/materials. About 10+ yrs ago, I paid $500+ for a truly custom cylinder (made from "scratch"); and again 10+ yrs ago, I paid $600 for a custom octagon bbl. I use a specific algorithm when costing anything in today's world: "Calculate what you THINK it will cost, then double it, and add your age.". Here it is in .32-20 cal.:


J.

 

[Caballero59]

Nice gun. What are the grips?

Unfortunately, I moved off the farm and now live on 3.3 acres with a neighbor 100 yds away. Really not comfortable shooting more than 22 rf without a suppressor so I have a Marlin 1894 Classic in 32-20 that I'm getting threaded. 118 gr FP with 3.2 gr 231 get 1050 fps from the 22 in barrel and is serious varmint control. So much fun to shoot. The 32-20 is pure classic stuff. To be honest, a 255 at 950+ fps in a Colt SAA gets snappy so the 32-20's have their place.

 

[Johnnu2]

Those grips were Buckeye Burl if I remember correctly... made by SK (Scott Kolar)..... I modified them to have the screw enter from the LEFT side (into the BLIND right side; Scott's original design was to enter from the right side and exit that left.

J.

 

[contender]

Going the custom route,, and KNOWING it's a safe gun is one thing. But having a bulged cylinder & ringed barrel,, in my opinion would always be "suspect" in the back of my mind.
And yes,, I agree with a few comments above,, the expense of a custom, will most likely exceed $1000,, even if you used take off Ruger parts. A cylinder & barrel will run $300-$400 for the parts, then having them fitted & trued etc,, is labor & time.
Plus,, having a custom guy willing to do it. Sadly,,, in todays society,, even "good ol' boys" understand lawsuits. Many may try things on their own dime,, but when they charge for services,, they accept the liability for their work. And working with an "unknown" factor of the frame,, may reject the work.

I'll be the first one to admit to being frugal & a bit tight at times. But safety & peace of mind,, will make me do the necessary things to assure that I and anybody, (family or others) else will not suffer for my frugal feelings.

A wise man once shared with me a sobering thought. He said that a gun is a man made, mechanical object. It may be built very strongly, and work for years just fine. But eventually just like old men, strength can & will fail. Especially after a lot of abuse. If a gun is subjected to a lot of top tier loads,, a lot,, it'll "age" quicker. Yet,, it may not appear to be a problem. Then at some point,, it may fail, even with "safe" loads, causing potential injuries. The stresses of anything that makes a machine age quicker immediately cause me concern.
That's why I will pass on buying a gun from a known reloader who thinks max loads are just a guideline & likes "loudenkickenboomers" that recoil heavily.
So an accidental over charge,, causing a bulged cylinder & a ringed barrel,, has stressed the gun somewhat.
Personally,,,, I'd always wonder; "Will today be the day it turns loose?"

 

[Caballero59]

So would you throw the gun in the trash and not even send it to Ruger?

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Back to Ruger!

 

[Medicmike3762]

So would you throw the gun in the trash and not even send it to Ruger?

Let's not get dramatic, that is not what contender or anyone else is saying! You're asking for opinions from everyone and that is what you are getting. Me personally I love customs right now and I also love to do my own work on guns. So for me I personally would try to make it into a one of a kind custom. Having said that contender and the others have offered sage advise. You, or I, or anyone but probably ruger know if the frame is safe and that is the root of what there are saying. It would be wise to have the frame evaluated. Send it to ruger and they will either fix it or trash it. If the latter I'm sure they will offer a replacement of current inventory. And if you do have to pay for a replacement I would suspect it would be deeply discounted. My best friend tried his hand at reloading and double charged a 45 colt case with unique and blew the top strap off his beloved 7 1/2 Colt SAA. Colt who I think has some of the worst customer service one earth or at least did, offered him a new replacement for 1000. That was pretty good I thought. Now back to your issue, I see what contender is saying about liability etc… if I was a custom builder and you called me up saying you have a gun you want built but…….the barrel has a ring and the cylinder was bulged, well I would probably say look elsewhere. Heck Hamilton Bowen wouldn't even remove ruger lettering due to liability. It sounds like you have been reloading and shooting for a long time and it sounds like you are a proficient hand gunner. You are among good company because most here have been doing this a long long time. But remember this is what you signed up for on a forum input from others! And the advise has been wise. I know what I would do after reading what contender said (I’d still try to make a custom) but……I'm not YOU. You have to make your own decision at the end. Who knows, you may call a builder and they say great no problem send it over! But they also might not! But what ever you do don't be RASH! This has happened before, no one is the first to do anything. Like I said my buddy blew up one of his before, Elmer Kieth destroyed at least a handful of guns. What I'm saying is it can always be FIXED.

 

[Caballero59]

Maybe it's a communication error. What I heard is don't trust the frame regardless of how it appears but this is not the same message as saying send it back to Ruger to assess the frame. The latter I do understand and agree with. I already have the RMA number. I did find the comments valuable as I carefully sorted through and considered all of them.

Edit: I went back and saw where contender did say send it to Ruger so it was a misunderstanding and I think we are all in agreement here. Its going back to Ruger.

 

[Joey]

So would you throw the gun in the trash and not even send it to Ruger?

Send it to me! Pm can be sent!

 

[contender]

My apologies for not being clear in my second post. I thought my first post about sending it to Ruger was understood.

I think you are doing the right thing by sending it to Ruger. Let them decide how safe, (or not) the gun is.

I had a barrel shear off of a Redhawk decades ago. Ruger had me sign a injury liability release,, and replaced my gun.

 

[Joey]

Maybe it's a communication error. What I heard is don't trust the frame regardless of how it appears but this is not the same message as saying send it back to Ruger to assess the frame. The latter I do understand and agree with. I already have the RMA number. I did find the comments valuable as I carefully sorted through and considered all of them.

Edit: I went back and saw where contender did say send it to Ruger so it was a misunderstanding and I think we are all in agreement here. Its going back to Ruger.

Keep us updated on what they do, please.

 

[Caballero59]

Keep us updated on what they do, please.

Will do. Probably take a several weeks or more.