New Birdshead Single Seven Issues

[Boatbuilder]

My LGS was able to order one of these for me a couple of weeks ago. Got a chance to try it out and on the third or fourth round, the mechanism jammed with the hammer cocked and a live round under it. The hammer would not drop by pulling the trigger. After some wiggling of the cylinder I could get the hammer down safely. I thought maybe it was the ammo and switched up a couple of times. After it jammed in the cocked position for the third time, I had trouble correcting the problem by wiggling but eventually got the hammer down, unloaded the gun and put it away in disgust. Upon closer inspection, it looks like the loading gate protrudes into the frame window when closed, and this can catch the rim of a case just enough to prevent the action from fully functioning, but not every time a case passes the gate. In addition, the trigger pull seemed gritty and the underside of the frame has the now-common tooling marks next to the trigger guard. Ruger is sending a shipping label. I will also check the chamber diameters as best I can without pin gauges before writing up the return form.

In the last year or so, this makes 3 of 5 new SA revolvers that had to go back and 1 of 1 DA. I want to say I'm done with new Rugers, but just when I do they'll come out with a blue 4" half-lug GP-100 44 Spl, K1RSI in .358 Win, or a Mini-6.5 Grendel and I'll be eating my words.

 

[historicfirearms]

Disappointing to hear. Ruger is turning out some real junk lately. I did luck out on the Blackhawk that I just bought. Only problems were undersized cylinder throats and a too short front sight but I expected those problems. Hope Ruger gets their stuff together because I really want to get one of the single sevens birdshead.

 

[lolbell]

"In the last year or so, this makes 3 of 5 new SA revolvers that had to go back and 1 of 1 DA. "

It's hard to believe Ruger is still in business when 4 out of 6 revolvers they produce has to go back for non-warranty work. What is unreal, is that I've bought somewhere in the neighborhood or 20-25 new Rugres in the last 4 or 5 years and have had no trouble from any of them. I guess I need to buy a lottery ticket the way my luck is running.

 

[Boatbuilder]

The 327 Birdshead came back from Ruger and I tried it out over the holiday weekend. Ruger had replaced the transfer bar and fixed the loading gate that had been protruding into the frame window. The first seven rounds shot well with no problems. On the second cylinder full, I had two good rounds, two light primer strikes that failed to fire, and then it locked up again with hammer fully cocked. No wiggling would get the hammer to fall this time, but I was able to get the loading gate open just far enough to unload the gun. Once the cylinder was empty, the hammer would fall (on my thumb, which was placed between hammer and frame to prevent an accidental discharge during this maneuver). I checked the base pin, dry fired a couple dozen times, and loaded the cylinder. Again, a couple of light primer strikes, but two of the rounds that had failed previously did fire, then another light primer strike and then it locked up again. Enough. I repeated the unloading drill and put the gun away. Ruger is sending a shipping label and it's going back again. This is the first time I've ever had to send one back twice, but I'm getting used to the process now. BTW, I have two other Single Sevens that function flawlessly with the same ammo.

Any thoughts on what would make the gun lock up in the fully cocked position?

 

[PriseDeFer]

I haven't the foggiest, but I would like to. Would you please revisit this thread when you get
your gun healthy and let us know what the problem was? A lot of new gun issues are reported in this forum and it would be nice if we could get a big picture. Is there any one problem that comes up more often, any pattern, and rhyme or reason? Or is it just totally random?
Good Luck!