New Single Six Hammer Problem

[benny f]

I have a new Single Six that is all of 4 days old. I cannot drop the hammer without shooting it. If I try to let it down slowly it binds up halfway. Any ideas what's going on?

What could I have done to screw this up?

 

[BlkHawk73]

Push the cylinder pin completely in. If it's not, it doesn't push the transfer back and it'll hang up on the firing pin plunger.

 

[benny f]

The cylinder pin is all the way back. The hammer drops just fine if I pull the trigger, but not if I let it down gently- you know, decock it

 

[rugerguy]

are you releasing the trigger or keeping it "pulled" all the way back, as you lower the hammer.........?

 

[Pal Val]

Disassemble the gun, give it a good cleaning, and give the innards a good look. Perhaps something is catching on a burr or on a bit of manufacturing debris. Ruger guns don't get shipped exactly clean.

 

[flatgate]

Your hammer may be slightly "binding" on the upper portion of the hammer slot in the grip frame or within the hammer "well" in the cylinder frame.

Disassemble the revolver. Degrease the hammer with some good solvent/degreaser that dries "clean". Paint the sides of the hammer black with a "sharpie". Reassemble and test. Disassemble and look for the "silver" portions of the hammer. They should give you a definite clue of where the hammer is contacting the rest of the gun.

Wrap "emery paper", i.e. 220 grit, around a slim flat stick (popsicle stick, eh?) and sand the tight spots of the grip frame and the cylinder frame's hammer slot. Clean very well and test again.

Sometimes one will find rather "coarse" machine work within the Hammer Well and getting it "smoothed up" is "S.O.P." to a "homeboy" gunsmith.

JMHO,

flatgate

flatgate

 

[benny f]

Well, thanks for the advice. I've been told disassembling a revolver is a bit on the complicated side. I was hoping for magic advice I guess, like wiggle the loading gate and bury a potato half at midnight.

It didn't do this when I first got it but sometime after firing

 

[benny f]

Well, I pulled the gun apart, cleaned it out and (very) lightly lubed the innards. It still does the same thing. And now some times the hammer won't cock.

Does anybody have any ideas what the heck is going on?

 

[McP]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Blkhawk73. If you are sure the base pin is all the way in, then remove it and check to make sure the nipple and spring are in tact.

While looking at the end of the base pin, you should see a small spring loaded nipple protruding from the pin. If you see an empty hole, then the spring and nipple have been dislodged (and are gone) and that is causing your hangs. This happened to me a couple of years ago. Ruger sent me a new base pin, no charge.

 

[benny f]

naw, the cylinder plunger pin thing works fine.

However, I was looking at the parts and it looks like there is a spring on the side of the hammer? It seems more of a solid pin to me. It doesn't budge. If that is supposed to move but doesn't what do you think would happen?

Whatever, but now the cylinder lock part doesn't retract into the frame when trying to cock it. Is that the same part doing that?

 

[louiethelump]

That would do it. That spring loaded pin is supposed to press in to allow the hammer to fall. It is a plunger with a spring under it, held in by a small retaining pin through the hammer side to side. Sometimes something will get in there or it may even have rust in there binding it from sitting in inventory. Need to free up that plunger. The side of the plunger does the work on the cocking of the hammer, and then it compresses when the hammer falls.

Louie