New Vaquero Transfer Bar Pinch

[Mike in SC]

I know that this subject has probably been beaten to death. Some say that Ruger & Co. is all knowing, don't fix something that ain't broke but I am in the other camp. I base this on the fact that I have a 1974 vintage Stainless Single Six (one of the first) that functions perfectly without any TB Pinch. The hammer does not move forward after firing and the trigger releases cleanly if you hold the hammer down. It looks right as I expect a quality SA revolver should. I recently sent the pictured Vaquero to Gary Reeder to fit a Bisley hammer to it. He did a great job matching the hammer to the frame ''ears'' but I was disappointed to see nothing done about the TB pinch. That would have most likely been any additional charge. Not wanting to go to the expense or trouble to send it back I decided to correct it myself. Some Forum member had done this job without taking the NV apart so I started looking at how to do this without getting metal filings and dirty oil from polishing or honing in the action. Having this happen would cause me to disassemble which would miss the whole point of the exercise. It became apparent that manipulation of gravity is the answer. The image below explains it. I popped off the grip and the cylinder and reinstalled the base pin. Mounted the piece as illustrated to allow the debris and gunk to fall straight down without entering the action. The black round piece of plastic is an extra automotive vacuum fitting from my spare parts that provides support so that you can lean into the second hammer step when filing, polishing and honing w/ a white stone. Going to do my Lipsey .44 Spl. Blackhawk next. Hope this gives some direction to anyone else contemplating the job. Please don't flame, I'm very sensitive. LOL!

 

[Hondo44]

Excellent! With your skill and ingenuity, I think you could have modified and installed the Bisley hammer and done a better job than Reeder, even on the grip frame 'ears'.

 

[Mike in SC]

Thanks for the compliment. Maybe I could have but I guess I was lazy so I choose to send it to Gary. Total cost w/ return shipping was $110.00 which was not bad. But I thought that he would square away the pinch as part of the fitting. That took a little bit of the satisfaction away. I could understand Ruger going to the thicker TB for durability but they should have fit the hammers better. Now it works and feels like it should.

 

[Carry_Up]

I know that this subject has probably been beaten to death.

Yes, it has, but the misunderstanding remains.

Some say that Ruger & Co. is all knowing, don't fix something that ain't broke but I am in the other camp. I base this on the fact that I have a 1974 vintage Stainless Single Six (one of the first) that functions perfectly without any TB Pinch. The hammer does not move forward after firing and the trigger releases cleanly if you hold the hammer down.

Why would you hold the hammer down? If the hammer does not move forward during trigger reset, then hammer contact with the transfer bar is minimal or none. That would simply be an observation, not a judgement.

It looks right as I expect a quality SA revolver should.

I'm curious how you make the conclusion that it is correct because it looks correct?

... I was disappointed to see nothing done about the TB pinch.

But, you just described how your Single Six hammer does NOT pinch the t.b., and further that it looked correct to you. What?

I'll just offer my humble opinion that Ruger's transfer bar/firing pin system is a great safety design. The firing pin on models that use this design is not inertial. Therefore it is meant to have direct hammer contact with the transfer bar, which in turn has direct contact with the firing pin. The amount of force applied to the transfer bar depends on where the top of the hammer contacts the frame. Of course, the firing pin can move forward beyond the direct contact point, but that free movement does not take place when firing a cartridge. It is hard to tell from your description which direction you want the hammer to go. Personally, I look for some hammer movement during trigger reset, which indicates that the transfer bar is actually touching the hammer cutout as it should do to obtain a solid primer strike. The final requirement is that the trigger actually can reset itself after the hammer drops.

If the trigger spring is lightened, as it almost always is, then the reset must be checked because excess "pinching" may prevent the trigger, and thus the t.b. from moving. In my opinion, worry about breaking the t.b. is irrelevant based on the design requirements for reliable ignition. That's the way I approach it.

-Carry_Up

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I agree with Carry_Up.
Also why not use some masking tape to prevent filings from entering areas where you don`t want them? Seems an no brainer to me.

 

[w5lx]

I recently sent the pictured Vaquero to Gary Reeder to fit a Bisley hammer to it. He did a great job matching the hammer to the frame ''ears'' but I was disappointed to see nothing done about the TB pinch.

Mike,
Nice job on your gun. I don't know Gary, but it's possible that he didn't think it was that big of a deal. There are a lot of knowledgeable people who think "transfer bar pinch" is a problem that doesn't exist. However, it's your gun and if you're seeking perfection and are happy with it, that's all that counts.