Problem with Super Redhawk Action...Help!

[Farmalljon]

So I took my new(to me) Super Redhawk .454 casull out to the range today to shoot it for the first time. I had a box of mild .45 colt ammo to try her out with. The first 6 rounds were flawless, all fired in single action. The next six shots I fired in double action. the first 4 were flawless. on the 5th round, I was only able to pull the trigger back about 1/2 way. the hammer came back half way also. It wasn't a hard instant stop, it just got really hard to pull. I released the trigger, looked for something binding the cylinder from turning, and pulled the trigger again. This time it was flawless. I then fired the 6th round in that cylinder with a double action trigger pull. again, flawless. I reloaded, and fired the first two shots single action with no issues. When I attempted to pull the hammer back for the third single action shot, the problem resurfaced. I was only able to pull the hammer back 1/2 way, and it got REALLY hard, so I eased the trigger back down, and pulled it again. This time no problem. I then emptied the cylinder of the remaining cases and rounds, and procedded to repeatedly dry fire in double action. It seems that about 1 in every 4 to 8 trigger pulls gets really hard about 1/2 way through. Same exact thing in single action. It seems to be completely random, and does not occur only on one chamber. It can happen on any chamber. Next I decided to pull the trigger just a little bit harder than I felt comfortable doing, and I was able to pull the trigger "through" the sticky hard part, and dry fire it normally in double action. I found that I could do this repeatedly. Likewise for single action....I was able to pull really hard on the hammer, and get it through the sticky part to the cocked position. There seems to be no problem with the release of the hammer to fire the gun, just in moving the hammer rearward, in both single and double action. As I said, it shows up intermittently, like 1 out of every 4 to 8 attempts to fire. I'm stumped. Any thoughts? Should I send this big boy back to Ruger for a look, Or do you think I might be able to fix it with some "exploratory" surgery? :?:

 

[mattsbox99]

Was this reloaded ammunition or factory new? If its reloaded check for high primers. One of my GPs has very tight headspace and does this if I'm not careful.

If its new ammunition, there could be some gunk down in the guts, since you bought it used I would guess this is the case. They are pretty easy to take apart and clean.

If none of the above, call Ruger and have them take a look at it. They are very good about taking care of any problems and have great turnaround time.

 

[JEFraze]

What kind of grips do you have? I Had basicly the same problem with my Redhawk .41mag I have Pacymer Prensation grips on and I discovered that they were overly tightened causeing tthem to bind the hammer spring. If you have rubber type grips try lossening the screw a turn or two and give it a try. Thats all it took for mine and has not given me a problem in several years.

 

[Fairshake]

any sign of debris under the ejector star?

Could the transfer bar be hitting/jamming against the side of the FP instead of sliding over it?

Perhaps try DRY firing w/muzzle streight up and see if reoccurs.

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum!

Ok, the problem is random.

He has it happen when dry firing, and live firing. Not the ammo folks.

By no means am I an expert in the DA's but I too have seen the pinched hammer spring. However, it appears at random, so my first thoughts are that there is possibily something internally causing a slight action binding. Old grease with crud & gunk in it, a small metal shaving, etc. I would first do a field stripping & internal cleaning to see if there is something in there that shouldn't be. This can include the cleaning under the ejector star etc.

 

[dleong]

I had the exact same thing happen when I installed too light of a trigger return spring in my .480 SRH when I was tuning the trigger some time back. In my case, what happened was the trigger return spring would occasionally not fully reset the trigger forward after a shot, and the next attempt at a DA or SA shot would result in the hammer coming back only halfway. Releasing the trigger and pushing it forward completely would reset the trigger correctly and allow the gun to fire normally. I ended up installing the next heaviest trigger return spring and the problem went away.

You can actually simulate the problem quite easily: just dry fire the gun normally, slowly let up on the trigger until just before where the "click" is normally heard, then, while holding the trigger in that position (to mimic an incomplete trigger reset due to a weak return spring), cock the hammer or pull the trigger. You'll find the hammer will only come back halfway.

You mentioned your SRH was new to you, and I imply that to mean you did not purchase it new. If that's the case, it sounds like the previous owner tried to lighten the trigger pull by putting a lighter return spring in it--and went a little too far.

If the scenario above describes the problem with your SRH, installing a heavier trigger return spring should fix the problem. This is an extremely easy task to accomplish, and can be done in under 5 minutes.

 

[Farmalljon]

Update: Last night I had a chance to really scrutinize my SRH to try to see what was happening. I noticed that when it did seem to bind up, if I held the normal pressure on the trigger, and then"helped" rotate the cylinder with my left hand, the problem went away. This was repeatable in both single and double action. This told me that the cylinder was dragging on something. I them held the gun up between my eye and a lit desk lamp so I could see light shining through the cylinder/barrel gap. I then began to dryfire in both double and single action. In every case where the trigger got hard and "hung up", the light shining through the cylinder/barrel gap disappeared. So I discovered that the little cog that comes out and rotates the cylinder sometimes pushes the cylinder forward where it rubs the end of the barrel. I put a film of oil on the end of the cylinder, and the problem went away. What should the cylinder to barrel gap measure? If I grasp the cylinder and try to move it forward and back, it BARELY moves...maybe a couple thousands of an inch. Is this normal? Is it normal for the cylinder to touch the end of the barrel when rotating? It appears that once the cylinder has rotated and is in lock up, there is a slight gap present between the barrel and cylinder. Let me know what the gap should be, and I will measure it with my feeler gauges. Anyone think I have a problem here?

 

[Fairshake]

I asked Ruger the same question and was told <0.004" end play was spec and felt that was too sloppy for me. Got some shim spacers from Power Custom to tighten it up some. BTW one of my SRHs was brand new and the other hardly shot by the first owner.

 

[Farmalljon]

Has anyone noticed the cylinder slightly contacting the barrel when rotating, on their SRH?

 

[dleong]

Has anyone noticed the cylinder slightly contacting the barrel when rotating, on their SRH?

Not on any of my 3 SRHs. Ditto on my GP100 and SBH.

Is there any powder residue or lead buildup on the cylinder face. You've probably already checked this, but I thought I'd confirm.

Does the cylinder rotate freely in the frame with the trigger housing and hammer removed?

The pawl (the "little cog" you mentioned) should not be exerting any significant forward pressure on the cylinder when it operates. If it is, something is amiss, and you might want to detail-strip the trigger mechanism and give it a good inspection and cleaning.

 

[Tellico]

As near as I can tell the barrel to cyl. gap remains constant through all six chambers on mine. I can not detect any forward movement of the cyl. while cocking the gun. Same with my GP. I have replaced the trigger return spring and hammer spring. ( went to light on first hammer spring ) had mis-fires with magnum rifle primers.

 

[Sal1950]

Are you sure the cylinder is hitting the barrel? If so there should be a rub line on the front of the cylinder where it was rubbing. Open the cylinder and look at the front of it.

You should never have zero cylinder to barrel gap and if so you have to determine whats causing it. You say the gun is used, how old is it, check the serial # for date of manufacture.
http://www.ruger.com/service/productHistory/RE-SRedhawk.html

I know the guys mentioned this before but check that the gun is clean under the ejector star. But still the cylinder should never be able to touch the barrel. There really only a couple ways under which this could happen..
1. The cylinder has developed a lot of endplay from extensive shooting. Get a set of feeler gauges and determine the cylinder to barrel gap at a positition it seems to have the most. If it's over about .006 you probably could repair it with some cylinder endshake bearings.
2 Someone has been Cowboying the gun, slapping or snapping the cylinder closed and bent the yoke. Send it back to Ruger for repairs.

 

[Mackaymac]

I had a brand new SRH Alaskan (test fired April 18th and I received it April 23rd) with the same problem. I cleaned and lightly lubed it upon receipt. It began jamming after about 35 rounds. All factory ammo, 6 rounds of 454 and the remainder 45 Colt. Called Ruger and they suggested cleaning it again. Did same and it had no effect. Sent gun back to them on May 9th. They sent UPS to my home to pick it up. It will arrive there on the 14th and I will let you know the outcome. The gun was very smooth out of the box in both single and double action. I was very surprised when it started to have problems. I have and still do own many Ruger firearms and have never experienced any problems.

 

[Mackaymac]

I had a brand new SRH Alaskan (test fired April 18th and I received it April 23rd) with the same problem. I cleaned and lightly lubed it upon receipt. It began jamming after about 35 rounds. All factory ammo, 6 rounds of 454 and the remainder 45 Colt. Called Ruger and they suggested cleaning it again. Did same and it had no effect. Sent gun back to them on May 9th. They sent UPS to my home to pick it up. It will arrive there on the 14th and I will let you know the outcome. The gun was very smooth out of the box in both single and double action. I was very surprised when it started to have problems. I have and still do own many Ruger firearms and have never experienced any problems.

 

[98Redline]

I had a similar issue regarding a disappearing B/C gap with my .480 SRH (totally stock configuration).

The gun is currently back with Ruger to get that repaired but the nearest I can figure is that the ratchet on the back of the cylinder had one tooth that was higher than the rest. During the rotation it would "ride up" on a high spot on the back of the frame and my B/C gap would drop from .004 to zero. I could also feel the cylinder dragging at that point as well.

 

[louiethelump]

debris under the extractor star will push the cylinder forward and cause the jamming you are describing. If you have not pushed the extractor back and brushed out the cylinder recess under the extractor and the underside of the star itself with an old toothbrush, do yourself a favor and do it before you go any farther. I would say your issue is about 99% likely to be debris stuck under the star from the 45 colt ammo.

seems a shame to send it to Ruger for them to brush it out and send it back.

 

[Donaldjr1969]

debris under the extractor star will push the cylinder forward and cause the jamming you are describing. If you have not pushed the extractor back and brushed out the cylinder recess under the extractor and the underside of the star itself with an old toothbrush, do yourself a favor and do it before you go any farther. I would say your issue is about 99% likely to be debris stuck under the star from the 45 colt ammo.

While I am sure this is nothing new, did you physically look at the ejector star as it was seated in an empty cylinder just for any signs of debris trapped on the underside?

 

[Mackaymac]

I initially cleaned and lightly lubed the gun upon receipt. I did check and brush out the area under the exrtractor. I was looking for any leftover manufacturing debris. When the gun started to jam I checked that area first. I like Remington ammo but in my experience it is dirty and leaves quite a bit of carbon fouling. I have three Gary Reeder five shots that get "sticky" after about thirty rounds and also a Uberti 1873 Winchester that gets easily fouled with this ammo. His barrel/cylinder gap is pretty tight. After talking with the tech at Ruger I cleaned the gun again, but things didn't change. I did notice a couple of small burrs on the back of the extractor where it contacts the pawl to rotate the cylinder. The gun arrived at Ruger on Monday so I should have some feedback soon. Thanks for your input.

 

[98Redline]

Update on my sticky .480 SRH.

The issue I had with a binding trigger pull was the result of a high spot on the recoil shield, where the extractor star ratchet contacts. If I blued the metal on the teeth of the ratchet and blued the back of the recoil shield you could clearly see where one of the teeth of the ratchet was dragging and causing the binding on one particular spot on the shield.

Another great way to check for this is to remove the entire trigger group from the gun (leave the cylinder and crane installed) and turn the cylinder lightly with your hand. Without the extra drag of the action you can really feel any points in rotation that drag. My cylinder would literally drag to a stop if you spun it lightly as it passed the high spot. It also had the effect of pushing the entire cylinder forward and allowing the front of the cylinder to contact the forcing cone which added more drag.

It appears that just a little bit of filing was performed on the back of the recoil shield to flatten out the high spot and the back side of the ratchet was stoned a bit to smooth it out. And now it rotates with relative ease and my B/C gap is constant across all chambers.

 

[Donaldjr1969]

That's good to hear. Sometimes the simple fixes are the best.