Redhawk barrel separation

[SL1]

I have read here and elsewhere that early Redhawks were assembled with a lubricant in the barrel threads that caused stress corrosion cracking in the barrel. There are several pictures of Redhawks with barrels broken off at the front of the frame, with the cracking credited for the failure.

Does anybody on this forum know the serial number for the last Redhawk assembled with the problem lubricant? I am trying to determine whether my Redhawk is susceptible.

SL1

 

[skeeter]

I don't know the serial numbers, but I remember the look on my brother's face back in the 80's when his barrel flew down range. He thought it was his reload!

 

[robertkirksey]

Send it to me and I will test it for you. :wink:

 

[SL1]

At least tell me if you think the flying barrel would stop a charging bear if I managed to hit him in the nose with it!

Seriously, I am surprised that Ruger did not have a recall for that type of problem. It essentially renders the Redhawk a "single shot" (or worse) when it happens. NOT a good selling point for a :six-shooter."

SL1

 

[hittman]

Thought it was the Super Redhawks, not Redhawks. (??)

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

If memory serves correct, Contender had this happen.

It was a bit more complicated, as many things are, than a mismatch between lube and the steel. The barrels had a generous amount of lube applied to the threads and the excess wiped off after assembly with the frame. The problem guns were ones where the threads were lubed, but barrels not immediately assembled to frames. Instead, they sat overnight or over the weekend, to be assembled to frames on the next workday.

A thick covering of the lube over time caused the issue. The thin film left in place after assembly didn't have enough of whatever bad chemical to cause a problem. A comparison would be the moisture in exhaling once over the sugar bowl won't casue the sugar to cake up. Put it in high humidity, uncovered, for a few days and it does.

So, there's no "last serial number" you can go by. I do think Ruger has a serial number list, though, so a phone call with the serial number should put it to bed for a particular gun. My understanding is if there are any guns still out there that have not been fixed, then a free trip to Ruger will make it safe.

 

[SL1]

Thanks, Iron Mike.

 

[skipper49]

The problem was with early standard Redhawks. Some time back, I bought an unfired 5 1/2" Redhawk, still in the box, that was made back in the mid to late eighties. I E-mailed Ruger to see if my serial number fell in the "problem" range. Got an e-mail back from them saying they were unaware of a problem like that ever existing. :roll: We all know it did, so I didn't even respond to their e-mail. I also believe that the problem was very tiny in scope, so nothing to be really concerned about. If there is a problem with a Ruger, their customer service has been very good to me in the past.
Skip

 

[SL1]

I was hoping for them to be more proactive. What is customer service going to do for me if the barrel comes off while I am in the company of an angry bear?

SL1

 

[SL1]

I was hoping for them to be more proactive. What is customer service going to do for me if the barrel comes off while I am in the company of an angry bear?

SL1

 

[skipper49]

I was hoping for them to be more proactive. What is customer service going to do for me if the barrel comes off while I am in the company of an angry bear?

SL1

On top of fixing your Redhawk (for your heirs), I'd bet they'd spring for a very nice flower arrangement for the service. :lol:
All kidding aside, you probably have a better chance of winning the Powerball than the barrel breaking off your Redhawk. Shoot it and enjoy it.
BTW, that bear won't care how long your "barrel" is, just keep shooting. :lol:
Skip

 

[SL1]

"that bear won't care how long your "barrel" is, just keep shooting."

But, how could I keep my eye on the FRONT SIGHT?!

SL1

 

[skipper49]

Ok,Ok, you got me there, my friend!!

(Like you're gonna need a front sight at Chewin' distance) :lol:

 

[contender]

Yes, I'm one of the very few people who actually had this happen.
Yes, it was a Redhawk, NOT the Super Redhawk.
Iron Mike did a very good job of summing it up.
It was basically a VERY SMALL bunch, and it was due to the prolonged time the lube sat on the barrels, (over a long weekend, etc) vs an overnight type of issue. I'm not surprised that whoever you spoke to at Ruger didn't know of it as it was so few of them it affected. If it helps, the serial number of the one I had seperate is; 501-10445. It was model KRH-44R.

 

[arthury]

Interesting read ... tho seem to beg the question: if the lubricant weakens the steel (little or much), why continue to use the same lubricant? If too much of it causes a reproducible barrel separation in short time, then I would think that less of it will still cause barrel separation but may take longer. Seems like an unnecessary risk. There are thousands of lubricants in the industry, why pick this one?

 

[Laserbait]

The problem was that the lubricant dried out, so when they screwed the barrels on, there was too much friction, and that caused small stress fractures in the barrels by the threads.

It wasn't a problem with the composition of the lube, just the amount of time from when the lube was applied to the threads to the time that the barrels were installed.

Once they figured that out, they stopped lubing the threads if the barrels were not going to be used within a shorter time frame.

The funny thing was, this was one of the reasons that the Super Redhawk was designed, and with it the huge front frame to barrel interface. It was initially believed that the Redhawks junction was not providing enough support.

 

[anachronism]

Was it just stainless revolvers? My blued 7-1/2 in is an '85. I'd think it would have let go by now if it were going to do it.

 

[lfpiii]

As mentioned the problem was with a small number of guns but Ruger did have a recall back then. I happened to have gone to my local dealer to purchase a Redhawk but he only had Super's. All his Redhawks had been sent back to the factory. Old NRA and gun magazines listed the recall numbers.

 

[arthury]

The problem was that the lubricant dried out, so when they screwed the barrels on, there was too much friction, and that caused small stress fractures in the barrels by the threads.

It wasn't a problem with the composition of the lube, just the amount of time from when the lube was applied to the threads to the time that the barrels were installed.

Once they figured that out, they stopped lubing the threads if the barrels were not going to be used within a shorter time frame.

The funny thing was, this was one of the reasons that the Super Redhawk was designed, and with it the huge front frame to barrel interface. It was initially believed that the Redhawks junction was not providing enough support.

Thank you for the detailed explanation. It's very helpful.

 

[RugerHound]

Yes, I'm one of the very few people who actually had this happen.
Yes, it was a Redhawk, NOT the Super Redhawk.
Iron Mike did a very good job of summing it up.
It was basically a VERY SMALL bunch, and it was due to the prolonged time the lube sat on the barrels, (over a long weekend, etc) vs an overnight type of issue. I'm not surprised that whoever you spoke to at Ruger didn't know of it as it was so few of them it affected. If it helps, the serial number of the one I had seperate is; 501-10445. It was model KRH-44R.

Ty,

Just curious as to how the barrel failed... Did it break at the radius where the threads & barrel meet, or did it 'pull' the threads?

 

[Hondo44]

Very 1st post:

There are several pictures of Redhawks with barrels broken off at the front of the frame, with the cracking credited for the failure. SL1