Ruger Security Six Binding

[Whiterook55]

Greetings all, enjoy your forum and am having an issue with a newly purchased blued Security Six with 6 inch barrel.

It looks carried a lot and shot little. My first Ruger revolver, not a huge revolver guy but everyone I've had in the past worked flawlessly.

I took it out today and fired some Herter's .357 Magnum 158 grains and Magtech .38 Specials 158 grain.

The .38 Specials worked flawlessly. The .357s did not. Some cylinders went through fine but about half binded up to make it super tight and impossible to cock or even open the cylinder without a lot of force.

This only happened when .357 Magnum ammo is in the cylinder. It appear the rim is pushing against the recoil shield causing it to bind up.

The revolver is very clean so that is not the issue. After getting it home it appears the ejector rod is slightly bent. I did not notice this since I'm not the most knowledgeable on revolvers. I imagine this is the culprit?

Also, all I needed to do to remove the ejector rod and assembly was open the cylinder, hold it still and turn the ejector rod so it unscrews. I imagine that isn't good. It can unscrew when firing. I ordered a new ejector rod....chances that fixes it?

 

[~JM~]

On some models, the ejector rod unscrews as the cylinder rotates during firing. Eventually the rod unscrews enough to become too long causing binding up. De-grease & clean up the inside & outside threads. Add a very small dab of blue Loc-Tite & thread the ejector rod in fully. Let it set overnight & you will most likely never have another problem.

 

[Whiterook55]

Thanks for the reply. It still does it when hand tightened. Do you think the bend is causing it?

 

[~JM~]

The rod was probably bent at sometime after it had unthreaded enough to cause difficulty in opening the cylinder & it was forced open. Now that it is no longer straight, it is probably more inclined to unscrew while firing.

When you install the new ejector rod, consider using a dab of blue Loc-Tite, or insert some monofilament fishing line into the threaded hole, then thread the new rod in. Trim off any excess fishing line & you should be good.

 

[RoninPA]

If the ejector rod is bent, it is easiest to just replace it. You should be able to get one from Numrich (http://www.gunpartscorp.com/) or Jack First (https://www.jackfirstgun.com/).

The ejector rod needs to be more than finger/hand tight. Once you get it screwed in with your fingers, put something on the knurled part of the rod so you don't mess up the knurling and tighten with a pair of pliers. I actually have a special pair of Vise-Grips that is made specially for this task.

Once tight, and before you put it back in the frame, operate it to insure that it moves smoothly.

Also, while it's out, examine the cylinders to see if there is any build up inside the cylinders. If it has been exclusively or most of the time, used to shoot .38's, they can leave a ring of material that will impede the .357 cases from fully seating (rim pushing against the recoil shield). If that is the case, scrub them good (a Lewis Lead Remover will make quick work of that) to remove any build up. While it is out of the frame you could also check each of the chambers diameter to see if some are out of spec. If so, you can get chamber reamers to true them up, or take it to your trusted gunsmith for him to do.

When cleaning, make sure you push on the ejector rod and clean out (old tooth brush works great) under the extractor star and where the star seats to get any unburnt powder and anything else from underneath it.

 

[Whiterook55]

Well bought a straight ejector rod and just by hand tightening the rod it still binds slightly. I'm going to try and put it in with a tight grip. Still doesn't seem like it will work. No idea. Very frustrating.

 

[RoninPA]

Sent you a PM about repairing your Security Six

 

[Whiterook55]

Well, got it all back and purchased some different 357 ammo. All seems fine. I can't get it to bind with other ammo. The Herters ammo looks like the rims are thicker. I don't have anything to measure that small. I've had good luck with Herters in the past but this is the first time using 357. I wonder if anyone else had this happen...

 

[RoninPA]

Interesting. I've never used Herters so I couldn't say one way of the other.

Go to Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, etc. and get an inexpensive dial caliper (gun owners should have calipers for any number of reasons anyway). Even a cheap set will be able to measure the rim.

Or, just set the Herters and another brand side by side and look at them at eye level, the eye will be able to see the difference in thickness, especially with the Herters being thick enough to bind the cylinder when it is closed.