Sticky cylinder base pin

[CapnMike]

I recently purchased a New Model Blackhawk in .357 Magnum. The gun comes with two cylinders. One for .357 Magnum/38 Special. And the other for Luger 9mm. I really like that idea. But I encountered a problem when attempting to remove the cylinder for the first time. The base pin was so tight that I had to resort to a pair of soft jaw pliers before it would even budge. And yes, I pressed the locking pin. When I reinstalled the cylinder and pushed the pin back in, same problem. Once again, I could not withdraw it without resorting to pliers. A close examination revealed the problem was with the raised band running around the pin, just behind the finger grip. This band has a half moon cut out where it is intended to slide along the barrel. I found that the band was just slightly too large and when the pin was fully seated, it wedged against the side of the barrel, effectively trapping the pin in place. I removed the pin and ground the band down slightly. Problem solved. The pin now slides in and out effortlessly. Just curious if anyone else has encountered this.

 

[Bruce H.]

It sounds like you have an aftermarket base pin. Probably a Belt Moutain Base Pin. The Ruger factory base pins are different. You would not have that problem with a factory base pin. But, since you were able to fix it, I would leave it as it is.

 

[cas6969]

It sounds like you have an aftermarket base pin. Probably a Belt Moutain Base Pin. The Ruger factory base pins are different. You would not have that problem with a factory base pin. But, since you were able to fix it, I would leave it as it is.

Sadly that's FAR from the correct I had a Vaquero that was that way, due to... the best I could ever figure out, the front and rear frame holes being out of line. There were a couple of issues with the gun, all pointing to the frame being warped. It was also an issue of stacking tolerances as some of my other pins (both factory and Belt mountain) worked just fine.

 

[DGW1949]

I had the same problem when retrofitting a NM pin to my OM Blackhawk.
The half-moon cut in the collar wasn't radiused right for my frame/barrel combination.....Easy to fix though.

DGW

 

[CapnMike]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have an aftermarket pin, unless Ruger is selling them that way. As this was purchased new, in the box. And I checked the alignment. It's perfect. Once I ground the rim down on the pin, it slides in and out smoothly with no effort.