Redhawk woes

[abber]

My Redhawk has a very annoying problem. After 15 to 20 rounds, either the hand or cylinder starts hanging up. I shoot it mostly SA, but when it starts acting up, it won't c$ck properly. I have to help the cylinder rotate with my left hand, while c$cking the hammer with my right. After a cool-down and cleaning, problem is gone. Does anybody have experience with this? It is brand new, and has always done this. I know sending it to Ruger is an option, but if it is something simple, I will try to fix it myself.

[azredhawk44]

How long have you had it?

Clean the front of the cylinder. Also inspect the gap between the forcing cone/frame/cylinder for dirt or lead shavings that could be binding up the action.

It could be dirt if dirt is present, otherwise it sounds like the cylinder gap is too tight. Either ruger or a local smith will have to fix that.

[rantingredneck]

Sounds like the B/C gap is too narrow. Call Ruger........

[abber]

What should the B/C gap be when it is cold? If that is the case, what would need to be done? Shave down the forcing cone?

[azredhawk44]

I think a tightly tuned gap would be about 0.004, and a sloppy one that blew dust and lead shavings at bystanders would be .008 or even 0.010.

At 0.004, if you heat up the cylinder it will expand and rub against the forcing cone. Usually takes about 20-30 rounds, then you have to let it cool again.

A gunsmith will have gauges to measure it. Shouldn't take him more than 10 seconds to do. Just a pre-measured metal shim he slides between the cylinder and cone.

Don't fix it yourself... have Ruger do it.

[Doyle]

You should be able to buy a cheap set of feeler guages from a hardware store. I agree on not trying to fix the problem yourself, however there is nothing wrong with doing a little diagnostic work yourself.

[Unclenick]

A leaf type feeler gauge set from any car parts store is all you need, and you want to see the gap around 0.006". That was the recommended number to set the Dan Wesson change barrels to, and it seems to be a good general purpose number. I've seen one S&W that had only a 0.002" gap, but the face of the cylinder was all scraped up. I had to clean that up and put shim washers in that Brownells sells. You can look for those marks as proof of the problem. As suggested, these short gap guns will run when they are cold, but a few shots are all you get.

Return to the factory is expensive because it has to be by air, but at least you don't need an FFL for factory returns or for their return to you. The advantage to the factory return is they will replace the cylinder if their error in setup caused enough damage to its face. The downside is that if you've had any kind of trigger work done to it they will remove it an put factory spec parts back in. If you have any kind of accuracy issues with the gun, returning it to the factory will get you some attention there, too. A friend of mine got one that wouldn't shoot and the factory reamed the chambers for him and it came back shooting very well.

[rantingredneck]

Return to the factory is expensive because it has to be by air, but at least you don't need an FFL for factory returns or for their return to you.

Call Ruger, they will send you a UPS label to ship it on their dime.

[Unclenick]

Is that right? They didn't used to do that, but the last time I sent something was so long ago the air requirement didn't exist yet. With a factory defect it makes great customer service sense to do that. Thanks for letting us know about it.

Do they still need about five or six weeks to get the work through the line?

[abber]

I don't plan on trying to fix it if it is a B/C gap issue, but I do have feeler gauges I can check it out with. I am at work, so I can't look at it right now, but I am sure there is no scraping on the front of the cylinder. I think I would have noticed that. I have probably put about 200 rounds through this one so far.

I have not dealt with Ruger yet on a repair, but it sounds like the same as S&W. When I dealt with them, I just called, told them of my problem, and they sent a printable shipping label in my e-mail. I had it out to them the next day, and it was back in about 2 weeks. So far, I am liking the Model 29 over the Redhawk, but I need to put some more m,ileage on the Ruger before I decide.

Thanks for all the feedback, my friends. I'll keep you posted.

[rantingredneck]

I've dealt with them on the LCP recall (no brainer as they sent out recall kits). I also sent my P90 in to fix a light strike problem last year. I asked for a call tag and they emailed one. No problems........

I think it took about 3 weeks on that one. I'm sure their repair times ebb and flow with demand.

[SwampYankee]

Wait a minute, did I read that correctly? If I have a broken Smith or Ruger, they will send me a tag so I can ship it to them AND they will ship it directly back?

I thought that handguns needed to be shipped to the manufacturer through an FFL for repair? And it had to come back to me through an FFL?

[pbratton]

When dealing with the factory, you are allowed to ship it directly to them yourself, and the factory is allowed to ship it directly back to you.

[rantingredneck]

In the case of repairs shipped directly to the manufacturer it does not have to go through an FFL. Smith and Ruger will both send UPS call tags to ship on their dime. I'm sure some other gun makers will, but there are some that famously will not (*cough* Taurus *cough*).

You package the gun, put the prepaid label on it and drop it off at a UPS hub (not a ups store). Or you can call and arrange pickup by the driver that covers your area, but they can't give you a definite time. They will try 3 days in a row to pick it up though.

When it comes back to you it comes back "Adult Signature Required" but it comes straight back to your doorstep. No FFL. Ruger uses UPS, but Smith uses (or at least they did last time I sent them something) Fedex.

Fedex screwed up once and left a handgun on my doorstep even though it said Adult Signature Required. I called Smith and reported it and called Fedex and gave them what for over it.

[abber]

Tis' true, Yankee. It goes overnight in both directions. In my case, it went Fedex, and I had to find a drop-off location which was not a Kinko's. Kinko's must be owned by the libbies.

[rantingredneck]

In the case of the Kinko's/Fedex and UPS Store locations, UPS and Fedex both want your guns in their custody for as little time as possible and passing through as few hands as possible. That's why you have to drop it at a hub or schedule pickup via one of their trucks. They've had problems with employee theft of packaged firearms in the past. This is also why it has to go overnight or 2nd day air.

Also, I'm not sure of the relationship between Kinkos and Fedex, but likely the Kinko's people are not Fedex employees and Fedex doesn't want to be responsible for them. Same thing with UPS and UPS Store. Heck, even UPS Freight is a separate company with separate rules.

Not exactly as simple as saying Kinkos are pinkos .

[a7mmnut]

If the cylinder hand doesn't look like it's making shavings and not binding, check the ejector rod and crane arm for play. Unlike some other revolvers, Ruger uses a two piece assembly for the ejector rod. With the cylinder swung open (and empty), push in the lockup detent on the front of the cylinder. As you hold it in, wiggle the rear of the rod with your other hand. It should move freely with a little play. Now look behind the crane at the ejector rod between the shroud and gun frame. You should see the groove along the rear side of the plunging rod that moves inside the cylinder rod itself. If it looks and feels sharp along those edges, you'll need to polish off everything, clean, and re-lube. As you move the rod forward, you should see that the portion running through the cylinder isn't round, but has a square side ground up its length. Those edges should also be smooth and free of burrs and shavings. A Dremel tool and polishing compound will work miracles on any revolver in these areas. You can also want to make a "cut" along the rod's length to hold lubricant longer. It also will need to be polished to a slick finish. When in doubt, see a 'smith. Hope this helps.

-7-

[a7mmnut]

PS=

Overnight air should run between $25-28.

-7-

[abber]

Guess I'll be sending it back to Ruger. The B/C gap is a snug .006", and there is not a trace of scuffing on the cylinder face. My gut feeling is that this is in the trigger group someplace. It varies in severity with gun angle, so I'm thinking there are burrs someplace. I am going to take it to the range one more time, to check out 7mm's extractor theory. There is nothing obvious there, but I am thinking I could look at the time of failure to see if the star is raised up. Not sure what else to do. There are too many tiny parts inside the trigger module. I don't want to mess around in there.

[Mike Brosch]

I just sent my SRH in for a different problem and Ruger was great. They paid one way, I paid the other. They repaired the gun (the result of a previous owners mistake) and never charged me a cent.
Word of warning. Don't shoot .45 LC in your Casull, then shoot 454s. Clean the upper cylinders first or you could have big trouble. I just load my .45 LC lead 250gn bullets in 454 brass (using TrailBoss) and I have no problems. Plus, the accuracy is amazing

[Wuchak]

If it's a new gun Ruger will pay shipping both ways.