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Old July 8, 2020, 07:06 PM   #1
ghbucky
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OLD Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mag gate keeps opening

I inherited a gorgeous .44 Ruger Super Blackhawk that is in pristine condition.

It did have the recall work to keep it from drop firing (tang?). I even have the original parts that Ruger replaced.

It has 1 bad habit. The loading gate (this one does not lock out if it opens) will swing open under recoil. Its not a real issue, just annoying.

Is there anything that can be done to remedy this?
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Old July 8, 2020, 07:13 PM   #2
Carriertxv
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Is loading gate detent spring broken?
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Old July 8, 2020, 07:30 PM   #3
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I don't think anything is broken. It closes and holds, it's just magnum recoil that pops it to open.
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Old July 8, 2020, 08:05 PM   #4
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Bad gate

Contact Ruger service dept for proper guidance.
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Old July 8, 2020, 09:26 PM   #5
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Contact Ruger service dept for proper guidance.
Don't send it in. I have heard stories of people sending 3 screw Rugers in for service and when they got it back, it had been "safety converted."
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Old July 8, 2020, 09:43 PM   #6
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Since you have already done the recall on your 3 screw, call Ruger customer service. The gate should not jar open no matter what Cape Buffalo loads you light off!
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Old July 9, 2020, 08:12 AM   #7
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I had that issue years ago with a .357 Magnum Blackhawk....it was a "bad" MR07300 loading gate spring that caused the issue, as it didn't provide enough tension to prevent the loading gate from opening up when firing. Call Ruger for a replacement. Don't shoot your pistol before you do or you will damage the loading gate.
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Old July 9, 2020, 08:17 AM   #8
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Quote:
I had that issue years ago with a .357 Magnum Blackhawk....it was a "bad" MR07300 loading gate spring that caused the issue, as it didn't provide enough tension to prevent the loading gate from opening up when firing. Call Ruger for a replacement. Don't shoot your pistol before you do or you will damage the loading gate.
Thanks. I feel kind of silly now, contacting Ruger is a pretty obvious answer.
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Old July 9, 2020, 08:25 AM   #9
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No reason to be...I have a no. of Ruger SA pistols and this only happened with one that I had back in the 70's...I never had that trouble ever again. I did try to bend the spring so it'd give more tension...that didn't work. Some call the spring a "Loading Gate Detent Spring".
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Old July 9, 2020, 10:39 AM   #10
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Whoever reassembled last did not seat the gate spring properly. Ruger single actions are a nightmare to reassemble. Brownells sells a gadget that will hold the gate spring in place.

I would not suggest you try to do this unless you are very patient. There are some youtube posts for you to peruse.
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Old July 9, 2020, 11:20 AM   #11
ghbucky
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yeah, there is no way in heck that I am going to take a screwdriver to that gun. It means far too much to me for me to be monkeying with it. If there is work to be done, it is going back to Ruger.

I dropped them a contact form. I'll just let it continue to be a safe queen until I hear back from them.
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Old July 9, 2020, 11:32 AM   #12
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Please/please!!! I did it and so can you...I didn't have this handy You Tube clip---it is quite easy and if you run into a problem...(First) call your local gunshop and explain what you want to do ...ask them if you could bring it over to take it apart on their premises (at a convienent time for the) and if they would be willing to help you if you run into an issue. Most will not want to take it apart, but are willing to help you, if you need it. Just don't take it apart and bring it in all dissassembled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bytV-v4pP9Y
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Old July 9, 2020, 03:37 PM   #13
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ghbucky---your gun, your call and I think you're doing the smart thing here...Ruger has a great reputation for customer service.

That said, the video Wallyl mentioned seems to be pretty good and if you want the info straight from the horses mouth Ruger has their own videos that cover lots and lots of stuff including disassembly and reassembly of their single action revolvers.

https://ruger.com/videos.html?vid=131271707&cat=3769277
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Old July 9, 2020, 06:24 PM   #14
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I appreciate the info. I did watch the video, and if I had bought the gun myself I would probably go for it.

But, given that the gun is a 1968 with the original bluing that barely even has cylinder drag on it, I'm not going near it with a screwdriver.

I know how that would end up.
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Old July 9, 2020, 08:39 PM   #15
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Ruger single actions are a nightmare to reassemble.
Must be who is doing it, because I've not found it to be a problem over the last 30 years that I've had to tear down and then reassemble. Old Model is even easier than the New Model IMHO. In fact one of the first things I do with a new revolver is tear it down, check the parts, clean up here, stone there, oil, and reassemble. One should use correct size screw driver though to not bugger the screws.... and yes, I do have a few buggered screws over the years! I could replace them, but the guns wouldn't shoot any better anyway, so I leave them.

Problem of sending it in, is a) they might condemn the gun or b) they will convert it and then may not return the original parts. Always a crap shoot.

{edited} I see the conversion was already done. Pays to read the whole post! Hopefully won't be a problem then.
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Old July 9, 2020, 09:59 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wallyl
Please/please!!! I did it and so can you...I didn't have this handy You Tube clip---it is quite easy and if you run into a problem...(First) call your local gunshop and explain what you want to do ...ask them if you could bring it over to take it apart on their premises (at a convienent time for the) and if they would be willing to help you if you run into an issue. Most will not want to take it apart, but are willing to help you, if you need it. Just don't take it apart and bring it in all dissassembled.
IMHO, this is both terrible advice, and a waste of time. I don't know about matters where you live but, around here, I don't know of any gun shops that have anyone on staff who is qualified to do anything much more involved than a field strip of a Glock. I also seriously doubt that many local gun shops, if they even have a gunsmithing bench, would allow a customer to work in there.

My local FFL is an exception -- for me. He has been my go-to FFL for twenty years, and he calls me in to work on 1911s. I don't think he has ever allowed a customer off the street to go behind the counter or into the workbench area.
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Old July 9, 2020, 11:33 PM   #17
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Don't send it in. I have heard stories of people sending 3 screw Rugers in for service and when they got it back, it had been "safety converted."
They aren't stories. Ruger is REQUIRED to convert any of the "old model" (3 screw) guns they get. The legal settlement that requires this did not require a recall, and Ruger didn't issue one, but if you send them a 3 screw gun, they will convert it, you don't get a choice.
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Old July 10, 2020, 06:50 AM   #18
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I really don't understand the consternation about Ruger doing the conversion. I guess I see that it could be surprising that they did work you didn't expect them to, but they do return the original parts.

If you are determined to have a dangerous gun, you can always convert it back.
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Old July 10, 2020, 09:13 AM   #19
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Stash a Benjamin

If a 3 screw Ruger is dangerous, I also have some dangerous guns.
Leave it to the legal system to "protect us" from ourselves.

There is nothing inherently unsafe about a traditional single action, follow the rules for single action revolvers.

Keep an empty cylinder under the hammer. I have read that some folding money can be stashed in one cylinder.

The downside to the safety conversion is the change to the trigger pull. Or so I hear, I don't currently own a 3 screw Ruger but do own some traditional single action revolvers.
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Old July 10, 2020, 10:06 AM   #20
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Ruger no longer Sends the Parts back if you send it in for any reason it will be converted. (The old Parts will not be sent back)
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Old July 10, 2020, 10:14 AM   #21
ghbucky
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From https://www.ruger.com/dataProcess/customerService/

Will installation of the conversion kit affect the value of my gun?
No. The parts that are removed to install the conversion kit are returned to you in order to preserve the collector's value of your gun, and no permanent alteration is performed to them. We do this because we know these guns are collector's items and we want to encourage 'old model' owners to get this free valuable service from us.
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Old July 10, 2020, 11:44 AM   #22
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If you are determined to have a dangerous gun, you can always convert it back.
There is nothing more dangerous about an unmolested 3 screw Ruger S/A than any other gun. What's dangerous is uneducated people handling them.
But then, uneducated people will probably find another way to be dangerous.
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Old July 10, 2020, 12:13 PM   #23
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Ruger single actions are a nightmare to reassemble.
No they're not.
Fiddly sometimes, especially if you don't pre-stage certain pins and parts properly during the process. But far from a nightmare.

Nightmare would be something like a Ross rifle, where the bolt can be assembled incorrectly, inserted into the action, and then it won't come out again.
Or some of the mid-century Savage/Stevens semi-autos that can suffer from malfunctions that require drilling out rivets, clearing the issue, then holding 367 parts in position while riveting everything back together.

Someone's first time inside of a Ruger SA revolver might be a frustrating learning experience, but the same can be said for many firearm designs.
Once you've dug around in their guts a couple of times, it's an easy job.

Quote:
Problem of sending it in, is a) they might condemn the gun or b) they will convert it and then may not return the original parts. Always a crap shoot.
It isn't the recall that I would worry about, it's the other parts.

Ruger no longer stocks any "old style" parts - and, here, "old style" is anything pre-2005 or so. And disassembly and assembly are done on benches with bins of replacement parts available, where the parts with the best fit are the ones used for reassembly - whether original or new.

Anything that appears to be modified or show excessive wear will also be replaced, whether or not it actually needs to be. You may or may not get modified or custom parts back, if the repair tech recognizes what it is.

So even sending in a mid-'90s SBH for a minor repair can mean getting back a revolver with new style screws (matte finish), new style base pin (no collar, and shallower detent ring), new style grips, new style sights, etc., etc.

It has happened to many people, including myself. (Mine went in bone-stock.)
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Old July 10, 2020, 01:36 PM   #24
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This is getting to be a soap opera. (I do NOT mean that in a BAD way!)

Please, please let us know how this thing turns out.

As I said in a previous post I personally think you're doing the Right Thing by sending it in to Ruger.

Quote:
But, given that the gun is a 1968 with the original bluing that barely even has cylinder drag on it, I'm not going near it with a screwdriver. I know how that would end up.
As Harry Callahan famously said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

As a young man I didn't know mine and did NOT heed my uncle's sage advice when I got my first double action revolver and wanted to disassemble it so that I could lighten up the trigger pull.

"Well do you want to shoot the (expletive deleted) thing or spend your time looking at all the tiny revolver parts on the work bench?"

I disregarded his advice and what followed would charitably be called "a learning experience."
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Old July 10, 2020, 01:44 PM   #25
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This is getting to be a soap opera.


I never expected it go crazy like this, lol. I'll keep it updated.

FYI, I have not heard back from Ruger.
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