Single Action Question

M

M4BGRINGO

New member
New to single action revolvers, here's my question: Does the ejector rod normally run along the edge of the cylinder, or should it run down the center of the cylinder, to eject the brass?

Mine was hitting the cylinder on most of the chambers, would only go down a few. I have no idea why it isn't simply centered in each chamber, then it wouldn't hit anything.
 
Ejecting empties from a single action.

When you are ready to eject empty rounds you bring the single action to half cock just as if you were going to load it. You can then freely rotate the cylinder to align with the ejector rod to eject the empties out the loading gate.
 
When you are ready to eject empty rounds you bring the single action to half cock just as if you were going to load it. You can then freely rotate the cylinder to align with the ejector rod to eject the empties out the loading gate.
Click to expand...

Works great for SAA/clones, and old model Blackhawks, but does not work for new model or 'converted' Rugers...There is no half cock, and on most unmodified new models, the cylinder only rotates one way...

As to the OP's question,If you are the same guy, I've been following your issues on that 'other' site...

The ejector rod is not centered, as that is not the design...On .357, the rod rides almost on the throat of the chambers...On my Super Blackhawk .44 Mag, the rod is about 3/16" off the wall...

I sincerely believe that when Ruger returned the gun to you, that they believe it is in spec...
 
The ejector rod does not run down the center of the cylinder (you may be confusing how a double action revolver with a swing out cylinder works).

With the loading gate open, You will need to align each individual chamber with the ejection rod.
 
Ruger introduced a "reverse indexing pawl" on the New Vaquero that aligns the chamber with the ejection rod. I also have a Blackhawk built on the NV frame that has this feature.

The guns built on the larger Blackhawk frame (such as the "original" Vaquero) do not. I tried to unload one and realized how spoiled I am.

Some cowboy action shooters perform a "free spin modification" on the "original" Vaqueros. I don't know whether there may be any drawbacks to that.
 
TennJed only good reply.
What model SA is it?
e.g. my Ruger Single Six rotates when the loading gate is opened. Line up rod with CHAMBER and push. Simple.
SAs are simple. Get more familiar with yours before you put ammunition in.
 
This is a Ruger .30 Carbine S/A revolver.

I don't understand why the ejector rod isn't moved far enough away from the frame so the rod goes down the center of the chamber, or whatever you would like to call each hole in the cylinder.............

It rides on the edge, not down the center. On most chamers it hits before it gets into the hole, on a few it actually clears and gets into the hole to push the empty brass out.

I didn't buy this gun and throw ammo in it at the range. The shop I bought it from showed me how to remove/install the cylinder, how to load/unload it. I have 10 other revolvers but they are all S&W D/A models. Brand new out of the box it was bad. Cylinder was almost impossible to remove and install. Ejector rod did not work.

Sent it back, a month later got it back, now cylinder is easy to remove and install. INITIALLY the ejector rod worked fine in all 6 chambers, after some shooting it works in 2 of the 6..............

I do not understand why they (Ruger) would not have the ejector rod go down the CENTER of the hole, it is plenty long enough to hit the bottom of the brass and push it out. No need to try and catch the edge of the brass at the top where the bullet used to sit.

So, how do other models of S/A guns work? Ejector rod offset from the center like this one, or do they go down the center?
 
This is common on the .30 Carbine models. The gun was designed for cartridges that have a larger dia. than .30 Carbine. You need to line the chamber up with the ejector rod. No room for slop. The rod is running right down the edge of the chamber. On larger chamberings it's not so close. If they tried to center the rod on the chamber every caliber would require a different ejector rod housing. The .30 Car. is a small hole. It is also possible that the tip of the rod is very slightly bent. Ruger will fix this if you want to ship it to them. It's fun to watch people's reaction at a range when you set one of those off ain't it? My God, you need earplugs AND muffs to shoot one of those.
 
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Assuming the gun is otherwise in good shape, my solution would be to rig it to free-spin once the loading gate is open, assuming this is a Ruger "New Model" action (made from 1973 forward).

You can alter the pawl or buy a pawl already altered, although you'd probably have to fit that pawl to your gun. Easier to modify the pawl you have:

http://www.ktgunsmith.com/freespinpawl.htm

http://marauder.homestead.com/files/FreeSpin.html

With the loading gate open the cylinder will now "free spin" to wherever you want, allowing proper ejection.
 
M4BGRINGO Wrote:

INITIALLY the ejector rod worked fine in all 6 chambers, after some shooting it works in 2 of the 6..............
Click to expand...

Ummm...

Not according to your original post on this issue before it went back to Ruger it didn't:

The store owner was showing me how to load/unload the rounds. When we were turning the cylinder the ejector rod would go into some chambers correctly,

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5148861&postcount=25

Which is it?

ADDING:

As I said in the original thread, I firmly believe this is an example of you (and your FFL) not being familiar with Ruger 'New Model' Blackhawk operation...
 
When we first opened the box and the FFL removed the cylinder to remove the yellow plastic safety ring he had a heck of a time getting the cylinder back in.

Then I asked him how the loading gate/ejector rod worked. That is when we found the problem with the ejector rod not going into most of the chambers. It fit 2 of 6. The cylinder will freely spin wherever we want it to, it does not stop in a fixed position.

We sent it back to Ruger, waited 4 weeks, then got it back. The FFL took the cylinder out, put it back in, no problem. I then did the same. We both checked the ejector rod in each chamber, no problem.

Took it to the range, ran 18 rounds through it, no problem.

After the last 6, big problem. Ejector rod once again only went into 2 of the 6 chambers. We removed the cylinder (very easily) and used a barrel-clearing rod to remove the other 4 piece of brass still in the gun. Put the cylinder back in (no problem) and tried the ejector rod once again, no dice. :(

Now I am very inexperienced with this type of handgun, but the fellow at the range that was helping me is very experienced. He advised me to send it back again. Yes, I could have easily bent the rod out a bit to get it to fit each chamber, but I want to know that the chamber lines-up correctly with the barrel before I use it again.

I was suprised that the rounds were not as loud as I thought they would be. My normal ear plugs were more than enough. My .357's and .44 Mags are far louder.

I bought this gun just for the fun of it and to own something from Ruger. Besides, a friend gave me 1000 rounds of .30 Carbine so I had a reason to buy a new gun! :)
 
Have you checked to make sure the ejector rod housing screw (at the front of the ejector rod housing) is tight? If it comes loose, and they often do, the ejector rod will be out of alignment and will create the condition you describe.

If the screw is loose, you can use some blue Loctite on the threads and crank it down. That should hold it.

Jim
 
Some years ago I had a New Model Super Blackhawk and the ejector rod hit the edge of the chamber when it recoiled (spring was weak I guess). I didn't notice anything til accuracy went south on it. It ruined what was the most accurate handgun I've ever owned. When using the ejector rod to unload hole the cylinder in line and it's not a problem.
 
I own what I believe is one of the first 100 of these .30 Carbine New Model Rugers and did not have this problem. I did have some problems getting the cylinder to rotate between shots - it seemed like the case was slamming into the back plate but I can't remember for sure, not having fired it since 1975.

Yes, the flame is pretty awesome. Not a very practical handgun, but neither are my open-tops.

As for the pawl question, I owned and later sold a couple of .357 New Vaqueros - had them modified with/for a free-spin pawl while they were being slicked up. With Cowboy loads and possibly help from the Frankford Arsenal brass polish I tumble with, I never have to use the ejection rod at all with any of the half dozen Cimarron and Pietta .45LCs I use, and I don't remember having any unloading issues at all with those NVs, though I might have had to use the rod on those lighter-weight cases.

This discussion reminds me a bit of a different thread where someone was discussing the merits of a .22LR single-action. A .22 case is not going to fall out, at least in my experience, so you wind up spending a whole lot of time pushing an ejector rod instead of firing a couple hundred cheap rounds of ammo out of a swing-out cylinder revolver or even better, an ugly old slab-side 9-shot top-break.
 
Well, got it back again and this time it seems fine. Some rounds come out easily, some are very tough and go quite away out the back! Some of the brass was splitting too. It is a fun gun to shoot indoors, that was the entire purpose of buying this thing. I already have plenty of other revolvers, but we are not allowed to shoot magnums indoors. The old Spanish loads have a very nice flame, makes it worthwhile to shoot.
 
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