Single Action Question

Two things to consider - almost all Ruger SA revolver will have a pretty rough chamber finish - polishing the ridges out of the chambers is a big help. Also the .30 Carbine case has a slight taper - it tends to want to stick in a lot of chambers if they're not smooth like a wedge. I had a friend with a .30 Carbine Blackhawk for whom I loaded ammo. He wanted full power GI loads. No problem. I never saw a case stick in his gun but I stuck a few in my carbide reloading dies and they were a sumbtich to get out. That was when I learned about good case lube. On your ejector rod problem it is possible that it was installed with the wrong housing which would mislocate the rod. It should run close to but not touch the chamber walls. His gun would produce a basketball sized fireball on every shot and you could feel the pressure wave in your ribcage. Completely pointless but much fun.
 
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Some of the brass was splitting too.
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Not to familiar with the 30 out of a handgun but if the brass is splitting from being fired something doesn't sound right.

Are the rounds handloads?

Is the brass that's splitting coming out of the same chambers?

Is the brass splitting length- wise ?
 
.30 Carb cases have thick walls and the brass will work harden and become brittle from firing and reloading. Oversize chambers and inability of the brass to expand and spring back can cause problems. Some import brass may be considered one shot stuff (at least in your gun's chambers)
 
Thanks for the explanation drail.

Have shot a lot of 30 cal. out of a carbine but have never messed with the stuff out of a handgun or reloaded any.

Would you say that there's a problem of sorts with either the ammo or a chamber/chambers with the cases splitting on M4 ?
 
I would say there could be a problem if the chamber dimensions are not held within fairly tight specifications. With a tapered case in a chamber with a little too much headspace the case is being shoved back into the rear of the chamber which is slightly larger. The case is getting a real workout. I also tend to think that when the cartridge was developed for military use very little thought was given to possible reloading issues. I never really undertsood the logic of chambering a Blackhawk in this caliber but Ruger has sold all they made. I guess a certain percentage of people really like all the noise and blast.
 
Thanks again drail.

I guess people really like all the noise and blast.
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When I want all that noise and blast and feel like I want to give my wrists a workout , I head to the range with the 475/480.
 
One thing about the "new model" (post 1973) Ruger single actions, they do not line up the chambers with the ejector rod all by themselves. Generally speaking, you have to align the chambers with the rod by hand. If you turn the clyinder until it clicks, you've gone too far for one chamber, and not far enough for the next. And you can't go backwards, with a stock gun.

If there is no way to line up a chamber with the ejector rod, by hand, then your gun is damaged/defective, otherwise, its normal.

The bigger the caliber, the less sensitive to precise positioning the chamber alignment with the rod is. The small bores (.22, .30) are very picky, the .44s and .45s much less so.
 
Yes, I bought this as a fun indoor range gun. Not allowed magnums at my indoor range, so this gun gives me a nice blast and concussion!

Ruger certainly changed something with my ejector rod. When we first got it, and when it was returned the first time from Ruger, the ejector rod rode right alongside the cylinder wall, maybe .010 clearance at most.

Now, after the second trip to Ruger, the ejector rod is about .100 from the cylinder wall. Now we don't have to try and precisely line-up the ejector rod inside the cylinder, lot more room for error.

I have to check the brass next time out and see if a particular chamber is causing the brass to split. It is lengthwise, at least .250 long, does not start splitting at the end, about 1/4 of the way down. I gave all the brass to the youth program as part of their brass reclamation drive to let them raise funds for their programs, I had no intention of reloading any of it.
 
From the discription of the case splits, its probably not your gun, but the ammo. Its old, foreign military surplus, right?

Sounds like the cases weren't fully annealed when drawn, and have over the years become more brittle than they should be. Lots of militaries around the world don't bother to have their ammo made any better than good enough for one firing. Another possibility is some breakdown of the powder attacking the brass from the inside, making the cases brittle and split on firing. It may still fire. I've actually had that happned with some old .45acp ammo.

Unless you are getting split cases with good quality new ammo, its likely not your gun.
 
Thanks 44 AMP. Yes, this is very old ammo. Some of it did not fire either. After two trys the duds went into the dud bin at the range. I was given two complete tins of ammo for free, that is the only reason I bought a gun to use it!:D
 
I was given two complete tins of ammo for free, that is the only reason I bought a gun to use it!
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That is funny! I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks that way.
 
Cases splitting might also be caused by having been weakened from exposure to ammonia fumes sometime in its history.

Not a likely happenstance, but possible. I would buy a box of new .30 Carbine (or brass and reload it) to see if it is only the old ammo that splits or if new ammo also splits.

Lost Sheep
 
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