dart368

I just got my New Blackhawk .357/9mm convertible and went to the range today. With no rounds in the cylinder, it will spin very easily with the loading gate open. But when I put rounds in, either .357 or 9mm, as soon as the round gets to the part where the firing pin is, it binds up and won't turn. I end up taking the cylinder out to get the rounds out.

There was another guy there with the same gun. We tried his rounds in my gun and it did the same thing. We tried my rounds in his gun and it worked fine. Then, we noticed that my firing pin was sticking out about 1/32 or maybe 1/64 of an inch out of the hole. We came to the conclusion that this is what is causing the cylinder not to spin. When we forced it to turn, we expelled the rounds and sure enough, the ones that we got to spin past the firing pin area had a mark ground into the face of the casing on each side of the primer.

I bought the gun from a private party and he never mentioned any problems with the gun.

Anyone experience this problem? How do I fix it? I am hopeful that I can participate in some CAS shooting soon and this has really got me down.

shootist

Can you post pics? that would help us all to see what's going on.

dart368

The first two pics, I am not touching the trigger at all.

The third pic "rugerbreach3" is with the trigger depressed and held so the firing pin is out as far as possible.

The last pic is the rounds with indentations where the firing pin in dragging across the round when I force it to spin past it.

I don't see the usual "Attachment" button to click to attach pics so I did it using photobucket. Do I have to reach a certain number of posts before I can do attachments?

Any ideas of what is going on with the gun?

Dalebrid

I have the same gun. The firing pin should not stick out unless stuck by the hammer. With the cylinder out pull the hammer back, put your finger on the pin and pull the trigger. If you don't feel it move it is stuck. If that is the case it may just be gummed up, so use your normal cleaning solvent ans soak it for a while to see if it frees up. the other possibility is that it is bent and wont retract. In that case take it to your local gunsmith and have it replaced. The fact that you can't get a hold of the seller tells me he knew of the problem before it was sold. Further making me believe that the pin is bent.

dart368

What if I sent it to Ruger? Would they cover it under warranty even though they don't have a warranty?

It will fire the rounds okay and when I pull the cylinder out and pull the trigger, I can feel it move forward but it doesn't retract back in all the way, just partially.

Dalebrid

Makes me wonder if it is a factory defect or the seller changed it. the pin seems to be to long. Call Ruger they have good customer service and will most likely help you out, but you may have to pay$$$.

dart368

I added one more pic of the rounds after the cylinder is forced to turn past them. I guess I will be giving Ruger a call tomorrow.

Has anyone ever had this happen to their gun?

Iowegan

Looks like someone ground the top step of the hammer down. This will cause the exact problem as shown in the photos. If the hammer was altered, chances are Ruger will charge you for repairs and shipping. You can order a new hammer from Brownell's for a reasonable cost ... way cheaper than sending the gun in.

One thing that will confirm my analysis .... cock the hammer and see if the firing pin returns to a slightly under flush condition. With the hammer cocked, use a tool to push on the firing pin. It is spring loaded and should return just under flush with the recoil shield. If the firing pin is not moving properly, it is probably a broken firing pin spring.

shootist

I agree on broken firing pin spring, how does one replace that? also could it be just real gunked up around the pin? or anything to do with the transfer bar?

terry_p

If by new you mean NIB then give Ruger a call they will fix you up.

dart368

I tried cleaning out the firing pin channel with some Break Free CLP to see if it was gummed up and just stuck but that didn't work. I can get a small screwdriver under the firing pin block and can push the firing pin forward towards the cylinder but it will not push backwards into the channel towards the back of the gun. I just looked at the hammer and it doesn't appear to have been altered. If it was, why would someone grind it down? What is the "Top Step" of the hammer?

Thanks for the suggestions and support everyone.

Iowegan

dart368, It appears your firing pin spring has broken and won't let the firing pin reset. Not a common problem but it does happen now and then. The firing pin spring is a wire coil where the front end is held against the recoil shield and the rear end is pushing the firing pin to the rear. When the hammer strikes the transfer bar and in turn the transfer bar strikes the firing pin, the firing pin will thrust forward and strike the primer, then spring back until it is under flush. If the spring breaks, a broken end can get in the firing pin channel and bind up the pin, thus not allowing it to reset.

The hammer is designed where it has a "top step" on the front face. This top step strikes the frame when the gun is fired. The lower step strikes the transfer bar. When people install reduced power hammer springs to lower the trigger pull, sometimes the hammer won't have enough energy to detonate a primer so by grinding the top step down, less energy is absorbed by the frame and more energy is applied to the firing pin. This will correct for a weaker hammer spring and is a common "fix". If someone got carried away and ground too much off the top step, it would leave the hammer resting on the firing pin, exactly like your gun.

Your Blackhawk is very dangerous in this condition. It would not take much to detonate a primer when trying to cock the hammer. Don't attempt to shoot it until you get it repaired.

Replacing a firing pin spring is beyond the scope of anyone but a gunsmith or the factory. There is a cross pin that must be driven out, then the recoil shield must be driven out. It's almost impossible to drive the cross pin out without damaging the frame. When you reassemble, it is very difficult to get the hole in the recoil shield to align with the hole in the frame.

Your best bet is to call Ruger and arrange to have it sent in for repairs. They may spring for shipping costs if the gun is nearly new ... otherwise you will have to pay for shipping, which is very expensive (next day air required ... about $40 one way). If Ruger won't send you a shipper, I would contact a local gunsmith and get an estimate. The spring is only a few bucks but it requires about an hour of labor. Good luck and keep us posted.

Buffalo11

Send it to Ruger and take to a GOOD gunsmith.. Your hammer may be twisted a bit and sticking.. Just a thought/

wPm

TNWNGR

Either Ruger will cover this on their dime or they'll bill for parts and labor, either way it get's repaired. A good gunsmith can order the firing pin spring and another firing pin and do the job as well. I like to find good area gunsmiths and help support their business when I can, just like I keep my business in good LGS to help keep them going as well.

dart368

WOW...awesome knowledge and excellent suggestions. Thank you. I will call them tomorrow morning. :-)