[Blackhawk 5343]

My Blackhawk 5343 New Model Flat Top has two cylinders: 45 acp and 45 long colt. Bought it used and it is in almost mint condition. The stainless revolver is 10 years old and both cylinders are factory matched to the serial #.

After firing the long colts, several spent shells are stuck in the cylinder (different places). Its like they are glued in there and it takes a lot of force to punch them out. Initially I found that the cylinders weren't cleaned well but I've cleaned them till it is spotless . I've shot two different brands of factory ammo (no reloads) both cowboy loads. After the intense cleaning, I had a armorer look at the cylinder and they said it looked great but the problem persisted. There is no gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone. There don't appear to be any damage or scoring inside the cylinder (bright and shiny) and it happens only with the long colts. When it is clean, the rounds go in nice and smooth but after shooting it is almost impossible to get them shells out. Cleaning was done with Hoppes #9 and then a quick pass with Breakfree CLP. No oil is put in there.

What can I do to get this resolved? Is there something a armorer can do that I can't? Do I need to send this back to Ruger?

I'm fairly new to revolvers and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Blackhawk 5343]

Beuller?
Beuller?

Anyone?
Anyone?

 

[LMB]

My Blackhawk 5343 New Model Flat Top has two cylinders: 45 acp and 45 long colt. Bought it used and it is in almost mint condition. The stainless revolver is 10 years old and both cylinders are factory matched to the serial #.

After firing the long colts, several spent shells are stuck in the cylinder (different places). Its like they are glued in there and it takes a lot of force to punch them out. Initially I found that the cylinders weren't cleaned well but I've cleaned them till it is spotless . I've shot two different brands of factory ammo (no reloads) both cowboy loads. After the intense cleaning, I had a armorer look at the cylinder and they said it looked great but the problem persisted. There is no gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone. There don't appear to be any damage or scoring inside the cylinder (bright and shiny) and it happens only with the long colts. When it is clean, the rounds go in nice and smooth but after shooting it is almost impossible to get them shells out. Cleaning was done with Hoppes #9 and then a quick pass with Breakfree CLP. No oil is put in there.

What can I do to get this resolved? Is there something a armorer can do that I can't? Do I need to send this back to Ruger?

I'm fairly new to revolvers and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cold try "polishing" the cylinder bores.

 

[Blackhawk 5343]

Cold try "polishing" the cylinder bores.

Thanks for the reply. After posting here and somewhere else, I did try using a 410 brass brush and a drill to get more motion followed by using Flitz but haven't tested the results yet.

I also found out the spec for 45 Colt is mic'd at .480 and these are .479 which my armorer said is close enough and 1/1000 shouldn't cause sticking like they are glued in. He suggested trying a different ammo to see if maybe that is the issue. I've found some but have not found time to get back to the range to try.

If that doesn't work then I guess its off to Ruger.

In the meantime, any other suggestions?

 

[Blackhawk 5343]

It went to Ruger today.
Bummer that the Ruger forum is a ghost town.

 

[LMB]

It went to Ruger today.
Bummer that the Ruger forum is a ghost town.

I imagine the chambers need to be honed or polished a bit.

 

[Blackhawk 5343]

You're probably right. We'll find out in 4-6 weeks (Ruger said that is their current turnaround time).

 

[Blackhawk 5343]

Good new: I got a message from Ruger today that my revolver is fixed and shipped back. I called and the rep said they replace the cylinder. They didn't say why but I'm happy that I'm getting a new cylinder for the cost of shipping. I'll let you know how it shoots when I get it next week.