Rancho Roy

Back when I was building "Pipe Guns" I used 9mm barrels for 38 special loads......Smok'n accuracy! The .356 barrel was nice and tight for the .357 bullets......But in Cowboy, we simply don't need this type of accuracy Folks are asking, where do you learn this stuff.... https://www.montgomery.edu/nra/

I have four Ruger NM Vaqueros in 38/357....Three from Jimmy Spurs and one I did myself.......All function great, three are extremely accurate. But one of them will put three shots in a tiny group and then throw two to who knows where. Usually 4-5" outside the group and sometimes the bullets entering the paper sideways. It's been years since I rebarreled a revolver. Years ago I used to build PPC "Pipe Guns" on S&W model 10 frames and I've done a few SSA revolvers. But it's been at least 15 years since the last one. My good friend, Tyler Tornado gave me a brand new 38/357 barrel for the NMV. I pulled the Rugers barrel and chucked it up in the lathe. Putting a dial indicator against the barrel shank face it was out of square by .004"! And the forcing cone was cockamamie....No wonder it was shooting so poorly. As it turned out, the new barrel was about 2 degrees positive which meant it had to go nearly 360 degrees for the sights to line up....Did the math on the thread count and faced off the shoulder for a perfect crush fit.....then shortened the shank for a .006" cylinder gap, half way between .004 and .008 which is the industry standard for B/C gap on this type of revolver. So, back to the range and now it's a shooter! I guess three out of four good Ruger NMVs is not bad...... I also discovered that I still really like gunsmithing, although I've not been doing much lately... (But I am in the process of building a Benchrest 22RF for 22RF silhouette matches)

Yup, I lost $200 on an interloper on this forum......25-20 Brass.....Friends and Family......"Send us another $90 or we wont release the order"....SOBs!!!!!

Not a Rolling Block, but this is an 1885 Low Wall I converted from RF to CF....Thought it might give you some ideas... http://rvbprecision.com/firearms/bring-another-one-back-dead-1885-winchester-low-wall.html

Thank You

Are there still openings available?

Looks like it still has the Lawrence Priming System from when it was a cap ignition.......Here is a little bit more on these 1859 conversions....This is one I "reconditioned"....http://rvbprecision.com/firearms/oops-1859-sharps-barrel-liner.html

Where are Overall Winners by time.....The web page lists "By Category" twice

Well, I think I fixed it. Not sure why, but I installed a .015 longer firing pin from PGW and it seems to be working fine now......I measured the old firing pin and it measured exactly like this supposed longer one???? No idea why, but it's going BANG every time now! Good to go for now!

Wet Tumble Discovery....Did a bunch of black powder shooting yesterday. I usually clean my brass in a wet tumbler with a dash of Dawn dish detergent, Lemshine and stainless steel pins. I was in a hurry and had no Dawn or Lemshine available, but I did have Hornady "One Shot" Sonic Cleaning Solution. I put a couple table spoons full with about three cups of water and I forgot to add the pins. After two hours of tumbling the brass came out way better than anything else I ever used! Amazing how clean the inside was. And no PITA separating the pins from the brass! My new GO TO for brass cleaning!

No trigger safety.....It's all about the bolt, firing pin and firing pin extension.....I've polished everything and at times it sticks. I removed the firing pin spring just to see if that would solve it, no joy. If I crank the hammer spring up to max, it will consistently fire, but then it has a lever throw from hell! I ordered a .015" over length firing pin from PGW to see if that makes a difference. It does seem like the firing pin does not have as much protrusion as my other 1866 rifles. Hard to measure. We shall see....

Thank You....I'll contact them...

I have an older 1866 that I bought off a SASS member a number of years ago. It is an older generation version. It is also driving me crazy! This isn't my first gunsmithing rodeo, but for the life of me I can't stop this rifle from misfiring every now and then. It's time to send it out to someone with more experience in 1866. Suggestions for a good 1866 smith?

"Kroil and the soldering iron"........In auto mechanics we refer to using heat as "The Blue Wrench" A Soldering GUN....The big black one from WEN, applied directly to the head of the screw, will usually free up small screws. Even better is file down the tip like a flat screwdriver blade to get the heat into the root of the threads.

Only ONE change!!! Eliminate the stupid rule of a stage DQ if you have a hammer back on your rifle "AND YOU LET GO OF IT!"....How much safer can a rifle be than on a table with no one touching it! All state matches should have one "Reference" stage set up identical at each state shoot. A good way to see your progress. Empty on the carrier of a rifle...No Call Fired shells left in an open SxS or the ejection port of a 87-97... No Call WAY too many categories.....But don't ask me what ones to get rid of!