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Ruger Vaquero spare recommendations?


Errol Plain, SASS 47739

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I've got my Bisleys torn down for their winter cleaning and noticed the pawls are worn, so I thought I would order replacements. I figure while I'm at it, I'll get a few other parts. I will pick up a couple of the ejector housing screws because I know, sooner or later, one of those babies is gonna take off and never be found :rolleyes: . Any other parts I should get while I'm at it? Everything else has been working fine other than the transfer bars breaking when I first started shooting them (and which I now carry spares for!). Can't recall folks having any other problems with their Rugers, but perhaps I have missed something. Thanks for your input.

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I've got my Bisleys torn down for their winter cleaning and noticed the pawls are worn, so I thought I would order replacements. I figure while I'm at it, I'll get a few other parts. I will pick up a couple of the ejector housing screws because I know, sooner or later, one of those babies is gonna take off and never be found :rolleyes: . Any other parts I should get while I'm at it? Everything else has been working fine other than the transfer bars breaking when I first started shooting them (and which I now carry spares for!). Can't recall folks having any other problems with their Rugers, but perhaps I have missed something. Thanks for your input.

Transfer bars-if yours has em, screw that holds the ejector housing are the biggest loses or failures I have had. I also carry a set of Vaquero take down screws.

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Guest Joe West, SASS#1532 L Regulator

Add:

cylinder pin cross latch parts

I've seen several people lose them.

If you've been grinding or cutting on any springs, bring spares.

Joe

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Get some blue Loctite for the the ejector housing screw.

 

You can also use it on the frame screws to be sure they hold.

 

A set of replacement springs is a good idea. After you have your springs like you like, set up the new ones so they are ready for you if you need them.

 

If you get extra transfer bars, also fit them and smooth them out to make the last a long time.

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Got the blue loctite, had good luck with that. Have replaced the springs with Wolf parts. Looks like with new pawls and some screws, they should be good for another five years or so (although maybe this set of pawls will last longer - the ones in my original Vaqueros were shot for several years and still look fine, wonder what the deal is?). Thanks to all for the suggestions. Well, except for "a spare gun", c'mon, they're RUGERS!! :D

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Dang, dang, dang. I hate threads like this! My Rugers have had over 11,000 rounds fired through them without any parts breaking, becoming worn to the point of needing replacement or flying off the gun into the great unknown. :FlagAm:

 

p.s. I have a Yellowboy that has been equally uncooperative about breaking parts. :D

 

p.s.s. What kind of Cowboy would pass up a opportunity to get another Ruger? :FlagAm:

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You're right Seldom, why wouldn't I want another RUGER! Now ya got me thinkin' (a dangerous thing). :D Actually, other than both of them (they are consecutively serialed) breaking the transfer bars when they were new (a week apart!), I haven't had any problems. I have seen others lose their ejector rod housing though and thought I might like to be prepared. Isn't there a quote about the worst spare part is the one you don't have?

 

And I too have a yellowboy that has been running well for years. One loading gate, but I fixed that problem with a little J-B Weld on the new one. Maybe it's the black powder...

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I've got my Bisleys torn down for their winter cleaning and noticed the pawls are worn, so I thought I would order replacements.

 

Howdy

 

Just how worn are the pawls (I prefer to call them hands, like every other revolver manufacturer does)? Are they getting close to not pushing the cylinder around enough to lock up? The critical engagement surface of the pawl is the lower tooth, not the upper point. It seems to me you would have to shoot the dickens out of them to wear them that much. If so, take a look at the ratchet teeth on the cylinder. They should show a lot of wear too. Replacing the pawl may require some fitting. They do not always drop in without any fitting.

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Hi Driftwood, the upper tooth has a fair chamfer worn into it. The lower one is fine as are the ratchet teeth on the cylinder. They have not been shot all that much, less than a 1000 rounds each. I just don't shoot that much. I just saw some wear and thought I should get replacements. Perhaps that is not necessary? Everything else on these pistols is fine, action smooth (for an out of the box Ruger), locks up good, shoots far better than the shooter. The reason I have them apart is not because I was concerned about the pawl, but to thorougly clean the internals of black powder residue. I have not modified the guns in any way other than taking a stone to a few burrs. While I have them apart, I am replacing the hammer springs, but other than that, I'm not going to mess with them. I'm of a mind that if it works, don't fix it. I am not a fast shooter or even a good shooter, just enjoy the game when I can.

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Howdy Again

 

Ruger pawls are similar to Colt Hands. They use a 'two stage' action. The upper tooth starts pushing the cylinder around, but about halfway through the stroke, the lower tooth engages the next cylinder ratchet tooth and completes the cycle. It is the lower tooth that is important in bringing the cylinder around far enough to lock up. Wear to the upper tooth will not affect the ability of the revolver to go to battery. I would not bother replacing any pawls unless I saw significant wear to the lower tooth. I have Rugers that are far older than yours and still have their original pawls.

 

Earlier designs like the Colt Cap & Ball revolvers used a single point on the hand. That point did all the work of pushing the cylinder around. I do not have this on any authority, but I suspect Colt's experience with wear to the single point type of hand caused them to design the two tooth hand. Wear from friction would be spread out over the two surfaces, rather than concentrating it all on one point.

 

P.S. Just took a close look at the pawl on a couple of my Rugers. Some of them have a noticeable chamfer running up the inside vertical corner of the upper tooth. I suspect they came this way from the factory, I suspect they were filed a little bit to provide needed clearance.

 

In any case, I would not bother to replace a pawl unless it was 'broken'.

 

P.P.S. I hope you are not completely taking your Rugers apart every time you shoot Black Powder in them. It is not necessary. PM me if you want to know how to avoid taking them down every time you shoot them with Black Powder. I shoot BP in all my revolvers, I only take them completely apart to get all the gunk our about once a year.

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Transfer bars & hammer plungers

 

I've had way more issues with plungers than t bars,but I did remove t -bar

 

 

transfer bars are cheap but plungers are real cheap $2.00 ,the crosspin that holds plunger in I replace with drill rod cut to full width of hammer,seems to help.

 

 

If you have parts ,hopefully you wont need them.

 

 

 

 

 

AO

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Take a look at this info about the Ruger pawl (hand) for making free spin.

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

 

When I got my New Vaquero, they say that if you remove the spring and indexer, it will free spin. One of mine did not - it would not go backwards and it clicked as it turned forward with some slight resistance. So I had to do a little of the mod to make it spin without resistance.

 

If your pawl looks like that, the factory may have tuned it a bit to make it work better.

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While it may be an affordability issue to some, for major matches I bring backup guns. Even if you have spare parts I don't know that you're going to have time and a workspace to fix a broken gun while your posse is on the range, not to mention the problems of weather or blowing dust. I also have enough problem keeping track of tiny parts, springs etc. working on a bedsheet spread out on my basement floor. I'd much rather fix the broken gun back in camp or back home after the shooting is done. Also, even after about fifteen years of doing this I'm really stoked during the match and working with with tiny parts and fine work is not what I need to be doing. I decided to field-strip my 1911 at the unloading table during the Wild Bunch side match at the Michigan State Shoot this year and was pretty red-faced when we had to have a cease fire so I could retrieve the recoil spring plug I managed to launch down range. :blush:

 

In any event, if a gun breaks in the middle of a stage, you're probably screwed from a competitive standpoint anyway, depending on how many misses you eat. For me it's easier to stow the malfunctioning gun, get out the backup and finish the match or day.

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While it may be an affordability issue to some, for major matches I bring backup guns. Even if you have spare parts I don't know that you're going to have time and a workspace to fix a broken gun while your posse is on the range, not to mention the problems of weather or blowing dust. I also have enough problem keeping track of tiny parts, springs etc. working on a bedsheet spread out on my basement floor. I'd much rather fix the broken gun back in camp or back home after the shooting is done. Also, even after about fifteen years of doing this I'm really stoked during the match and working with with tiny parts and fine work is not what I need to be doing. I decided to field-strip my 1911 at the unloading table during the Wild Bunch side match at the Michigan State Shoot this year and was pretty red-faced when we had to have a cease fire so I could retrieve the recoil spring plug I managed to launch down range.

 

In any event, if a gun breaks in the middle of a stage, you're probably screwed from a competitive standpoint anyway, depending on how many misses you eat. For me it's easier to stow the malfunctioning gun, get out the backup and finish the match or day.

 

+ 1 and it's a perfect excuse to buy new shooters! I now have four Ruger Bisley Vaquero's that I acquired my first two then as time and finances allowed picked up first one then the other of the back up revolvers until I had the four. And like said above, no worries about "fixing a gun at the range" you simply grab your spare and keep on shooting leaving the fixing for when you get home to your shop. Besides my four revolvers I have extra pawls and transfer bars to replace at home should one break at the range. Some have an extra shotgun or a rifle, why not a pair of revolvers? I'm sure that there are other guns in the safe besides just cowboy guns, so why not two more cowboy guns? Smithy.

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I'm surpised no one has suggested to have a set of screws to go along with it. If you have to completely disassemble your pistols while back in the camp, you could easily loose those screws, like dropping them on the ground. They are hard to see, unless you have a strong magnet. That's another thing to have is a parts tray with magnet, you can purchase them at any auto parts store. Place all the parts in there when disassembling, trust me on this. I have lost parts without using this magnetic tray. Luckily, I have all them spare parts for Rugers with me at all times, except the receiver and grip frame, them are large items if you ever drop them on the ground.

 

May I suggest that you carry at least a set of all springs, plungers, cylinder latch, gate, pins, screws, hammer, trigger (these parts are pretty much drop in parts). Don't forget the PAWL, although this part, in most cases, needs to be fitted in the pistol. If you know how to fit it in, you're in luck, if not gotta find someone who does. Carry at least a set of all of the small parts with you. If you loose one, you got a spare for it.

 

A back up is always a great idea to have, if your guns ever break while in a match. Fixing your broken gun is not a good idea during the match, you'll be holding everybody up and most likely you may loose a part or two while fixing it.

 

Hope this help.

 

I.M. Crossdraw

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