Barbwire Bill, SASS #661 4 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 I have read about people having trouble with stock Ruger transfer bars breaking. Since I think that part is cast does anyone make a replacement out of machined steel? Just curious Thanks BB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dogmeat Dad, SASS #48563L 395 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 The few times I have heard of the transfer bars breaking is when people have been doing excessive dry fire practice. By excessive I mean 10's of thousands of rounds. I am sure there are a few folks who have had them fail early, but I know a lot of folks who have put 100's of thousands of rounds through their Rugers with out any issues what-so-ever. The only issue I have seen people have with them is for folks who like to slip-hammer. By that I mean that they pull the trigger and hold it back then cock the hammer and let it slip from under their thumb for each shot. Not fanning, as that is illegal in SASS, but the effect is similar. What happens is that when they pull the trigger back before the first shot, the tip of the transfer bar can hang up on the edge of the firing pin preventing the trigger from coming back all the way. This can be solved by either rolling the edge of the transfer bar over so it provides a slight taper at the edge, or by making the first shot by pulling the hammer back first and then pinning the trigger back for all subsequent shots. I don't slip-hammer, and I am not a gunsmith, so I am going only by what I have seen and heard and by helping a few other pards with their Rugers. Could jamming of the transfer bar into the edge of the firing pin cause it to break? Possibly, but in my opinion it would have to be a weak transfer bar or maybe if the shooter has a grip like Superman. To be honest, I have seen more people have their guns modified to remove the transfer bars than I have heard of them breaking. Of course, your experience may be different. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,349 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Been run'n the same set .44mag Ruger OMV for 17+ yrs in SASS. Yes, broken a couple of t'bars. They were replaced free by Ruger and they gave me a couple of spares. Yes, the t'bar is cast. Just like the rest of the gun is.. I have also had parts fail in my rife and shotgun. Anydangthing mechanical can, and will fail. OLG 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BLACKFOOT SASS #11947 424 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Not saying it hasn't happened but I have been running Rugers since 1996 and have never broken one. I was shooting with a pard one time whose Ruger had some issue, he said it was a transfer bar. I didn't see it. Blackfoot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Johnny Meadows,SASS#28485L 357 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 I have run many Rugers since they first introduced the transfer bar without any breakage. J.M. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Null N. Void 551 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 I believe they had a run of marginal transfer bars maybe 15 years ago. I had two Vaqueros that broke the transfer bars in a year or two. After they were replaced, I didn't have any problems. I have not had any problems with New Model Vaqueros or Single Sixes at any time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tyrel Cody 5,223 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Power Custom makes one a replacement one. I'd guess Broomstick Jay, Lassiter, etc. probably have a lot of spares laying around as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
G W Wade 989 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Believe there was a post about transfer bar pinch. Some one smarter than me will have to find it or maybe remember how to determine if the condition is present in your un and how to eliminate. GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Badlands Bob #61228 1,886 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 15 years ago, Ruger had a weak batch of transfer bars. Occasionally, one of those weak transfer bars would break after thousands of cycles. Call Ruger up and they will send you a new and non-weak transfer bar. Then some clever gunsmith figured out how to eliminate the transfer bar all together. This batch of weak transfer bars created a whole industry in the SASS community and has made lots of $$$$ for SASS gunsmiths. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marauder SASS #13056 1,060 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 https://cylindersmith.com/Transferbar.html I did have one or maybe two break several years ago. I think it was when the "New Vaqueros" just came out. Just to be safe, I checked my Vaqueros and found one or two that did pinch, so I did that mod. Some have said that if the hammer timing is off, due to spring wear, it can increase the chance of breakage, but as others have noted, it is rare. 1 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barbwire Bill, SASS #661 4 Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 Sounds like it’s not a problem thanks for all the info BB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Abilene, SASS # 27489 1,279 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 4 hours ago, G W Wade said: Believe there was a post about transfer bar pinch. Some one smarter than me will have to find it or maybe remember how to determine if the condition is present in your un and how to eliminate. GW 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mustang Gregg 195 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 I reckon that I have been lucky. No broken transfer bars. I have ((since the early 1970's) fired thousands of rounds out of Single Sixes, Blackhawks, Super's and Vaq's. But I never pulled a trigger without snapcaps or live ammo. IMHOO. Mustang Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,349 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 FYI-The OMV & NMV t'bars are NOT the same, and not interchangeable. OLG 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Graybeard 335 Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 My Rugers don’t have transfer bars anymore. Won’t have any problems... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss 1,170 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 I had mine taken out for 2 reasons 1) by virtue of being a transfer bar, it transfers energy from one face to another. That takes added energy to start with as the Tbar absorbs some of the energy. Need a stronger hammer spring 2) if a part is going to break on a Ruger, it’s most likely going to be the Tbar. Thanks to Jimmy Spurs, Mine are gone, don’t miss them! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frederick Jackson Turner 210 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 I have broken at least a half dozen Ruger transfer bars. Ruger's service is second to none, but at best, that is shutting the barn door after the horses are out... Cheers, FJT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Widder, SASS #59054 7,661 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 I've had 2 of them break, one in each of my SASS pistols. The 1st breakage occurred after approx 250,000 cycles. The 2nd breakage occurred at approx 325,000 cycles. After replacing them, BOTH pistols were cycled OVER 1 million times with no more breakages. P.S. - both pistols were cycled over 1.5 million times each during my quest to go sub 2 for a GF run. ..........Widder 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barbwire Bill, SASS #661 4 Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 Has anyone tried to make a transfer bar out of better material? Ruger’s castings are the best but I wonder if making the part out of steel stock would make it tougher? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,349 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 43 minutes ago, Barbwire Bill, SASS #661 said: Has anyone tried to make a transfer bar out of better material? Ruger’s castings are the best but I wonder if making the part out of steel stock would make it tougher? It's the design, not the material. OLG 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Navy Davey 101 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 I have broken the transfer bar on a year old new model Vaquero so it does happen. Ruger fixed it no charge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Southpaw Gringo, SASS # 74217 47 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) Transfer bars for CAS are like wisdom teeth. Pull em before you have a problem.... Edited December 31, 2020 by Southpaw Gringo, SASS # 74217 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cayuse Jack, SASS #19407 33 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 17 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: FYI-The OMV & NMV t'bars are NOT the same, and not interchangeable. OLG While they are not the same original vaquero model transfer bars and new vaquero transfer bars will interchange. I have done it just to see if they could. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dapper Dynamite Dick 53 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 One of my "Original" Ruger Vaqueros in .44 magnum, broke a transfer bar at the point of putting about 20,000 Cowboy loads down range. Once I hot a new bar it took about 15 minutes or so to replacement. I've had the gun since about '97 and that is the only problem I have ever had. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,349 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 3 hours ago, Cayuse Jack, SASS #19407 said: While they are not the same original vaquero model transfer bars and new vaquero transfer bars will interchange. I have done it just to see if they could. Didn't work for me when I had to replace one in my wife's NMV. No way was the OMV t'bar gonna work. Ruger shows 2 different PN's for the t'bar too. If you put the 2 side by side, you'll see the difference. Wonder if Ruger has changed the design in the last few years? OLG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Null N. Void 551 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Mine were different between the New Vaquero and OMV. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
COLORADO JACKSON 127 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 18 hours ago, Barbwire Bill, SASS #661 said: Has anyone tried to make a transfer bar out of better material? Ruger’s castings are the best but I wonder if making the part out of steel stock would make it tougher? Get rid of them, you dont need them in this game... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bgavin 1,558 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 18 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said: I've had 2 of them break, one in each of my SASS pistols. The 1st breakage occurred after approx 250,000 cycles. The 2nd breakage occurred at approx 325,000 cycles. After replacing them, BOTH pistols were cycled OVER 1 million times with no more breakages. P.S. - both pistols were cycled over 1.5 million times each during my quest to go sub 2 for a GF run. ..........Widder Wow... that must be SUCH a disappointment... to fail so soon... < grin > 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 897 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 On 12/30/2020 at 5:12 AM, Null N. Void said: I believe they had a run of marginal transfer bars maybe 15 years ago. I had two Vaqueros that broke the transfer bars in a year or two. After they were replaced, I didn't have any problems. I have not had any problems with New Model Vaqueros or Single Sixes at any time. That must have been my issue. My OMV .45 broke its transfer bar after a few hundred rounds and virtually no dry firing. This was about 14 or 15 years ago. They fixed it pronto and no problems since. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frontier Lone Rider, SASS# 73063 246 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 When I 1st got into this gam, about 12 years ago, I read an article about breaking T-Bars. I ordered four spares, they are all still in the box. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Original Lumpy Gritz 7,349 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 13 minutes ago, Lone Rider, SASS# 73063 said: When I 1st got into this gam, about 12 years ago, I read an article about breaking T-Bars. I ordered four spares, they are all still in the box. That's why you haven't broken any. OLG 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Widder, SASS #59054 7,661 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 2 hours ago, bgavin said: Wow... that must be SUCH a disappointment... to fail so soon... < grin > I accomplished my goal. I never did wear those pistol out and eventually sold them to another Cowboy shooter. ..........Widder 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Col. Cornelius Gilliam, SASS#5875TG 41 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 I broke three a little over ten years ago. All broke within a few years time frame and Ruger supplied replacements, free of charge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bgavin 1,558 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Is it dry firing or just an occasional bad part that causes TB failures? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Widder, SASS #59054 7,661 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, bgavin said: Is it dry firing or just an occasional bad part that causes TB failures? Honestly, after 250,000 and 350,000 cycles before something breaks, its hard to say that the part was bad. In my case, it would be more like hard usage and the weaker part gave up the ghost. ..........Widder 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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