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Vaquero Transfer bar height question


Johnny Knight

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Hi all,

Thought I would bounce a question off of the collected experience here.  I've been working to dial in a newer pair of vaqueros (maybe 1000 rounds through by now) and think I have discovered the source of an occasional issue.  Every once in awhile when cocking one of the guns it hangs up just a touch before reaching full cock.  In trying to diagnose the issue, I've noticed that one transfer bar is decidedly longer than the other.  At full cock, one gun has the firing pin about half covered by the transfer bar.  The second gun, the one that occasionally hangs has the transfer bar completely covering the firing pin.  Since the transfer bar rises as the trigger is pulled, I am guessing that the longer transfer bar is occasionally catching on the firing pin as it rises.  The plan is to shorten it to the same length as the one that I'm not having any issues with, unless there is something else that I am missing? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Johnny

 

p.s. I saw the other posts on transfer bar pinch and that doesn't seem to be the issue as each transfer bar drops cleanly.  It might also explain why I get an occasional FTF on the same gun if the hammer is catching and skipping off the top of the longer transfer bar instead of one clean strike where it is supposed to hit  ......just pondering...

Vaquero Transfer bar pict.jpg

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Thanks.  The transfer bar is free, I've already done round one of deburring it and polishing it a bit, while checking it's movement in the slot to make sure it moves freely.  Normally, no issues at all, just the occasional hang up mentioned above.  The cylinder pin spring provides the requisite springiness and I've already installed the upgraded wolff extra power base pin spring to keep it in place.

J

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What OLG said.  Also, are those new factory guns and the original transfer bars?  I might be wrong here, but the transfer bar from the Vaquero and the New Vaquero are of a different length.  I looked at mine a number of years ago and I think they were different lengths.  I'm not going to take mine apart to re-check.  Just a thought.

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Thanks OLG, easy enough to swap out to see if that makes a difference.  German, yes, they are factory guns, NIB when I ordered them in April.  The springs have been changed trying out different weights, but all the hard parts are original except for swapping in SBH hammers for the easier reach (shooting Duelist).  Went through and did a basic deburring and polishing on the guns after I got them, but no other parts swaps.  As mentioned above, the only difference I could tell in the hard parts is the longer transfer bar on the one gun.

Johnny

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The cylinder pin with it's spring loaded transfer bar pin may be dirty.

If the pin does not fully extend, the transfer bar may and can catch under the firing pin.

This can stop the cylinder from rotating in to position.s

If the cylinder is forced by pulling harder on the hammer, the transfer bar can bend slightly making it hand on the firing pin more and more.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQiE2phTYNed1vMVxWQPTxle2OApdcy21Fq2w&usqp=CAU

 

Another thing to look at is the cylinder pin (base pin) retaining groove.

Look to see it the cylinder pin is all the way in to the shoulder.

One of the last things I do before shooting at the line is to push the cylinder pin in all the way.

 

The notch may not be in the correct location.

If the cylinder pins does not go all the way to the shoulder, the groove may need to be files a little longer or on the other side of the pin so the cylinder pin bottoms out on the frame.

 

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Thanks Cliff,

I think on at least one occasion the cylinder pin needed a good cleaning, that seemed to help.  But, I've occasionally had the issue when the pin looked to be clean.  Just to clarify, this isn't an issue I have often, pretty rare actually, but just trying to learn as much as I can about the quirks of the vaqueros and knowing what to look for.

J

 

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my 2¢

I always put a drop of light oil on the end of the cylinder pin then push it in a couple of times to get the oil down in it.

 

I also went to a shorter cylinder pin so I could remove it completely from the frame without taking the ejector housing off.  That allows me to give it a good wipe down.

 

 

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Thanks for the suggestion Cheyenne.  Last night took a bit off the top of the transfer bar to match the profile of my other gun.  Polished up the transfer bar a bit more while it was out, so now everything seems to be working smoothly.  I'll still need to put a few rounds through it before the Last Stand at Thunder River on the 3rd.  See you there.

Regards,

Johnny

Ruger adjustment 11-19-21.jpg

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6 hours ago, Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L said:

my 2¢

I always put a drop of light oil on the end of the cylinder pin then push it in a couple of times to get the oil down in it.

 

I also do that.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just a followup, after having put 100 rounds through, then another 50 or so at Thunder River, it's looking like I'm getting nice clean strikes on the primers with the 15# Wolff springs currently in the gun.  So, for better or worse, I can't blame the pistol for my performance yesterday :).  All things considered, the guns ran well, just need more time with throwing lead down range.  Thanks again everyone for the helpful suggestions as I learn my way around the vaqueros.

Regards,

Johnny

 

p.s.  Here is a pict of some of the random cases from the 100 test rounds.

primers after work on transfer bar 12-1-21.jpg

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I don't shoot tons, but I do own a few Vaqueros, some original, some New. The only issue I ever had with FTF was traced back to the transfer bar, and to a deep primer pocket. I kept the round that failed to fire and the primer pocket on that case was a few thou deeper than the others. Not out of spec, just a bit deeper. The other part of the equation was the transfer bar on the gun that FTF, was a bit thinner in the blade area than my other Vaquero. So, it was the stacking of issues that led to the FTF. 

 

However, I did not want a repeat, ever, so instead of making sure all my primer pockets were on the shallow side I replaced the transfer bar. 

 

The transfer bar is a cast or MIM, not machined, so differences exist. The relief in the hammer, the part that touches the transfer bar is not machined, also cast or MIM. At the tip my transfer bar was a bit more than 0.010" thinner than the relief. A new transfer bar fixed that up. 

 

I suppose, with the increased clearance, the firing pin was relying on a bit of inertia to get the job done. Something to check.

 

Yes, hammer spring was a Wolff,  #17 IIRC. Never had an issue after changing the transfer bar, it was about 0.010 thicker than the old one. 

 

BB

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