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SASS Rugers VS Taylor's SASS PRO Short Stroke


Squib Kidd

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2 minutes ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said:

The Uberti retractable firing pin revolvers have been problematic. 

May I ask what problems are we having?

1 minute ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said:

No, Ruger doesn’t offer a factory short stroked Vaquero or New Vaquero. 

Thank you

 

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1 minute ago, Squib Kidd said:

May I ask what problems are we having?

Thank you

 

Unreliability. Uberti screwed the pooch with that stupid design. I think Pietta sneaked an infiltration agent on to Uberti’s design team. 
Want reliable revolvers for SASS competition, buy Rugers.

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Just as an FYI "SASS Pro" is a Uberti brand nomenclature.  Taylor's version of the SASS PRO is called the Running Iron.  I bought a pair just to see what makes them tick and photographed a lot of the work for a possible future Chronicle how-to article.  You question does not have an easy answer.  None of my guns are stock.  Straight out of the box the SASS Rugers and Uberti short strokes both leave something to be desired.  Straight stock I would give the edge to Ruger.  Without getting into a lot of detail the Uberti's were quite interesting and I found seveal areas where they had excess friction and this impeded getting a smooth light action.  I noticed on the Taylor website even for their Taylor Tuned Running Irons they noted "the spring pressure is left at factory settings for optimal performance."  This was obviously to overcome internal friction and to ensure reliable ignition.  Well the spring pressure was not comfortable for me so I started tuning the guns with an eye towards reducing the mainspring and bolt/trigger spring pressure.  I won't go into detail about how the retractable firing pin works.  Suffice it to say when you pull the trigger you are not pushing the firing pin rod UP and forcing the firing pin forward.  The rod gets pushed when the hammer falls DOWN into the extension on the back of the trigger.  That happens right at the moment of ignition and softens the hammer fall.  So the first thing was to machine some rods to replace the factory rods and hold the firing pins forward all the time.

 

DSC_0003(1).thumb.jpeg.50bd4ca7a14ddce7f2e10ec1ede13e0d.jpeg

 

The trigger is interesting as it has two "sears".  The normal one (green arrow) on top which engages the half-cock to load and unload the gun and the purple arrow which is the short stroke sear on the back of the trigger.  The hammer "full cock" notch sits on the second sear.

 

DSC_0010.thumb.jpeg.87bb89b0accc492a677590e251d6fac1.jpeg

 

Because both sears are present it is possible under certain circumstances to cock the hammer to its normal full cock position.  So I added a hammer stop to limit hammer travel to allow just enough travel to engage the short stroke sear.

 

DSC_0013(1).thumb.jpeg.c83625117c10542c0fb12eb092ad1c4d.jpeg

 

The short stroke bolt (bottom) is significantly different than a standard bolt (top).  It took some very judicious fitting to correct the timing and stop the cylinder from over rotating.

 

DSC_0019.thumb.jpeg.b41da28682b437d4a8d12abc250c453f.jpeg

 

I reduced the spring tension significantly and the guns are actually quite a pleasure to shoot.  So my tuned Running Irons vs stock Ruger I'll take the Running Irons.  Short stroked Rugers (of which I have several) vs. Uberti short stroke is more a matter of what feels best in your hand.  They do feel different.  It is odd but when I am cocking the Rugers it feels like I am pulling the hammers to the rear.  When cocking the Ubertis it feels more like you are pressing them downwards.  I have over 1,000 rounds through the Ubertis and so far they are working surprisingly well.

 

A word about the retractible firing pins.  Like many things on the wire a lot of comments are from people that do not have them.  The design is actually quite clever and pretty fool proof.  HOWEVER, they are not idiot proof.  There are people that cannot shoot Glocks because they limp wrist them.  There are some that cannot shoot certain types of double barrel shotguns because they are slapping the trigger(s) or not holding the gun tight against their shoulders and getting doubling.  On the Ubertis you have to pull the trigger all the way to the rear.  If you tap it or slap it you may well get light strikes.  To be sure the old style solid firing pins are more idiot proof.  Unless there is an actual mechanical malfunction the retractable pins are not as crappy as a lot of people make them out to be.

Edited by Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933
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6 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

Or...the Cimarron Arizona Rangers (replaced Evil Roys) still have the standard 4-click action.

???? The Arizona Ranger is not a short stroke.

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18 hours ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Just as an FYI "SASS Pro" is a Uberti brand nomenclature.  Taylor's version of the SASS PRO is called the Running Iron.  I bought a pair just to see what makes them tick and photographed a lot of the work for a possible future Chronicle how-to article.  You question does not have an easy answer.  None of my guns are stock.  Straight out of the box the SASS Rugers and Uberti short strokes both leave something to be desired.  Straight stock I would give the edge to Ruger.  Without getting into a lot of detail the Uberti's were quite interesting and I found seveal areas where they had excess friction and this impeded getting a smooth light action.  I noticed on the Taylor website even for their Taylor Tuned Running Irons they noted "the spring pressure is left at factory settings for optimal performance."  This was obviously to overcome internal friction and to ensure reliable ignition.  Well the spring pressure was not comfortable for me so I started tuning the guns with an eye towards reducing the mainspring and bolt/trigger spring pressure.  I won't go into detail about how the retractable firing pin works.  Suffice it to say when you pull the trigger you are not pushing the firing pin rod UP and forcing the firing pin forward.  The rod gets pushed when the hammer falls DOWN into the extension on the back of the trigger.  That happens right at the moment of ignition and softens the hammer fall.  So the first thing was to machine some rods to replace the factory rods and hold the firing pins forward all the time.

 

DSC_0003(1).thumb.jpeg.50bd4ca7a14ddce7f2e10ec1ede13e0d.jpeg

 

The trigger is interesting as it has two "sears".  The normal one (green arrow) on top which engages the half-cock to load and unload the gun and the purple arrow which is the short stroke sear on the back of the trigger.  The hammer "full cock" notch sits on the second sear.

 

DSC_0010.thumb.jpeg.87bb89b0accc492a677590e251d6fac1.jpeg

 

Because both sears are present it is possible under certain circumstances to cock the hammer to its normal full cock position.  So I added a hammer stop to limit hammer travel to allow just enough travel to engage the short stroke sear.

 

DSC_0013(1).thumb.jpeg.c83625117c10542c0fb12eb092ad1c4d.jpeg

 

The short stroke bolt (bottom) is significantly different than a standard bolt (top).  It took some very judicious fitting to correct the timing and stop the cylinder from over rotating.

 

DSC_0019.thumb.jpeg.b41da28682b437d4a8d12abc250c453f.jpeg

 

I reduced the spring tension significantly and the guns are actually quite a pleasure to shoot.  So my tuned Running Irons vs stock Ruger I'll take the Running Irons.  Short stroked Rugers (of which I have several) vs. Uberti short stroke is more a matter of what feels best in your hand.  They do feel different.  It is odd but when I am cocking the Rugers it feels like I am pulling the hammers to the rear.  When cocking the Ubertis it feels more like you are pressing them downwards.  I have over 1,000 rounds through the Ubertis and so far they are working surprisingly well.

 

A word about the retractible firing pins.  Like many things on the wire a lot of comments are from people that do not have them.  The design is actually quite clever and pretty fool proof.  HOWEVER, they are not idiot proof.  There are people that cannot shoot Glocks because they limp wrist them.  There are some that cannot shoot certain types of double barrel shotguns because they are slapping the trigger(s) or not holding the gun tight against their shoulders and getting doubling.  On the Ubertis you have to pull the trigger all the way to the rear.  If you tap it or slap it you may well get light strikes.  To be sure the old style solid firing pins are more idiot proof.  Unless there is an actual mechanical malfunction the retractable pins are not as crappy as a lot of people make them out to be.

Wow!  Thanks pard!  You didn't leave much room for questions from my end.  You covered everything very nicely and your description was concise and easy to follow.  Thank you.

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18 hours ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Just as an FYI "SASS Pro" is a Uberti brand nomenclature.  Taylor's version of the SASS PRO is called the Running Iron.  I bought a pair just to see what makes them tick and photographed a lot of the work for a possible future Chronicle how-to article.  You question does not have an easy answer.  None of my guns are stock.  Straight out of the box the SASS Rugers and Uberti short strokes both leave something to be desired.  Straight stock I would give the edge to Ruger.  Without getting into a lot of detail the Uberti's were quite interesting and I found seveal areas where they had excess friction and this impeded getting a smooth light action.  I noticed on the Taylor website even for their Taylor Tuned Running Irons they noted "the spring pressure is left at factory settings for optimal performance."  This was obviously to overcome internal friction and to ensure reliable ignition.  Well the spring pressure was not comfortable for me so I started tuning the guns with an eye towards reducing the mainspring and bolt/trigger spring pressure.  I won't go into detail about how the retractable firing pin works.  Suffice it to say when you pull the trigger you are not pushing the firing pin rod UP and forcing the firing pin forward.  The rod gets pushed when the hammer falls DOWN into the extension on the back of the trigger.  That happens right at the moment of ignition and softens the hammer fall.  So the first thing was to machine some rods to replace the factory rods and hold the firing pins forward all the time.

 

DSC_0003(1).thumb.jpeg.50bd4ca7a14ddce7f2e10ec1ede13e0d.jpeg

 

The trigger is interesting as it has two "sears".  The normal one (green arrow) on top which engages the half-cock to load and unload the gun and the purple arrow which is the short stroke sear on the back of the trigger.  The hammer "full cock" notch sits on the second sear.

 

DSC_0010.thumb.jpeg.87bb89b0accc492a677590e251d6fac1.jpeg

 

Because both sears are present it is possible under certain circumstances to cock the hammer to its normal full cock position.  So I added a hammer stop to limit hammer travel to allow just enough travel to engage the short stroke sear.

 

DSC_0013(1).thumb.jpeg.c83625117c10542c0fb12eb092ad1c4d.jpeg

 

The short stroke bolt (bottom) is significantly different than a standard bolt (top).  It took some very judicious fitting to correct the timing and stop the cylinder from over rotating.

 

DSC_0019.thumb.jpeg.b41da28682b437d4a8d12abc250c453f.jpeg

 

I reduced the spring tension significantly and the guns are actually quite a pleasure to shoot.  So my tuned Running Irons vs stock Ruger I'll take the Running Irons.  Short stroked Rugers (of which I have several) vs. Uberti short stroke is more a matter of what feels best in your hand.  They do feel different.  It is odd but when I am cocking the Rugers it feels like I am pulling the hammers to the rear.  When cocking the Ubertis it feels more like you are pressing them downwards.  I have over 1,000 rounds through the Ubertis and so far they are working surprisingly well.

 

A word about the retractible firing pins.  Like many things on the wire a lot of comments are from people that do not have them.  The design is actually quite clever and pretty fool proof.  HOWEVER, they are not idiot proof.  There are people that cannot shoot Glocks because they limp wrist them.  There are some that cannot shoot certain types of double barrel shotguns because they are slapping the trigger(s) or not holding the gun tight against their shoulders and getting doubling.  On the Ubertis you have to pull the trigger all the way to the rear.  If you tap it or slap it you may well get light strikes.  To be sure the old style solid firing pins are more idiot proof.  Unless there is an actual mechanical malfunction the retractable pins are not as crappy as a lot of people make them out to be.

Who short strokes Rugers?  Anyone that can do it fairly quick?

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50 minutes ago, Squib Kidd said:

Who short strokes Rugers?  Anyone that can do it fairly quick?

There are frankly many that do.

 

I've been using Shotgun Boogie's for years now. I prefer them because he uses replacement parts that accomplishes the SS. Many folks modify existing parts to accomplish the SS...personal preferences.

 

As far as "fairly quick"...I don't know how to answer that.

 

Phantom

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5 minutes ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

There are frankly many that do.

 

I've been using Shotgun Boogie's for years now. I prefer them because he uses replacement parts that accomplishes the SS. Many folks modify existing parts to accomplish the SS...personal preferences.

 

As far as "fairly quick"...I don't know how to answer that.

 

Phantom

Thanks again!

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7 minutes ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

There are frankly many that do.

 

I've been using Shotgun Boogie's for years now. I prefer them because he uses replacement parts that accomplishes the SS. Many folks modify existing parts to accomplish the SS...personal preferences.

 

As far as "fairly quick"...I don't know how to answer that.

 

Phantom

Can you DM me Shotgun Boogie's contact info please?

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