.32 mag ruger leading

[mainiac]

I have previously wrote about this gun, its a single six ruger that was made in 93 i think. The gun shoots real,real well but it is leading in the first inch or so of the barrell. It has 309 throats and a 3137 bore and i relize that this isnt good. Question,,,,,, if i sent this back to ruger would they fix the fit with either bigger cylinder throats or a barrell with a smaller bore? Do you think it would come back shooting as well is does now? This gun easily shoots 10 shot groups 1.5 inches or smaller and hate to frig it up, but the leading issue really is a pain. Shooting the lyman311316 with gas check at about 1200 f.p.s. and this load shoots pretty clean, but the lee 92 gr. bullet at 950-1000 f.p.s. makes a mess! use water dropped W.W. and a .311 size die. Any help or thoughts? thanks,mark

[felix]

Mark, if you are really going to shoot this gun for real (like a lot), then get it fixed. If you are going to rebarrel, which I would do in this situation for this particular gun, then leave the cylinders alone. Just make sure the gun sports a 308 barrel, and that might be had by getting a surplus one made for a 30 carbine ruger pistol. ... felix

[KCSO]

On mine the leading was caused by a rough forcing cone. Mine had more annular rings than the Charter Oak. I very carefully reamed it smooth and polished it to 600 grit with a brass lap. No more leading! It might be worth a try. My Bisley 32 mag has gotten squirrels from a rest at 50 yards shooting Lee soupcans with G/C and Green Dot powder.

[beagle]

Send it back to Ruger and get it right. I have one and it's a joy to shoot. I was really impressed withe the .32 Magnum as I was looking for it to be a "ho hum" round and it's a really pleasant shooter.

I'm shooting .311s in mine and no leading and I just put a bunch of rounds through it.

If you send it back, they may say it's within specs but on the other hand, they may rebarrel it and that's they way to go.

See if they'll do it right./beagle

[9.3X62AL]

1) Leave the barrel alone--have the throats reamed to .314", size boolits to that same spec, and it should drive tacks. It likely won't favor jacketed bullets, but that wide groove is already sloppy for the usual run of J-word bullets.

2) To do it REALLY right, the barrel should be around .3115"/groove and have the smooth forcing cone described by KCSO, the throats at .312". Such dimensions are well-nigh perfect for both jacketed and cast projectiles. Size to .313" in this case.

[felix]

Al, your suggestions are not only Right, but Perfect! Probably too expensive to say the least. Ruger won't do that, but they will do a complete bolt/hand job upon request for a perfect lockup. ... felix

[Buckshot]

..............It is a total amazement to me that Ruger QC is so poor as to let a firearm like that out of their plant. I'd send it back to Ruger and suggest that if this is what they ship, they should maybe think about manufacturing something with tolerances they could use a yardstick on.

I will agree that 0.001" is presicion and industry has only been able to meet or hold that for the past 130 years or so. However Ruger came into being well after that, in a time when a thousandth of an inch is a common workaday tolerance.

I'd send the thing back and include a letter asking how something that far out of spec made it out the door, and if this was something Ruger was proud to have their name on? I'd be pissed that I had to bear the shipping charges for them to fix something like that in the first place. You might suggest that if they don't quite understand the relationship between the chamber mouths and the barrel groove, that you have several books you could suggest they take a look at to clue them in.

.............Buckshot

[StarMetal]

Buckshot

No, you can't be amazed. How about all the stories of the horrible rifles they let out with poorly made barrels. Remember the example that I told you about where my best friend had bought a brand new heavy barrel varmint in 308 caliber and the best it would shoot with match ammo was one inch at 50 yards !!!! Come to find out when we slugged the bore and miked it that it was .3095. Now that's downright poor quality. Heck they might as well went another .00005 and made it an even .310 and chambered it for the 7.62x39. That's not the only Ruger rifle that I had personal contact with that had way oversized groove diameters. So I'm not in amazement over this 32 cal revolver.

Joe

[9.3X62AL]

This is the first case I've heard involving the Ruger SSM in 32 Magnum having "backwards" throat relationships, but Ruger revolvers have been noted for such conditions for several years. 45 Colt seems to be the most common caliber so afflicted, and 44-40 WCF revolvers are similarly arranged--.449 throats/.452" groove in the case of my own 45 Colt BisHawk, and a .426" throat/.429"-.430" groove in the 44-40's. I suspect that in the 44-40's case, Ruger is just using 44 Magnum barrel specs--but the throat is still too skinny for "standard" .427" boolits used in the 44-40. The conditions are too commonly encountered to be accidental convergences of new rifling button/old throat reamer--but I'll be damned if I can understand what rationale is involved. Prior to re-throating, my 45 leaded with plain-based boolits in the same fashion Mainiac described--and liked only one boolit. Now, the critter seems to enjoy other designs that it formerly scattered at random, so life got a lot better after I finished building the revolver.

I think we had better get accustomed to the idea of having to complete construction of firearms we buy these days. Dimensional integrity is skewed, receivers aren't drilled for after-market aperture sights anymore, and attorneys in the gunmaker design rooms result in Glock triggers on Savage rifles. If you want it done right the first time, you might have to cough up some serious cake to a professional riflemaker. As it stands these days, going to Ruger, Remington, Winchester, Smith & Wesson, or Colt is like seeking the services of a paramedic for open heart surgery--you better have a specialist nearby.

[Bodydoc447]

I would suggest getting the cylinder throats reamed out by cylindersmith. He reportedly does a nice job, quick turnaround and not real expensive. He is on the web http://www.cylindersmith.com/. I have no connection with this business at all, just heard good things about him.

[StarMetal]

I'd at least phone Ruger first and explain the problem to them and ask what they can do before sending it to them only to receive it back with a note saying "it's within factory tolerances". Then if you get no positive results seek out a good gunsmith.

Joe

[mainiac]

Id rather maybe fix the throats in this gun than send it to ruger,because i spent alot of time on this trigger and id be ripped if they ruined it on me! My bore is .3137 so a 314 would be all most ideal,but who can ream to this dimention? is this a common size,and how much would it cost roughly? thanks,mark

[mainiac]

another thought, if i did open up my throats to 314 than i am assuming that i wouldnt be able to shoot the various 310-311 bullets. Would i have to buy a custom mold or is there something out there that would work? thanks again........

[44man]

I would not open the throats that far. They should be only .0005" over bore size and at the very most, .001". And yes, if you send the gun to Ruger, they will put your nice trigger back to "factory specs."
As far as their rifle barrels go, they used to buy barrels from someone else until they tooled up to make their own. Some were horrible to say the least. I can't say what they are like now though.
If you get Veril Smiths book, "jacketed performance with cast bullets" it tells you how to lap the throats yourself. Easier them me trying to explain. Works great too. With some wet or dry sandpaper, a brass rod and an electric drill, I went from 9" patterns at 25 yd's to 1" groups at 50 yd's with my Vaquero.
And the best secret of all----FELIX LUBE!!!!

[Willbird]

Actually my devious mind tells me I would do this, I would send the gun back to ruger with NO cylinder, tell them you bought the gun that way, tell them you are shooting cast boolits and would like throats to match the bore (can't hurt to try) then after you get it back have the spare cyl cut to 32-20 and the person doing the re-chambering can also open up the throats at the same time. Ruger will not sell the cyl.

Bill

[felix]

Bill, yes indeed, if we do that and it works, I would start a *** club where everyone sends in their rugers to a central location, and then on to ruger. I wonder, though, if we would get anything back any better other than via luck. ... felix

[StarMetal]

I missed the boat when Ruger came out with the 32 mag on their single-six frame with adjustable sights. I had wanted to get one, but didn't. Being I don't have one, nor any friends that do, I want to know what is the standard or average bore dimensions that Ruger is using. Is it suppose to be a .308 bore or is it indeed suppose to be bigger like .310 or .313?

Joe

[felix]

Yeah, 44man is correct. My most accurate (for general purpose loads without farting around) revolter has a cylinder which is almost exactly the size of the grooves. Might be just coincidence because its lockup alignment is also solid and straight. So, will the real guns in a collection please stand up? I only have one in about 15 I will take back to momma. ... felix