Security Six cylinder binding problem.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Mrs. 2ndAmendmentNut picked out a 6” blue Security Six a while back. Lots of holster wear on the outside, a new gun on the inside. She really enjoys shooting it, however there is a pretty noticeable problem. At least one out of every 12~18 shots the trigger will be very difficult to pull do to cylinder binding. It appears to be do to either lead, powder residue, or copper fouling, building up on the face of the cylinder, making the barrel cylinder gap very tight. Problem occurs with boolits and bullets. I have noticed that on the front of the cylinder on about one half the bluing is starting to wear off, this is also the one half that when rotated into battery the problem seems to usually occur. So I am guessing my problem is the gun does not have an even or proper cylinder gap. Any other ideas? Any advice on how to fix this? Something I could do with a little 400 grit sandpaper on the cylinder face? Or is this best left up to a professional?

[Bass Ackward]

My guess is that the gun has more end shake than it has BC gap. So as the cylinder indexes, it is allowed to move forward and bind.

These guys sell them, but I am not sure which size will fit as they are different and made for each gun. Or how many you might need. (based upon how much play you "need" to take out)

http://powercustom.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=114&zenid=f212e5c1a1f5aa23a926493cca02ec28



I have a size for a Redhawk that might just fit if you want one. Use the PM if you do.

[NHlever]

The Security Six series has a habit of building up junk between the cylinder, and the ejector rod. The cylinder needs to be unscrewed ( left hand thread using a couple of fired cases in a vise for a wrench), and the inside parts cleaned. There are a couple of "extra" pieces in there so take it apart over a shop rag on your bench once you break the initial tightness. They will then run lilk a top for another several thousand rounds.

[pdawg_shooter]

Sounds like the front of the cylinder is not square with the axis.

[firefly1957]

You need to measure the gap on all six chambers if it varies call Ruger they will do god by you and the Mrs. A auto parts store will have feeler gages top do the measuring if you have none already.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Thank you all. I pulled the cylinder off and did not find it to be all that dirty. I will pick up a feeler gage soon here and determine if the cylinder gap is consistent or not.

[Larry Gibson]

If anything needs "facing" I would face of the back of the barrel. Not hard to do, was a common problem with even S&Ws on police ranges when lots of practice cast bullets were used. Barrel cylinder gap should be .004 - .006 around the cylinder.

BTW; I've a Security Six also with a 6' barrel and it did the same thing. I faced off the rear of the barrel for a .004 barrel cylinder gap and haven't had a problem since. Hell for stout .357 and my favorite .357 over several S&Ws. Though, as NHLever mentions, the inside around the ejector rod needs to be kept clean.

Larry Gibson

[pdawg_shooter]

I think he said it was dragging on 1 side not all the way around. If he files the barrel he will have excess gap half the time.

[bhn22]

My Security Six used to do this. It ended up being an occasional granule of unburned powder sneaking under the ejector star during reloads. Every so often, it must drop out and everythings fine... until the next time. 2400 & Unique were the worst offenders

[GP100man]

Call Ruger , ask for a pick up box , I doubt they pick up shippin but ask your gun shop what they`ll charge to ship also .

The cyl is`nt square .

[Skrenos]

Perhaps your gun is suffering from detective flick, or as I like to call it, dick slap. :) That's where someone uses momentum to close the cylinder by spinning the run rapidly to the right hand side. You may have a bent yoke/crane on your gun. Check the front of your gun under the barrel and see if there's an excessive gap between the frame and yoke/crane.

[MGySgt]

Clean under the ejector Star - my S&W's do it too!

[pdawg_shooter]

How does fowling under the ejector star cause the front of the cylinder to rub the barrel shank? If i understand the first post, the front of the cylinder is rubbing the barrel shank but only on about half the cylinder. Sure sounds like the cylinder is not faced off square with the axis of the cylinder. The fix for this would be facing the cylinder square or replacing the cylinder wit one properly machined.

[MGySgt]

If the Star can not go all the way back into position, the Case presses against the recoil sheild which pushes the front of the cylinder forward into the back of the barrel if you have to much endplay or too much carbon build up on either the cylinder or barrel.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I got a feeler gage, and this is what I learned… The cylinder does seem to either not be on there perfectly straight, or perhaps the face is not perfectly square. Four of the chambers have a gap of 0.005", and two have a gap of 0.004”. There is some end shake in the cylinder which tightens the gap all the way round and could be my problem, so I have ordered some bushings to try and see if that helps. This revolver has always shot very accurately and I get zero leading, other then the minor residue that accumulates causing the binding. Could taking the end sake out perhaps fix my problem, or is the cylinder gap that varies by less then 0.001” a more serious problem that should warrant a trip back to Ruger?

[Bass Ackward]

I got a feeler gage, and this is what I learned… The cylinder does seem to either not be on there perfectly straight, or perhaps the face is not perfectly square. Four of the chambers have a gap of 0.005", and two have a gap of 0.004”. There is some end shake in the cylinder which tightens the gap all the way round and could be my problem, so I have ordered some bushings to try and see if that helps. This revolver has always shot very accurately and I get zero leading, other then the minor residue that accumulates causing the binding. Could taking the end sake out perhaps fix my problem, or is the cylinder gap that varies by less then 0.001” a more serious problem that should warrant a trip back to Ruger?



Don't take the end shake out. Just back the cylinder off enough to prevent the bind. One .002 washer aught to do it.

End shake is built into double actions for heat expansion. It develops on it's own as part of the shooting process and its generally a need for the cylinder to alter direction to allow the slug to exit into the bore. Backing the cylinder up lessens the angle for entry. Sort of like making the forcing cone angle more gentle. And it improves ignition by tightening headspace at the same time. But you don't want it too tight or you will have other issues.

Wonder about BC gap measurement? For a test, measure your other guns if you dare. :grin:

[cajun shooter]

Pdawg_shooter, I attended the school at Ruger for police armorers and also others. The trash under the star may cause you to have a head ache as most shooters can't figure it out. The problem with asking what is wrong with any gun opens a Pandora's Box. You will have to address each answer to find a possible answer if it has been given. You may have as little as a few grains of powder residue under the extractor and the revolver will bind like crazy. One of the points always used against the revolver in it being a good defensive weapon when compared to the semi-auto pistol. The end of the barrel may not be flush or even and cause the cylinder to bind in one area and not another, again seen all the time. The end shake of the cylinder is another possible problem. I don't remember if anyone suggested a bent extractor rod but it goes on the list and a good armorer will have a run out tool to check for this. A simple problem is also a loose extractor rod which is missed a lot. Don't attempt to tighten unless you have empty hulls in the cylinder,at least three. If you are not qualified to do the checks and fixes then off to the man with the shingle.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Don't take the end shake out. Just back the cylinder off enough to prevent the bind. One .002 washer aught to do it.

Thanks I'll keep that in mind. I really doubt if a cylinder gap that goes from .004 to .005 is anything to worry about.

[pdawg_shooter]

If I had a revolver with enough end shake to cause the cylinder to rub the barrel I would be repairing or getting rid of it PDQ. If it was a high round count gun I would rebuild it. If it was new or low round count it would go back to the factory or to the next gun show.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Just updating to say thanks.

I picked up a package of 0.002” thick cylinder bushings from MidwayUSA and installed one under the cylinder. The Mrs.’s Security Six now runs like a champ, thanks guys for all the helpful input.

[catboat]

Your bullets may need to be seated deeper. The ogive/shoulder may be just kissing the rear portion of the cylinder throat, which will prevent the cartridge from chambering fully in the cylinder. The protruding casehead may be binding on the rear wall of the frame.

I offer this, as it happened to me this past winter. I shoot in both conventional and centerfire pistol winter leagues. I was doing some load developments with my S&W 14 and S&W 586 with regard to bullet seating. On one load, I encounted "binding" when cocking the hammer on 2-3 times/cylinder. I opened the cylinder and pressed the lead wadcutter-loaded cartrides into the cylinder, and felt it chamber fully-then tried shooting again. No binding. I just seated that load out a little too far. I wanted to have te leading edge of the wadcutter to just touch the rear portion of the throat. I apparently seated it a few thousanths too long.

Subsequent loading/shooting with a touch deeper seated bullet has resulted in "normal" (non-binding) action operation.

Try seating your bullets deeper. What are you shooting for a load? Cast? Jacketed? Factory? Handloads? What bullet? If they are handloads, you may have to trim your cases to a uniform length too, if everthing else is "right," to allow a loaded cartridge to be "shorter."

A cylinder gap of .004"+ should be fine. There may be some non-uniformly deposited gunk on the front of they cylinder. Use a brass bristled brush and cleaning solvent to clean up the cylinder face.

I'm putting my money on the cartridge being loaded a skooch too long, and getting caught on the rear shoulder of the cylinder throat.