Coyote3855
Member
After 10 years and thousands of rounds, one of my Vaqueros went south this weekend. I shot a CAS match Saturday with no problems. After a few cycles of dry fire that evening, the hammer would not cock. I fiddled a bit and it worked for about 15-20 cycles, then locked up again.
Symptom: The hammer will come back to the point where the cylinder should start to turn, then the hammer cannot be pulled to full cock and the cylinder will not turn. The gun locks up with the cylinder in or out. Lowering the hammer a few times will usually allow the hammer to cock.
Attempted fixes: Checked the cylinder base pin. It was intact (pin in place at the hammer end) and fully seated. Checked to see if transfer bar was hanging up on the firing pin. Lock up occurs when the transfer bar is still slightly below the firing pin. Disassembled the entire gun, used Gun Scrubber to clean accumulated crud, lightly oiled, and reassembled. Would do the 15-20 cycles and lock up. Disassembled offending gun and its mate to compare parts. Couldn’t see anything broken or worn or different from the Vaquero that works.
Options: I am reluctant to send the gun to Ruger. Both guns have action jobs and matching two- pound triggers. Ruger will put it back to spec. I have an OMV Sheriff’s model. Would it be worth a shot to put those parts in the bad gun?
Got some responses on the SASS wire suggesting it may be a problem with the hammer plunger, cross pin, and spring. I'll check that out, I didn't even know the part was there.
Ideas?
Thanks,
Coyote3855
Symptom: The hammer will come back to the point where the cylinder should start to turn, then the hammer cannot be pulled to full cock and the cylinder will not turn. The gun locks up with the cylinder in or out. Lowering the hammer a few times will usually allow the hammer to cock.
Attempted fixes: Checked the cylinder base pin. It was intact (pin in place at the hammer end) and fully seated. Checked to see if transfer bar was hanging up on the firing pin. Lock up occurs when the transfer bar is still slightly below the firing pin. Disassembled the entire gun, used Gun Scrubber to clean accumulated crud, lightly oiled, and reassembled. Would do the 15-20 cycles and lock up. Disassembled offending gun and its mate to compare parts. Couldn’t see anything broken or worn or different from the Vaquero that works.
Options: I am reluctant to send the gun to Ruger. Both guns have action jobs and matching two- pound triggers. Ruger will put it back to spec. I have an OMV Sheriff’s model. Would it be worth a shot to put those parts in the bad gun?
Got some responses on the SASS wire suggesting it may be a problem with the hammer plunger, cross pin, and spring. I'll check that out, I didn't even know the part was there.
Ideas?
Thanks,
Coyote3855