SP101: ejector star defect?

[shamus]

I thought I'd start a new thread on this, with all the info in one post.



I've noticed that rounds have been sticking in the cylinder chambers of my SP101. At first I though the problem was a dirty cylinder but after thoroughly getting that clean, rounds would still stick a bit in the cylinder, but only on two chambers.

If I move the ejector star out of the way and drop a round in the cylinder, it drops in without a problem. When the ejector star is down, the round sticks. I'm starting to think the ejector star may be the problem.

By "sticking" I mean that the round drops in, mostly, and requires a slight bump to get it to seat.

So I decided to experiment by dropping three different rounds in the chamber that was sticking:

* .357 125 grain winchester jhp sticks about half the time.
* .357 158 grain jsp Independence drops about half the time
* .38 130 grain metal case drops in just fine.

With the 125 grain Winchesters, usually one-time-in ten it requires a solid push to get seated. The other times it sticks they just require a slight push.

When the 158 grains stick, they just need a slight push.

Once in a blue moon the .38s stick and a nudge gets them in.

I'm starting to think the the case rim on the .357s are sticking on the ejector star sometimes.

So, do you my think ejector star has a tiny bit too much metal (i.e., they didn’t quite machine enough off)? If so, a few strokes with a rat-tail file could solve that. I'm living in a gunsmith-free zone right now, so I'll have to do this myself.

I'm going to get a magnifying glass to make sure that the rounds are indeed sticking on the ejector star.

 

[CMcDermott]

The edge of the ejector star should be even with the cylinder wall, if it is leave it alone. If it isn't, then a rat tail file is far too coarse to try and change it; you will just leave a badly burred edge that really will grab onto the cartridges and cause them to stick more.
Take the gun to a gunsmith who knows what he is doing or send it back to Ruger to have it fixed.
Another option is if you just want the cartridges to slide in easily, then send the revolver to a gunsmith that offers cylinder chamfering, where the back of the cylinder chambers (including the extractor star) are slightly relieved to allow the cartridges to slide in easily. This is often done to IDPA revolver class guns to allow faster/easier reloading with the speed loaders.

 

[shamus]

I pretty sure it's the ejector. After playing around with it, I've discovered that only chamber sticks...and it's this one:



see how the ejector is not quite aligned?



Here's a .38 round sticking on the ejector



thoughts?

I'll have managed to hunt down a gunsmith by next week. I won't be messing with the weapon myself.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Send that puppy back to Ruger -- you need a whole new ejector assembly. Contact them first and tell them what the problem is. Point out this is unacceptable for a self-defense revolver,

 

[dbarale]

Wow! It's really bad, not unsafe but unacceptable. This one should get fixed by Ruger...

 

[461]

Ruger will fix it without a complaint. If you push them a little they'll probably even send you a shipping tag to cover the cost. Ruger customer service is great.