Ruger Blackhawk's 6.5lb trigger pull - Fixed

[TMan]

Well, my long awaited Ruger Blackhawk convertible finally arrived. It came with two cylinders: 357 Magnum and 9mm. The 9mm is kind of neat. I thought it would have moon-clips in order to hold the 9mm because the lack of a significant rim on the 9mm. However, what it has is a lip inside the cylinder for the brass case to hit up against.

It came with the little plastic insert to permit dry-firing, so I cocked it and pulled the trigger. Wow, what is with this thing? When I got home, I tried several times with my gauge, and it varied between 6.5 and 6.75 pounds. I can't believe this on a single-action revolver. Is it normal to be this high or should I send this thing back to the factory?

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; I noticed the same thing with my Ruger Super Blackhawk and the Freedom Arms revolvers. Seems like most of the Double Action Revolvers have much lighter trigger breaks on Single Action. Many people I speak to, who have spent time with the Ruger Single Actions, rave aboout the Single Action Triggers on the Double Action Smith & Wessons.
On another thought about Single Actions; I remember when a 7 lb. trigger was the factory standard for the Colt 1911.
A manufacturer assumes alot of the liability when setting a factory standard trigger below that of an unsafe handling condition for first time users. Ruger also stamps a warning message on the barrels of their revolvers; Go fiqure
Some guns are built for use by everyone ; And there are other guns for those other people who gauge their triggers and measure their shot groups. I reckon we will be reading about a trigger job on the Ruger in the near future? This would help alot of members if you provide pictures.
TMan; If I were you I would call Ruger just to verify the trigger pull on the gun but I would not jump to sending it off until you talk to them. In the meantime; I'll check the trigger again on my Super Blackhawk.

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; My stock Super Blackhawk, with it's broken in trigger, breaks at around 4 1/2 lbs.
Try running a few drops of oil down the hammer hooks and dry fire it a few times to see if this helps. The Wilson Ultimalube oil will work pretty good for this. I've had a few triggers improve with a few drops of oil.

[TMan]

DoubleAction said:

... Seems like most of the Double Action Revolvers have much lighter trigger breaks on Single Action....

Well shoot, my US Firearms, and the Beretta Stampede are single action and have very light triggers right out of the box. You are right about the double-action revolvers though, all of mine are ~3lbs. I'm not sure about the Ruger GP100 because I did to some work on it and I didn't record what it was before I worked on it, but now it is 2.75lb.

I notice that Brownells has a kit for $179 to replace the trigger/hammer on the Blackhawk to give a lighter action. That kind of tells me something. That is almost half of what I paid for this thing ($369).

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; Would you feel better if you had paid $800. dollars for the Ruger ? That's why they're so affordable. I had a Ruger 10/22 that I paid $140. dollars, only to turn around and spend $200. for a new trigger group. You will be alright; In a few months you'll be shooting the snot out of that Ruger, with it's new trigger action, and laying brag about how great of a revolver it turned out to be.

[TMan]

DA, well silly me: I paid $30 less than Idid for my nickle plated Beretta Stampede. I should have realized that you get what you pay for. However, the Ruger does have that second cylinder. I tried dry-firing it again today after adding the oil, as you suggested, and the results were the same.

Guess I'm going to have to take it apart and do some work on it before I ever take it to the range. I know what my results would be with that heavy trigger. I know, I know, I've been spoiled.

Modified to add:
Well, the Ruger is now in pieces. I've ordered a Wolfe Spring kit for it, and a fixture for my Power Stone I. So, with a little stoning, polishing, and some new springs I should be in business.

[TMan]

Okay, with a new spring kit, an adapter for my Power Custom Series I Stoning Fixture, and a lot of stoning/poilshing/labor, the gun now has a 2.75lb pull.

The total expenditure (not counting the Flitz) was less than $40, which included the adapter.

All internal parts that made contact with other parts were polished. The back of the trasfer bar was stoned before polishing because it was very rough (it may be replaced in the future). Internal friction points had Action Magic II applied to them. The trigger/sear was stoned with the fixture up 12 clicks. Stoning was done with ceramic stones, it was then polished, and Action Magic II applied.

The Wolff spring kit replaced the trigger spring and the mainspring (17lbs).

What I learned:

1) Do not attempt any work on a gun until you have first used it an become accustom to how it works. After putting it back together I found that the half-cock notch wasn't working. Upon further investigation - Ruger does not have a half-notch. Also, it wasn't locking up properly with the gate open to load - that is Ruger's design too.

2) When you take something apart, plan on working on it until you can put it back together. Spending about 6 hours over a 2 week period was really stupid. By the time I got ready to put it back together, I couldn't remember how I took it apart.

3) Dye loves to get under your finger nails.

4) "The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly Part II: Revolvers" by J.B. Wood is necessary for this job. Ruger's instructions $#@%^.

5) If the above book has a lot of reassembly tips, it is for a reason - the gun can be a bear to put back together. Read and understand the reassembly tips before starting the disassembly. (For grins I looked through the whole book and only the Ruger Redhawk had more reassembly tips).

6) Vocabulary learned years ago in the military is never forgotten and may frequently be used in reassembly. (Father, I have sinned. I used bad language, but it was all Billy Ruger's fault).

7) The design team at Ruger is composed of sadists.

8) When a reassembly tip says: "when the gate spring is properly installed..." it means that you are very likely to get it improperly installed.

9) When the book says: "when the grip frame is being reinstalled, be sure the hammer spring strut, cylinder hand spring and cylinder stop plunger are bearing on the proper locations..." it means that they will not be on their proper location unless you do something about it.

10) It sure would be helpful to have an extra set of hands when trying to put one of these back together.

11) When using Flitz with a Dremel on Saturday night, clean your glasses before going to church on Sunday morning or you will hear things like: "Hey man, what is that black stuff all over your glasses."

Okay, having said all that. I truely like this gun, and I think it was well worth the time and effort to lighten the trigger pull. The total action (pulling back the hammer) was improved too. It still isn't as good as some Colts that I've tried that were done by professionals, but I suspect part of that could be because of the design of the gun and part because a professional would probably been more agressive in metal removal than I was.

I'm going to go buy a white box of 9mm so I can take this along with my 9mm 1911 to the range. I'll set the box so it is conspicuous and see how many strange looks or questions I get. My reply will be: "Oh, I shoot 9 mm in everything because it is less expensive." ;D

["DoubleAction"]

DoubleAction said:

In a few months you'll be shooting the snot out of that Ruger, with it's new trigger action, and laying brag about how great of a revolver it turned out to be.

[TMan]

Hmmmm, after 100 rounds through the Ruger today, I must say that I hate loading and unloading it. Not having that detent to stop the cylinder rotation at the right spot to unload is a pain in the butt.

However, the thing that is troubling is that after I put it back together and dry-fired it a few times, I then tested the trigger pull and it was 2.75lbs. It seemed a little lighter than that after 100 rounds today, and I tested it when I got home to find out that it is now 2.00lbs. Is that normal or is it falling apart on me inside? I'd take it apart to look at the surfaces, but it is such a pain to put back together.

I had to laugh at myself. I shot the GI .45 first and then the Blackhawk. The .45 was okay, but it ejected the brass straight up, off the roof and back to the top of my head. Then I shot the Ruger. I was a little nervous having worked on it. The first round was high to the right. Then I pulled on the trigger again and nothing happend, I couldn't even budge the trigger. Then it dawned on me - have to cock it dummy!!!

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; I know what you mean about the absence of a loading notch on the Rugers, but I read where a kit can be purchased to change the Ruger to make loading and ejecting easier. When I get the time I'll see if I can find where I read about it.
2 lbs. is very light, for any trigger, my Uberti breaks at 3 lbs after an action job.

[TMan]

Well, I'll see if it holds up. I'm okay with 2lbs as the Ruger 22LR is now 1.75lbs, and my old S&W 41 was 2lbs right out of the box, and it is an auto.

If it is the trigger/sear, I can try changing the angle on it, or just buy a new trigger/sear.

With the Colt I'm just going to do a spring/polish job and not do any changing of sear angles or hammer hooks. I don't remember what the fixture has allows you to change on the Colt, but I'll do it in stages. The Colt is a lot easier to assembe than the Ruger.

Hey, DA, I do like the Colt, but I have to change those grips. My buddy complained that they hurt his hand too.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Colt is better than either the Ruger or the Stampede.

["DoubleAction"]

TMan said:

Hey, DA, I do like the Colt, but I have to change those grips. My buddy complained that they hurt his hand too.

TMan; Nothing looks better on the blue Colts than the Stag grips but, unlike the Rugers, they will have to be fitted to the grip frame.

[TMan]

First a question: when you say they have to be fitted to the frame - what kind of fitting has to be done? Is it done to the inside of the grips where it doesn't show, or to the outside of the grip where it may have a cosmetic effect?

I shot the Ruger Blackhawk again today, and after adjusting the sights, I was amazed at how accurate it was. It wasn't quite as tight a group as what I shoot with the Sig P210, but it came close. The question is why isn't it as good. The trigger pull on the Blackhawk is now less than on the P210, and I thought that revolvers were intrinsically more accurate that semi's. Perhaps it is just that I haven't shot it enough, or that it doesn't fit my hand as well, which it doesn't.

However, DA, I think you are right - I'll shoot the snot out of this thing. I stopped at Cheaper Than Dirt on the way home and picked up another 2000 rounds of .38 Special.