Locked Up Revolver

[Jackalope]

In case you were wondering about Anita Margarita's locked up revolver yesterday, the culprit was discovered.  She was intermittently unable to fully cock one of her Ruger Single Six revolvers.  Something was binding up the hammer somehow.  When the grip panels were removed this morning, a small coil spring fell to the table.  Upon further disassembly, another small part was found floating around near the trigger/hammer engagement notches and the bolt.  As it turned out, the little plunger and spring were originally part of the cylinder pin designed to keep the transfer bar from hanging up on firing pin.  Once they worked their way free of the cylinder pin, they migrated inside where the plunger eventually became bound between the hammer and the frame, effectively preventing the hammer from being cocked fully.  Her Rugers had been short-stroked by Boomstick Jay many years ago and, since he had removed the transfer bars, the spring and plunger were no longer needed.  With the foreign objects removed, the gun works fine again.

The cylinder pin on the left shows the spring and plunger that fell out.

[Uncle Ethan]

Good to hear you got it working.
Not sure she would want to use your revolver again.
It was entertaining.

[JD Packis]

Thanks Jackalope, I’ll be checking the end cap on my base pins the next time I clean Rugers

[TN Mongo]

Just curious, does the end of the cylinder pin screw off to retain the pin and spring? I've never really looked at that part of a Ruger cylinder pin.

This weird firearm stoppage reminds me of the time at Oak Ridge when my 73 Uberti rifle locked up on a stage. You pulled the side plates off my rifle and found a spent primer jammed in the links. Luckily, the steel plates weren't shooting back when her revolver went "belly up".

[Jackalope]

The little plunger and spring are staked in place.  The tiny indentations on the end of the base pin look like it might fit a screwdriver, but they were pressed or chiseled in at the factory.

[TN Mongo]

I've gained a little bit of knowledge! Thanks!

[Steely I. Justice]

Jackalope - thanks for the thorough explanation of the issue and resolution. As a Ruger shooter, helpful information.

[Jackalope]

I should have mentioned here the little plunger and spring, in addition to being staked in the cylinder base pin, are also held under some tension by the transfer bar.  Unless you've had the transfer bar permanently removed, those small parts are extremely unlikely to fall inside the frame.