I recently inhereted a Ruger new model super blackhawk from my father in law. It has been shot like hell and abused for many years and the loading gate has gotten a little sloppy. So far I have replaced the loading gate and the gate detent spring and still no help. Does any one have any ideas as to what to try next besides using it as a paper weight? As a side note, the gun was manufactured around 1981-'82 and has the transfer bar safety.

What type of looseness are you talking about? Does it want to flop open or is it loose fitting in the frame? If it's wanting to flop open then the leg of the gate detent spring isn't riding on the cam correctly. Depending on the amount and type of wear that is present, you may have to rebuild the spring contact or adjust the fit with a pair of needle nose pliers. If the looseness is in the frame, then you may have to address the possibility of building up the gate with weld and hand fitting it to the frame. It's hard to know without the gun in hand.

I would say yes to both questions. when tilted 20 degrees to the right, the gate falls opens about 3/16 to 1/4 inch. When the gate is opened, it seems fine and tight. when the gate is closed, there is 1/16 to 1/8 inch of play hammer to muzzle. It seems as if the hole in the frame (gate pivot point) is larger than it should be.

Like Westpac said, it sounds like the spring is in the wrong position. The damn thing always wants to tilt forward when the grip frame is removed. If you can see the end of the spring when looking at the bottom of the load gate, then that is the problem. You can try pushing it down and back with a small tool. I don't know if that will work. It not, take off the grip frame and put it back in postion.

Thanks for all the help guys. As far as I can tell, the detent spring is in the correct position. I'll try tweaking the spring a little more and see if that helps. If that doesn't work, I guess breaking the whole thing down and starting from the ground up again may be in order. Please keep the suggestions coming as they are much appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by hawg wild:
Please keep the suggestions coming as they are much appreciated.

I'm sure they are, however, there comes a time when you should let someone familiar with these problems actually LOOK at it. At this point, that would be my suggestion.

That's easier said than done Westpac. There is only one gunsmith on the island where I live and he has already worked on the gun (I use that term loosely. Like the loading gate.) There are a lack of options here and almost everyone who lives here does their own "smithing" unless it requires something major. If you know of anyone else in the state of Hawaii that can do the work please let me know.

If you send it back to Ruger to look at, they would probably fix it and reblue it for you for little or no money. They have been well know for taking great care of customers who have ruger product.

quote:

Originally posted by hawg wild:
That's easier said than done Westpac. There is only one gunsmith on the island where I live and he has already worked on the gun (I use that term loosely. Like the loading gate.) There are a lack of options here and almost everyone who lives here does their own "smithing" unless it requires something major. If you know of anyone else in the state of Hawaii that can do the work please let me know.

Your profile didn't say where you were. That said, UPS goes to places where there are gunsmiths.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and recomendations. After a good solvent bath, de-greasing, scrubbing, and detent spring bending, the revolver is solid once again. Problem solved! Good shooting everyone. AR saves the day.