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Post by silcott on Mar 25, 2019 8:23:33 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to find a 5.5" Ruger redhawk at a really good price ( so I thought ) last November. Up until this weekend I've only been able to shoot low psi ammunition though it. I finally had the chance to shoot some Ruger only loads ( still nowhere near max for a Blackhawk ) this Saturday. To the point, extraction was HORRIBLE. The extractor is shaving the brass. It doesn't look like it lines up to the chambers perfectly. I also have a 5.5" 44 mag. Redhawk that works perfectly. I noticed the extractor on the 44 only wraps around 50% of the case, and the 45 extractor is about 70-75% wrapped around the case. Is this a common problem with the 45 colt redhawks?
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Post by bradshaw on Mar 25, 2019 9:30:07 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to find a 5.5" Ruger redhawk at a really good price ( so I thought ) last November. Up until this weekend I've only been able to shoot low psi ammunition though it. I finally had the chance to shoot some Ruger only loads ( still nowhere near max for a Blackhawk ) this Saturday. To the point, extraction was HORRIBLE. The extractor is shaving the brass. It doesn't look like it lines up to the chambers perfectly. I also have a 5.5" 44 mag. Redhawk that works perfectly. I noticed the extractor on the 44 only wraps around 50% of the case, and the 45 extractor is about 70-75% wrapped around the case. Is this a common problem with the 45 colt redhawks? ***** Unfamiliar with Redhawk .45 Colt. Of all the Redhawks and Super Redhawk .44 Mags I’ve shot, none have shown extraction hesitancy with any load. The Redhawk extractor has a bit off play and has a looser fit than the classic Smith & Wesson, something I noticed on pre-production Redhawks and (to my knowledge) remains unchanged. Note that the .44 Mag RIM is a real FLANGE; whereas the .45 Colt rim is a narrow little band. Perhaps in prototype, .45 Colt rims fell off the standard Redhawk star----and hung under the star----so a wrap-around star was incorporated in the Colt cylinder. Bill Ruger and I discussed the extraction caper several times, at one point my handing him my 4-inch M-29. A redundancy, of course, as Ruger was completely familiar with the Smith & Wesson. Ruger’s concern started with the Security-Six, for which he made the extraction stroke shorter than on the popular S&W M-19. Reason: to prevent a shell falling off the star while the case mouth remained in the chamber. This would be a no-no for cops. Murphy’s Law says not everyone adheres to the doctrine that a partial reload is always done with A SHORT LIFT OF THE EXTRACTOR. Mainly, a full reload always starts MUZZLE VERTICAL FOR EJECTION. I suspect Hamilton Bowen, Jack Huntington, and others have worked with your problem. Without looking at your Redhawk .45 Colt, I might incline to fetch another extractor from Ruger, and very lightly chamfer the BOTTOM ARC(S) of the STAR----to see if the star then glides over the case wall. A sharp edge on the bottom of the star acts to pull shells back into the chambers. (Not sure how to cure the rotational movement of the Ruger star, which is held by a flat on the round rod. Whereas, S&W has a key-slot in the rod.) Extraction & ejection with swing-out cylinderExtraction----partial lift of cartridge. May be done with muzzle down or horizontal. Shells are finger-plucked. Ejection----full ejection is always done MUZZLE UP. Photos help in dealing with these capers. David Bradshaw |
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Post by contender on Mar 25, 2019 9:38:09 GMT -5
I have a Redhawk in 45 Colt/45 acp. I haven't had any issues myself, no matter the load.
A POLITE call to Ruger service dept may get you a pre-paid return box & let Ruger fix the issue.
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Post by dougader on Mar 25, 2019 10:52:15 GMT -5
I once owned a 45 Colt Redhawk and had no problem with any loads, light or full hop. Extraction was just as easy with
1 - 250 RNFP/6.0 W 231; and
2 - 335 WFNGC/22.0 W296
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Post by silcott on Mar 25, 2019 17:14:10 GMT -5
Chamfering the star was my thought.
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Post by bcelliott on Mar 25, 2019 18:24:53 GMT -5
I've not had any trouble with my 5.5" .45 Colt, so I don't have any suggestions of my own. For reference, here is a pic of a comparison between the .41 mag and .45 Colt Redhawk extractor stars.  |
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Post by bcelliott on Mar 25, 2019 18:40:55 GMT -5
Here's a photo with .41 and .45 cases in the star FWIW. (.32 S&W cases holding stars open)  |
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Post by Rimfire69 on Mar 26, 2019 8:55:22 GMT -5
The one and only .45 Colt Redhawk that I have used, did not have that issue. Nice comparison picture bcelliott, I’ve never really looked at the different stars.
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Post by bradshaw on Mar 26, 2019 9:54:38 GMT -5
I've not had any trouble with my 5.5" .45 Colt, so I don't have any suggestions of my own. For reference, here is a pic of a comparison between the .41 mag and .45 Colt Redhawk extractor stars. ***** bceliott.... thank you for illustrative photos. The .38 Spl/.357 Mag, .41 Mag, and .44 Spl/.44 Mag enjoy substantial flanged rims, excellent for simultaneous extraction. The .45 Colt has a narrow rim to fit six shots in the cylinder of the very-compact-for-its-power Colt 1873 Peacemaker. Large rims also facilitate secure carry in belt loops. The circumferential star on the Redhawk .45 Colt assures extraction of the narrow rim. Extraction is a detail which must be got right on sixguns. And while we’re at it, cartridges for the old lever actions, .38-40, .44-40, etc., came with big rims for reliable extraction amidst black powder fowling. David Bradshaw |
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Post by silcott on Mar 26, 2019 10:04:16 GMT -5
The star on my 45 has what I consider excessive rotational play. I'm going to check my 44 redhawk when I get home.
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akray
.30 Stingray
"Alaska is what the Wild West was"
Posts: 388
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Post by akray on Mar 26, 2019 16:45:23 GMT -5
I have a S&W Model 27 that had extraction problems and displayed scratch marks or shaving of the brass. I took it to a gunsmith and he used a cone shaped abrasive pad in a dremel and lightly chamfered each chamber with the extractor star in place. Problem solved. I was imagining all sorts of problems with the cylinder or star but that was all the repair it needed.
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Post by silcott on Mar 27, 2019 14:53:34 GMT -5
I lightly broke the edges of the star today. Hoping I get a chance to try it out soon.   |
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Post by ezekiel38 on Mar 27, 2019 23:54:04 GMT -5
Got my attention, as I'm looking at the 45ACP/45 COLT 4" Redhawk.
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Post by bradshaw on Mar 28, 2019 8:39:23 GMT -5
Got my attention, as I'm looking at the 45ACP/45 COLT 4" Redhawk. ***** Reckon I ain’t the only one who’d like to see a real SHOOTING REPORT on the Redhawk non- Convertible .45 Colt/.45 ACP. Extra effort must be taken to bring a double action to parity with the single action----which uses instantly interchangeable cylinders to swap from revolver to the auto pistol cartridge. Preserving integrity of fully supported shell, both cylinders. Preserving simplicity of original extraction----even for the rimless case. To preserve SIMULTANEOUS EXTRACTION of rimless case in the DA requires a CLIP----moon clip, half-moon clip, harvest moon clip----some sort of clip sold everywhere by the sack for two bucks. To require a clip for a revolver, yet treat it as exotioca defeats down-and-dirty utility. Unless it can be thrown around like a HKS speed loader full of .44 Magnums. You need to be able to fall on it without bending it. At the moment, having not fired the gun, my solution calls for a separate .45 ACP cylinder & crane. I respect a convertible .45 Colt/.45 ACP, but my experience is limited to single actions. Is the single-cylinder DA “convertible” a bridge too far? When Ruger built the Ruger 03 Bisley Blackhawk, there were no stainless .45 ACP cylinders. I would have been happy with the blued Convertible .45 ACP cylinder. Ruger Service Manager Dick Beaulieu (I’d met Beaulieu years before, when he worked at Smith & Wesson), called to relay Bill, Jr.’s suggestion they make a stainless ACP cylinder. They wanted my OK. I jumped on it. My thought for the ACP cylinder was to take advantage of .45 ACP ammo on indoor ranges, during travel, when an outdoor range might not be available. As it happens, I’ve been blessed to smoke up the great outdoors, with little of the indoor variety. And, most satisfying, the Ruger 03 in ACP trim has introduced numerous non-gun persons to quiet, "recoil-free" centerfire marksmanship. Farthest shot from the .45 ACP cylinder took a rabbit through the lungs @ 55 yards, offhand, on a shooting range, nipping the shot as a fellow Range Safety Officer commenced to squeeze-off his 1911. The cast 230 softball, with 5.5/HP-38, pushed the hasenpfeffer two feet through the grass and it didn’t bother to kick. Tender vittles that evening. Done right, a Redhawk convertible is a great idea. The devil is in the details. As noted with the Ruger 03, ACCURACY is a huge deal. David Bradshaw |
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Post by Alaskan454 on Apr 2, 2019 4:53:29 GMT -5
Can you post a picture of what you describe as shaving the brass? I've not heard of this particular problem before. As a fellow .45 Redhawk shooter I am curious.
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