[BladeRimfire]

Gentlemen, I picked up this revolver some time ago. It has only the 22mag cylinder with it. The numbers on the cylinder don't match the frame. It shoots well and I never shoot over a box of 50 through it without cleaning it. The cylinder shake and the C/B gap are at +/- 0.001. It has no pitting or scratches. I know the tolerances are not something that ruger allows. It was apparently left in a leather holster and there's bluing loss on the barrel and side of cylinder. I considered sending it back to Ruger for a polishing/reblue. I asked the representative about the cylinder. He stated Ruger would not perform the work without changing the cylinder. I would rather not open up gaps where there are presently none. I figured that was a good thing to have gap tolerances that close. Isn't that one of the selling points on Freedom Arms revolvers? They're at +/- 0.001. Is my thinking wrong? Please educate me.

 

[wproct]

Personally, I would not return it. First of all, the finish of the revolver shown in the pictures does not look that bad. The only reason that I would return it is if you wanted to purchase a .22 lr cylinder from them and have them fit and install it, in which case I wouldn't even include the .22 magnum cylinder when you sent it in. JMHO.

 

[BrewsterII]

While it is true that you don’t want to store a gun in a leather holster, the wear I see is from sliding the gun in and out of the holster.
That is normal wear on a blued gun and IMHO it adds character. Sweet Single Six, 👍

Edit: A second look does show bluing damage on the cylinder from a leather holster. Keep it oiled and shoot it!

 

[Iowegan]

BladeRimfire, The optimum B/C gap for centerfire revolvers is .006 ~.008". Why? Because endshake will grow with the number of rounds fired, When endshake wears to its maximum allowable of .005", the cylinder will still not rub on the barrel. For rimfires, this is not as important because it would take many bricks of ammo for endshake to reach .005" so the optimum is .004~.006". When the B/C gap is tighter than .004", fouling on the face of the cylinder will cause the cylinder to drag on the barrel. Of course 22 WMR ammunition for your Single-Six revolver is only made with jacketed bullets so it won't get lead fouling on the face of the cylinder, but it will get powder fouling. Also, if the B/C gap is too tight, it makes it harder to install a cylinder after cleaning. Another issue that doesn't affect 22 LRs much is top strap flame cutting. When a B/C gap is too tight, centerfire or 22 WRM ammo will concentrate flame cutting to a narrow line that gets much deeper than with a wider gap.

B/C gaps are one of those things an owner can see and measure so to keep with Internet expert recommendations, the tighter the better. In reality, .004" B/C gap is much better. Just one more comment .... when the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed, it made official definitions for pistols and revolvers. Pistols are all handguns that do not have a rotating cylinder. So, your gun is a revolver, and a nice one at that.

 

[BladeRimfire]

Thank you sir for all the informative information

 

[rugerguy]

good information above and I too agree not needed to return for a re blue, that gun is just fine looking, and only "needs" a .22 lr cylinder to be made whole again.........

 

[Luke Duke]

I have a 4 5/8 inch Single Six and both cylinders have a close gap .002 maybe a touch tighter. With the right ammo both cylinders shoot great. CCI Stingers and Hornady 30 gr 22 mags. Both the most expensive ammo on the market, but completely worth it when you see how well they shoot. Dropped a coyote dead at 50+ yards with the .22 Magnum Hornady's

 

[wproct]

Iowegan, I hope you are still watching this thread because I have a question. When you are measuring cylinder to barrel gap, do you pull backwards on the cylinder to expose the highest amount of gap? Just wondering what the proper procedure is.

 

[Iowegan]

wprocy, Good question .... the gunsmith answer is: when the cylinder is wedged forward, you get the "actual" B/C gap. When the cylinder is wedged back, you get "total" B/C gap (endshake = total B/C gap minus actual B/C gap). There's a reason why the B/C gap is measured with the cylinder wedged forward .... when a round is fired, the friction between the bullet and the cylinder throat will cause the cylinder to move forward to the tightest B/C gap.

Here's a tool I use when measuring the B/C gap and endshake. It is a brass rod that has been ground to a taper. Place the wedge between the recoil shield and the rear of the cylinder to measure "actual" B/C gap. Place the wedge between the front frame and cylinder face to measure "total" B/C gap.

Note: This revolver has a .004" actual B/C gap and a .006" total B/C gap, so endshake is .002".

 

[wproct]

Thank you so much for the explanation Iowegan! That makes perfect sense.