[EugeneJoseph]

For those of you who have a ruger single ten, you know that you open the loading gate, load the cylinder, close the loading gate, and then rotate the cylinder to the right to lock it.

Well, on a one shooting trip, the ruger single ten was loaded, but the cylinder was not rotated to the right to lock it up. I pulled the hammer back and fired the gun. Then I went to pull the hammer again, and it was stuck and wouldn't go backwards. I think that the cylinder wasn't lined up with the barrel. Part of the bullet was stuck in-between the cylinder and the barrel and this stopped the cylinder from rotating. With some work, someone i know was able to remove the cylinder from the frame and remove the lead that was stuck. After that was done, the cylinder was still able to rotate and the gun was still able to shoot.

One particular thing I did notice is that after the gun was shot, two instances i got stung by some lead that got spat out somewhere. Does that make sense? You shoot the gun, and sometimes some little metal debris stings you.

I am unable to detect any dents or damage on the point of impact part of the bullet got stuck. Also, I tested the cylinder for play. (finger holding hammer back, and finger pulling back trigger but leaving the hammer pulled back and leaving the trigger back. whatever that's called. sorry.) Also, i'm pretty sure that each cylinder still lines up with the barrel, but i'm no professional.

So, my concern is this... Is there anything I should be concerned about that maybe this incident did something bad to the gun that i'm not aware about? Or should i just keep shooting and not worry about it?

What say ye?

Thanks for the replies in advance

 

[North country gal]

As to lining up the cylinder, nothing to be concerned about, no. The ST is fussy about getting that cylinder lined up, correctly before closing the gate, some STs more so than others. On my ST, the hammer will not cock if I did not line up the cylinder as I should. On mine, I have to rotate the cylinder forward until it almost, but not quite engages the next notch.

It may seem like a lot of hassle to have to do this, but it has become second nature, now. I regard it as a very small price to pay for the superb accuracy I am getting from my ST AND, just as importantly in a revolver, ALL ten shots in my ST shoot to the same point of impact. I get ten shot groups that are often one ragged hole. I regard that as even more important than how tight a revolver will shoot groups.

Now, if your ST is shaving a LOT of lead, as in you're seeing a lead buildup at the cylinder barrel interface, that is a problem. Keep in mind that all revolvers will spit a little lead at times, but when it builds up in a hurry, you have a timing issue or a cylinder or two is not lining up the way it should.

Hope this helps.

 

[jaxrider14]

As was said, aligning a chamber with the barrel and getting it locked into place before cocking and firing is required and even mentioned in the owners manual as part of the loading routine. It becomes part of the learned loading routine.

With the single action Single Ten, the lockup of the cylinder is only from the cylinder latch plunger below the cylinder. The pawl rotates the cylinder but does not contribute to lockup at the moment the gun is fired. You also notice that rotation of the cylinder is done in two distinct movements. The pawl acts on two grooves in the ratchet in order. If a chamber isn't lined up properly when the gate closes, the pawl could turn the cylinder "out of time" and the trigger will still release the hammer.

My Single Ten is shooting well with no lead buildup on or in the forcing cone, however I am using "copper coated" ammunition. It does however seem to build up a small amount of lead on the frame top strap directly above the forcing cone/cylinder gap after many rounds are fired.
This is normal with revolvers and I flake it off with an Exacto blade when I clean the gun.

 

[EugeneJoseph]

Thanks for the replies. I checked out the ST just now and the hammer did not cock if the cylinder was not aligned, so mine is the same as yours. This is somewhat reassuring, but then again, what could have happened? What could have caused the lead to have gotten in front of the cylinder and stopped it from rotating? I dont think it was from lead buildup because it was a solid chunk of lead that got stuck.

It seems to me like that i must have shot the revolver out of time after forgetting to rotate it to the right after closing the loading gate to put it in lockup mode.... but then that wouldnt make sense either because the hammer doesn't come back if the cylinder is not aligned?

 

[North country gal]

Could also have been cheap ammo. I see a lot of rounds in bulk ammo where the bullet is half ready to fall out of the case on its own or where the case is bent, warped and so on.

 

[EugeneJoseph]

oh good point. thanks.

So as long as there's not a lot of lead buildup indicating that the timing is off, then my revolver should be good to go, right?

 

[jaxrider14]

Thanks for the replies. I checked out the ST just now and the hammer did not cock if the cylinder was not aligned, so mine is the same as yours. This is somewhat reassuring, but then again, what could have happened? What could have caused the lead to have gotten in front of the cylinder and stopped it from rotating? I dont think it was from lead buildup because it was a solid chunk of lead that got stuck.

It seems to me like that i must have shot the revolver out of time after forgetting to rotate it to the right after closing the loading gate to put it in lockup mode.... but then that wouldnt make sense either because the hammer doesn't come back if the cylinder is not aligned?

This is just my guess... lots of "could have" and "might have" parts to this scenario:
I think if you are unlucky enough to close the gate with the cylinder just slightly out of time and at a just the wrong spot, the latch plunger could be depressed enough to allow the gun to be cocked.

The pawl's lower finger could catch just a single notch in the ratchet and rotate it one click instead of two, allowing the hammer to be cocked with the chamber still partly out of alignment with the bore.

The firing pin might be able to catch the rim of the shell and fire it, splattering the bullet lead down and around the forcing cone.

Yeh, I know this is a stretch, but it's the only explanation I can see for what happened with your gun.

 

[EugeneJoseph]

This is just my guess... lots of "could have" and "might have" parts to this scenario:
I think if you are unlucky enough to close the gate with the cylinder just slightly out of time and at a just the wrong spot, the latch plunger could be depressed enough to allow the gun to be cocked.

The pawl's lower finger could catch just a single notch in the ratchet and rotate it one click instead of two, allowing the hammer to be cocked with the chamber still partly out of alignment with the bore.

The firing pin might be able to catch the rim of the shell and fire it, splattering the bullet lead down and around the forcing cone.

Yeh, I know this is a stretch, but it's the only explanation I can see for what happened with your gun.

This sounds just about right, if not dead-on right

Would this generally cause any damage to the gun? I'm not as knowledgeable on firearms as many of you, like i dont even know what the "pawl" is, so i am unable to detect any defects that this incident could have caused to the gun.

 

[jaxrider14]

As was noted, it's necessary to line up a cylinder with the barrel after closing the loading gate. Get it to click into locked position.

If the cylinder rotates properly from there on, the gun should be okay.