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Ejecting spent revolver cartridges
otter6412
Member Posts: 91 ✭✭
I just bought a used Ruger Blackhawk in 30 cal carbine. All 6 casings refused to by ejected by the ejector rod. I was able to tap them out with a wooden dowel. I was using quality ammo. What do I need to do to the cylinders or is this a gunsmith job?
Thanks
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Comments
I would start with an aggressive cleaning and then inspect the chambers carefully. If there is pitting there isn't much that can be done. If they are just a little rough then polishing may be the answer. A tight fitting bore mop with a polish like Flitz can be used. To speed things up the mop can be used with an electric drill. Care should be taken to stay concentric with the chamber but Flitz is a pretty fine polish and it would be hard to remove to much. If that doesn't work, I would send it to Ruger for service. Bob
I have found J-B Bore Paste (available from Brownell's) works well. I have never found the need to use an electric drill.
Neal
Did they drop in fine when loading, did you check to see that the brass didn't crack causing binding?
One possible cause is excess pressure. Have you tried different ammunition to be sure it's the gun's issue?
There was a reason that Ruger stopped making it. I don't remember the details but I do know that any revolver chambered in .30 Carbine (custom jobs back in the 60's and 70's) had problems. The .30 Carbine is a high pressure cartridge seemingly not suited for handguns. Maybe high pressure and case shape is the issue.
Thanks for all the comments and guidance.
-Otter
Whenever I have a revolver load that will not easily eject, I assume the ammo is a bit too hot for the gun until proven otherwise.
The only complaint I had with my 30 Caliber Blackhawk was the muzzle blast. Ear protection is a must!
I have a 1975 Blackhawk in 30 carbine and had similar problems ejecting brass.
Do you reload for the revolver or use factory ammo.?
There are a couple of things to consider.
I reload for my revolver and found if the brass is trimmed to the 1.80" dimension it was difficult to remove from the cylinder.
After a bunch of research I found I should be trimming the brass to the length of my chamber, which measured at 1.78-1.79".
Once I did that, no more stuck cases.
The 30 carbine case headspaces off the mouth of the case, so as long as the case is not too short, to where the firing pin doesn’t make good contact, all is good.
Factory ammo, if manufactured a little long, or reloads trimmed long (or not trimmed at all), the brass has nowhere to expand while hot, so it expands forward and moves past the spot where the case headspaces and gets stuck.
I found Aguila factory ammo to be the worst for getting stuck.
I put hundreds of rounds of Korean ball through my Blackhawk with no sticking.
The Aguila and reloads trimmed to 1.80" caused problems.
I reload 30 carbine for both rifle and revolver, brass trimmed to fit the revolver and same powder load of IMR 4227.
Bill Ruger designed the Blackhawk to fire the 30 carbine rifle round, I don't beleive he mis-calculated the pressures developed.
The Blackhawk uses the same frame, just different cylinders and barrels for some much more powerful calibers.
Then there could be an issue with the cylinder.
The step that the brass headspaces on could be worn, allowing the brass to slip forward as it expands.
Not likely, but not an impossibility.
Also most reloading dies for the 30 carbine are straight walled dies, the 30 carbine is actually a tapered case.
When resized to a straight walled case the brass is even more likely to move forward.
A tapered die should be used for correct case sizing.
The rifle doesn't care, the revolver really should be tapered.
This thread will probably be locked since this is the 10th post.
If I can help, email: kgsw@att.net
Great info wiz...