I have a Ruger NewModel Super BlackHawk 44 mag, I just got a "Leupold base and ring set" to mount a scope on it.

I took them both to the gunsmith so the Ruger could be drilled/tapped and the base mounted, when I went to pick it up he told me that durring drilling one of the holes the gun had slipped in the jig and that one of the holes had got drilled off center of where it was supposed to be, that he needed to weld the hole closed and re-drill/tap it.

My question is this, is this going to in any way weaken the gun?

Thanks
Mgrace

In your shoes I would be none-too happy, but to your gunsmith's credit, at least he was honest about the goof. Whether it weakens the frame when welded will be determined by how it's welded, with what, and if the frame gets hot during welding.

I'm not sure what I'd do in your shoes.... I'd be both disappointed and miffed at the same time.

Let us know how this shakes out! Hopefully he'll use a wire-feed welder, and knows what he's doing with it!

Bummer.

God Bless,

It's impossible to not weaken the frame slightly; on the other hand, a SBH is pretty darn stout to begin with. You already have weakened it slightly by drilling holes, by the way.

The greater danger is warping the frame. If that doesn't happen - ought to be OK. Generally speaking, when a revolver fails, it's usually the cylinder, anyway, not the frame.

Like Marshall said, it all depends on how skilled the man is. Hope it works out well. At least this happened on something that is really strong to begin with.

I have a Ruger NewModel Super BlackHawk 44 mag, I just got a "Leupold base and ring set" to mount a scope on it.

I took them both to the gunsmith so the Ruger could be drilled/tapped and the base mounted, when I went to pick it up he told me that durring drilling one of the holes the gun had slipped in the jig and that one of the holes had got drilled off center of where it was supposed to be, that he needed to weld the hole closed and re-drill/tap it.

My question is this, is this going to in any way weaken the gun?

Thanks
Mgrace

Custom pistolsmiths such as Hamiltom Bowen weld up Colt SA frames and recontour them with good results. Many of these are color-case hardened which also requires taking the entire frame to high temperatures. Welding up a sight base hole should pose no problem. While there is some chance of warpage, the size of the hole in relationship to the cross sectional mass of the topstrap, and the attendant heat sinking property of that mass, should prevent any problem. Tig welding would be the choice, as gas welding would require too long a period of preheating to make things molten. Another alternative would be to clean the hole and lo-temp silver braze a slightly longer screw in and dress it off. Then redrill and tap the new hole. Any braze line will be hidden by the mount. (Check your Remington 700 bolt handle - note the braze line where it was attached. Or need I mention the Contender barrel.) I spent 12 years welding everything from bulldozer frames to Mauser bolt handles and seldom saw any problems from a properly applied weld. Even cast iron and embrittled work hardened loader frames can be annealed and welded up with good results.

axlenut

It doesn't seem to have weakened it any as far as I can tell, but he didn't fill the old holes all the way and file it off as good as I think it could have been done.
If I can get my digi-cam to take a good close up pic, I will post it.

I will probably end up taking it to another gunsmith and see if he can re-do it and make it so you can not even tell it was welded.

I mounted the scope and test fired it at about 20 yards, it only took a total of 9 shots to get it sighted in to hit very close to point of aim, I think I might need to take it to a gunsmith and have the trigger pull lightened up and smoothed out a bit, it's like being in a tug of war.

Michael Grace

Michael,

Here's a quick fix for your heavy Ruger single action trigger pull:

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tips/archive_tips.htm/26

Let us know if it helps!

God Bless,

Thanks, I had already thought of and done that before I came back to check the forum today.
Unhooking only 1 side did not seem to have much if any effect, I ended up unhooking both sides, not sure what poundage the pull is set at as I do not have a tester but it is much nicer, I would guess it's probably about 2 pounds or just a bit more.

Michael Grace


Michael,

Here's a quick fix for your heavy Ruger single action trigger pull:

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tips/archive_tips.htm/26

Let us know if it helps!

God Bless,

Don't unhook both sides. The trigger may not return forward at some point that you'd really like it to :)

OK, what about using thin wire and hooked to them and the stud they hook to and adjust them that way?

Michael Grace

I suppose that would work, but seems like another thing that could fail.

Really, just flattening out the legs on the spring is probably the simplest thing to to.