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May 23, 2017
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A bad, shot out barrel ? How would I measure or make sure besides putting a new tube on it ?
Is therer a way to measure the barrel, with a plug-guage maybe ? If the lands are worn out, they should be larger than X amount right ?
Putting a new barrel on may be easier for a DW, but what about for a Smith or Ruger or ?
I have been told that a loose cylinder will make it shoot all over, but that is hard for me (and a buddy or 2) to believe. Let's say a cyl is not 100%, the bullet STILL has to go down the barrel, and it has to spin, right ? So if's it not spinning (enough?) it won't be accurate I'd say.
Also, can I shoot into some water, capture the bullet, and measure it ?
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Dans Club
December 4, 2011
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What gun, a 15-2? If so, are you shooting 38 specials or 357 mags? Is the barrel gap correctly set to no more than. 006"? Is the barrel shroud engaged with the locating pin? Is the barrel nut tight enough? Are you shooting off a rest or off hand? Are you shooting weak loads? Some answers will help make a proper diagnosis.
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If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
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March 19, 2016
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When the gun is shooting all over is it doing that with every kind of ammo you tried? If the rifling in the barrel is totally full of lead from shooting hot loads with soft lead bullets the bullets will tumble and hit all over. If the bullet holes are not round in the paper the bullets are tumbling. If the bullet diameter is not correct (reloads) you will have the same problem. If you can get a swagged bullet, push it thru your barrel with a wood dowel, then measure the diameter. If you are shooting factory ammo it will usually say on the box the bullet diameter. Compare that to what you measured on the one you pushed thru the barrel. I have already pushed wax bullets thru barrels also to get a diameter. I hope you are shooting off a rest. If the cylinder was not rotating correctly I would think the lead splatter from the bullet being shaved would be very noticeable. If the cylinder lockup is tight I am guessing the cylinder is not the problem. I have never experienced a shot out barrel. I have never seen or heard of a Ruger being shot out. Dan Wesson is a simple fix. A gun would have to be shot a ton of times and never cleaned to wear a barrel out.
June 25, 2011
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Is the hand and /or bolt worn and not locking up correctly?
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April 9, 2015
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yup could be out of time and shaving bullets. What does your forcing cone look like??
“We cannot but pity the boy who has never fired a gun; he is no more
humane, while his education has been sadly neglected.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“When some of my friends have asked me anxiously about their boys, whether
they should let them hunt, I have answered, yes – remembering that it was
one of the best parts of my education – *make* them hunters.”
-Henry David Thoreau
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February 22, 2009
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Tube screwed in backwards or a forcing cone cut at both ends? It's happened before.... it the barrel straight?- roll it on a flat surface to check for wobble. What distance was the revolver from the target?- could mean more practice is required.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
April 30, 2011
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Start eliminating as many possibilities as you can. Detail strip the weapon and do a thorough cleaning. Scrub the bore until you are positive it’s clean then scrub another 15 min. With the tube off the frame verify condition of the bore and that the tube is straight. As you reassemble check each part for wear and proper tightness. Don’t forget the sights as they can become loose.
Take the clean tight weapon to the range and fire from the bench using a rest. Factory jacketed ammo and multiple experienced shooters to eliminate those variables. You should have a much easier time pinpointing a problem at that point.
June 25, 2011
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Yes on checking the sights are working and especially not loose, also the latch could be in poor shape. My last DW had these problems and more.
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March 25, 2013
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To answer the question of shot out barrel, yes, it is possible and very common on older guns that have seen much use and abuse. I would venture to say that Colts hold up better than Smiths. Ruger is not as old as the other two but heavy use can happen in a newer gun. From what I read about Manurhin MR73 , they were developed because the Smiths the French anti terrorist police were using would have shot out barrels and stretched frames from 30,000 rounds of use. The elite police were required to shoot 150 rounds a day of full power 357 mag. 6 days a week for 50 weeks is 45,000 rounds. Silhouette shooters could shoot 30,000 rounds a year easily.. Manurhins could shoot hundreds of thousands of rounds without loss of accuracy. Better steel and all forged parts. Dans frames are very strong. The barrel can be changed in 2 minutes. Rebarreling a Smith or Colt can twist the frame even when done at the factory. That is why the collector value of a rebarreled gun is greatly diminished. Modern N and X frame Smiths use Dan Wesson barrel and shroud technology. Manurhin and Korth do too. They do it for accuracy, not for the interchangable feature although it can be changed without damage. Smith sells a barrel tool to Smiths and FFLs.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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My response is very basic, please don't take offense. Have you eliminated mechanical, environmental and human factors as much as possible?
Front/rear sights secure and appear to be level and in line? Gap properly set and consistent, measured on every chamber? Barrel and chambers clean, lightly lubricated? Again, check that the locating pin is secure, pointing square and straight, and that the hole that centers the pin appears to fit the pin snugly (not oversized or rounded out). Is the crane straight and true with no wobble at the frame and the cylinder? And as noted, the cylinder latch locks in securely, and check the notch it locks into for accumulated "crud".
Commercial quality brand ammunition in a standard loading and preferably the same lot. Gun and ammunition at generally the same operating temperature.
Shooting in as moderate a"climate" as possible, reducing wind, precipitation, and extreme temperature.
Slow fire, single action, from a seated, comfortable, supported rest position, as close as practical (20-25 feet?), sight in. At this point, if you are getting tight consistent groups, move the distance out in reasonable increments and continue to look for consistent groups, maintaining the same procedures as much as possible, allowing the gun to rest and cool as needed, and evaluate the results
If the first groups were unacceptable (my opinion is that the first group should be one ragged hole) there is most certainly a mechanical problem.
And again, I know this is all basic. I did (with some obvious functional differences) this exact procedure to diagnose a Mini 14 that I had purchased used, and really struggled with to get it to shoot well, ultimately with marginal success. Some of this may be useful for you.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
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July 2, 2011
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Let me ask you the first thing that comes to my mind. Are you shooting from a rest on a bench to a known distance target?
To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers:
if you find one...what's your plan?
May 23, 2017
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Ok, I'll try to answer all the replies...thx too for them all...
They are handloads, but not mine, bought. I have confidence they are the same enough for these purposes as this piece produces a 12" group at 15yds I'd guess. Something is amiss I'm sure.
The issue device is a Ruger Redhawk 44mag.
I have shot a Ruger SBH 44 at 200yds with iron sights and have grouped 6 at about 12-14" so maybe I know what I'm doing...
I have heard and read that the cylinder is probably not the issue. It's not the tightest I've seen, but not all that loose in any direction. Seems to me the bullet HAS to go down the barrel anyways...
Plus it's a RRH and not all that old, seriously doubt it's had 5k rnds thru it.
I've looked down the barrel with a light and a mag glass and it looks fine. I was hoping to find it all gunked up but...
I was thinking of shooting 6 rnds into a lake and seeing what they look like...
Not sure what to do if anything.
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December 4, 2011
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Since its not a Dan, replacing the barrel is a big deal. You may need to return it to Ruger for repair.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
March 19, 2016
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I own a couple of RedHawks. I agree that the barrel is probably not shot out. Yep they are a little loose but they lockup good and I doubt the cylinder is the issue. I reload for all my guns, so I am speaking from experience when I say shoot some factory ammo thru a clean barrel and see what it does before you worry about the gun. You sound like a guy that could keep 12 shots in a 6" target at 15 yards without much trouble. I would not worry about retrieving bullets from water until you determine that it is not the gun or the reloads. Shoot some factory stuff and that will answer some of the questions.
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