Weird random binding in Ruger sp101

[Shadowtengu]

Howdy! I just bought Ruger SP101, and ran about 500 rounds of mixed .38 Special and .357 magnum. I took it home to clean and scrubbed down the cylinders, bore, and frame. I did not however clean under the ejector too well. I later that night was dry firing and i would encounter a random jam or Binding.

So I got out the bronze brush and scrubbed under the ejector which was NOT too dirty. And strangely the binding went away. It was roughly 1 out of 25 dry fires.

Now about 500 dry fires later, I have no jams.

Can a TINY bit of dirt under ejector REALLY cause mild binding?

I am COMPLETELY new to revolvers. So any help is great!!!!

[dfletcher]

Yes.

I bought what looked like a "stuck in the top drawer and little fired" Smith Model 14 a few years back, still have it. Bore, cylinder, chambers - spotless. Didn't do a whole lot of function check and when I got it home on one chamber the cylinder would bind like hell. I had visions of a dinged bearing surface on the ratchet or a bent ejection rod. It turned out that the yoke and the center hole in the cylinder were caked with dried gunpowder residue. Whoever owned this thing shot it alot, cleaned the outside with great care and never ever cleaned the yoke post on which the cylinder turned.

[ckprax]

Mine will bind up when dry firing if i dont let the trigger reset all the way. I have to nudge the cylinder into place.

And yes a little powder under the ejector can be problematic. Always tip the barrel up when ejecting the cases.

[Shadowtengu]

Cool thanks guys! So a binding around 280-300 rounds straight is normal?

[ojisan]

Depends on how dirty burning the ammo is.
But yes, that's enough rounds to cause fouling build up.

[jeffrice6]

Cool thanks guys! So a binding around 280-300 rounds straight is normal?

No it is not! If you keep experiencing the problem contact Ruger, they will go through your entire pistol & check/replace everthing that might be out of spec free of charge! Ruger has wonderful CS

[Green Ice Dragon]

Same thing happened to me about 2 times already with my SP101. Not sure if it's a problem or just a mistake I made (maybe I didn't let the trigger reset all the way). Has only happened while dry firing so far.

[Shadowtengu]

Yeah my issue was dry firing only. It's only happened 3 times so im reluctant to send it in. They may find nothing at all. It's got 350 okay fires and about 500 dry fires that were all okay.

I'm leaning towards dirt. But if it absolutely should not bind with 300 rounds then I will absolutely mail it in.

Thanks a bunch fellas!

[scarville]

Cool thanks guys! So a binding around 280-300 rounds straight is normal?

No, it is not. I have been shooting revolvers for years under some pretty harsh conditions and failures are hen's teeth. Every one I've encountered on a Ruger or S&W could be directly traced to worn parts, poor maintenance or, in one case, poor quality control. It is true that both designs have a "false" reset on the trigger (more so on a Ruger than a S&W) that may cause a short stroke in rapid fire but I seriously doubt that is what you are encountering.

[Fishslayer]

When ejecting your brass hold the gun muzzle up. That way powder or other crud doesn't fall out of the chamber & get under the extractor star.

After cleaning makes sure to get any excess oil out from under the star so it doesn't catch and hold the crud.

One flake of unburnt powder can really bind up a revolver.

And yes. Residue buildup during a range session between the cylinder & forcing cone can cause binding as well. A wipedown with a cloth & CLP will usually take care of it.

[jyo]

One of the "dirty little secrets" about revolvers is they CAN JAM up because of a flake of unburned powder under the extractor star---have seem this many times over the years---clean there and problem solved!