Too much gap?

[ancora]

My 22 year old 44 mag Ruger Super Blackhawk now has a .006" gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone. No effect on accuracy yet, but what is the limit?

[hossb7]

Anything over 0.002" and you should have a professional gunsmith.

[rsmorgan]

I'd contact Ruger and ask their advice; they may even offer to fix it for you if it needs fixing.

In general, the gap on a revolver normally needs to be under 0.008" but I used to shoot an old Colt SAA with a 0.012" gap that was a bit of a fire-breather but seemed to otherwise work just fine. Military and other service revolvers used to be made with a 0.006" to 0.008" gap to insure that these would work under adverse conditions.

[22popnsplat]

I think Rugers spec is .002-.008 for barrel to cylinder gap , at .002 and less you can get enough build up fouling to need to stop shooting and clean the cylinder face . I would be more concerned with end shake and the spec there I think is .002-.005 . Since i use my rugers for Fun I like the bc gap to be .003-.005 and endshake as tight as i can get it . I have the tool from brownells to tighten endshake but it is a sob to use .
The bc gap can often be reduced by reducing endshake.

[ojisan]

.002 is tight and allows almost no room for any fouling buildup that will cause cylinder rotation binding.
I like .004-.005+ for reliabilty in a defense gun.
.006 keep shooting it.
.008 is getting out there but still usable.
Lots of older guns are out there at .012 and more and still shoot, but barrel-to-cylinder side blast starts becoming very noticeable to those around you.

[hossb7]

I don't know where the previous poster got .002, S&W acceptability range is .004 to .010.

4/1/2013