I always thought that a New Model Ruger was pretty much indestructible

[Scott Tschirhart]

That’s not true. I started shooting a big frame Vaquero last night and on the eighth round the transfer bar broke. It tied up the works right there.

A replacement is not expensive but that would sure leave a man in a bad way if it broke out on the prairie.

[JimT]

I have seen more than one broken transfer bar.
That's one reason I had the hammer welded up and removed the transfer bar on a couple guns.
If I were carrying the New Model Bearcat for serious stuff I believe I would do that on it.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I carry my old Colt or a three screw.

But I never have seen this before

[Walt]

A year or so ago I ordered a Blackhawk .41 mag from Guns Int'l which looked new but when I took it out the first time it wouldn't shoot. I took it back home and upon inspection found that the firing pin was not protruding beyond the recoil plate sufficiently to dent the primers. I replaced the transfer bar which was too thin where it contacted the firing pin and also ground a bit off the nose of the hammer and that solved the problem.

[GunnyMack]

Indestructible they can certainly be BUT any part can break on any make.
I've always looked at the small cast parts with a sideways glance as points of failure. So order 2 or 3 and keep them on hand for the future.
Next question, how many hundreds of even thousands of rounds did it see before you got it? ( Unless you got it new)
I once bought a Beretta SO4, they are a semi custom usually made to order O/U target shotgun, the guy got it from had it made to his dimensions, I shot it well - anyhow within 6 months the top lever broke. Sheared in half. It's a common thing on high end gun that usually sees thousands of rounds a year by serious clay target guys. Needless to say I got a new top lever, made turn screws that fit and a little file work to fit it and had it back breaking targets in no time. Stuff breaks .

[elmo123]

I've had three transfer bars break on two different revolvers over the years. Ruger sent me replacements twice and replaced the revolver the second time it broke on one of the revolvers.

[Scott Tschirhart]

What I find interesting is that I’ve fired many thousands of rounds through Rugers over many years and never had given any thought to this possibility.

I prefer the older 3 screw guns, not because I thought that they were better but because I like the way the action feels.

Perhaps it’s not a big deal.

[JimT]

The transfer bar system works.
And it is safer for people who didn't grow up on Colts and Old Model Rugers and who have not gotten completely familiar with them.
But it does lose energy in the process, resulting in a lighter primer strike.
Most people will never notice it.
Handloaders who experiment with different primers will sometimes, especially if they are using rifle primers which have a thicker cup and require more energy to set them off.
I do not care for the New Model action but that's a personal preference based on the fact that I am old and set in my ways. I use the New Models some. They are accurate firearms. My favorite hunting pistol is the .41 Magnum that Bowen built. It's based on a New Model. I have had the action reworked some to bring it more to my liking, but it has the transfer bar system. I have run untold thousands of fairly heavy loads through it and it has never failed me. And like an earlier poster said, keep some spare parts on hand.

[GunnyMack]

Scott, where did the break occur? Do you see any kind of inclusion in it?

I did check GPC for stock, no new but they have used in stock.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I haven’t taken the gun apart yet but I plan on posting photos when I do. I ordered a new part and it should arrive next week.

[GunnyMack]

Gotcha, look forward to see what you find!

[Griff]

Not uncommon to break a transfer bar. A fair number of cowboy action shooters have done the delete the bar modification on their New Models for this reason.

[Pat C]

One of things I hate on New Models is bolt rides the cylinder.
I remember seeing that wear line on an old Colt or Ruger ,you knew how it got there from someone not knowing how to cock and load One.

Also main culprit on old Colt SAA's breaking hammer notches people lowering hammer from half or less than full cock.

[LeverGunner]

I've never heard of a transfer bar breaking if it was one of the flat types. The kind that has the hump is prone to breakage. I removed the hump on mine so that my hammer rests against it with a minimum amount of clearance.

I've had several Ruger New Models tie up when the plunger on the hammer bound up from rust/debris. One had a worn plunger, the other was just neglected. Now that I know to look for it, I remove the plunger and clean and polish the hole.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Well I finally took this gun apart and replaced the transfer bar.

[AJMD429]

.
I think the transfer bar is a nice concept, and undoubtedly may make the guns safer, but it is sure a part begging to be broken - "...Hey - I know - ...let's take a piece of steel and place it between hammer and firing pin, so it gets whacked every time the gun fires - it has to be thin enough to have little mass, tempered hard enough not to peen, but soft enough not to shatter..."

I have never had one break, but I think I have a couple spares I've bought over the years; hopefully they fit and work if I need to replace them someday.

The question of "what gun is the most reliable to go bang, every time" is a tricky one. Probably a single-shot 12 gauge breakopen, or similar gun in rifle chambering. But for 'serious work' we almost always want potential followup shots, so then we can choose between a double-barrel of some sort, or revolver, bolt-action, levergun, pump-action, inertial semiauto, rollerblock semiauto, gas semiauto, and full-auto. Plus we may really prefer a handgun for protection duty, limiting choices further.

Full autos are probably more reliable than any semiauto due to simple design, but kind of hard to manage and impractical for defense against humans or animals except in some major 'swarming' attack.

I do think a well-used and maintained levergun or a tried-and-true design semiauto are the best in long gun multiple-shot reliability (My 357 Mag levergun probably best of those for me, and I don't think my old Mini-14 has EVER failed to feed and fire), but when it comes to handguns, the theory is SA revolvers best, DA next, and semiautos least reliable. But when it comes to my own life experience (never military or police but lots of rounds fired), I've had jams from all three types of handguns. I think the INDIVIDUAL gun and chambering makes more difference than action type. My 45 Cold Redhawk happens to not yet be reliable to me - it had cycling problems from the get-go (Ruger fixed it supposedly and so far so good but only 200 rounds or so yet), however my older 44 Mag Redhawk is a reliable beast with 2,000 or more rounds fired. Same for my Super Blackhawk. My most reliable semiauto pistol is my Para Ordnance P-14, which has 7-8,000 rounds of various 45 ACP (including 1,500 of JHP Golden Sabre) through it and I think jammed a FMJ load or two the first few magazines fired through it. The P-12 is reliable but I've not put more than 1,000 through it. Next would be my Taurus PT-92, which also jammed a couple times during the first 100 rounds, but feeds 9mm of any shape or size reliably now for maybe 6-7,000 rounds.

[LeverGunner]

Is your broken transfer bar a flat one or one with a hump where the hammer strikes?

The local gunsmith told me years ago that he'd seen a good handful of Ruger transfer bars break. I asked him about bout it, and he said the ones with the hump were prone to it, but the flat ones rarely did.

I prefer the New Model Blackhawk. Probably because that's what I'm used to, but I like carrying 6, and I like being able to decock without indexing the hammer.

[Scott Tschirhart]

It looks to be flat to me. The broken one and the replacement.

But I may order a few spares.

[Malamute]

Ive broken 3 in 2 different guns. Dry fire seems to be the hardest thing on them, the primer cushions the impact to some degree apparently. After the 3rd one broke I stopped dry firing Ruger SAs.

Some say they should be fitted a certain way, not totally filling the space between the hammer and frame, just barely clear. Ive never tried fitting one in that way.

A gunsmith I knew said he had replaced a fair number of them. I keep parts on hand, the transfer bars normally drop in from my experience and talking to others.

IMG_0453.JPG

[GunnyMack]

Looking at the one you broke , it appears like it is cast full of inclusions. We all know Bill Ruger championed investment casting but the parts are only as good as the molten metal .
It would be worth having a few on hand, I should get a few myself!

[Pat C]

I'm guessing these are cast steel, you would think somebody by now makes a forged steel heat treated replacement?

[Scott Tschirhart]

Fortunately they are easy to replace.

[JimT]

The Old Model Rugers are pretty much indestructible, but in 50-some years of shooting and dry-firing them, I did have one hammer spur break off during dry-firing. That's not too bad! When Ruger brought out the Single Six so many years ago they had it at the NRA Show .. mounted on a machine that cocked and snapped it every few seconds. It ran for the entire show with no issues.

I grew up on Colt SAA's and old Rugers and prefer them by far to the New Model Rugers and any other sixgun that has a transfer bar. That's just my preference. I prefer the feel and action. I am not arguing they are better. It's just what I want in a sixgun.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I grew up on Colt SAA's and old Rugers and prefer them by far to the New Model Rugers and any other sixgun that has a transfer bar. That's just my preference. I prefer the feel and action. I am not arguing they are better. It's just what I want in a sixgun.

I’m of the same opinion Jim.

[LeverGunner]

I fit my transfer bar so that it, when held between the frame and hammer, with force against the back of the hammer, it will still reset if I move the trigger manually. I don't know what the fit is, I'd guess .002-.003.

[Ysabel Kid]

I prefer the older 3 screw guns, not because I thought that they were better but because I like the way the action feels.

+1. Night and day difference on the feel to me!