Made an impulse buy this weekend, now curiosity has taken hold...

[mainegrw]

Picked up a Ruger Single Six this weekend in 17 HMR. I know it’s not too practical, however I am plenty satisfied with my K22 Masterpiece, so getting another 22 revolver is not totally necessary at the moment. The driving force behind getting the 17 HMR is the pile of ammo I have had stored away from a rifle I previously owned, but didn’t use much, and a desire to use it up (and then buy more of course). Additionally, I have a little bit of fondness for the cartridge, it’s ridiculously tiny projectile, and high velocity. It should be fun at the outdoor range for sure.

Anyway, curiosity has set in, as I have found a listing for an eight shot, drop-in cylinder for the Single Six on Midway. They offer the eight shot in 22LR, 22 mag, 17 HMR, and most interestingly in 17 Hornady Mach 2, all of which claim to drop in and work with their respective Single Six models. The question I have is how? In order to accommodate extra two chambers, wouldn’t the hand and/or other internal parts need to be changed to keep the timing correct?

Maybe I’m overthinking this a bit. I was tempted to order a 17 HM2 cylinder for my gun, as I have a bit of that hanging around as well, and the option for an eight-shot cylinder is appealing, as is upgrading to an eight-shot HMR cylinder to some extent as well...



My next gun might just need to be the Ruger Blackhawk in 30 Carbine, because it’s time to diversify the collection a little bit.


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[Qc Pistolero]

I have over 2000rounds of .223 and had nothing to shoot them into;so I explained to my wife there was no way I could let aprox $700 of ammo go to waiste.
I am now the owner of a bull barrel ''pipsqeak shooter''and having fun with it.
So don't feel bad about having 2 guns of the same caliber in your safe.Just share with us what's the excuse you gave your loved one to buy it and if that's one we haven't used before,we'll forward you ample thanks for it.
That's what friends are for,ain't it?

[Speedo2]

Regarding that "old 17HMR", be very cautious of using it. Some of that "old stuff" is NFG:

[one eye joe]

I DON'T WISH TO RAIN ON ANYONE'S PARADE, WHO IS SITTING ON A PILE OF AMMO, AND IS LOOKING TO USE IT UP........

AFTER SELLING OFF THE LAST OF MY M1 CARBINES--A SWEET INLAND--I WAS IN POSSESSION OF OVER 1,000 ROUNDS OF MILSURP AMMO, MOST OF IT IN BANDOLIERS......

MY FIRST THOUGHT, WAS TO PICK UP A CLEAN USED RUGER BLACKHAWK, ON GUN BROKER, AND HAVE SOME FUN. WELL, I BOUGHT AND SOLD 3 SUCH USED BLACKHAWKS, WITHOUT FINDING ONE THAT WOULD ALLOW EMPTIES TO BE EXTRACTED, WITHOUT A GREAT DEAL OF FORCE. HONING THE CYLINDERS--DONE BY A COMPETENT GUNSMITH--DID NOT HELP......

IF I COULD HAVE FOUND JUST ONE GOOD CYLINDER, I WOULD HAVE ASSEMBLED THAT CYLINDER, ON THE NICEST FRAME, WEARING THE MOST ATTRACTIVE SET OF GRIPS, AND KEPT IT.......

IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING, I SOLD THE TRIO AT THE KITTERY TRADING POST, IN THE STATE OF MAINE. I HAD NO INTEREST IN DISCOVERING HOW THEY HANDLED MODERN COMMERCIAL AMMO, BECAUSE THAT WAS NOT MY ISSUE......

[mainegrw]

Originally Posted by Speedo2

Regarding that "old 17HMR", be very cautious of using it. Some of that "old stuff" is NFG:

How old are we talking here? My stash of 17 HMR is no older than 5 or 6 years, and is from Hornady and Federal. I did have a lot of trouble initially when I bought my 17 HMR rifle with Winchester brand ammo, often producing split cases like one of your pictures show, and one or two squibs, however I have never had that issue with the other two mentioned brands, nor CCI either.



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[2152hq]

The 8 shot replacement cylinders for the Ruger Single SIX do just what they are advertised that they do.

These are made by Al Story. He runs a one man shop that makes these and other Ruger conversion cylinders and parts.
They get sold through Brownells, Midways and others.

Borchardt Rifle Corp.-Manufacture Items


They are a drop in part, no other parts in the gun need be exchanged or refitted (the hand is usually suspect and asked about).
The Ruger design allows for this swap back and forth.
On occassion, the front end of the new cylinder may need a couple swipes w/a flat stone to make for a smoother fit into the frame window.
Other than that,,,,

[Speedo2]

mainegrw, the failed 17HRM was old; like from around 2005; mfg'd by Hornady. The ammo was stored warm & dry for around 12 years before I decided to use it all up before I was going to sell that 77/17. Problem(s) appeared to me to be brittle brass that had cracked, letting moisture congeal the powder. I think that when that failed cartridge blew up, the base rim blew off, destroying the rifle by exhausting the pressure wave into the magazine well (as intended according to Ruger). There have been other reports of the same type of failure, as discussed last year on Rimfire Central.

IMO both Hornady and Ruger shared responsibility. Hornady for not properly annealing their brass and Ruger for not including a "Hatcher Hole" to vent pressure in the event of a ruptured case. I got partial compensation from both companies, but I will never trust 17HMR again. I'd recommend careful inspection of your old cartridges prior to shooting them. With any evidence of cracked cases, I'd dump the lot. -S2

[Ivan the Butcher]

I would suggest to not buy the 17 Mach II cylinder and sell the ammo! It is no longer made, and brings a big mark up!

As to the 30 Carbine Blackhawks, There is nothing wrong if they don't extract Military ammo! Or to rephrase it, No Blackhawk extracts Military 30 carbine ammo. (I sold mine off in the early 80's, I should had it chambered to 32-20!)

Ivan

[KEN L]

Not trying to steal this thread, but I have a 3 screw .30 Blackhawk that chambers, fires and extracts anything I feed it. Never had a problem with it. Jes sayin'.……

[mesabi]

I've had one of those for a few years now, and it's been accurate and effective on squirrels, coons, a few crows, a feral cat, and one coyote.

I got a Story/Borchardt Arms Mach 2 conversion cylinder from Midway. The first, an 8-shot version, did not fit or function. The 6-shot replacement from Midway works great and has also accounted for a few squirrels, rabbits, and coons.

And Ivan the Butcher: If you really think Mach 2 ammo is no longer made or available, you should get out more.