Ruger Blackhawk squib boom

[David LaPell]

My nephew told me today he was shooting his New Model Blackhawk yesterday (I think a 1983 vintage) and he let his girlfriend shoot it. While I had taught him safety when he first learned he didn't pass on everything to her I guess. They were using Blazer .357 ammo and apparently she got a squib, something I would think in a .357 you would notice. Well, the squib lodged a bullet in the end of the barrel by the front sight, and you guess it since she was a new shooter and didn't know what to do, she fired another round. Apparently there is now quite a noticeable bulge in the barrel. She stopped shooting then luckily and she is even more lucky that the gun didn't come apart or that the squib was at the other end of the gun. My nephew is upset and he has called Blazer to see if they are going to do something about the barrel, I told him not to hold his breath since every shooter should know what to do with a squib, especially when I found out that his girlfriend said it was like going from the .357 to a .22. Basic gun safety as I was always taught, and so was he because I taught him. I told him the important part is that both were ok and that to chalk it up to a learning experience for everyone involved. Now he is on the hunt for a new barrel for the gun.

 

[Alpo]

Tell him to send it to Ruger.

 

[mtrvl]

I will consider this incident to be a tribute to the strength that Ruger builds into their fire arms. Most guns would have turned to shrapnel. That girl should have immediately ran out and bought a lottery ticket.

 

[tbgunner88]

I will consider this incident to be a tribute to the strength that Ruger builds into their fire arms. Most guns would have turned to shrapnel. That girl should have immediately ran out and bought a lottery ticket.

That was my first thought, any other gun and things could have been a lot worse.

 

[silentflyer]

They may not be as pretty as a S&W , but Ruger's are hell for strong...

Saw an idiot blow up some kind of springs and Tupperware semi a couple of years ago with a squib lodged in the barrel and him pulling the trigger as fast as he could, cuts to his hands,arms,and face, but nothing permanent like shrapnel to the eyes.

 

[NJM15]

I will consider this incident to be a tribute to the strength that Ruger builds into their fire arms. Most guns would have turned to shrapnel. That girl should have immediately ran out and bought a lottery ticket.

Same thing firing a hi point forty cal carbine ,flash out of the back end scared the Out of me I couldn't open the carrier ,there was a nice bulge about four inches forward of the chamber, and still unexplainable an empty case half way out of the muzzle.I admit it could have been a reload. Sent it back and it was returned to me with a new barrel and a lot of other parts it has operated great since then. I know they have a low rating but the customer service is up there, it was shipped and returned in two weeks

 

[2152hq]

Glad no one got hurt. Guns can be fixed or replaced.

I'd second the thought of calling Ruger and seeing if they'll rebbl the gun. Their Repair/Service charges are usually quite fair.


Another option is to watch FleaBay for a bbl.They very often pop up there and at a good price. Then you have the chore or out of pocket expense of paying someone to do the switch.

One more,,, if yours is a long bbl'd gun,,is to cut the bbl back. Remove the front sight & base (they used to be brazed in place) from the remnant and reattach. Re-blue. Again an expensive operation depending on who does the work or maybe you can do it yourself.
Just don't damage the bore when reattaching the sightbase with a hard solder as they will scale.