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Belt mountain cylinder pin?
- Thread starter velocette
- Start date
madcratebuilder
New member
The cylinder pin is a small part to improving accuracy. I would think about chamber matching and forcing cone work with the new base pin.
I installed one on my Ruger BH. The idea, wrt accuracy, is that the oversized pin tightens up cylinder fit. Nonetheless, I didn't notice any improved accuracy, although I didn't really look at accuracy in any meaningful systematic way. Also, my gun was essentially new and cylinder fit was fairly tight to begin with. I suppose if your gun is old and/or has seen more than it's share of hot loads, cylinder fit might be sloppy, so you might see the accuracy of your gun go from terrible to acceptable. Just guessing, though.
Some shooters experience a backing out of the stock pin under heavy loads, and it's my impression the Belt Mtn pin is designed such that it stays in place better.
Also, IIRC, there are several knob styles available, so one might be interested in a Belt Mtn pin to simply customize their gun a bit.
Some shooters experience a backing out of the stock pin under heavy loads, and it's my impression the Belt Mtn pin is designed such that it stays in place better.
Also, IIRC, there are several knob styles available, so one might be interested in a Belt Mtn pin to simply customize their gun a bit.
knight0334
New member
I installed one in my Vaquero. Didn't notice any accuracy improvements, but it did take some slop out of the action.
Get one
Had the set screw model installed on a Bisley 41 and 45, a SBH, and a Blackhawk Convertible 45. The SBH was first and it stopped the pin backing out with heavy loads. I had the others installed when I bought them. I had trigger jobs after 250 rounds and added Bowen rear sights. Those last two things improved accuracy dramatically.
Had the set screw model installed on a Bisley 41 and 45, a SBH, and a Blackhawk Convertible 45. The SBH was first and it stopped the pin backing out with heavy loads. I had the others installed when I bought them. I had trigger jobs after 250 rounds and added Bowen rear sights. Those last two things improved accuracy dramatically.
The BM pins DO NOT come out under recoil once you set the set-screw. That's the best part.
They sometimes improve accuracy.
Every once in a great while they make it worse. That happens when a gun is not just sloppy, but also "mis-drilled" - basically the cylinder bore to barrel alignment is just wrong from the factory. Yet the gun was so sloppy that on firing, the bullet could FORCE a workable alignment by moving the whole cylinder into alignment with the barrel. In such cases the accuracy was mediocre to bad before the installation of the BM pin; after, an alignment became impossible because once "tightened up some" the fundamental MIS-alignment already present is now impossible to align at firing.
In any such case where installation of the BM pin hurt accuracy, pull that pin out PRONTO because the gun is now trying to beat itself to death on every shot.
John Linebaugh calls such malformed critters "bad monday guns", where everything is "in spec" but in all the wrong directions.
In such fortunately rare cases the only remaining solution is a line-bored custom cylinder, or sell the gun.
So: I recommend the BM pins to anybody with a slightly loose cylinder BUT after installation run "the checkout" and take careful note of accuracy issues in your first post-install test firing.
I personally don't have one yet because my NewVaq357 came very tight from the factory. It has enough mileage on it now to be just a wee bit more "loose" than new so I'm considering one, likely around the time I do the upcoming grip frame overhaul.
I did however put in a stronger cross-pin latch spring that came with a full spring kit, to eliminate any possibility of base pin jump. I strongly recommend doing either that stronger latch spring or a BM pin, simply because base pin jump is one of the few weak points of the Ruger (and really Colt SAA) design and it's one that's easy to fix.
They sometimes improve accuracy.
Every once in a great while they make it worse. That happens when a gun is not just sloppy, but also "mis-drilled" - basically the cylinder bore to barrel alignment is just wrong from the factory. Yet the gun was so sloppy that on firing, the bullet could FORCE a workable alignment by moving the whole cylinder into alignment with the barrel. In such cases the accuracy was mediocre to bad before the installation of the BM pin; after, an alignment became impossible because once "tightened up some" the fundamental MIS-alignment already present is now impossible to align at firing.
In any such case where installation of the BM pin hurt accuracy, pull that pin out PRONTO because the gun is now trying to beat itself to death on every shot.
John Linebaugh calls such malformed critters "bad monday guns", where everything is "in spec" but in all the wrong directions.
In such fortunately rare cases the only remaining solution is a line-bored custom cylinder, or sell the gun.
So: I recommend the BM pins to anybody with a slightly loose cylinder BUT after installation run "the checkout" and take careful note of accuracy issues in your first post-install test firing.
I personally don't have one yet because my NewVaq357 came very tight from the factory. It has enough mileage on it now to be just a wee bit more "loose" than new so I'm considering one, likely around the time I do the upcoming grip frame overhaul.
I did however put in a stronger cross-pin latch spring that came with a full spring kit, to eliminate any possibility of base pin jump. I strongly recommend doing either that stronger latch spring or a BM pin, simply because base pin jump is one of the few weak points of the Ruger (and really Colt SAA) design and it's one that's easy to fix.
I have used at least a dozen Belt Mountain and never have experience once one being harmful to a gun. I can see if the pin was loose in the frame and you cranked down on the set screw it could cause a problem. I've not fit one in a gun expecting better accuracy but to help smooth out ths action and increase gun life. Guns should come from the factory but it's a cost thing to help keep the price down as most people who buy hand guns could care less or even notice the exccessive play.