ranger ii - safety slot not working

[linux_author]

hey folks -guess what i just brought home? that's right, a new Ranger II Break-Top in .22 mag

function seems fine, but i noticed that you can't put the hammer into a safety slot!!!!

??

am i missing something?

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[Ruger]

OK, I'll say the obvious that I'm sure you have done . . .
1.  Pull the hammer back slightly farther than the half cocked position; the cylinder should freely rotate.
2.  Position the cylinder with the safety notch lined up on the side with the notch on the flash shield.
3.  With the trigger pulled, lower the hammer slowly into the safety notch.

Sorry, I had to do it . . . . 

[linux_author]

nope, hammer will not lower into a safety notch! i wonder if this is a particular to the magnum?

it worked fine on my NAA mini, and works fine on my Sidewinder - but not that Ranger II!

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[Ruger]

Works fine with both of my Ranger IIs . . .

[linux_author]

[smack of the forehead] finally got it!

it *is* a bit trickier than my Sidewinder, but i finally got the hammer into a safety notch...

dunno why i couldn't do it before...

lemme try again...

yep, got it...

sheesh, what a maroon that willie is!



now i just have to get to the range to try it out!

ohboyohboyohboyohboy!

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[Dinadan]

Willie - any story that has a happy ending is a good story! I was wondering if you knew that only one corner of the hammer went into the slot, not the whole hammer ...

[linux_author]

yep, that was what was perplexing at first - i looked and thought, 'yes, it *should* work'

and it does... the safety notch is a great idea - otherwise one would have to carry with the hammer on an empty chamber

i think i had my problem because the ranger ii is new and the tolerances seem to be a bit tighter?

anyhow, i'm relieved...

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[smokeless joe]

Good to hear that the operator error has been rectified 

[linux_author]

Good to hear that the operator error has been rectified 

yep, willie experienced what we in the industry used to call an 'ID-10-T' problem

willie
on the gooberific Gulf of Mexico

[ray]

willie hope all goes well with ranger2 we all do stupid things  ill tell you a story about me last year bought my phenix for 2 bags of dirt 16 years ago frame cracked called them they said send it back will send you a new 1 they paid shipping both ways got the new one toke it out it was like was like the old one why the guy sold it to me wont shot a full clip it would jam  said it goes home total tear down did went back to range i keep a small bag in my shooting bag i carry 22short 22 silent 22 bb shot 22 mag stinger and my derangers i went to test the gun and i put 22 silent in would not eject shells tried 2 fire no eject by this time son son in law grand kids saw you fix a lot of guns but never saw one that got worse i said haND  my s@w ill shoot these 8 rounds put them in it would not eject them than i realized what i did the phenix was good no hecup  everyone can have a laugh on me

[jetcsa]

Willie, I've found that all of mine take a slightly different touch. My Ranger II is actually the easiest, 'cause I can visually line up the notch, just got to finesse the hammer/trigger to get the hammer to drop into the notch. For me, practice makes....well, makes it easier, anyhow

[rustyzues]

Willie, don't be so hard on yourself.

[linux_author]

tks, fellas...

btw, just had to take my new Ranger II out for a spin this morning (along with a new acquisition - a Kel-Tec Sub-2000 9mm)... the Ranger II was a lot of fun to shoot, although i did have some failures with the batch of Speer Gold Dots (at least three out of 50, but each fired on the second go-round); i'll try some other types on hand - i think i still have some CCI TNT and Hornady SD rounds... the Ranger II functioned just fine - it was really cool just to pop it open upside down and eject the spent casings - they dropped right out all the way through

boy, did the little revolver get warm though!

i think i was just getting used to the aim point by the end of the box (felt like i had to point it 'down' else it shot high):



i'm pretty happy with this new little break top!

p.s. i mistakenly put 'FMJ' on the target, but as we all know the Speer Gold Dots are JHP

willie
on the compact-carry Gulf of Mexico

[jetcsa]

willie, that's some good shooting - probably excellent shooting, since it was your first time out with the Ranger II. Please keep us posted on whether or not you have any failures with other brands/types of ammunition. We sent my daughter's Pug back to NAA because of some failures to go bang with CCI MaxiMag, but she wasn't having the same issue with other ammos - sending it back was the only way to restore her confidence in the gun. I'm really beginning to wonder if NAA has to do a lot of free warranty work because of poor quality control by the ammo manufacturers. I think of Speer Gold Dots a top tier ammo, like I do the CCI. Is there any chance that your lot could be 2 or 3 years old? It should be fine for 20+ years, but based on the political climate and rush to manufacture as much ammo as possible 2-3 years ago, I'm starting to see a pattern with even "the good stuff" from that time period not going bang like it should

[linux_author]

tks - i'm taking the Ranger II out for another spin tomorrow, along with a Charter Pathfinder in .22 mag... i'll be running:

Hornady Critical Defense:

Bullet Weight: 45 grain
Bullet Style: FTX
Muzzle Velocity: 1,700 FPS
Muzzle Energy: 289 ft.-lbs.
Case Type: Nickel plated

CCI Mini-Mag TNT:

Bullet Type: Jacketed Hollow Point Bullet
Bullet Weight: 30 Grains
Rounds: 50 per Box
Muzzle Velocity: 2200 fps
Bullet Diameter: .224
Muzzle Energy: 322 ft lbs
Jacket Material: Copper

and a new box of Speer Gold Dots (from a recent purchase of 7 boxes; gonna check the lot#s on 'em):

Bullet Type: Speer Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP)
Bullet Weight: 40 Grain
Rounds: 50 Rounds per Box
Muzzle velocity: 1050 fps
Muzzle energy: 99 ft/lbs

FWIW, i had several no-fires from a couple boxes of Fiocchi's .22 mag on the Pathfinder...

and one never knows how well one's rimfire has been handled - i believe that throwing boxes around in the warehouse before shipping or banging the stuff around in poorly packaged boxes during shipping can destroyed a batch of rimfire (dislodging the primer material, IIRC)

(i've had some 50-round assortments of CCI shorts and HV that came with cracked cases, so i know there was shock involved...)

i'll run a 'round robin' and will note any light strikes or other problems - sending the Ranger II back to the mothership won't be an issue for me, as i'm familiar with the drill at this point

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[Canoeal]

Your specs for the Hornady are the rifle specs...

[linux_author]

Your specs for the Hornady are the rifle specs...

probably - it was a copy and paste

got the specs for a revolver?

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[Canoeal]

1052 fps from a 2"; 100 ft lbs of energy. From a 4" 1280 fps and 140 ft lbs...

[linux_author]

tks for the info!

Update on the Ranger II: There's good news and bad news.

I put up three targets at my nominal distance for these little pocket mice - 3 yards, and then attempted to fire 10 rounds of each ammo.

The bad news is that the Hornady defense rounds had at least four failures, and one later on in the Pathfinder; there was one failure of the Speer Gold Dots in the breaktop:



The good news is that every one of the 10 rounds of the CCI TNT (30 gr) went bang at 3 yards, so I moved another target out to 5 yards, and again, every CCI went bang:



I have a couple boxes of the CCI TNT on hand, so that will be the ammo for my Ranger II. On the other hand, the Gold Dots were a pleasure to shoot in the Pathfinder, and all went bang:



So there you have it. Not really a scientific test. Am I going to send my Ranger II back to the mothership at this point? Nope, I'm not inclined to, but will continue to practice with the CCI TNT. It looks like the strikes on the rims are OK, so I'm going to chalk it up to ammo batch and/or a slight variation in hammer strike strength between the Ranger II and Pathfinder. Kinda disappointed in the Hornady rounds. I also didn't like how they shot out of the Pathfinder.

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[Canoeal]

Some of those shot out of the NAA look like light strikes. The Charter Arms in there does not. Mostly the ones on the bottom. The reason for that may be, that the SD rounds are plated, making the slightly harder...Might want to ask NAA. Or see if it happens with CCI HP + V, which is also plated. Fix is a new main spring.

Picture of mine are below top BW, bottom Charter Arms...

[linux_author]

Update: I think I've found the issue with some of the light strikes. It appears that the tip of the hammer was impinged by the latch. This was evidenced by a wear mark on the top tip of the hammer (not the hammer face), and on the underside of the latch plate (more eivident). I expect a slight hone or further use may completely eliminate the problem:



After a range session today there was only one light strike out of 50 rounds.

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[Canoeal]

Glad you figured that out.

[Dinadan]

Update: I think I've found the issue with some of the light strikes. It appears that the tip of the hammer was impinged by the latch. This was evidenced by a wear mark on the top tip of the hammer (not the hammer face). Either a slight hone or further use may completely eliminate the problem:
willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

Interesting information, Willie. I would make a few passes with a soft honing stone on the affected area. Anyway, I am glad to read that things are working out with your Ranger.

[Ruger]

Good catch!  A good example of why it is always important to FULLY inspect our firearms when cleaning.

[linux_author]

my final update (pending no other problems crop up): here's the latest target from this morning's outing at the range (5 yards, 40 rounds, 1 FTF out of 20 rounds of CCI 'Swamp People' .22wmr - the rest were Speer Gold Dots, all of which fired):



i like my Ranger II and will continue to shoot it - it shoots straight enough for me!

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico