Ruger Old Model Blackhawk Project part 5

I decided that I could live with the odd frame coloration from the Mark Lee Express Blue (it is kinda growing on me....). I will, however, reblue the cylinder to a deep black color

I assembled the gun to measure clearances for some trigger and hammer shims. Lance from Triggershims.com was nice enough to offer me a free set to try out on this gun.

 Assembling the revolver from the parts I collected

 The cylinder lock spring is tough to figure out, but easy to get into position once you get it, this is how it looks installed

 Measuring the clearances for the shims

I sent Lance my measurements and a few days later the correct shims arrived in the mail!

A little bit of grease keeps the shims in place

While I was at it, I did a bit of an action job by polishing all of the mating surfaces.


 I had planned on using these grip panels from a New Model Blackhawk, but they did not fit very well

 My grip frame is an XR3-RED, perhaps these are from an XR3 50th anniversary model??

Here it is ready for the range
I still need to polish and reblue the cylinder and find a set of factory wood grips. These are a set of Altamonts that have a crack in one of the panels, I paid $1 for them at the gun show

In the mean time, I'm gonna see how it shoots

I'll post another update when I get the cylinder blued and a good set of grips