Ruger NM Vaquero timing question

[cal44walker]

Pulled 2 Ruger NMV's apart for the first time to tinker a little. They have different timing. On cocking, one of them engages the trigger before the cylinder stop locks into place and on the other the cylinder stop engages very slightly before the trigger is locked up. My guess is that the cylinder should lock up just before the trigger is engaged to the hammer to prevent the hammer accidentaly falling on an out of battery cylinder should ones thumb slip.
        However, if I timed the cylinder to lock up first then the trigger will either not be able to lock up, or do what one of these guns is doing where the hand is holding the cylinder hard against the lock stop with zero rotational play. What is the correct timing for these SA guns? Cylinder stop lockup, then trigger......or trigger then cylinder stop.......or.....both in sync with each other?

cal44walker

[Pettifogger]

Are you cocking them at normal speed or super slow?  Ruger bolts drop very early in the timing cycle.  Hand length determines when the bolt locks and the trigger sets.  These things aren't hand fitted so machining tolerances can make the timing a little off from gun to gun.  Theoretically, the bolt and trigger should set at the same time.  As a practical matter if cycled very slowly they are probably slightly off.  Try swapping the hands between the guns and see if that changes/improves anything.

[cal44walker]

    I'm doing the following: Lightly holding a finger on the cylinder to apply slight drag and turning the cylinder slowly, the bolt releases properly. Then on the properly timed gun the bolt locks the cylinder and the trigger engages the sear at the same time. The result is that the cylinder is locked "in battery" and is allowed a little rotational play.
    On the second, slightly out of time gun, the bolt releases properly, then the bolt drops locking the cylinder "in battery", then a mite later the trigger engages the sear. This causes the cylinder to be held solid (rotationaly) against the bolt with no rotational free play. I can see the cylinder chamber is slightly cocked to one side in relation to the barrel as a result. The fix is obviously to remove a slight amount of metal from the second shelf on the hand so that the bolt drops and the trigger engages at the same time. This will restore the slight rotational free play.
   I was just in doubt as whether the trigger should engage before the cylinder was locked in place or at the same time. As you said, these are not hand fitted guns. They may be tough, but they sure don't do much finishing on them....but then again, thats what I like doing.

cal44walker

[Lumpy Grits]

Replace the 'hand' on the slo one.
The index timing is set by filing the top of the second 'self'(lower)of the 'hand'.
The cly should index & lock no matter how slow you cock it.
LG

[Coffinmaker]

As Pettifogger said, the timing may vary slightly.  So long as the gun locks up into battery, whether you cock it fast or slow, LEAVE IT ALONE  . There is nothing that needs fixed.

Coffinmaker

[Coffinmaker]

I didn't read all of the OP's second post.  A range rod needs to be dropped down the bore to check chamber and bore alignment.  The problem could also be a miss-cut cylinder.  Before you remove any metal anywhere, check it with a range rod.  If the range rod doesn't drop straight into the chambers (all of them), put the problem in a letter and ship it back to Ruger.  They fix their guns, no BS.  Regardless if its a miss-cut hand or cylinder, you get a fixed gun.

Coffinmaker