Ruger sp101 shot out forcing cone or not? Back from Ruger update!!!!

whacko

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Purchased 2012. 7 years of weekly shooting and daily carrying. Factory 125 grain 357 is 75% of its diet.....50 rounds a week average. Noticed this at the range today.


1. I have no complaints if it needs to go back to ruger this revolver has been heavily used.

2. I know its dirty I had just fired it.

3. Thoughts.......safe to keep shooting or send her back?

20190620_203149.jpg 20190620_203149.jpg
 
I am not a gunsmith, but that looks like metallurgical failure waiting to happen. I would at least reach out to Ruger with that photo and see what they have to say.
 
You already know the answer.

It’s dead, Jim.
Yeah I know. Just going to hate to part with it for a few weeks. Guess I'll have to borrow the wife's j frame to carry.

She still shoots dead on accurate too.

I know ruger will replace the barrel.
 
def send back to ruger so they can re-barrel. they'll have the gun back to you quickly. while they have your SP101 you'll have a few days to join the 21st century by purchasing an autoloader. sorry couldn't help myself. i'm carrying a springfield XD-E in 9mm nowadays and despite mocking the pistol when it was announced I couldn't be happier with it. SA makes one in 45 AARP which might prefer. there are so many great pistols these days we are truly living in CCW golden era.

seriously though props for carrying an SP101 for 7 years. i couldn't do it. my beretta 92 occasionally gets carried and despite my affection towards the pistol i loathe carrying it.
 
def send back to ruger so they can re-barrel. they'll have the gun back to you quickly. while they have your SP101 you'll have a few days to join the 21st century by purchasing an autoloader. sorry couldn't help myself. i'm carrying a springfield XD-E in 9mm nowadays and despite mocking the pistol when it was announced I couldn't be happier with it. SA makes one in 45 AARP which might prefer. there are so many great pistols these days we are truly living in CCW golden era.

seriously though props for carrying an SP101 for 7 years. i couldn't do it. my beretta 92 occasionally gets carried and despite my affection towards the pistol i loathe carrying it.
I own many auto loading pistols. I carry a revolver because I prefer it.
 
damn, one tired forcing cone. you must have noticed it starting to go before now, yes?
Yeah the larger crack was kind of a "nick" in the cone about 2 months ago. Tonight after my range trip I noticed it went all the way across.
 
cylinder gap?
endshake?
timing on the chambers?
rugers are known to have such issues especially with higher round counts
 
cylinder gap?
endshake?
timing on the chambers?
rugers are known to have such issues especially with higher round counts
Other than the visible issue in the forcing cone the gun shoots great. Accurate as hell. Locks up nice and tight.
 
Who would admit to the manufacturer that they used reloads if they did?
ahhh...me [angry] but in my defense there was a reason.

rugers are known to have such issues especially with higher round counts
actually, not really. they've garnered a reputation as being strong as tanks. maybe newer production? i picked up a gp 100 3" 2 years ago and have just recently started to put a serious round count thru it. full power .357 loads, although a different frame size than the gp. time will tell with this one. everyone's experience is different.

have 2 40 year old speed sixes that have tens of thousands of rounds thru between them and are as tight as they were on their first day of life. and i bought them used 30 years ago so have no clue as to actual round count.

and on to the big boys, a .357 red hawk and a .44. more used purchases from the old days. i expect the large frames to really hold up and they have. i've kicked the shit out of these over the years.

only dog in the bunch was a new .45acp/45 colt redhawk from day 1.

i'm going to inspect the forcing cones on these revolvers asap. i might not be happy with what i see. this thread was a good public service.
 
ahhh...me [angry] but in my defense there was a reason.


actually, not really. they've garnered a reputation as being strong as tanks. maybe newer production? i picked up a gp 100 3" 2 years ago and have just recently started to put a serious round count thru it. full power .357 loads, although a different frame size than the gp. time will tell with this one. everyone's experience is different.

have 2 40 year old speed sixes that have tens of thousands of rounds thru between them and are as tight as they were on their first day of life. and i bought them used 30 years ago so have no clue as to actual round count.

and on to the big boys, a .357 red hawk and a .44. more used purchases from the old days. i expect the large frames to really hold up and they have. i've kicked the shit out of these over the years.

only dog in the bunch was a new .45acp/45 colt redhawk from day 1.

i'm going to inspect the forcing cones on these revolvers asap. i might not be happy with what i see. this thread was a good public service.

The good news is even if your not happy with what you see.....damn good chance ruger will replace the barrel.

I have zero complaints about the sp101 that I have worn out. If I shot it a few times a year and had that kind of wear in the cone I'd be suspicious. But this gun has been shot a TON! If ruger gives me a new barrel I'll be a happy man.
 
ahhh...me [angry] but in my defense there was a reason.


actually, not really. they've garnered a reputation as being strong as tanks. maybe newer production? i picked up a gp 100 3" 2 years ago and have just recently started to put a serious round count thru it. full power .357 loads, although a different frame size than the gp. time will tell with this one. everyone's experience is different.

have 2 40 year old speed sixes that have tens of thousands of rounds thru between them and are as tight as they were on their first day of life. and i bought them used 30 years ago so have no clue as to actual round count.

and on to the big boys, a .357 red hawk and a .44. more used purchases from the old days. i expect the large frames to really hold up and they have. i've kicked the shit out of these over the years.

only dog in the bunch was a new .45acp/45 colt redhawk from day 1.

i'm going to inspect the forcing cones on these revolvers asap. i might not be happy with what i see. this thread was a good public service.

"strong as tank" yes this is what I often hear about ruger revolvers and couldn't be further from my experiences and those of many others. their investment casted steel does not hold up well to high pressures generated by magnum chamberings. as round counts get higher, endshake starts to increase and ultimately the cylinder will shoot itself into a nonfunctioning state. there are shim kits out there to slow down the process but it's a bandaid solution for a metallurgical problem. most of the ones i've seen the hand and ratchet get deformed. this may very well be what's occurring in OP's SP101 (resulting in out-of-timed chambers) but we'll never know since we don't have measurements.

...that's the bad news...the good news is that ruger knows they build questionable firearms and they'll get the issues fixed. in about 1/3 my cases with them they end up having to issue a replacement.
 
"strong as tank" yes this is what I often hear about ruger revolvers and couldn't be further from my experiences and those of many others. their investment casted steel does not hold up well to high pressures generated by magnum chamberings. as round counts get higher, endshake starts to increase and ultimately the cylinder will shoot itself into a nonfunctioning state. there are shim kits out there to slow down the process but it's a bandaid solution for a metallurgical problem. most of the ones i've seen the hand and ratchet get deformed. this may very well be what's occurring in OP's SP101 (resulting in out-of-timed chambers) but we'll never know since we don't have measurements.

...that's the bad news...the good news is that ruger knows they build questionable firearms and they'll get the issues fixed. in about 1/3 my cases with them they end up having to issue a replacement.
As the owner of the gun in this post I see it a different way. I don't see that gun as questionably built at all. That's not a gun that was fired once a month. Anyone that knows me knows I shoot that thing more than once a week and use heavy factory 125 grain 357 most of the time. How long is a gun that has seen that much use expected to last? I think 7 years is on par with with what I've got out of it. Best part is ruger is more than likely going to fix it for free.

The gun still locks up tight and is as accurate as the day I bought it. It was punching center ring at 25 feet just before i took the picture of the forcing cone. How do you see that as a questionably built gun?
 
"strong as tank" yes this is what I often hear about ruger revolvers and couldn't be further from my experiences and those of many others. their investment casted steel does not hold up well to high pressures generated by magnum chamberings. as round counts get higher, endshake starts to increase and ultimately the cylinder will shoot itself into a nonfunctioning state. there are shim kits out there to slow down the process but it's a bandaid solution for a metallurgical problem. most of the ones i've seen the hand and ratchet get deformed. this may very well be what's occurring in OP's SP101 (resulting in out-of-timed chambers) but we'll never know since we don't have measurements.

...that's the bad news...the good news is that ruger knows they build questionable firearms and they'll get the issues fixed. in about 1/3 my cases with them they end up having to issue a replacement.
If the lockup is fine, and the barrel is not investment cast, the rest of your assumptions are mooted.

Good luck OP, I hope everything works out for you.
 
....their investment casted steel does not hold up well to high pressures generated by magnum chamberings.
is this published data or personal observation? i'm curious is all since i was a ruger collector for many years and at one time held and inspected more ruger revolvers in a weekend than most people see in a lifetime. i will say that when bill jr. brought in outsiders to run the company, that was the beginning of a trend i didn't want to see. i also think their casting division, pine tree, does a pretty decent job. as far as i know, that division enjoys a decent reputation within the industry.
please, not picking a fight or calling anyone out, just my observations and opinions. :)
 
Damn that's crazy. So you've shot roughly 15-18k rounds through it? Definitely a good amount when considering it's all 125 gr 357's.
What's the top strap look like?

I'm sure Ruger will replace the barrel but I honestly think a revolver barrel should hold up better than that.
 
Damn that's crazy. So you've shot roughly 15-18k rounds through it? Definitely a good amount when considering it's all 125 gr 357's.
What's the top strap look like?

I'm sure Ruger will replace the barrel but I honestly think a revolver barrel should hold up better than that.
Top strap showed a little flame cutting the first year. Hasn't gotten worse since the first year.....seemed to settle in once it got to a certain depth. Everything else on the gun seems fine even the rifling is sharp and it shoots accurately.

So how many rounds of 357 mag would be considered acceptable? My personal shooting habits have to be considered on the extreme high end for for an sp101 snub revolver.
 
I have heard that constant use of full power 110 grain bullets does this to the forcing cone, but not 125's or 158 grain. I guess 125 grain does it also.
 
I'd be curious to see how Ruger handles this. It almost seems like its not a warentee issue. The gun isnt defective, its worn out from proper use. I'm a Smith guy, but will be following to see how Ruger handles it. Not sure I've ever seen a worn out forcing cone. Almost seems it would be worth it for Ruger to just replace the gun with a ne one. Btw props to you for shooting 357 out of a snub. Must have some grip strength.
 
I'd be curious to see how Ruger handles this. It almost seems like its not a warentee issue. The gun isnt defective, its worn out from proper use. I'm a Smith guy, but will be following to see how Ruger handles it. Not sure I've ever seen a worn out forcing cone. Almost seems it would be worth it for Ruger to just replace the gun with a ne one. Btw props to you for shooting 357 out of a snub. Must have some grip strength.

Lifetime warranty means lifetime warranty in my book.

I've seen many photos online of worn out forcing cones. It does happen.

I've never had an issue with handling recoil from a handgun. I quite enjoy it actually. I do plate shoot practice with that gun weekly all summer and fall. Factory 357 magnum most of the time.
 
I'd be curious to see how Ruger handles this. It almost seems like its not a warentee issue. The gun isnt defective, its worn out from proper use. I'm a Smith guy, but will be following to see how Ruger handles it. Not sure I've ever seen a worn out forcing cone. Almost seems it would be worth it for Ruger to just replace the gun with a ne one. Btw props to you for shooting 357 out of a snub. Must have some grip strength.
Plenty of images online of eroded forcing cones. Google eroded forcing cone and click images.......you'll see hundreds.....some worse than mine.

A quick google on ruger forums tells me ruger does generally replace the barrels free of charge.
 
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