Tell me about your problems with new Ruger revolvers

[TruthTellers]

Guy on another forum told me about some horror stories with factory new revolvers made by Ruger. I think he's overdoing it by saying Ruger is garbage now because I have a Redhawk I bought in 2016 that I wouldn't call garbage.

Sure one time the cylinder or hammer locked up and didn't want to rotate to fire, but after I opened the cylinder and closed it a few times it loosened and hasn't happened since. Sure there's a burr in the pocket where the cylinder crane goes in, but I can file that burr down.

Is the burr being there reason enough to call it "garbage?" No because I've been on the job and have forgotten to deburr parts because I was busy running my machine and dealing with other tasks, it happens and it shows why it's so important to have a deburring department and not make the machinists do everything and take focus away from what they're trained to do: machining.

I have to ask because I have 3 other guns from Ruger, all polymer pistols and have had no issues with them. I have a few more revolvers on my list that are Rugers and I get the feeling that Ruger is having quality issues with their all steel DA revolvers.

So, have you had any issues with Ruger revolvers the past few years that were new from the factory?

 

[meh]

My first SP101 had too much endshake which led to several issues very quickly, and not from recoil. The second trip back to the factory was its last. They sent me a replacement that has been great. No issues with my GP100. I don’t worry with Ruger because their CS is so great.

 

[paracarry]

Friend of mine owns a gun shop, we were checking out the GP 100 in 22 LR the cylinder would not open. went back to the factory. I have owned a lot of Rugers over the years never had an issue.

 

[jpdopes]

I bought a gp100 about a year ago. One day, after having put about a hundred rounds through it, I was dry firing it when the cylinder stopped spinning. The cylinder latch had fallen out. I sent it back to Ruger and it’s been fine ever since.

 

[rep308]

I bought a Ruger .22 revolver in 2015 that had a defective firing pin and had to go back for service. I bought a super redhawk last year that is and was just fine

 

[greencobra]

my new redhawk is a piece of shit. total f'n piece of shit. i'm not gonna get into it now, i've posted enough about that here and on the ruger boards. it's been back 3x. it now works 90% of the time and goes back to being a piece of shit. so if your happy with a $875 revolver working at 90%...good for you. oh, for comparison i own 2 vintage redhawks (.357 & .44) and both have been running like champs for 25+ years.

 

[Broc]

I have been thinking about buying a Vaquero. Any issues with those?

 

[greencobra]

I have been thinking about buying a Vaquero. Any issues with those?

you know, in my circle i haven't really heard of any issues with these. although I've never owned one, I have many, many friends who shoot them in cowboy action shooting and are happy with their performance out of the box. if I have this straight, the older ones have a larger frame and the cylinder walls are thicker. sometime in the early 2000's, ruger scaled the vaquero down to more fit the colt saa footprint. theses are called the "new vaquero" btw. i'd like to get one myself. they made a blued version with case hardened frame that looks pretty cool although the case colors aren't as vivid as the old time charcoal method. it's all I got, not helping you much, sorry.

 

[Golddiggie]

No issues with the GP100 in .357 magnum I bought last year.

 

[greencobra]

No issues with the GP100 in .357 magnum I bought last year.

I traded for one last year. mine functions fine. my problem is fit and finish. the barrel isn't centered on the frame (but still hits close to point of aim} and in the areas where the crane meets the frame there are gaps. large gaps. i'm not sure if that happened while the crane was being fit or the final polisher got a bit over zealous at the wheel. but at the end of the day, lock up is tight and it functions fine. nothing to send it back over. all in all I like the revolver, it's a little work horse.

 

[snubnose]

Ruger, the only gun maker on the planet that proudly offers no warranty at all and will suddenly decide not to support (parts and factory service) guns made fairly recently, 20 years or so.

 

[headednorth]

Have a GP100 in 357 and a BH in 45 colt, both bought maybe a year and a half ago. As far as the GP100, only complaints I can think of is the the pin that holds the rear sight in place comes loose from time to time, especially when firing heavy 357 loads. Pushes back in easily just with a finger which makes me think it should be a larger diameter (or the hole should be smaller) Also had the screw at the base of the grip loosen up during a recent range trip. Other than that its a great shooting gun. For some reason I feel like I barely have to aim the thing for it to hit what I want it to.

No issues with the Black Hawk, although Ive put less rounds through it than the GP.

 

[DW357]

I must have got lucky with the GP100 and Super Redhawk 44 I bought. They saw thousands of full strength magnum loads with 0 issues. I had trigger jobs done on both and they were pretty slick.

I’ve since sold both to buy Dan Wesson 357’s and 44’s.

 

[fencer]

Ruger sucks. Period. No one wants to admit it, and some Ruger owners never have a problem, but every Ruger thread seems to talk about how great their customer service is because they always fix their brand new broken guns.
I would never trust a Ruger as a carry gun. Sure, as a range toy, have at it. But when I buy a firearm, I always think "if I had to grab it to defend my life, or put it in a loved one's hands during the zombie apocalypse, could I trust it?" Ruger and Taurus = garbage

 

[highlander]

In my 40+ years of owning Ruger revolvers and semi autos I've had 1 serious problem. Purchased a new Redhawk in 44 mag and wanted to put a better adjustable sight on it. Got the sight but couldn't get the height adjustment screw to fit. Took the pistol to a gunsmith he examined it turned out the thread hole for the screw was off center. Sent it back to Ruger and a week or 2 later new Redhawk at my door. Sounds like the op's friend might be a bit of a drama queen.

 

[chopper_man]

New SP101 in .22 couldn't eject casing with pushing excessively on rod. Sent it in, they "fixed" it. It's better for sure but still not as smooth/easy as it should be.

 

[John4166]

GP 100 Rear sight pin drifting out, I bent the pin a little, hasnt come out since. In recent years quality control has been slack, Its box em up and ship them out, same with Smith and wesson. This costs them more in the long run with so many guns being shipped back for minor repairs.

 

[straightshooterjake]

As far as the GP100, only complaints I can think of is the the pin that holds the rear sight in place comes loose from time to time, especially when firing heavy 357 loads. Pushes back in easily just with a finger

A pin that moves easily with finger pressure will eventually get lost. I would take the pin out and bend it slightly. Another method is to tap one end of the pin with a hammer to slightly spread and flatten it. Either way the pin should need light tapping with a small hammer to put it back in place. It does not need to be super tight, but much more than finger pressure. It would also be legitimate to request factory warranty on this issue, but I would not bother. I would fix it though.

 

[84ta406]

Have a GP100 in 357 and a BH in 45 colt, both bought maybe a year and a half ago. As far as the GP100, only complaints I can think of is the the pin that holds the rear sight in place comes loose from time to time, especially when firing heavy 357 loads. Pushes back in easily just with a finger which makes me think it should be a larger diameter (or the hole should be smaller) Also had the screw at the base of the grip loosen up during a recent range trip. Other than that its a great shooting gun. For some reason I feel like I barely have to aim the thing for it to hit what I want it to.

No issues with the Black Hawk, although Ive put less rounds through it than the GP.

I'd use some retaining compound on the pin,it'll hold it but it's not quite a Loctite. I have some at work if you want a couple drops.

 

[kalash]

No issues with my GP100 or LCR.

 

[snubnose]

The Official Ruger SOL list is up to 26 different models wonder which other ones will be added...

I will however spring for the re introduced sp101 9mm when/if it becomes MA compliant-rather I will spring for two, with Ruger you just never know-need that parts gun for insurance....

 

[FancyGunz]

I had a brand new .22lr revolver a couple years ago where on 2 of the chambers, the ammo wouldn't fit in all the way with any factory load. Had to send it back to Ruger to get a cylinder replacement. Amazing how they could miss such an important QC check...

 

[greencobra]

years ago I was an avid ruger collector, mostly the old model blackhawks (flat tops & 3 clickers) and single sixes but would pick up the odd rare piece if they presented themselves to me. people forget rugers claim to fame in the beginning was to make a cheap pistol any man could afford hence they had a reputation as being roughly finished...and ugly as hell. but strong as hell at the same time being accurate. and it was because of the popularity of the blackhawk single actions, colt decided to produce the saa again after ceasing production.

changing gears here, rugers speed six series and redhawk series revolvers, to me, are the best and prettiest da revolvers ever produced. when they discontinued the speed and security six line and brought on the gp series to replace them...meh, wasn't that impressed. took me all these years until I got a gp-100, fixed sight, 3" bbl example last year. and I still try to compare it to my 3" speed six.

that said, I do have a soft spot for ruger still, but it saddens me to see quality go down hill. time was you took your new ruger out of the box and expected it to work and work well. now I've learned it's hit or miss. this all seemed to start when bill died, tom took over, and he started to bring in outsiders who were all about the bottom line. until then, most employees had been hired by bill himself and stayed with him until they died or retired. tom dies, and now it seems everyone in a top spot at ruger came in from outside. times change. I still buy the odd single action nm Blackhawk but look for models made in the late 70's and 80's. the new ones don't feel the same to me. sounds odd but the old time ruger fans know the feeling.

I've mentioned this before on nes....I have a buddy that runs an on line gun shop from the Newport, nh area. he told me, so take this as second and third hand info, that he knows a lot of locals that work in the plant. they've told him there's a big turnover of employees the last year or two. the older employees are retiring and there are a bunch of current employees that are disgruntled. hours are long, pay poor, and some people are expected to work 12 hour days to meet quotas and customer demand. training new hires is poor with training time extremely short. a big problem area was final polishing on the stainless firearms. my source told me they shut down the polishing area to retrain when bunches of the then new redhawk 45 colt/.45 acp started showing back up at the plant for refinishing from customers and even some distributors. I had mine refinished when it went back the first time. in fact the customer service rep I talked to confirmed they were swamped with returns of the new redhawk. if anyone has information to the contrary i'd be interested in reading it. it's not my style to take 2nd and 3rd hand information as gospel truth.

i'm apologizing now. didn't want to hijack the thread, just let people know it was hard to bash my redhawk but as they say, it is what it is.

 

[gamma19]

My SP101, manufactured in 2014, binds up in the same spot when firing. I can't replicate the problem while dry firing; it only happens with rounds in the cylinder. Going back to Ruger for repair.

I know this is a revolver thread but I've also had issues with the SR9C. It fed most ball ammo reasonably well but choked on popular brands of JHP.

That said, I also own a P89 and P90, and both pistols have been trouble free and rock solid reliable; will feed any ammo I throw at them.

 

[roccoracer]

I have not had good luck with my recent Ruger purchaes either. My SP101 .357 has been good but the rifles, not so much.

 

[Zappa]

I have been thinking about buying a Vaquero. Any issues with those?

Now that I think about, yes, I had a problem with a Vaquero I bought many years ago.
It was a first model, the problem was the firing pin was too short, and the primer strikes were very shallow, which led to many misfires. I compared the primer strikes with shells fired from another Vaquero and there was definitely a problem. I didn't really want to send it back to Ruger, so I bought a new pin and replaced it myself. It wasn't easy, but I got it done and it's been 100% reliable since.

 

[DarrenL]

I bought the 45colt/45acp red hawk in Jan of 2016. $900. WORST MISTAKE EVER. Sorry for the caps, but I have had nothing but issues. it has been back three times, this third time they have had it for three months. First issue was light strikes, 50% of the time with 45acp, ~10% of the time with 45 colt. Sent it back, did not get fixed. Sent it back again, with more detailed info, got it back, not only did it still not fire, the ejector scraped the back of the frame and left a gouge when the cylinder closed. Sent it back a third time, they still have it. Tried many many factory loads, small primers, large primers, whatever. Even when I got it to fire, I could never get good velocities. I could not make major power factor with factory 45acp ammo. Maybe that was a design issue, (although maybe not, concerning the other issues I have been having) due to 45 acp in a 45 colt cylinder, but it means I cannot use it for IDPA. In any case, I certainly cannot use it for a woods gun. I was dismayed last time I called, they said they were fixing it, I was hoping for a new gun (that I would sell immediately) or a refund. maybe the UPS guy will steal it or drop it in a river.

I am so pissed at Ruger right now. . Granted, many, many gun companies lately is turning out garbage, but for $900 I expect a functioning gun. After I post this I'm going to go punch myself in the nuts, so I feel better than thinking about that damn revolver.

 

[TruthTellers]

I bought the 45colt/45acp red hawk in Jan of 2016. $900. WORST MISTAKE EVER. Sorry for the caps, but I have had nothing but issues. it has been back three times, this third time they have had it for three months. First issue was light strikes, 50% of the time with 45acp, ~10% of the time with 45 colt. Sent it back, did not get fixed. Sent it back again, with more detailed info, got it back, not only did it still not fire, the ejector scraped the back of the frame and left a gouge when the cylinder closed. Sent it back a third time, they still have it. Tried many many factory loads, small primers, large primers, whatever. Even when I got it to fire, I could never get good velocities. I could not make major power factor with factory 45acp ammo. Maybe that was a design issue, (although maybe not, concerning the other issues I have been having) due to 45 acp in a 45 colt cylinder, but it means I cannot use it for IDPA. In any case, I certainly cannot use it for a woods gun. I was dismayed last time I called, they said they were fixing it, I was hoping for a new gun (that I would sell immediately) or a refund. maybe the UPS guy will steal it or drop it in a river.

I am so pissed at Ruger right now. . Granted, many, many gun companies lately is turning out garbage, but for $900 I expect a functioning gun. After I post this I'm going to go punch myself in the nuts, so I feel better than thinking about that damn revolver.

Sounds like you got a lemon. Mine hasn't had any of those issues.

 

[DarrenL]

Sounds like you got a lemon. Mine hasn't had any of those issues.

Well, if it does, Green cobra and I have started a support group.

 

[BaldAssCat]

I have been thinking about buying a Vaquero. Any issues with those?

I bought 2 this year in 357 and I like them a lot. No issues out of the box. I debured and polished the action on them myself and haven't had any issues after that either.