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Ruger Revolvers Longevity?

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LouisianaGunslinger

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I've been thinking about buying a SRH Alaskan in .454 Casull. I have no intentions of shooting much .454 out of it, it would be mostly .45 Colt. How long do yall think the frame would last in terms of rounds fired of standard pressure .45 Colt?


As a bonus question, I recently heard of a guy who's GP100's frame went kaput after 20k rounds. Surely this isn't normal, right? How long do those last?


Does the cast construction (vs forged) have any effect on this? I've always heard cast guns would have to be a little thicker than forged guns to get the same strength, and that the metal is still a bit more brittle in cast.
 
Longer than you and your children.

If a GP gave up the ghost after only 20,000rds, surely something else was at work and we don't know the whole story.
 
Firing .45 Colt loads you'll wear out internal parts, not the frame, and that'll take a looooong time.

You don't need to worry about cast parts, Ruger designed their guns around casting technology, and here it's design that's more important than materials.
Denis
 
I've put at least 2k per year through my GP100 since 1990. Most of that has been moderate 38's shooting plates & targets. I think I have gotten it broke in. Give me anouther twenty years and I will let you know.

Anyone who shot up a gp100 frame in 20K has been doing something very strange.
 
+1

Shooting .45 Cot loads in a .454 Ruger, I would not even have an estimated life of the frame.

But even at a very conservative 100,000 rounds?

That would be in the neighborhood of $60,000 in ammo at todays prices.

Or about the price of 70 or 80 new guns.

rc
 
I think my "weak" .38 LCR will last over 20,000 rounds, and it has an aluminum alloy frame and polymer body. Even if it gives up the ghost around then, at the rate I'm going it'll take me about 40 years to kill it:neener:

A .454 shooting .45 colt should last nearly forever with marginal care, especially if the .45 is the powderpuff cowboy action stuff. Ruger makes some pretty tough stuff. You have to be loading up some HOT stuff or shooting competition levels of ammo to burn one up in an average lifetime.

I have a used Blackhawk in .357 that I can't image ever being able to shoot loose. It's a chunky ol' iron.
 
I believe this is the thread to which the OP is referring: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=638112

GP100, owned since 1976. "25-50,000" rounds (pretty wild guess, I'd think). 95% .38 Spc.

Ruger says they won't fix it, but will replace it for a bit more than 1/2 price.
Click to expand...



Yeah, I just don't think 25-50k rounds of .38 Special is really excessive. Yes, it's a lot, but enough to wear out the frame??? I hope not.
 
GP100, owned since 1976.
Click to expand...
Well, that's already fishy because the GP didn't come out until 1986. I'm really leery of such stories, particularly when they come from folks with very low post counts. I always keep in mind that the internet is the world's complaint department and one side of the story is never enough.
 
Yeah. Lots of question marks there. Hate to tell any member that they're full of crap, so have to take the story at something like face value.

25,000K seems like a surprisingly short lifespan for 'most any classic Ruger product.
 
My ruger gp100 was made in 1989...no idea how many rounds the previous owner put through it but I have shot the crap out of it with no issues.
 
CraigC said:
Well, that's already fishy because the GP didn't come out until 1986. I'm really leery of such stories, particularly when they come from folks with very low post counts. I always keep in mind that the internet is the world's complaint department and one side of the story is never enough.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Didn't see that part in the thread. Said he had a Blackhawk he got in 1976 and he had Rugers since 1976.

That aside, mechanical things break eventually and are the sum of their parts. Lots of things come into play when you try to figure longevity. And then, you usually end up with outliers on the short and long end --- even if treated the same.

The GP100 has a reputation for sturdiness (I happily shoot a box 158 gr 357 every week), and you might say, on average, they will go 100000 of 158 gr 357 before the weak link fails, but unless you have a fair sample of well done tests (apples to apples), the best you might be able to day is, "Never heard of any breaking", or in my particular case ....

I'd expect the Ruger folks to have some data, have some kind of improvement program, and have over-engineered areas that could cause personal injury on failure.
I'd also expect them not to share that information.

To the OP, if you are looking for answers on the internet, search for something along the lines "super redhawk failure". There might be some clue as to a weak link or a maintenance issue.

But ask if the poster is the actual owner.
Ask if its been used to drive nails, it's been rattling around in their truck tool box for the past 5 years, or have they "worked" on it.

Bob
 
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I can't give a specific answer, but can say definitively that I have never seen nor held a Ruger that was worn out.

My first Ruger was a 10-22 which I purchased when they were first introduced in the early 60's. Followed up with a Bearcat, then a Single-Six, then a .357 Blackhawk, then a .45 Convertible and so on, up to the present day. My last Ruger purchase was a pair of SS New Vaqueros, in .357 and .45. I cannot count the number I have had in my posession over the last 50 years or so.

Now I have traded off many of them, and traded into many of them. I also bought or swapped for basket cases or 'broken' Rugers. The vast majority were 'fixed' by a detail strip and severe cleaning. The number of parts I have replaced could be counted on one hand, and truthfully, some I broke myself.

But as for wear, and not counting finishes that were down to bare metal, I've never seen a 'worn-out' Ruger. A couple out of time (cowboy guns) and one that was semi-blown up (Super Blackhawk with a hump on the top frame - still shot fine) but that's it.

I suppose one could be worn out, but I've never personally encountered one. Haven't seen a Bigfoot either!

Ron in Texas
 
Take a GP 100 and feed it a steady diet of 110- 125 gr. JHP max loads and see how long the forcing cone and barrel lasts. (To be fair almost any other brand will suffer the same fate even quicker.) Feed it .38 Spl. mid range loads and it will last longer than you will. They are very solid reliable revolvers. But any gun will wear out if you work at it diligently.
 
My single six has a mix of 22lr and 22mag being put through it since 1985, probably over 20,000 rounds without a hiccup. Not saying a 22 can compare to a 45 but still all my rugers are very reliable.
 
"my brother-in-law has a SP101 he used to shoot archeopteryxes with"
One of MY brothers-in-law shot T-Rex's with his.
He sure is starting to show his age!
 
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