Ruger Distaste

^well I'm not a collector but I do own pre-64 Winchesters a couple of Colts a few Brownings a S&W and gosh even two Rugers.

and run on OTHER PEOPLE'S cash only.

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They are owned by stockholders....... - aka OPM, or Other Peoples' Money

I won't say how many Rugers I own, but it rhymes with fine.
I just wish I'd never sold my old 4" Speed Six. It had a trigger job done on it, before I bought it. I'll never understand how a DA revolver could have a trigger that light and still NEVER misfire.

I currently have 7 Rugers, but I think a testament to their value is I have sold or traded 6 others in the last few years. They are affordable and also hold resell value well

Some folks who prefer traditional blue-steel-and-walnut will not find Rugers to suit their taste, from the standpoint of appearance. In the past, Ruger DA revolvers tended to have quite rough trigger pulls, which is much less true lately. As for myself, I bought a Ruger GP100 in the early 1990s, not minding its modern appearance. The original factory grip felt as if it had been custom-designed for my hands. I now have a variety of configurations, from 3" to 6", lugged and non-lugged barrels, and adjustable and fixed sights.

I do still like more traditional firearms, but Rugers are so very practical.

When the SP101 was introduced, I soon had another much-favored gun. Later, I acquired a pre-owned Speed Six. Recently, I bought a Bisley and a Super Redhawk Alaskan. I think Rugers suit my taste just fine!

Then, there are the two Mini-14 rifles, and the two No. 1 Single-Shot rifles; life is good!

a quality product at a reasonable price. and a service department second to none.

what's to hate?

murf

.... I think you mean Taurus...

Got several and like them all. Good guns.

I like the old flat tops. They are getting harder to find but still affordable.

I have five Ruger Single Actions, a Bisley Blackhawk .45 Colt, a Super Blackhawk .44 mag, a Blackhawk, a Single-Six and a Bearcat. Three pistol caliber carbines also reside in my safe, 77/357, 77/44 and 77/22.

I used to own three of their DA revolvers but I could never shoot them as well as I could with S&W revolvers.

The goal is to build good quality, inexpensive guns for the "workin' man". Ruger was never an attempt to produce great guns.

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Ruger makes good guns and their customer service is better than S&W, and S&W has great CS. If you somehow manage to destroy a Ruger revolver, they'll sell you a new one well below retail (new GP100 for $325). However, they are no longer inexpensive guns for the working man. Mini 14's are just as expensive as AR's, the GP100 isn't that much cheaper than a 686, and their LC9 and LCP are in the same price points as other plastic guns of the sae size.

I have a Police Six and it is a keeper. S&W K frame size, but unlike the K frame .357 (I have a Model 13, too), it an fire any .357 you want out of it. It is a TRUE .357 and not a ".38 for practice with the occasional .357 of 140 grains or more" like the 13 is. Ruger should never have stopped making the Six series.

I have owned a number of Ruger firearms over the years, and still have several. Without exception, they have been reliable and accurate, and are a good value IMO. No Ruger hate here. Due to work and other commitments, I have been unable to get in the woods since deer season opened here Saturday, but intend to take a few deer with my SBH .44 Magnum starting tomorrow.

However, they are no longer inexpensive guns for the working man.

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If you track MSRP's over the last ten years, Ruger's increases have not even kept up with inflation.

We currently own well over a dozen Ruger firearms. I bought my first one in early 1960, a Ruger Mark I. I have NEVER had to send one back for Warranty work.

They aren't Korth handguns, nor do they cost as much. For that matter the fabled Colt Python looks like it was fitted with a ball-pein hammer, and finished with a rasp, alongside the Korth.

They work, for a LONG time, and offer competitive pricing. Guns are, first and foremost, tools. Very few working tools have a category listed as "beauty". The most important things are reliability, durability, and accuracy. Ruger guns have all three.

Keeping up with inflation is irrelevant. Used to be a Mini 14 was what you would buy if you couldn't afford an AR, and a Ruger revolver was what a guy bought if he couldn't afford a S&W. The prices between the two companies are not as far apart as they used to be. I think Ruger makes a great gun, but they're not as affordable as they used to be.

Keeping up with inflation is irrelevant.

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It's not only highly relevant, it tells the whole story! That Rugers are actually a BETTER value now than they were ten years ago because their prices have risen less than the rate of inflation. The problem is not Ruger, it's your declining dollar.

It used to be that you paid more for a S&W and got more. That is no longer the case.

I own two and enjoy them... However, I could do without the encyclopedia imprinted along the barrel.

So that my friends, is my Ruger complaint...

Course now-a-days it seems to be the norm across all manufactures.

I've owned 20+ rugers over the years and currently own a No.1 Tropical in .375 H&H, I've never had the least amount of trouble out of any of them. Though reassembly of a Mark III can be quite the stress causer until you get the procedure down.

CraigC said:

It's not only highly relevant, it tells the whole story! That Rugers are actually a BETTER value now than they were ten years ago because their prices have risen less than the rate of inflation. The problem is not Ruger, it's your declining dollar.

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That may be true but it pisses me off that I paid $180. for a new Blackhawk in 1982 and last year I paid over $500. for a new Blackhawk. My wages hasn't doubled in that time.

Hmm, just curious why the guys in this "love fest" feel the need to imply that guys whose taste runs to other manufacturers are "haters"? Personally, I look at Rugers a lot like I do Savage rifles: utilitarian and butt ugly.

Don

I grew up shooting Ruger Blackhawks and a Standard .22 (also called a Mark I).

I bought a Ruger .44 for myself when I turned 21 ... and ahd to send it back for the revision on the cylinder pin some time later (so it wouldn't jump forward and let the hammer block hang up under the firing pin).

I've owned many Blackhawks (both Old & new Models), a Super Blackhawk, Mk I/II's .22's, Security/Service/Speed-Sixes, KP90DC, Redhawk & a SP101 DAO. I suppose you could say I'm a long time Ruger owner and enthusiast.

However, some of them required repair/correction, involving some trips back to the factory for a number of them (including a new slide for the P90, which was diagnosed by Ruger as having an improperly heat-treated slide). I was treated well by their customer service folks.

Their investment casting manufacturing method has been demonstrated to provide a good quality firearms, even if it produces some bulkier frames & components.

The revolvers in my safe are comprised of Ruger and S&W. (I haven't owned a Colt for over 30 years, or a Charter Arms in over 20 years. )

I have several Ruger single actions. In the single action world they are not up there in the high esteem category with Freedom Arms or the customs, but I've always enjoyed Rugers and find them a great value. While Colts are sleeker, and the customs are excellent quality, I feel that Ruger single actions deliver in performance.

That may be true but it pisses me off that I paid $180. for a new Blackhawk in 1982 and last year I paid over $500. for a new Blackhawk. My wages hasn't doubled in that time.

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This ain't 1982. Raw materials are also a lot more expensive. The industry's legal defense against all those Clinton-era lawsuits has also had an impact. Fuel and electricity is a lot more expensive. Shipping is terribly expensive. The diesel fuel that powers our shipping and transport industry is grossly overpriced. The fact that your $180 in 1982 would be $432 in 2012 dollars, just for inflation, speaks pretty well for Ruger's efficiency.

My wages hasn't doubled in that time.

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And that's Ruger's fault???

It all comes down to personal preferences.

More than likely, any angst filled posts or earlier threads disparaging Ruger products came as a result of words spoken/written by Old Bill Ruger vis a vis limiting magazine capacity (IMO). The firearms themselves, superb.

While their investment casting does make for a thicker piece of metal, and there were comments made at the time by S&W and Colt afficianados, make no mistake, Ruger makes fine firearms; from their Standard .22 (aka MkI), revolvers, rifles and shotguns. Their customer service is also right up there with the best.

Well, now that I do think about it a bit, I may have voiced some concern in the past about their Mini 14/30 series, but then again, we're in the Handguns: Revolvers forum, so we'll let that earlier rifle concern pass.

No Security/Service/Speed Sixes in anyone's photos? Sad that.