Why I Buy Ruger

carrying on.

Ernie Bass said:

How much ammo per gun do you shoot them each month? I do not own that many guns of one brand, but I am sure there are Ruger fan Boys that own that many that have never had to be sent in as well.

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I shoot about 1k per month historically, about half of that since the 'shortage'.

Also, since the 'shortage', 3 Taurus Tx22's (about 2500 rds) and ...

Zero back to factory

A friend of mine inherited his dad’s Security Six when his dad died. 30 year old gun with probably 30,000-40,000 rounds through it. Mostly magnums. It was the first .357 I ever shot.

Use like that causes wear so he called Ruger and they said send it in. Provided a free shipping label. Completely overhauled the gun to new specs. Even re-blued it (they made sure he wanted that and he did). Sent it back within a month. Total cost was zero dollars. Show me another company that will do that.

I carry a Ruger LC9S. Good, dependable gun. It’s never gonna be an heirloom but if something breaks I’m sure they’ll make it right.

The only gun I have ever had to send back was a Ruger MK III Target pistol. A problem with the bolt stop latch after a few years. Ruger fixed the problem and changed several other parts( I don’t remember what) free of charge. I have since picked up a MK II Competition Target which has worked flawlessly. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Ruger knowing they will stand behind their product.

Jeremy2171 said:

Wait until you get an LCP that doesn't chamber or cycle.

They were cutting the chambers way under GO and the window on the slide was also undersized.

The line QC doesn't even know what headspace is (definition wise) and checks it by dropping in GO and NOGO gauges and then just letting the slide drop on them.

At one point they were taking barrels and matching them to slides just so they could pass. Instead of just making interchangeable parts....

But hey those diversity hires are still a good idea.. right?

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May I ask if this is the voice of Personal experience?

SharpDog said:

I shoot about 1k per month historically

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So, what... about 6 rounds per gun, right?


j/k again
That’s quite a collection. I’m jealous

No problems here with any of my old Ruger P series pistols or the MK II pistol. No problems with any of my Ruger revolvers.

Only factory QC return issues I have had were with Remington and Taurus.

South Prairie Jim said:

May I ask if this is the voice of Personal experience?

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Got to see it first hand...watching them "slingshot" the slides after dropping in a headspace gauge...my inner gunsmith was twitching inside...

Catpop said:

My intention was

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I got the thread, shoutout for good customer service.
However, on a gun forum how we intend things are not always how they are received. (I'm an expert on that)

I have purchased a total of twenty-three new Rugers since 1956. None have ever had a problem. Still have ten of them, while my family members own the rest.

Standard .22
Single Six .22
Bearcat .22
Single Seven .327
Service Six .357
Sp101 .357
SP101 .327
Blackhawk .357
Super Blackhawk .44
New Vaquero (2) .357
LCP (3) .380
10/22 (3) .22
Mini14 .223/5.56
PC Carbine 9mm
SR9 (3) 9mm
SR45 .45

There was a period of time in the past that I returned enough S&W products for warranty repair that I was on a first name basis with their QC Manager. As for Ruger I've only returned a RAP9 that was part of the serial number range that Ruger specified in a recall. Other than that no problems with Ruger.

JDR said:

Of all the reasons to buy a firearm, IMHO, the quality of a certain brand’s customer service dept. is probably the least compelling reason for me to want to buy that brand’s product.

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I second that. I'd rather go in for another root canal without anesthesia than ever have to play phone tag and wait on hold for interminable hours with any company's customer service department.

In fact, I've never ever bought a new (or used, for that matter) firearm thinking, "Gosh, if it breaks or has any issues, this company has an awesome customer service reputation."

I bought seven Kimber 1911s back when the company had a reputation for horrible customer service. Thankfully, every one of those pistols ran like champs and provided me stellar service. Ditto for all the Colts I've picked up over the years. Never had to use Ruger's CS -- I sold or traded off the only Ruger handguns (wouldn't mind picking up some old Security/Speed/Service Sixes, though) I ever bought -- I've kept my 10-22s (which are, truthfully, great rifles).

This thread got me thinking...the only two I've had to send back to the Mothership were Rugers, and on a third, Ruger sent me a replacement part. Their CS was excellent. When and if I ever have to send back one of my Smiths, SIGs, CZs or others, I hope they treat me as hood as Ruger has.

I got my first Ruger in 1976, my latest a couple of months ago.

Out of the almost three dozen Ruger firearms I own not a one has had to go back to the factory.

I might have a bad BX-25 mag though.

If you don't want to see a firearm for a long,long time,send it back to Colt....You might even forget you owned it. Ruger's CS is outstanding. Having retired as a mechanic after 30 years,I understand nothing manufactured on mass has a 100% reliability record.

Jeremy2171 said:

Got to see it first hand...watching them "slingshot" the slides after dropping in a headspace gauge...my inner gunsmith was twitching inside...

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You must have toured the Ruger plant in Prescott, AZ. I worked there temporarily between life changes in 2012.

Their Connecticut plant is much different, I'm told, due to it being a union shop. Not nearly as much turnover and much better pay.

At the Prescott plant, Ruger uses a temp agency called SOS Staffing to screen and hire workers. You apply with the temp agency and then take a test to evaluate your knowledge and aptitude. How well you do on the test is where they place you in the factory. Top scorers get to run CNC machines at $11 an hour. Bottom scorers get placed in the finishing department at $8 an hour and sit in front of a buffing wheel all day.

I got placed in CNC on a team of 10-12 guys, mostly all Hispanic, and all under 30. I was there for about 3-4 months while I waited to get my house sold and divorce settled. When I went to leave, they offered me a permanent job with Ruger with full benefits and only $.25 more an hour. No thanks. When I left, only 2 of the people that I started with still worked there, including the supervisor, who they fired illegally when he developed an allergic reaction to the CNC fluid. Great guy and had been there 3 years.

Low pay, high turnover, and total lack of respect for employees; what could go wrong?

Trey Veston said:

You must have toured the Ruger plant in Prescott, AZ. I worked there temporarily between life changes in 2012.

Their Connecticut plant is much different, I'm told, due to it being a union shop. Not nearly as much turnover and much better pay.

At the Prescott plant, Ruger uses a temp agency called SOS Staffing to screen and hire workers. You apply with the temp agency and then take a test to evaluate your knowledge and aptitude. How well you do on the test is where they place you in the factory. Top scorers get to run CNC machines at $11 an hour. Bottom scorers get placed in the finishing department at $8 an hour and sit in front of a buffing wheel all day.

I got placed in CNC on a team of 10-12 guys, mostly all Hispanic, and all under 30. I was there for about 3-4 months while I waited to get my house sold and divorce settled. When I went to leave, they offered me a permanent job with Ruger with full benefits and only $.25 more an hour. No thanks. When I left, only 2 of the people that I started with still worked there, including the supervisor, who they fired illegally when he developed an allergic reaction to the CNC fluid. Great guy and had been there 3 years.

Low pay, high turnover, and total lack of respect for employees; what could go wrong?

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Actually it was Mayodan...they've been LCPs there for years. Ever since Prescott stopped

Trey Veston said:

Low pay, high turnover, and total lack of respect for employees; what could go wrong?

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Yeah, but the profits are high, and that's all that matters.

Well gosh, thank goodness for great customer service when you need to send your gun back then! (11 bucks an hour? I couldn't begin to live on that, even in Arizona)

I tend to like Ruger revolvers, a lot actually (as well as the 10/22), and nothing against their semi autos but frankly I just don't care much for them, although I will make an exception for their SR1911 lineup, because they're pretty good for the price. I've had every iteration of the LCP and it's not bad for a tiny pocket 380, but I can't really brag about them either.

SDGlock23

I tend to like Ruger revolvers, a lot actually (as well as the 10/22), and nothing against their semi autos but frankly I just don't care much for them, although I will make an exception for their SR1911 lineup, because they're pretty good for the price. I've had every iteration of the LCP and it's not bad for a tiny pocket 380, but I can't really brag about them either.

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Pretty much the same with me; love their single action revolvers (but no so much their SP101 or GP100), and never was all that interested in their semi-autos until I tried the SR9c and loved it! Have been a big fan of the Mk.II .22 target semi-autos for many years as well. No experiences with their LCP line-up as I much prefer my Colt Mustang and SIG P238 in a .380 semi-auto.

jmr40 said:

Ruger CS is great because they get more practice than anyone else. They still make some great guns, but I've had to deal with too many issues. Over the years my brother and I combined have had to send 5 guns back to them, and had to send defective parts back to them more times than I can remember to get them replaced. There were several others that just wouldn't shoot straight and I sent them down the road for something else rather than send it back

I still own several of their guns and many are a good value for the dollar. I think the 10-22 is the best in its class but just about everything else they make comes in 2nd place to similar guns made by other manufacturers.

To their credit they've always made it right, and in a timely manner. But over the same 40 year span I've only had one other gun that had issues from all manufacturers combined. And that was a 1st generation Smith Sigma. That was Smith's 1st try at a "Glock" style pistol and they had some growing pains. This was just about the time the 2nd gen Sigma's were being introduced and Smith replaced my pistol with a new 2nd gen pistol.

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My experience is just the opposite. I have never had a Ruger that needed to go back. The only one that has had any work done to it at all was a 45c. Throats got reamed on it. Now other manufacturers, One Springfield, one Henry (twice) one Colt, two Kimbers, and a Sig.

I have autos, single and double action revolvers, and long guns by Ruger. The throat reaming was it. The Springfield, Colt and Kimbers were 1911s. None worked properly, jam-o-matics, Sig, a P365 shoots, 11” low at 15 yards. Springfield CS told me to polish the ramp, shoot ball ammo only or send it in at my cost. I sold it instead, scratch Springfield, their C/S should have practiced some on me.

The Henry is a 327 Big Boy. When it came here you couldn't drift the sights enough to get it on paper at 25 yards, it fell out of the dove tail first. Henry gave me a new one at no cost. They paid shipping boys ways and had the new one in my hands in 8 days, but it locked up on the 17th round. Went back to Henry came back repaired in 9 days no cost. Henry must practice their C/S a lot too.

The first Kimber’s problems involved racking the first round in the chamber. You had to hit the rear of the slide every time. After that it operated fine until you reloaded. Then whack the rear of the slide. Kimbers said keep whacking it or send it in at my cost. Sold it too. Kimbers C/S had a perfect opportunity to practice with me but failed to seize the moment. The other Kimber is a Micro 9, it will not digest anything but ball or Winchester HP’s (they are ball shaped).When I called Kimber they didn’t have time to practice without me paying shipping as it was used, although not much. I know why I got a good deal on it. It’s my wife’s carry piece so we feed it Winchester stuff. Has run 100% with it.

The Colt went back me paying shipping one way. It came back repaired 13 weeks later. They practice some but not enough.

Sig said send in the 365 they would look at it, I pay shipping. They like to be paid to practice it seems.I haven’t made up my mind what to do about it yet. All but the micro Sig were brand new, seems like they ought to fix a new at no cost.

I own 53 Rugers and none have given any problems. The fit and finish on some wasn’t all that good but mine are tools I use them. If I need to look at something pretty I look at my wife of 30 years. Ruger is the best deal out there for ME. I know you can get good ones and bad ones in all of them I have never had problems with Browning Ithaca Remmington or Marlin. Ruger either.

I have no idea how good Ruger's service is. I bought my first Ruger, a single six, in the very early sixties and have added numerous Rugers over the years. None have required any service by the factory. I have contacted Ruger exactly once and that was by phone to get an extractor and spring that was missing from an old 10/22 given to my grandson. They mailed it out immediately and wouldn't let me pay for it.

Old Dog said:

In fact, I've never ever bought a new (or used, for that matter) firearm thinking, "Gosh, if it breaks or has any issues, this company has an awesome customer service reputation."

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Lol. I bought exactly one gun that way. A sig mosquito when they first came out and nowhere on the box or even manual did it say was they were gsg. The box actually says

I figured sure its zamak but it's a sig......the slide broke and I learned that on ANY sig over 3 years old (1 year on cpo) you pay but ways shipping. Which on a decent gun is not so bad.
55 bucks to fix a 100 dollar gun?. Nope

I'm still a sig owner and user. I love the p-2xx guns and I like the 320 But thats pretty crappy to not only mislead (and thats giving credit. As the picture shows they may have just flat lied) on who made the gun but the shipping policy too.