Long story short?

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S.B.

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My eldest son(Glauchester Ma.) buys his youngest son a Bearcat with 4 digit serial number. He is killed in a motorcycle accident a month later. Daughter-in-law moves back to Illinois and wants to give this handgun to the boy but, it hasn't been converted(safety block etc.) by Ruger. I call Ruger and tell them it's been modified with adjustable sights. I They say send it to factory for refit? I'm not sure about a younger grandchild(12) using such a pistol, I remove all the orginal parts for safe keeping. Call a couple of weeks later and tell me that they refuse the work because of the drilling of topstrap for sights. Offer us a new gun but, boy wants gun his dad bought for him.
Now, I'm POed. Why didn't they tell me this in the first place???
Always heard good stuff about their customer service but, I feel this isn't good relations with customer.
Steve
 
I'm sorry for your loss. I've been in your shoes.

They offered you a new gun. That's pretty big of them. I would reckon most companies wouldn't do that for work someone else has done.

I doubt the gun is unsafe because of the hole. I would put the sights back on and teach him myself on the ins and outs of single action revolvers. Give him a dollar to keep in the empty cylinder.:p

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
 
Not much to a 12 year old boy who watched his mom preform life support and after seeing his father fly through the air and then dying in front of his eyes. I do understand what you are saying thou. Not what he wants.
Steve
 
I too am sorry for your loss. Be sure that someone who knows about single action revolvers teaches your grandson the proper way to load, shoot and carry an older model Ruger. I taught my youngest son the proper way to handle one.

I can't imagine Ruger refusing to upgrade the gun. Maybe someone was having a bad day or something.
 
I'm saying to keep the old gun. It just won't have the upgrade.

The point was that Ruger doesn't have poor customer service.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
 
351 Winchester, I mirror your concerns about his handling this gun adn agree with your thoughts on it, I'm sure he'll keep this handgun the rest of his life.
Steve
 
My eldest son(Glauchester Ma.) buys his youngest son a Bearcat with 4 digit serial number. He is killed in a motorcycle accident a month later. Daughter-in-law moves back to Illinois and wants to give this handgun to the boy but, it hasn't been converted(safety block etc.) by Ruger.
Click to expand...

Is it the mother who is concerned about the old model Ruger being unconverted? Or you?

Excuse me for asking and I don't mean to be rude but I counsel leaving the Bearcat as is and as his father gave it to him. It's too bad it's been modified already with adjustable sights. If a gun with the safety is needed a 12 year old can certainly handle a Single Six.

The old mantra of load one, skip one, load four is good to know and teach and keeps folks safe on the older guns.

tipoc
 
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It's me tiptop, I was once a NRA instructor and am now a air rifle instructor with 4-H and know the wisdom of safety. I think so, anyway.
Steve
 
Ruger's policies on upgrades is fairly straight forward. This gun was significantly modified. So they don't handle those as a blanket policy.

Had it been handled by Ruger with the modifications, they may and could have been held liable for any future problems with the gun even if the problems were unrelated to the modification. They would have given ammo to lawyers in courts. So Ruger and others manufacturers have a "policy" of not doing work on their guns with what they deem significant after market alterations.

This, by the way, is the reason Ruger went to the hammer block safety in the first place. They were being sued by folks who shot themselves or others with the old model guns which operated similarly to Colts and the old Remingtons.

tipoc
 
Not to be blunt but you should've asked this before sending it to Ruger. It is fairly well known that Ruger will not work on a gun that has been modified. We also would've discouraged you from getting it converted in the first place. You're lucky they're even sending it back. I got my first traditional single action at age 12. Train him to keep the hammer down on an empty chamber and all will be well.

The sight modification should have no effect on strength. This is a relatively common modification. Some even get converted to .32H&R!


...and know the wisdom of safety.
Click to expand...
Then you should know that safety is between the ears, not mechanical contraptions.
 
Load one, skip one, load four and may the boy have a lifetime of enjoyment with that gun. Many of us learned to shoot via "unsafe" designs but we learned how to handle them safely so it didn't matter. My old pellet rifle (Daisy Powerline 860) was recalled because one could cock it and see no bb in the chamber yet end up with one in the chamber anyway. Only unsafe if you pumped, cocked, and fired it at somebody so I'd say it wasn't a hardware problem to begin with. I'm sure you'll enjoy bonding with your grandson by teaching him respect for that firearm. God bless you both.
 
Ruger replaced my speed six in 9mm. Went in for issues and was told was one of the bad batch with the wrong lube/overtorqued barrel. They did not have the parts to fix it. If I wanted it back, I would do so against their recommendation, and the gun would no longer have been covered.

I took a replacement gun. Did not want to ever have to sell it without full disclosure, and thought it would be an issue. Chances are nothing would have happened, but I wanted to have full faith. It was hard giving it up though, but there was no personal story like yours. I am sorry for your loss. That would complicate things for me. I hope you can be happy with your solution and move on.
 
Consider it a blessing they didn't actually go through with putting in the transfer bar, an likely screwing up a decent trigger.

The triggers on the conversions just aren't the same.

It'll be plenty safe with the hammer down on an empty chamber.
 
S.B.

First, condolences on your loss.

Second, I agree with those who say to leave it unconverted. I have an unconverted single-six from my dad and do not plan to have it converted. The gun is perfectly safe, if loaded and carried properly. A twelve year old can certainly be taught to always keep the empty chamber under the hammer. His hands are probably already on the large side for a Bearcat, the unconverted heirloom will be able to be passed down to his son.
 
CraigC said:
You're lucky they're even sending it back.
Click to expand...


I agree. Ruger has been known to refuse to return firearms they deemed unsafe to shoot or work on.

S.B.. I too am sorry for your loss, but am glad to see the grandson will have the gun his dad meant him to have.
 
SB, thoughts and prayers as well. Aside from your own safety concerns, is there anything about him living in Illinois that is also causing any problems? Is the state requiring the safety modification? I ask because I don't live in Illinois, and the state does have quite the reputation..
 
I agree with the others, you are lucky they did not do the work and even luckier they sent your revolver back to you. The revolver is not unsafe but you can be unsafe if you carry it with a round under the hammer. Like said above, the real safety is between your ears and sometimes a mechanical safety can give you a false sense of safety. I'm sure your grandson will do what he's taught so be sure he's taught correctly.

Sorry for your loss but at least your grandson had his Mom and you...
 
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