Ruger, you sold me a lemon

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akodo

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Ruger, on 10/02/07 I purchased a factory new firearm from my local gander mountain store.

I had issues with it from day one, apparently the extractor was hitting the new cartridge as it fed into the pipe, causing it to cant up and not go all the way in. On my initial firing, possibly 20 out of 50 shots failed to feed fully into the chamber.

The gunsmith at the store did a little polishing, and while the problem was lessened, (5 per 50) it remained, and is still at an unacceptable level

The store then sent my firearm back to your company for a period of 40 days for you to repair. I eventually got the gun back, and when I had time I took it to the shooting range. Unfortunately, the problem is still occuring approximately 5 per 50

The gunsmith at the store as well as another employee have verified this problem, apparently in their hands it is even worse, rarely getting two shots in a row to fire without a failure to feed. (again, approximately 20 out of 50)

Every time I have to 'test' to see if it has been repaired I drop $20 in range fees, $10 in gas, and $20 in ammo to find out that, nope, it is not fixed again...

The gunsmith at the store stands ready to return the gun, and has contacted ruger, who claims they were able to fire 50 rounds with no difficulty through the gun, and advised me to contact them myself.

I have called and talked to people, left messages on voicemail, and talked to people who take my name and number and promise to have someone call me back, and here I sit waiting for my phone to ring.

Ruger, I bought a brand new handgun made by your company 10/02/07 and the gun did not work it is now 03/05/08, the gun still doesn't work.

Isn't 5 months enough?
I want a gun that works.
I want it NOW.

Stop Fing me around.
 
call ruger and ask to speak with susan... shell get you to the right person... i just got my 9mm back from ruger today... only took 2 weeks... im sure if you talk to ruger, they will be most helpful...

your first mistake was trying to get gander mtn to work on your behalf, you should have called ruger directly...
 
I have called and talked to people, left messages on voicemail, and talked to people who take my name and number and promise to have someone call me back, and here I sit waiting for my phone to ring.

Sounds like he DID call Ruger, and didn't get anywhere.

Dunno what to say, really, except for that sucks, and I hope they make it right with you. Oh yeah - keep us updated.
 
Really? I have a Hi-point .45 and have only had 3 malfunctions total since I purchased it. Sounds like that Ruger has had way more than that. And don't get me wrong,I have nothing against ruger. I purchased a P-90 today. My Hi-point shoots great and I like the way it feels in my hand.
 
I own an SP 101, Ruger MK I,II,& III,77/22, Model 77-.308, & P-89 D
None have had an issue yet. We need more information on the model to help you with your problem. Is this one of the new light weight stream-lined models?
If the store offered to return it, let them. The store has volume purchase power that individuals cant compete with.
It is a manufactured item, lemons happen. I had a chrysler dealer give me a new car when I took mine in to have the break in oil changed out, back in '87. Didn't care for the new color but I was glad they stood behind their product.
 
I'd call them and complain. Chances are that if it doesn't work now it won't work no matter what they do with it.
I just had the same issue with SIG and basically I had to act like a huge A-hole just to get them to honor their warranty.

I probably won't be buying anything else with that brand stamped on it.
Let us know what comes of it.
 
I have always had great service from Ruger myself. And I own several Ruger autoloaders that have never jammed, not once. You definately got a lemon.
 
I have five ruger guns 4 of them are older than 20 years.My newest a P95.
I love all my Ruger guns.Thinking of buying a lcp next
 
I just got my Mark III 22/45 back from Ruger an hour ago. I reassembled it and couldn't get it back open and clobbered the rear sights with a hammer in the process. I sent it back and they fixed it with no charge not even shipping. So I am not bitching.
 
Any company can turn out a lemon now and then. It is what they do about it that counts. I have owned many Rugers in my time and most have been outstanding. But I did get a lemon 30 years ago and sent it back to the factory. Ruger's reply was that it was within "specs."

Since I sent that gun back thirty years ago, I have purchased perhaps 100 guns, but none of them have been Rugers. Not because Ruger doesn't make excellent guns, but because when I send a gun back to the factory, I don't want an excuse. I expect a solution.
 
What was the firearm? I've never had that kind of problem from Ruger CS. I would suggest you send it to Ruger yourself. I suspect the seller didn't actually send it.

Also, why are you writing a letter to Ruger on THR. It doesn't make any sense. WE are not Ruger.
 
I recently had trouble with a brand new P95PR15, detailed in this thread on the Ruger forum. The 4 page thread attracted 2 or 3 other new Ruger auto owners who were apparently having the same trouble with the extractors on their pistols. Judging from that responce, Ruger is currently having some kind of production issues with some of their autos.

My experience went a little smoother than yours, Akodo. I sent my gun to the Ruger factory in Prescott over the holidays and received it back in perfect working order about 6 weeks later.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=15374&start=0

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:05 pm Post subject: New P95 troubles?

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Hi everyone, this is my first post on your excellent forum.

I just bought a new P95PR15 and took it to the range for the first time today. While attempting to digest 2 boxes of Magtech and 1 box of PMC range ammo the pistol failed to eject the spent brass 6 or 7 times. The slide comes back and grabs a new round but the spent casing is still in the chamber, it ends up with the nose of the fresh round jammed up into the old case just below the primer.

Obviously the extractor isn't catching the rim of the brass, but what I don't understand is how the slide could operate without the old case at least blowing out the back. I guess what I really want to know is if this is just a break in thing, maybe a tight recoil spring or something, and maybe it will go away after a few hundred rounds. Or is this something I should contact Ruger about right away.

It does seem to me I should give it at least one more try with some different ammo, but I'm looking for advice.

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 6:59 pm Post subject:

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Well I gave the pistol a really good scrubbing, made sure the extractor was very clean and free of burs, lubed her up, and took it back to the range today. I was unable to fire 2 consecutive rounds of WWB without the ejection failure and I gave up in frustration after the third mag. The problem got worse. The pistol is unable to digest any of the 3 FMJ range ammos I've tried, with the only type I haven't tried being the UMC others have reported trouble with.

I don't think I'm limp wristing either, I have 2 other 9mm pistols and a .380 that I don't have any trouble with. It seems doubtful limp wristing would induce this kind of failure anyway.

The extractor appears to be a cast piece, I don't know about trying to bend it, and I can't really tell by looking what the problem is. Pulling back the slide by hand will eject a chambered round with a hearty snap every time. Maybe if it wasn't brand new out of the box I'd take it apart and give it a try. As it is, I guess it's going back to Ruger as soon as I figure out how to do that.

I'm a longtime fan of Ruger firearms, but this has not been a good experience.
I bought the P95 to use as an inexpensive truck gun, based on reports of it's rock solid reliability...

EDIT: Forgot to thank everyone for their replies and suggestions... Thanks!

The gun shop called to say my P95 was back from Ruger last Tuesday, about 6 weeks after I sent it in. Not too bad considering it shipped over the holidays. When I picked it up, the packing slip/work order just said “Repaired, Tested, cleared for shipment” with no mention of what was repaired.

I finally got a chance to shoot it today, I went through 1 box of walyworld WWB and 1 box of 9mm NATO with no problems of any kind, the gun now shoots straight and works great (so did my new SP101!)

I'm happy with my new Ruger pistol, but it would have been nice if it just worked right out of the box.
 
Ruger P95 as well, and it also appears to be an issue with the extractor, this time it is the extractor apparently catching and canting the fresh round as it is being loaded.

Yes, every company turns out an occasional lemon. Maybe ruger got a batch of extractors that never got checked for tolerances, so they have extra long ones and extra short ones which would explain different behaviors of the same failed peice. Anyways, it is what is done with the lemon afterwards that counts. My point is I SENT THE GUN BACK TO RUGER AND THEY FAILED TO REPAIR IT

That to me is what torqued me off beyond belief.

As to why I went to gander mountain? Well, included in the price of a new firearm at GM is a 'package' that consists of a gunsock, lock, free cleaning, 1 year warranty beyond the manufacturer's warranty. I'd much rather walk into a store, have them do a little work, and then walk out with a functional firearm as opposed to shipping it to ruger where it waits for 40 days to be repaired (or not) and returned. Once there was a failure to be an easy quick fix, I am going to have GM handle the packaging and mailing rather than pay the $30 to have UPS overnight priority it to ruger.

Ruger has authorized a replacement firearm to be sent out. I see that as the absolute bare minimum that they can do. When I sent it off to Ruger in the first place, people were saying "oh, they'll throw in an extra magazine or something" to make up for the hassle and the inconvenience and the failure on their part to create a firearm that functions correctly new out of the box. Of course, that never happened. Same here. They appear to be doing the absolute minimum possible, which is replace the firearm.

I also think ruger should appologize. I think ruger should only send functional firearms out of their factory. If something fails and a bad one gets out, appologize. If it gets sent back for repairs but remains defective, that is even worse and a profuse appology for such treatment is in order.

Replacing a mechanical device that comes flawed from the factory isn't ruger being nice, it is ruger doing what it is legally required to do. There are some intrinsic warrantees here in MN when you buy a brand new product from a company, if that product is faulty day one due to manufacturer failure, they are responsible to replace it. If it works fine for a week and then breaks, that is diffferent. That isn't the case here.
 
I just sold the last of the parts of a Mini 14 today that Ruger screwed me with on the warranty. It was the second time I was ripped off by Ruger on a defective gun.

If you gave me a Ruger today I'd head straight to the nearest gun shop to trade it for anything else before it turned into an expensive rock as well.
 
bad form, old man.


i don't own a Ruger myself, but it seems pretty unfair to Ruger to badmouth their guns on a public forum, while so many others have nothing but good to say about them




bad form.
 
I had a Mini 14 bolt blow up in my face. If I hadn't been wearing shooting glasses I wouldn't be able to read this forum.

They offered to "sell" me a replacement for my gun that was under warranty. I'd only have to pay half of retail.

Bad form?

You've got to be kidding!
 
bad form, old man.


I have called and talked to people, left messages on voicemail, and talked to people who take my name and number and promise to have someone call me back, and here I sit waiting for my phone to ring.

Isn't 5 months enough?

The store then sent my firearm back to your company for a period of 40 days for you to repair. I eventually got the gun back, and when I had time I took it to the shooting range. Unfortunately, the problem is still occuring approximately 5 per 50

Flyerman,

How long should he wait, or how many tries does Ruger get to make it right before it becomes "good form".

I think he has been patient enough, Ruger needs to make it right.

bob
 
Flyerman, bad form? truth is bad form?

Yes, other people have posted fine comments on ruger guns. Great for them. I have a ruger 10/22 that I am very happy with. That doesn't change the fact that a lemon was produced. Lemons happen. Sending the lemon back and having ruger fail to repair said lemon, I think that is something the community deserves to hear, so that future purchasers can weigh their options with a bit more information about exactly how great or lacking customer service is at ruger. One of the reasons I chose ruger was because I wanted a gun that had a bit better reputation than say Taurus, which while they ahve a lifetime warranty, seem to drag their feet and produce a lot more lemons than most. That gunmakers produce lemons on occasion is not new. Relative frequency of lemons is useful info, and we only know that when those who get them mention it. How companies deal with lemons is also important, and again, we only know that when those who get treatment, good or bad, mention it.
 
What was the firearm? I've never had that kind of problem from Ruger CS. I would suggest you send it to Ruger yourself. I suspect the seller didn't actually send it.
Ruger P95
Yes, seller did actually send it, as I have the paperwork from ruger showing the dates sent and received, what they were all sent, repair order number, and all the rest including "Extractor......Repaired"

Also, why are you writing a letter to Ruger on THR. It doesn't make any sense. WE are not Ruger.
two reasons, venting, and to inform the community that ruger CS has some issues.

I hope you all don't think that when CS is lacking it should be kept secret.

And yes, Ruger is 'making it right' by finally fully replacing the firearm. However, it shouldn't have taken this much phone calling and bitching and arm twisting and time. When ruger sent me back the repaired firearm, I expected it to be repaired. The fact that I paid nothing as it was basically warantee work was irrelevant. Now, part of the delay was that I wasn't able to immediately test the firearm upon my finally getting it back...but then I never thought there would be an issue with them failing to repair it. And what sucks worse is that for firearms, it costs money to test said repairs. I mean, if you bring your car to the mechanic because it is making a funny knocking noise when you drive, and he supposedly fixes it, you jump in to drive it home, you are testing to see if it is fixed at basically no cost. And if that mechanic tells you he fixed it, but the sound is there as loud as ever as soon as you turn the key, you'd go back in and tell him he needs to actually fix it, and probably be pissed that he claimed to have fixed it but not actually repaired the issue. Yes the mechanic might eventually fully repair it, but I'd not go to that mechanic again.
 
gee whiz, guys! all i meant was it seems kinda unfair to badmouth a gun manufacturer on a public forum like this, the forum of the HIGH road, without giving them a chance to defend themselves in the same venue. this forum has gotten away from the original intent as of late. maybe we need to bellyache less and enjoy the shooting sports a whole lot more.



just my opinion, i could be wrong
 
I bought a new MkIII 22/45 a while back and it wouldn't feed hollowpoints. They'd get jammed on the feed ramp.

I phoned Ruger, talked with one of the gunsmiths about the issue. They ended up sending me a new bolt, free of charge.

Problem is, the bolt has nothing to do with the feed ramp.:confused:

I should have just sent the whole thing in, but I didn't like the gun anyway and sold it soon after.
 
My P95 that I just got was test fired at ruger on 2-8-08 and has worked perfect for 270 rounds
 
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