Why I Buy Ruger

[sisyphus]

I bought a Ruger Blackhawk Bisley in 41 magnum. Love everything about the gun and it's a shooter. I had bought a new S&W 686 Plus Deluxe not too long before I bought that Ruger, and the fit and finish of the Ruger is head and shoulders above the S&W. My S&W obviously is loved as well for its best ever DA trigger.

Not long after the Blackhawk I wanted a 44 magnum. I did look at the S&W, but I pretty much knew from the start that I had my heart set on a Redhawk. The Redhawk I bought did not disappoint. It's a boat anchor with its heavy cast frame and 7.5" barrel, which to my mind is just the thing for a 44. The Redhawk's DA pull isn't going to make anyone at S&W lose any sleep, and I may get around to throwing a Wolff spring kit in it to see how much improvement it provides.

So two good Ruger experiences under my belt, when I came across a great deal on a Ruger bolt action in a caliber I wanted a couple weeks ago, I didn't hesitate. I tend to do that though. When I get something I really like I go back for more. 2 Dan Wessons, 3 Rugers and 3 CZs, and I'd buy more from those three in the future if it was the right gun for my collection.

 

[WheelGunMan]

My first handgun was a Ruger Security Six 6" stainless. I've added an additional 5 Ruger revolvers to the stable since and they have all been Rugers. None can compare to the fit and finish of the Security Six. I've had to send a few of them back for repair...but I would still by another Ruger revolver in a New York minute.

Because I am a CPL instructor, I'm fortunate to be able to handle and shoot a lot of different guns. The Ruger semi-auto's score high marks on ease of shooting and their intuitive controls. I'm especially impressed with the SR40 's and the SR9’s. I own Sig's and HK's but would definitely add one of the SR's to the stable.

 

[Armybrat]

 

[Waveski]

A friend recently asked me to help him figure out why his un-shot LC9 would not function - trigger was unmovable. I tried everything I could think of , gave up , and told him to send it in.
It came back in reasonable time , 2 1/2 weeks or so , no charge. What struck me as odd was the list of things they worked on - magazine , grip frame , barrel (?) , and 2 items in undecipherable code.
What I don't get is : how did that one leave the factory to begin with? I am surprised that they didn't just do a total replacement. I would never have confidence in that gun given the circumstances.

This would be a case of poor QC and great CS.

 

[Ernie Bass]

A friend recently asked me to help him figure out why his un-shot LC9 would not function - trigger was unmovable. I tried everything I could think of , gave up , and told him to send it in.
It came back in reasonable time , 2 1/2 weeks or so , no charge. What struck me as odd was the list of things they worked on - magazine , grip frame , barrel (?) , and 2 items in undecipherable code.
What I don't get is : how did that one leave the factory to begin with? I am surprised that they didn't just do a total replacement. I would never have confidence in that gun given the circumstances.

This would be a case of poor QC and great CS.

I have a lot of Rugers and every single one of them was test fired before they sent it out.Two of those were Ruger LC9's.Why would they replace the gun if it was possibly a simple fix? Probably a user error to begin with on taking the gun down wrong or something similar.

 

[If1HitU]

I really just like Ruger's that's why I buy them.

 

[Waveski]

- The LC9 was unfired at the time of my observation of the malfunction. The owner , my friend, had not taken the gun down; it was nib at the time he decided on a maiden voyage.

Not user error. Gun was unused except for loading the magazine - it was unfired because it cold not be fired.

- Regarding “simple fix” , as stated in my post the list in the work sheet was lengthy and it included barrel and grip frame.. In my evaluation that is fundamental , not simple.

 

[FL-NC]

Every Ruger product I have ever owned worked exactly like it should. I have experienced excellent customer service from Ruger as well.

 

[Ernie Bass]

I do not think I have ever heard of any manufacturer that did not test fire a gun. I know Ruger has certain protocols they follow. They use to send out a spent shell case with every gun. The Spent shell case also had the initials of the person responsible for the standard test.

 

[Waveski]

Having shared my experience just as it occurred I have nothing more to add here.

 

[Waveski]

Ah - I do have something to add:
About a year back I sent a well worn MkI to Ruger for service. It had developed a ftf rate of about 1 in 30 or so ; I wanted it to be as near perfect as possible for use in steel plate club competition.

Ruger cs replaced 2 parts and got it back to in less than 3 weeks -at NO charge! Runs like a good watch.

Customer service at its best.

 

[Trashyshoots]

I'll never own another ruger.
Too many issues with the 3 centerfire revolvers and 1 1911 I owned. They also made me pay for most repairs despite low factory round counts on all my firearms.

Too many companies offer superior products. Volquartsen, freedom revolvers, and literally every 1911 maker.

 

[earlthegoat2]

In the new manufacturing world of end user consumers being beta testers, the companies that have the best CS are the only ones who will thrive.

 

[TarDevil]

I carry a Ruger LC9S

Ditto

 

[TarDevil]

Having shared my experience just as it occurred

As are the rest of us. Should be no offense.

 

[jrmiddleton425]

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.

I have used Colt's customer service. They quoted me a four week turn-around and they returned my pistol to me within one day of the quoted time frame.

 

[jrmiddleton425]

A friend recently asked me to help him figure out why his un-shot LC9 would not function - trigger was unmovable. I tried everything I could think of , gave up , and told him to send it in.
It came back in reasonable time , 2 1/2 weeks or so , no charge. What struck me as odd was the list of things they worked on - magazine , grip frame , barrel (?) , and 2 items in undecipherable code.
What I don't get is : how did that one leave the factory to begin with? I am surprised that they didn't just do a total replacement. I would never have confidence in that gun given the circumstances.

This would be a case of poor QC and great CS.

This is my second post in this thread in just a couple of minutes. I'd bet that based on that list, Ruger destroyed your friend's existing pistol and built a new one with the same serial number. I have seen the same thing with an SR45 that belongs to my father.

 

[mjsdwash]

Deming proved a long tine ago that it was cheaper to build the quality into the product up front as opposed to fixing it on the back end (Why Toyota and Nissan kicked Detroit's butt for decades)

but Deming knew that DPMO didn't matter if 90% of end use customers would never test for defects? Ruger 10/22's and MK's have had a very well known extractor problem for a long time. Not sure its fixed yet... stopped buying Ruger when they decided they wanted to be a kel-Tec knockoff.
Edit to add: George is right... its not cheaper, but its easy for middle managers to convince upper managers that "quality is built in" when it actually is not... and when that fails, its even easier to point at the guy on the line and say "he didn't do his job!"... Then, they actually DO look at costs, and see hiring a new middle manager is more than hiring several machine operators.... and it goes on.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I have a small pile of firearms.

Beretta, Colt, AMT, Savage, Marlin, to name a few. Don't have a Ruger as yet.

Out of all those rifles, shotguns, and handguns, I've only ever had an issue with one, my Colt 1991A1. The plunger tube came loose. And that's over about 4 decades of owning firearms since the first one I bought the day I tuned 18.

I called an authorized Colt service center and they said "Send it to us. It's a Colt, won't cost you a thing."

Had it shipped via a local gun shop. Found out they sent it to Colt instead of the authorized service center.

Called Colt and they checked..."Yes, we received it."

"I'm going on leave this weekend and that's my travel gun!"

"We'll expedite it and get it right back to you."

Thursday that week I had it back in my hand.

Oh...and the ticket on it when I opened the box said:

"Received with one magazine. Return shipped with a spare magazine."

So not only did they fix my Colt and literally overnight it back to me, they gave me an extra magazine at no cost.

 

[Riomouse911]

I’ve only used Rugers CS twice... once for a standard pistol that I bought as a rusty mess off GB. Ruger took it in, replaced all the springs and sent it back gratis...they also shipped two magazines for this gun that I bought from them for free for the hassle.

The second was a new 10/22 Stainless International that had a funky screw that wouldn’t unscrew so the nosecap could be removed. (It has to come off to pull the action out of the stock, I wanted to replace the trigger with a BX.) That gun went to Ruger mid-Covid with the BX in the box... and was back in my hands with the screw issue fixed and the BX installed in under two weeks.

I do have a used Redhawk .41 with a rare case of light strikes. I’m in the process of replacing the springs myself.

I’ve sent three S&W revolvers back; a model 66 (two months) a Model 686+ (Ten weeks) and a Model 48 (Covid time; three months before I could get a RO number, four months after they got it before it came back.). I paid roughly $150 to $192, plus shipping, for each of these fixes.

I have a Dan Wesson .22 getting a broken hand fixed. Dunno what that’s gonna cost me yet.

My older model 870 Wingmaster (pre-Cerbus) had the shell latch come out of the staking and jam up the gun. I had it restaked by a gunsmithing instructor.

My Sig 226 rusted faster than a Chevy Vega in Honolulu.... and I live in the desert and take care of my stuff. Sig basically said too bad. I had to send it to Robar for Np3 because it was such a mess.

Stuff happens to all sorts of guns, top quality or not. How the maker puts their product back in your hand after an issue is important. I’ve had similar positive CS experiences with Ruger. I hope if you all ever need it, the rest of you do too.

Stay safe.

 

[Homerboy]

I took apart a few 10/22 magazines to clean them. The tension must be right and I couldn’t get them to work right. Called Ruger and they sent me 5 new magazines for the 5 I screwed up. I gave it a few more tries and got the 5 ones I took apart working again.

 

[Mr. Mosin]

The one thing this thread has taught me ? Every manufacturer makes lemons.

 

[ThomasT]

I own 17 Rugers right now and have never sent one back. And that doesn't count another 10 or so I have owned in the past. Long ago I bought a Super BH with a missing base pin latch. I called Ruger and offer to pay for the part but they sent it to me free of charge. I bought a used 10/22 missing the rear sight and had to pay that time. The same 10/22 also would not always eject the empty so I ordered an extractor from Volkquartsen or what ever their name is and that fixed that problem. I don't think the extractor was the problem I think the spring was weak. The new spring that came in the kit was much stronger.

So you could say I'm a fan of Ruger. And if I did buy a lemon I have every reason to think Ruger would make it right.