Why is Ruger so... slow...

[rkh]

I sent a Ruger GP100 of mine back for service about a month ago, and apparently nobody has even looked it yet other than to log it into their system and send me a receipt.

The person I talked to yesterday said 8 week turnaround times were typical.

Be glad your Rugers are stoutly built. Because if they DO break, you won't be getting them back anytime soon.

 

[Surefire]

Maybe because so many are being sent back to the factory for repair?

I like Rugers (I own more of them than any other brand), but since 2000 I have had more problem NIB Rugers than any other brand that I own.

Great design, but IMO weak QC.

 

[4fingermick]

I have owned 11 Rugers that I can remember (3 rifles, 1x auto the rest BHs), I must have been lucky, none have ever missed a beat. 8 weeks is a better turn around than most gunsmiths I suppose. All of the cheap guns on the market and constant pressure to turn out a product cheaply to satisfy most guys who buy off the big shop who does the best price all has an effect on the amount of time the factory can spare on each gun. Now if we all went back in time about 20 years, shopped at the local gunstore, payed the going rate, maybe the service would be better. Mick.

 

[Ichiro]

11 and 13 weeks for my two.

Why are they so slow? They contemplate every move in detail before taking action. I've heard it can take 14 minutes to sip coffee, and up to 57 minutes to use the bathroom. When they finally get to your gun, they meditate on it for 1 hour and 17 minutes before doing anything. To open a drawer and grab a tool takes 8 minutes, and then they consider what they're going to do with that tool.

 

[rcupka]

I sent in a Single Six in January for mechanical work (broken transfer bar) and got it back in 4 weeks to the day. Maybe the times are longer as spring approaches and people are getting ready for better range weather.

 

[Waywatcher]

What was wrong with the GP100?

 

[defiant73a]

Because if they tell you two weeks and it takes three, you're unhappy. If they tell you eight and it takes four, you're happy.

I must be one of the lucky ones--I've never had any trouble with any Ruger whether purchased NIB or used (which is more than I can say S&W, Colt and most certainly Taurus).

 

[Fun2Shoot]

I hear ya about Ruger. I wonder if the fact that the late Bill Ruger is not riding herd on the Ruger Co. anymore, that could be part of the reason for a reduction in Ruger responsiveness and QC.

I've worked for two major national companies and when the company's founder either died or retired, the 'bean counters' took over and our work atmosphere was clearly now driven by the botton-line and share holder equity issues, ie, get the stock price up at all costs .

I suppose that Sturm, Ruger Co. is no different.

I traded off my Ruger P345 due to FTF issues that Ruger failed to resolve the first repair attempt several years ago. Too bad, I really liked that gun, but I can't have a firearm with a 2% FTF issue and bet my life on it.

 

[Titanvk56]

I sent them my Old Army back in November and got it back in January.

It had a timing issue and when I got it back they had replaced everything except for the grips, grip frame and barrel.

It was a long 8 weeks but worth it because I basically have a new gun for the price of one-way shipping.

I am sure you will be happy when you get yours back.

 

[rkh]

speak of the devil...

I just found a Fed-Ex tag on my doorstep, so I guess Ruger did come through. Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up on Monday for inspection.

As to why I had to send it back in the first place, the action seemed to randomly seize up every 50 or so trigger squeezes. Sometimes the hammer would go back a little bit, sometimes not at all. Releasing the trigger and resqueezing would cure the problem. I purchased the gun used, and at the gun store it locked up tight and showed no obvious signs of abuse or neglect.

I don't know if I'll be buying many more used guns after this.

 

[Ichiro]

I don't know if I'll be buying many more used guns after this.

My used GP-100 is better than the one I bought new.

 

[rkh]

Curiosity got the better of me, and I just drove over to the FedEx depot to pick up my GP100.

It seems to be fixed, but I'm not really sure what was wrong with it. Not that I'm complaining when they're fixing stuff for free, but many of the repairs seem unrelated to my problem. The repair invoice lists the following operations:

Barrel Repaired
Internal Components Repaired
Crane Repaired
Cylinder Release Button Replaced
Hammer Dog Repaired
Hammer Replaced
Pawl Replaced

Based on this info, does anybody here want to venture a guess as to why the action was randomly freezing up?

 

[rem1187a]

I wont venture to guess the actual problem but after looking over the list I would say you ended up with a good "used" gun that now passes all factory specs. When you send a gun to ruger for warranty repair they not only fix the problem but also check out the entire gun for other poblems while its there and fix them under warranty. Happy to see Bill Sr. still has some impact on the company. Sad but true ruger seems to be slipping some since his passing. They still make great guns for reasonable prices and stand behind them even if it isn't the original owner of the gun.

 

[Deadheadted37]

I ordered parts for my GP100 last Wednesday and recieved the on Monday. I don't know about repairs but I was impressed. My brothers S&W 686 took 11 weeks to come back S&W. Nobody like to be with out there gun, but you are inline with everybody else waiting for repairs.

Good Luck

 

[jbauch357]

I have been waiting ~8 weeks for my GP100 to get back from the gunsmith. He tells me that we have been waiting for parts over a month now, and can't give me an accurate estimate of when the parts will come in

The bottom pin that holds the cylinder in place wore out and I could turn the cylinder by hand when the hammer wasn't cocked. The pistol has several thousand rounds through it, and this is the first problem I have ever had.

On the other hand I had a P345 .45 that worked ok for the first few hundred rounds, but began constantly jamming, and mysteriously would have shear pins work themselves out of the action if you worked the slide by hand...

 

[eliphalet]

Over the years maybe I have had maybe 20 Rugers Only one ever had a problem and that was my fault. Bought a Bearcat couple of weeks ago and ordered a holster from Ruger 3 days ago. It came in the mail this morning.
Guess I have been lucky or is Ruger a very good product?

 

[Ichiro]

Ordering parts is obviously very different from sending a gun in for repair. When they had my revolvers, they took their time with them.

rkh, my experience was similar to yours. They either fixed or replaced a whole bunch of stuff. I don't know what the real culprit was, but both of my revolvers were jamming after 30 rounds or so. They sent me the guns back after 11 and 13 weeks, totally fixed, with a laundry list of repairs.

They're both 100% reliable now. They're low on staff, but choose to fix the problems rather than sending the gun back before they're satisfied with it, for whatever it's worth.

 

[SAWBONES]

Ruger's not that bad. I consider 1-2 months turnaround par, as long as the problem gets properly fixed.
I don't consider 6 months turnaround acceptable. I've had what I consider quite acceptable service from Ruger.