Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns It really pains me to say this

After reading this, kind of makes you wonder what's going to happen with Ruger's Marlin line up. Only two Ruger's I have now are my #1B and '74 .357 BH. Those work My other S/A revolver is a Pietta 1873 in .45 Colt.
Now, that gun works!

You get what you pay for.

Sorta.


Sometimes, with a Taurus, you get a lot for little.



With a Ruger, you pay a good bit more, and just might end up wanting to trade for a Taurus.


Everyone brags about Ruger customer service. How do they know it's good.
And they wont help you if your 45 throats are plugged.
In any of the ones the y screwed up, over 40+ years.
Bet they do a run in the next few months. They will be inconsistent and sized wrong too.

Substantially better CS!!!

I wonder about that myself.

It will/should be a while before we see a Ruglin, but I plan to have popcorn ready. It will likely be interesting.

I have had three blackhawks, a three screw 41 mag, a 44 mag and a flat top .45/.45acp. The cylinders were reamed out before I got it, but that one is the best shooter, for me. All three were bought used.

I’ve been able to recall 17 Rugers I’ve had....most I still have or my kids or brothers have. None have given me any grief. This has included pistols, revolvers, rifles and one shotgun. Rim fires and center fires. Most have given truly superior service over the years.

Just remembered, I did have a problem with a P-90 .45 auto.... a spring broke and I had to replace it. Can't remember which spring, it was a long time ago.

I’ve had Ruger trouble but I still like them once they get sorted out. I’ve had to send back a couple of Mini 14’s, a Vaquero, and a Wrangler twice (technically it was two different guns). The Wrangler was most recent. The first one the hammer beat the base pin out of the gun and would lock the gun up. Ruger replaced it with a new gun in less than a week. The second has so much endshake it sounded like a castanet. They scrapped that gun and sent me a third. I haven’t bothered to take the third one out yet to see what’s wrong with it.

To give credit, Ruger CS was always prompt and courteous. Other than the Wrangler, they fixed them on the first try. If this seems damming with faint praise, I’ve had Smith and Wesson and Kimber both fail to fix problems with multiple return trips to the factory.

I just picked up my Ruger Alaskan 480. Beautiful gun, well put together. It ain't no Freedom Arms 83, but then again, nothing is.

Just got an email from Ruger on this third SP101 sent back for a crooked barrel and the second one with a cylinder that comes off the yoke.

"Good Morning,

I am emailing you in regards to the revolver serial number xxx-xxxxx that was sent in for servicers (sic). The technician has evaluated this firearm and found it to be beyond repair. As a gesture of good will we are offering to replace the firearm with the same model at no charge. Please note if you accept this offer the original firearm will be scrapped and the replacement will have to be shipped to a dealer of your choice. Please contact myself at your earliest opportunity with the decline or acceptance of this offer."

Now, on the face of it this is very nice of them but this is the second one I've sent back that was found to be beyond repair - which makes me wonder how it got out of the factory in the first place but that's another story.

Anyway, they replaced my first SP101 that had a crooked barrel with a brand new one which also had a crooked barrel like the one it replaced. When I sent that one back they did a real bubba fix on it. So this will be my fourth SP101 since June in search of one good one.

I'll graciously accept the offer for this new firearm (and pay my FFL a second time to handle the transaction) but will withhold judgement until it gets here...




And I still agree with the rest of y'all, I've had great luck and been very pleased with Ruger revolvers and firearms in general since 1968. That's why it really does pain me greatly to have to report this.

FYI they will reimburse you for any FFL fees incurred if they replace the gun and it has to go through an FFL.

That's news. They didn't the first time but I guess you have to ask, they sure didn't offer.

But thanks, I'll take it up with them and see what they say.



My FFL charges 100% of the cost of the firearm so this might work out okay....

I appreciate your participation in Ruger quality control. Keep up the good work!

Seriously, I hope your luck improves. And I hope this problem with your SP101's isn't a trend.

what the hell is wrong with the gun industry? trying to crank out too much with a limited staff???

Today's episode of "As the Ruger Turns"...

I talked to a nice lady at Ruger CS yesterday morning to verify that I wanted a new replacement and that they had my receiving FFL dealer's license on file. During our conversation I related the tale of having to send three revolvers back now, including the first replacement they sent me, and since they keep customer info on file she said she could see this on my account service notes. I was polite - no need to yell at her since she didn't build it and she was the one trying to help me - but stressed that this was unacceptable and that they really needed to go over whatever new one they sent me with a fine tooth comb to be sure it was okay.

She said she had notified the manager of this product line of their 0 and 3 record and red flagged the requisition for a new one which she assured me meant that it would be reviewed by management before being sent out.

So far so good. Last time it took about 2-3 weeks to get a new one so we'll see what happens.

Also, they do reimburse you for FFL fees although I had to ask specifically about that, she didn't bring it up on her own. Just send them a receipt from the dealer showing the fee and they will send a check.

I have Rugers and S&W. All the revolvers that I've purchased new have gone back to the factory at least once. One Ruger went back twice. I also have a S&W that went back twice. To their credit, both accepted responsibility and fixed the issue(s).

My holey S&W impresses me the most though. The precision and accuracy are almost unbelievable. I'm very impressed with new S&W. Their quality control is as bad as everyone says. I've experience it repeatedly. Otherwise, the product is amazing. In the past, I would want to thoroughly check it out in person before I bought it. I would bring my tools. The gun would never be right and I would have to decide whether to pass or to buy it and send it back. Local shops have never been willing to help. Even when there is obviously things wrong with the gun, they've never been willing to do anything, not even open the ticket, print the label, pack or drop off the FedEx box. Nothing -- you're on your own. They prove it by keeping inventory of jacked up guns in the first place. Now what I would do is just buy it online, accept the transfer, and plan on sending it back. I would expect the exact same thing for Ruger. It's just the way it works.

Back in the day, I had the shop bring out every model 60as they had (which was four, IIRC) so I could go through them and find "the one". That worked well enough. But try to find a store that will do that now....

I sent this thread via messenger on FB to Ruger.

Well, got a brand new replacement revolver back from Ruger today. And the evidence is conclusive, the people who make the SP101 product line really don't give a flying leap about their QC.

First, they never told me they were sending it. My FFL dealer emailed me out of the blue this afternoon and said he had a Ruger waiting for me.

Ran over, picked it up and ran straight home to examine it.

The Good
- The barrel is on straight(er). You can see it's still coming out of the frame just a teeny tiny bit off to the right but at least it's more straight then the other previous three.
- The chamber throats seem to be okay, at least not way undersized. They are not consistent but few factory throats are, they will all allow a .357" bullet and some allow one .3575". I'm going to get a set of real pin gauges in .0005" increments after the New Year and get exact measurements.
- And that's it for the good.

The Bad
- The cylinder still slides off of the crane. It's absolutely not supposed to do that.
- There are gross machining marks in the forcing cone and at the start of the rifling. Not just scratches but deep circumferential grooves. They test fired some jacketed bullets and even after cleaning you can see the jacket material embedded into those grooves.

The What the Bleep?
- There is an alien life form encrusting the inside of the revolver. Okay, maybe not alien but what in the world is this? It looks like mold at first but it scrapes off readily with a dental pick. I'm pretty sure Ruger uses a lost wax method of casting but could this be old wax? In 52 years of owning Ruger handguns I've never seen anything like this.

This is the 4th substandard Ruger SP101 in a row. Four. In a Row. I can see one bad one slipping through and I can see four bad ones in circulation throughout the country, but four owned by me? My karma just isn't that bad, instead I'd say one could predict a fairly reliable trend here and it does not point to a good place.

Not sure what to do. I'm not going to send it back to Ruger, they've effed up their chances to make things right 4 times now. I do like the model design, I like it a lot, so will probably just clean this one up and shoot it.

I will rip Ruger customer service a new, very large ass hole for this, complete with glossy digital photographs. I pity the nice lady I dealt with but she definitely said this would be reviewed by management before being sent out. Apparently checking for a cylinder that comes off and alien growth inside the revolver is not part of their check list.


This revolver is absolutely brand new. I got it home, disassembled it and found all this.

Front of the fire control unit






Crane assembly





Inside frame



Special custom two piece cylinder/crane assembly