Just saw this thread, thought I would throw a comment in. I had to send my Bisley Super Blackhawk back to Ruger after I discovered a crack in the forcing cone. It had seen extensive use of heavy handloads and Ruger installed new barrel, replaced internal parts, and reblued the gun free of charge. I was happy with the customer service.
Blew up my Redhawk
- Thread starter Smaug
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Master Blaster
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I hate to say this, but dont be surprised when you get it back and the trigger stinks. They will most likely replace the lightened springs that are in it with ruger factory springs. You will know when you fire it single action and the SA pull is 8-10lbs. But dont despair, order a pack of wolf springs for it and change them back again.
JohnSka -you are dead on. The redhawk was/is a great gun, but many, many shooters and hunters were dissatisfied with the trigger pull. Ruger was listening and decided to change over to the GP100 grip and trigger system. About the same time as that they started getting reports of Redhawks letting go at the barrel/frame junction. They came up with the idea for the frame extention, but then they had to decide wether or not to keep both guns in the line. I'm glad they did, because in the late 90's the chambered Big Red in .45C. I have one and love it. The book Big Bore Handguns by John Taffin explains most all of this in fair detail. It's a great book any serious gun lover should have. John T. explains the lube issue as well, and he didn't get the info from wikopedia, as he has access to trade info most of us would love to be privy to.
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AZAK - No word from Ruger yet. I'm getting nervous too, as deer season is 4 weeks away. I have this sinking feeling that I'll get a call from the shop saying they have my gun one day before I'm supposed to go hunting. At which point, I'm screwed out of hunting this season.
Gun 4 Fun - Welcome to The Firing Line. I'll keep an eye out for that book. I like Taffin's writing, but would hate to limit myself to a book on big bore. (since I like medium bore too)
Master Blaster - You can bet your bottom dollar I'll fix it again if they've replaced the springs with the overly stiff factory ones. I just stoned & polished the action of my SP-101, then installed the Wilson "Custom Tune" spring kit, and the difference from the stock gun is just amazing. I won't be able to stand shooting stock Ruger revolvers any more.
Gun 4 Fun - Welcome to The Firing Line. I'll keep an eye out for that book. I like Taffin's writing, but would hate to limit myself to a book on big bore. (since I like medium bore too)
Master Blaster - You can bet your bottom dollar I'll fix it again if they've replaced the springs with the overly stiff factory ones. I just stoned & polished the action of my SP-101, then installed the Wilson "Custom Tune" spring kit, and the difference from the stock gun is just amazing. I won't be able to stand shooting stock Ruger revolvers any more.
Don't know yet, rootcanal. They said the gun is in polishing. I can't imagine why it would be in polishing if it were the same gun but re-barreled.
I'm thinking it is a new one, and they're polishing the internals to comply with my request to make sure the action is as smooth as it was on mine.
I may have shot myself in the foot with that request, as that would be the thing that causes me to miss deer season.
I'm thinking it is a new one, and they're polishing the internals to comply with my request to make sure the action is as smooth as it was on mine.
I may have shot myself in the foot with that request, as that would be the thing that causes me to miss deer season.
Smaug, thanks for the welcome! I too hope you get your requests granted. Even more so since I had a problem 2 years ago with a brand new Blackhawk, and when I sent the gun in they told me [ on the phone ] that any modifications such as trigger work, sights, grips, etc. would be returned to factory original condition and if I wanted any of that stuff to take it off before shipping the gun, because they wouldn't return it. While I like Ruger guns I went quite a few years without one in my collection because of their attitude on matters like this. I know they're only protecting their hienies from litigation, but still they could be more polite on the phone when talking to their bread and butter. Also I would think a company as big as Ruger would have a custom shop like Smith does, so you could get some of these things addressed while your gun is there. Good luck and I hope you get it back in time to use it to hunt. If they give you a whole new gun, like alot of people have said, use a Wolfe spring kit. They're easy to install, and I would start with the middle weight spring and see how it works. I did on my .45C Redhawk but had to put the heaviest spring in the kit in to keep from getting misfires.
AZAK - No word from Ruger yet. I'm getting that despairing feeling that I will not be deer hunting this season thanks to this 25-year-old failure of Ruger's. I don't even want to go back to pg. 1 and see how long it has been. Feels like at least 2 months.
I'm going to write to Ruger again today. If I find out that it is sitting at the gun shop and they didn't call me, that shop is really going to get an earful.
On the optimistic side, I've got a box of ammo loaded and ready to go, featuring H110 and Hornady 240 JHP XTPs. 3 weeks to go.
I'm going to write to Ruger again today. If I find out that it is sitting at the gun shop and they didn't call me, that shop is really going to get an earful.
On the optimistic side, I've got a box of ammo loaded and ready to go, featuring H110 and Hornady 240 JHP XTPs. 3 weeks to go.
Nope. Sent them another email in the wee hours a couple days ago, asking them to please hurry it up. 2 months is plenty of time to re-barrel or replace a Redhawk, even if it needed polishing. I will look for a reply from them about Tuesday or Wednesday.
Customer Service, even with the desired end result, that takes months instead of days or weeks is not really excellent after all. Seems like they need crack open the checkbook and hire more people at Ruger...
Customer Service, even with the desired end result, that takes months instead of days or weeks is not really excellent after all. Seems like they need crack open the checkbook and hire more people at Ruger...
It's Done!
I just got a call back from the fun shop; they've got my Redhawk. It took about 9 weeks, all said & done.
This was cutting it a bit close, but I still do have 2 weeks to practice & zero before going out for a deer with it.
I'm curious to see whether they put another 7-1/2" barrel on it, or a 5-1/2". What are your bets? (the one it had was a 7-1/2", but in the letter, I asked for a 5-1/2") If it has the 5-1/2" barrel, it will be a fun range gun on the off season. Otherwise, it'll be.... well still fun, just damned heavy.
I've got 100 rounds all loaded up. A box of hunting ammo consisting of 240 gr. Hornady XTP with a full charge of H110, and a box of plated flat point 240 gr. with a light charge of HP38. (44 Special load in the magnum case)
I plan to go get it tonight after work, and to take 'er to the range on Wednesday. Wish me luck!
I just got a call back from the fun shop; they've got my Redhawk. It took about 9 weeks, all said & done.
This was cutting it a bit close, but I still do have 2 weeks to practice & zero before going out for a deer with it.
I'm curious to see whether they put another 7-1/2" barrel on it, or a 5-1/2". What are your bets? (the one it had was a 7-1/2", but in the letter, I asked for a 5-1/2") If it has the 5-1/2" barrel, it will be a fun range gun on the off season. Otherwise, it'll be.... well still fun, just damned heavy.
I've got 100 rounds all loaded up. A box of hunting ammo consisting of 240 gr. Hornady XTP with a full charge of H110, and a box of plated flat point 240 gr. with a light charge of HP38. (44 Special load in the magnum case)
I plan to go get it tonight after work, and to take 'er to the range on Wednesday. Wish me luck!
Grats!
Bets are: I was gonna say...but recanted my reply upon re-reading your post. If it came stock with the 7.5" and you requested a lesser 5.5" then they would probably grant your request. If it was reversed, they might charge you a slight difference for the added materials. That's my bet.
If I was the floor manager for Ruger, and was responsible for solving this problem, I would grant the request on the basis of the inconvenience of having the gun break to begin with. It's all about reputation and doing the right thing. The right thing may also include stamping out that gun the way was it was originally sold. If it were up to me, I'd grant the request.
Bets are: I was gonna say...but recanted my reply upon re-reading your post. If it came stock with the 7.5" and you requested a lesser 5.5" then they would probably grant your request. If it was reversed, they might charge you a slight difference for the added materials. That's my bet.
If I was the floor manager for Ruger, and was responsible for solving this problem, I would grant the request on the basis of the inconvenience of having the gun break to begin with. It's all about reputation and doing the right thing. The right thing may also include stamping out that gun the way was it was originally sold. If it were up to me, I'd grant the request.
I agree and I bet you get your 5 1/2". I asked them to change one on a Blackhawk because a local "gunsmith", who actually was lisenced to do that kind of work ,****** it up so bad that the sight came flying off at my face while shooting at the range. They did it without hesitation even though I had had someone work on the gun. It originally was a 7 1/2" and they switched it to 5 1/2".
Let us know how it looks and shoots, eh.
Christmas came early to Smaug's house.
Let us know how it looks and shoots, eh.
Christmas came early to Smaug's house.
45reloader
New member
WOW
I really hope Ruger keeps up the quality with the revolvers that they lack with the semi auto's.
I really hope Ruger keeps up the quality with the revolvers that they lack with the semi auto's.
Here's a couple of Redhawks that I bought new in the 80s. I use to shoot the 2x scoped Redhawk in 45 Colt with 325 grain Buffalo Bore rounds. I now shoot handloads in it with 250 grain Hornady HP/XTP copper bullets over IMR 4227 powder. It'll really tag a deer with either. I've mostly shoot commercial rounds in the 44 Mag Redhawk. So far, I've put thousands of rounds thru these two with now problems. Both are very accurate.
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