as a long time collector, I think all the brands have been slipping... ( Ok well honestly the cheaper brands seem to actually be getting better, while the better brands seem to have been slipping )
I haven't personally had a problem with a Ruger, that required sending the gun in yet, but have seen a couple ( consumer fixable ) items that should not have left the factory that way...
but my biggest beef right now has been with S&W... my last S&W purchased new ( about a year & a half ago ), was recieved in a condition S&W said "was unsafe to shoot" ( IMO, no company should have such slack QC, that they allow guns out of their control that are unsafe to shoot )...& if that weren't bad enough, I had to send the gun back 3 times before the condition was corrected... so in essence, they sent me ( counting the original purchase ) a gun 3 times in which they themselves admitted was unsafe to shoot... that expirience has really soured me on S&W's new manufacture... I have since bought several more S&W revolvers, albeit they were antiques... I no longer feel the new guns are worth the extra cost over the Rugers ( for example ) I'm still wanting a new X Frame but will really have to check it over well at the counter & will not special order one...
not stating this to pick on S&W, they did eventually fix my new revolver & I love it... but they could have killed or maimed me 3 times over & they didn't seem to care... the "S&W boys" all keep singing "S&W will fix it"... can't fix dead...
it's a sad state for all gun owners when a premier gun manufacture has slid this far into the toilet
