So much for the promise Ruger will fix their firearms

Redbeard55:


Are you giving us all of the facts? In my twenty years of selling guns I sent only a few to Ruger for repair and they were always returned expediently and always repaired. I sent my own Ruger Single Six that I purchased in 1956 for the up grade kit and the replacement of a broken trigger. I had cold blued and sanded the finish from the aluminum grip. The revolver was ugly. Ruger not only modified the pistol to safe condition but they also reblued the revolver and replaced the aluminum grip frame: the gun looks new. I have a few thousands of rounds shot through this pistol, not 25 or 50 K.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Rretired
 
Redbeard55:


Are you giving us all of the facts? In my twenty years of selling guns I sent only a few to Ruger for repair and they were always returned expediently and always repaired. I sent my own Ruger Single Six that I purchased in 1956 for the up grade kit and the replacement of a broken trigger. I had cold blued and sanded the finish from the aluminum grip. The revolver was ugly. Ruger not only modified the pistol to safe condition but they also reblued the revolver and replaced the aluminum grip frame: the gun looks new. I have a few thousands of rounds shot through this pistol, not 25 or 50 K.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Rretired
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There's a difference in Ruger fulfilling what's essentially a recall on non-hammer block models and throwing in a little extra work, and sending in a gun that is completely worn out in all respects after a lifetime of heavy use, and expecting a new gun for free. That would be like driving your car for 200k miles and complaining that the manufacturer didn't then give you a brand new one for free.
 
I'm with ScotchMan

When buying a Ruger, its not crazy to go into it with the expectation that you will have a gun to shoot for the rest of your life without spending any more money, because Ruger will fix any problems that come up.
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I also find this to be a very interesting thread, one that's caused me to question my own assumptions. I was reading another post about "which is stronger, Ruger vs. Smith" and for me the take-away is that both will last longer than a lifetime. I've always thought this - just assumed I'll shoot my brand/model X forever.

I've also always implicitly assumed that if I ever have a problem, I'll send it back to the company and they'll fix it for free. Forever. Past my lifetime. Even if I've "worn it out" by shooting Y number of rounds.

As a result of this post, I'm questioning that assumption. When is it unreasonable to expect a company to fix something for free? Is it number of years? Number of rounds fired? What about my Security Six, for which some parts are no longer available? What happens then? Is there a difference in wearing out my grandfather's colt vs. his craftsman wrenches? If so, why?

So, I sort of thank the OP for this thread - its got me thinking about what my expectations really are, and whether they are reasonable or not. Not that it makes any difference to me, really. I'm still going to buy some more Rugers. And Smiths. And heck, when the price is right, probably some Rossii and Taruii and maybie even a Jiminez or two, just for variety.
 
When is it unreasonable to expect a company to fix something for free?
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I think we all have our own idea .... But if I wear a tool out, I buy a new one. If parts start to wear, but still a serviceable tool, I'll have the part replaced on my nickel. Number of years has nothing to do with it. If the tool 'breaks' because of a defect, then I expect the company to handle the problem. If the front sight is tilted to the left, I expect the company to handle it. If I use the gun as club and the front sight falls off, I will pay to have it fixed.... When the bolt ears broke off on my older Mark II, Ruger fixed it for free with a new solid bolt (I payed shipping one way). I don't know about you guys, but I have a pretty clear idea of when a company should step up and when not.

When I say, my Ruger revolvers will last a lifetime or two, I feel they will. I don't shoot mine enough to wear them all out. Spread out my shooting. I also don't abuse my guns by fanning my guns, I don't do quick draw, shoot super hot loads, or try to get 6 shots off in .02 seconds....
 
Seems to me that the "something for nothing" mentality is taking hold here.

How come old Colt SAA's are worth so much these days? Because there aren't many left! I mean, they only cost a few bucks back in 1900? Could it be that they were worn out from use and replaced? If Colt would have repaired every SAA that was worn out, there would be tens of thousands of them still around, right? People bought a new gun when the old one wore out. They didn't expect Colt to fix their gun or give them another SAA!

So, fast forward to 2012. We now expect Ruger (or any other manufacture) to replace every worn out gun that is sent to them?

Things sure have changed in 110 years!

-EDIT- : I wonder how many rounds original SAA's shot before they broke?
 
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As someone who has recently bought a Ruger, I find this thread interesting, although I'll be a lot greyer by the time I have shot even 15K through that gun, let alone 50K!!

There is one question I would ask the OP regarding this situation.
What did the Ruger Customer Care correspondence actually say, verbatim, or as near as.

Given the things at stake for you and them, I would expect more than a simple: "We don't want to fix it, how about this one for pennies?"

They must have given reasons as to a) why they decided working on your gun was not an option, and b) why they felt the offer of a SP101 (presumably) at a knock down price was a viable solution.

What were these reasons?
 
In my opinion, 25K to 50K rounds of 38's is not excessive in a revolver. Maybe the springs will need changing but it should not be worn out now.

I called S&W and some of their K frames were up to 250K rounds at training academies. Probably a bit worn in the throat, but still banging away.

I think they should have offered you a new one, for free.
 
So the moral of the story is you:

1: modified the revolver
2: shot up to 50K rounds through it
3: got ****** when they offered you a brand new replacement at half price

Man, i would love it if GM offered me a brand new Regal at half price to replace my Riviera when I drive the wheels off it...

(you do see how silly that is, right?)
 
The OP is inconsistent

It seems to me that in Post 1, the OP indicated there was a B/C gap irregularity that he noticed after purchase, and which Ruger fixed, for free, as expected. Otherwise, in Post 1, the OP said,
The only work I did was replace a couple of springs with lighter springs. Revolver was still essentially stock.
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But then, in Post 17, the OP added a bit to this...
I expected to pay for the springs I replaced and the pin the gunsmith lost that holds the grip in place. I had substituted a bolt I cut down to the proper size, The cylinder was polished out by a gunsmith because it was so rough you could hardly push out mid range 38 Specials. Certainly didn't expect to pay full retail for repairs.
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The boldface is mine.

Like I said, Ruger received a medium-high round count gun that had outside work done on it. Not sure what reasonable expectation anybody should have that a manufacturer will do ANY warranty work at that point, let alone a full replacement.

And, if I were Ruger CS, I wouldn't even offer the at-cost replacement.
 
So the moral of the story is you:

1: modified the revolver
2: shot up to 50K rounds through it
3: got ****** when they offered you a brand new replacement at half price

Man, i would love it if GM offered me a brand new Regal at half price to replace my Riviera when I drive the wheels off it...

(you do see how silly that is, right?)
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Nope we don't see how silly it is. Don't you see we live in the I want for free generation and if you expect to pay for something you are wrong. But seriously I agree how can anyone expect something new for something worn out? As stated over and over Ruger has no written warranty. And under most situation as I have seen posted Ruger has taken care of their customers. But once you wear it out then it is on you to either pay to have it fixed or purchase a new one. And if your claims are true that they offered you a new one for under $400 you would have to be nuts not to accept the offer. They could have told you no and not offer anything at all. Just my .02 worth
 
OP, have you called and asked what it was about your gun that drove them to offer you a discounted replacement? That would be my first question.
It could be any number of things, but I suspect that somewhere between 25K & 50K rds, your revolver was "wore the heck out." I don't know anything about "steel matches," but if it's a rapid fire discipline, it would very likely accelerate what would already be significant wear. Just one of your issues would probably be economical to repair. However, with the multiple issues you describe, I suspect your gun was something of a "perfect storm" of problems. Which, when combined, were simply not worth fixing.
 
I expected to pay for the springs I replaced and the pin the gunsmith lost that holds the grip in place. I had substituted a bolt I cut down to the proper size, The cylinder was polished out by a gunsmith because it was so rough you could hardly push out mid range 38 Specials. Certainly didn't expect to pay full retail for repairs.
The boldface is mine.

Like I said, Ruger received a medium-high round count gun that had outside work done on it. Not sure what reasonable expectation anybody should have that a manufacturer will do ANY warranty work at that point, let alone a full replacement.

And, if I were Ruger CS, I wouldn't even offer the at-cost replacement.
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+1 - We have a winner. Anytime you modify a stock gun with non-OEM parts, you have voided any warranty. Ruger's inspection seems to have determined that and that MAYBE those modifications were part of the issue. Why should THEY fix something YOU did for free?
 
I once sent a pistol I had purchased used to the manufacturer for repair, because it didn't work when I bought it. By "used," I thought when I bought it that meant "pre-owned." The FFL (with whom I had never dealt before, but who enjoys a good reputation locally) assured me that the original owner had bought it, put it away, and never fired it. The story was that the original owner was a regular customer who often did this.

Yeah, right.

So the manufacturer agreed to let me send it back, even knowing I was not the original buyer. A couple of weeks later, I had a phone call from the gunsmith at the repair center. According to him, most of the internal fire control parts were not OEM. The hammer was OEM but had been "modified" where it wasn't visible from the exterior of the gun.

Needless to say, at that point the manufacturer disclaimed responsibility, and the pistol was returned to me with the same problem it had before. Ultimately, I diagnosed the problem (which was directly attributable to one of the non-OEM parts, replaced a couple of parts and gently fitted a couple of others, and I ended up with a reliable firearm.

But I'm not complaining over the fact that the manufacturer didn't repair the damage Bubba had done. It wasn't their problem. If I had been aware the pistol had been "improved," I never would have bothered the manufacturer.
 
Any other company, including S&W would have told you you were out of luck. Ruger is taking care of you better than any other gun company under the circumstances. I see this as a great example of how Ruger stands behind their customers

You wore out the gun, You had it modified by someone else and your still mad that they offered you a new gun at cost. Sounds like Ruger is treating you pretty well.
 
When do the posters in the thread consider a pistol worn out? How many rounds :confused:

As I said earlier, I don’t consider 25-50K 38 Specials in a 357 to be an excessive amount.

I bought this M586 off a bud. He told me he had fired 40K or more 148 LSWC 2.7 grains Bullseye in it shooting PPC.

He put it away wet and the finish is worn, but after changing the main spring, this revolver is fantastically accurate and the action is smooooth. A bit of throat wear, but so what.

If this were 25-50 K of full power 44 Mag’s or 454 Casull, that might be different. Might be a moot point with these cartridges because the shooter would have repetitive motion injuries to his hands.


M586.jpg
 
Slamfire, the round count doesn't matter. He did his own mod to springs, fabricated his own pin, and had a gunsmith polish the cylinder.

Name any product to which you could do that without voiding some or all of your warranty?

Who's to say that the mods didn't radically accelerate the rate of wear from normal firing? And whether they did is really immaterial.

I've modified the sears on my S&W M&P pistols. If they should break, even if parts unrelated to the mods are what break, I would not expect S&W to provide free, full replacement. Same goes for my 442, since I did my own Apex installation.

OTOH, the mods done to my PX4s used OEM parts, they were just converted from safety to decocker, using parts from Beretta's online store, by a certified gunsmith. I'd expect normal warranty coverage on those pistols.

Any gun I treat as a "project," using non-OEM parts, and doing my own work, is one for which I assume full liability. Any possible damage done by a gunsmith that I, and not the manufacturer, chose is also on me.
 
Any other company, including S&W would have told you you were out of luck
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I wouldn't bet on that.
There is an earlier post by someone who sent a 60 year-old revolver back to S&W. They repaired, tuned and cleaned it up and returned it back to him about a $100.
That's pretty good customer service.

Jim
 
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When do the posters in the thread consider a pistol worn out? How many rounds
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When it breaks after 50,000 rounds! I would say that it wore out, for one reason or another!

If it was a defective gun, could one expect 50,000 rounds before failure?

Why do the tires on my fathers truck last 75K miles, and the same brand on my truck only last 50K miles? Must be that mine are defective, can't be worn out because that doesn't happen 'till 75K!

HaHa. This is silly.
 
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