super blackhawk barrel turned

[icthus153]

i wish i would have seen myronman3's posts earlier but now i think it is too late, my new to me sbh was shooting a little to the left and i noticed that if you look down the top strap toward the front sight base the barrel is turned a little. is this something i can fix with a good strap wrench?  what kind of torque are we talking about? i already have one gun at the gunsmith and am not looking foreward to that bill. i dont think the guy i bought it from will take it back. he probably did not shoot well enough to notice the problem  :wink: . the front sight blade is shot so i will be replacing that also.  all i wanted to do was shoot !!! what are your thoughts on trying to tighten the barrel and what tool do you recommend?

[Lloyd Smale]

best way to do it is to put it in a barrel vise and stick a heavy wood stick through the cylinder opening. But if its a blued gun and you have to replace the sight anyway it will require resoldering it so you might as well just wait and have the gunsmith solder a new one on straight.

[myronman3]

well, brother, there is good and bad news.  

  the bad news is that it will take some time for it to get fixed.  and you are going to have to pay for the shipping to get it there.

  the good news is that ruger will fix it for free.   call them and they will give you instructions  on how to get it there.

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.
Attn: Service Department
411 Sunapee Street
Newport NH 03773
Telephone: 603-865-2442
Fax: 603-863-6165

if you can, talk to donna.   if you have any problems, come back here and we will get names of us who have had this problem.   that will give you some 'ammo'.  

you know,  i get alot of crap from ruger fans about letting folks know about this flaw.   they aint got a clue as to how frustrating it is and how much it messes with a guy's shooting.  caused me some serious doubt and took me awhile to get over it.   if you look,  you will find alot of people who have had this problem.  most folks aint interested in the truth; they just want to feel good about their new toy.   but, they cant say i didnt try to warn them.    i hope it never happens to them,  but i believe if you shoot them enough  (1000 rounds or so)  it will.  

sorry it happened to you.

[icthus153]

thanks for the replies , lloyd it is a stainless gun sorry i did not post it, it looked like a good buy to me ,i got it for 300 even. i knew to look for cylinder play but did not know how to check the barrel, now i do . i put a set of grips on it and a one ragged hole sight and it was shooting great just more to the left than i could compensate for with the sight. myronman thanks for the names and addresses. that will help. i will keep you posted.

[dave375hh]

My SB Hunter from the first run of them did this also. Ruger replaced the bbl and ejector rod and housing. No charge other than shipping. I believe this is the reason they were off the market for several years, but not sure of that.

[Jim n Iowa]

A great post. I have a SBH 44 in a 7.5 " barrel, it was wearing a 2x scope with B-square mount and rings that was not satis factory. I took off the scope and took it to the range last week to sight in with the iron sights. Shot way left, could not get it to center. I was ready to shoot some more 44's to see if it was my grip,trigger finger or what. After reading this post I looked down the barrel from the muzzle, and its turned.
So what options can Ruger give me when I send it in? Like can I pay the diff for a hunter barrel? how about a trigger job etc?
Jim

[Jim n Iowa]

I called Ruger and had to settle with another person with zero personality. She did say they would replace the barrel, and no they would not install a "Hunter" barrel even though I offered to pay the diff.. She also said they would not sell me the barrel??? Takes 6-8 weeks to complete the job. If they will not even sell you a replacement barrel why is it listed in the owners manual?
Jim

[wild willy]

Did you tell them to send you a prepaid shipping label I had to return mine for the same reason they paid the shipping couldn't fix mine by replacing the barrel gave me a new gun

[myronman3]

i had to pay the shipping on my three guns.  

I called Ruger and had to settle with another person with zero personality.

outside of donna,  that is what i got from all the people working there.    bad enough that they break; but even worse that their customer service leaves alot to be desired.    one girl even acted like i should be grateful they didnt charge me for the repairs.  my goodness,  i had all i could do not to start screaming at her.    some people....

    i am almost out of the ruger game.  i have one sbh left and am looking to send that down the road also.  sooner or later i will find a taker.   then i'll just have my 10/22 and m77 left.  and that will be the only guns with ruger stamped on them that i will ever own.   call me silly,  but everytime the subject comes up,  more and more folks with the problem come forward.   i would rather spend my money on stuff that works.

[Jim n Iowa]

It is a pretty sad C/S dept. I talked to a few gun smiths in the area and all sang the same song, Ruger does not care for gunsmiths and reserve many of their parts to the holy grail. I thought that they could buy a hunter barrel and replace mine. I now find that it would not work anyway. When they finally send the gun back I will be trading it off, maybe bunching the group together for a FA.
Jim

[myronman3]

... When they finally send the gun back I will be trading it off, maybe bunching the group together for a FA.
Jim

this is exactly what i did.  i sold two of the rugers and another gun,  and bought a used f.a. 83 in 44 magnum off gunbroker for $900.   like i have said,  one gun that works when i need it is worth 100 that dont.  

 i like my f.a. so far.  it shoots everything i feed it very well.  i am looking at selling a few more of my guns and maybe getting a 97 in 44 special.

[De41mag]

Jim;
You won't be sorry if you get a Freedom Arms. Their quality is top notch.

Myronman3;
Sounds like we are going to have to get a F. A. forum all our own, if all these Ruger and Smith people come over to the FA.
Hopefully, I'll pick up my FA 41 Magnum this Saturday. As long as the weather holds out. Have to drive over 125 miles to get the gun over by Greybeards house. Heard tonite that by Saturday that some icing may happen here in Alabama and to get to Greybeards I have to over a mountian. It will be number 2 for me in a FA.

Dennis  

[Graybeard]

Been telling you folks about those dang Rugers for many long years, but did anyone listen to this old fat boy? Nooooo!

Heard tonite that by Saturday that some icing may happen here in Alabama and to get to Greybeards I have to over a mountian. It will be number 2 for me in a FA.

ICE? Whar in the world did you hear that story Dennis? Ain't gonna be no more ice till late fall or early winter. The kudzu is already growing for this year and that stuff NEVER makes a mistake.

[Jim n Iowa]

Ok GB, I took your advice and got rid of my hvy Taurus (m44) The SBH barrel turns, and will probably do so again after its returned. Hey I have 4 44 cal revolvers, 3 in Ruger. I can't afford a FA, and would still want a DA. So for a handloader using stout 44 HC loads with a scope or red dot, what's left that fits your criteria, for being able to handle it like a Ruger?. When I say I want a DA, I mean in addition to the SA, both scoped for hunting. Are we looking at Dan Wesson and S&W products now? Looks like a full circle.
Jim

[myronman3]

Are we looking at Dan Wesson and S&W products now? Looks like a full circle.

a guy certainly gets to where he is scratching his head,  dont he?    
i am to the point i am about out of options.  
 
as far as double actions pistols,  a guy is about out of options.  i do shoot my 1911 as well as anything, though.  
      i am thinking on keeping my f.a.,  selling off all other pistols ('cept my kimber 45) and getting another kimber in 10mm as a close range hunting pistol.  add a f.a. 44 special and i would have it all covered.  at that point i am going to quit buying handguns.   because i will have about traveled full circle and settled on what i really like and need.

[Graybeard]

Ok GB, I took your advice and got rid of my hvy Taurus (m44) The SBH barrel turns, and will probably do so again after its returned. Hey I have 4 44 cal revolvers, 3 in Ruger. I can't afford a FA, and would still want a DA. So for a handloader using stout 44 HC loads with a scope or red dot, what's left that fits your criteria, for being able to handle it like a Ruger?. When I say I want a DA, I mean in addition to the SA, both scoped for hunting.

Redhawk. Get the barrel pinned like on the older S&Ws.

[Malamute]

If you send in your gun to Ruger be sure you don't send any custom or non-factory parts on it, because you will never see them again.

 Several people have reported that Ruger has a policy of removing ANY non-factory part on any gun coming in for any reason and they replace them with factory parts and do not send the custom parts back.

[Jim n Iowa]

I talked to c/s today about my Redhawk that the barrel was turning and that they had my SBH already in there plant for the same thing. Shirley, a very nice person was some what perplexed on my having 2 gun in for the same problem. Never asked about handloads, which the Redhawk has seen only factory stuff. I mentioned Wollf springs on the Redhawk and she replied that in my cover letter I should ask for there return.
Jim

[hylander]

I have a SBH Bisley .44 that shoot's 1" @50yd., a BH .357 Flat Top, a .45Colt Vaquero, And a Mini-14 that shoots MOA ( Yes MOA ) and no
it Ain't a custom.
All function Flawless .
I guess I'm the Lone Man out, Cause I Ain't about to give my up Rugers.