Author Topic: two rugers in two days...you just aint going to believe it.. (Read 2344 times)

myronman3 · « **on:** October 29, 2004, 09:03:32 AM »

well some of you have been with me on my experience with my super blackhawk on the "i got a burr in my tail" thread.

now i didnt think i ever would, but i can top it. today i took out my blackhawk hunter. wouldnt you know it started hitting left. i think "oh no!" but part of me is thinking it is in my head because what are the odds? well guess what? half a box later it is still shifting left and PING! off flies the ejector rod housing, the screw sheared in half. :eek: at this point there is no doubt that it isnt in my mind.

so i call ruger and get the same gal (donna) i talked to yesterday. needless to say she remembered me. blackhawk number 2 is on its way back to ruger.

now i have been a fan of ruger for many years. i own more rugers than any other brand by far. i have never had a problem. but here is where i am starting to lose it. two guns (three, if you count the one i gave to my dad) with the exact same problem? i am a patient man, but come on.
the second letter i enclosed to ruger wasnt as nice as the first, but all things considered i think i am still within reason. and all this right in the middle of (my last two days of vacation for the year) deer season.

good God almighty. i sure hope they go out of their way to make this up to me, because i am running out of options. smith selling us out, taurus treating customers like crap, and now ruger. if this keeps up, i will liquidate the whole works and give freedom arms a ring. more than i want to spend, but one gun that works is worth 100 that wont.

sorry for the rant guys, but i do want to let you all know about it.

btw, the vast majority of the loads shot through these two guns were mid level loads; just in case anyone was wondering.

De41mag · « **Reply #1 on:** October 29, 2004, 03:37:52 PM »

myronman3;

So actually that's 3 guns that had the same problem? Your fathers, and your two. But I know what you mean, when it rains, it pours.
Seems like things go wrong in pairs or they happen all at once. :eek:
And it seems to hold true in firearms.

Hope things work out for you, I'll keep hammering away on the 629 to see if I get any misfires with Federal Primers tommorow.
Good Luck!

Dennis

Lone Star · « **Reply #2 on:** October 29, 2004, 04:42:12 PM »

This seems so unusual, and so unlikely, that there must(?) be a common cause besides the name RUGER etched on the frame. A few questions:

* Were they all .44 Magnums?

* What ammunition was used in all three revolvers? Handloads, factory, unknown?

* Had you ever removed the ejector rod housings in the past?

* Were the revolvers all fired off a hard rest with the barrels setting on the rest when fired?

* Were the revolvers all purchased at the same store?

* Were the revolvers all purchased around the same time?

* Any other commonalities besides those mentioned?

It is possible that all three were defective (overly brittle screws for example), but that would be awfully rare. Please let us know how it turns out.

TScottO · « **Reply #3 on:** October 29, 2004, 05:06:12 PM »

My grandma always said bad things happen in 3s so maybe you are in the clear for a while.

Im sure Ruger will make it right. You might even suggest them to do a little something extra for all the hardship youve been through. I wonder if those three guns were bought I close time frame of each other. Perhaps Ruger had a bad lot get out.

On a side note Freedom Arms is never a bad choice.

Be Safe,
Scott

Graybeard · « **Reply #4 on:** October 29, 2004, 05:53:18 PM »

Well how about this. Someone besides me willing to fess up to problems with Rugers. You're current run of luck with them is what I've been having for 30 years with the Rugers I've bought. No that that particular problem, but just one problem after another that has had me selling and trading them nearly as fast as I got them. I totally agree one that works right all the time is better than a dozen that may or may not work when needed.

I've sure been toying with the idea of an FA myself but can't decide between FA83 or FA97 and what chambering I'd get. If I ever get it worked out I'll probably give Bob another call and ask for one to keep this time rather than sending back like I have had to do the other two.

Prof. Fuller Bullspit · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2004, 05:23:35 AM »

The odds of this happening by chance have to be astronomical! Do you by chance have a grip like a gorilla? Maybe you are holding those guns so tight they can't move under recoil so all of the force is going into other areas?

Or maybe you have some sort of anti-ruger gremlins hanging around!

Jerry Lester · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2004, 06:49:42 AM »

I myself(no offence GB LOL!), have owned dozens of Ruger revolvers, as well as twice as many Ruger rifles, and I've had very little trouble out of them.

I do know(from experience) that the ejector housings can, and definately will get loose after a while, even when shooting mild loads. I always put a drop of Loc-Tite on mine before I ever even fire them.

Your problem sounds to me like the housings have worked loose, and have sheared the screws from repeated firing. It sounds like a case of a steady diet of hot loads. The Rugers can handle fairly stout loads, but after a while it'll take it's toll on them.

As far as shooting left, I know that very small changes in a revolver can cause slight variations in POI, but I just can't see the ejector housings causing it to that degree. I may pull mine off my 357 Blackhawk, fire a group, and see what happens?

wild willy · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2004, 09:56:28 AM »

I had the barrel turn out of a SBH The first thing I saw was the rib on the barrel wasn't lined up with the frame. sent it back they gave me a new
one couldn't fix it It was the new Bisley Hunter .44 mag right after they came out

palgeno · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2004, 11:37:31 AM »

Have not had any problem with mine yet---this thread makes me wonder if I should just go out and shoot a thousand rounds or so and keep checking for problems!!!! :cry: pg

myronman3 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2004, 02:25:46 PM »

* Were they all .44 Magnums?

yes

* What ammunition was used in all three revolvers? Handloads, factory, unknown?

handloads. maybe 25 were nosler 240 gr. soft points with 22.5 gr. h110.
the rest were 310 grain cast rnfp over 7 grains unique. not hot by any means.

* Had you ever removed the ejector rod housings in the past?

no.
* Were the revolvers all fired off a hard rest with the barrels setting on the rest when fired?

no. freehand.
* Were the revolvers all purchased at the same store?

no. each was bought seperately, different times and locations. two were bought used, one band new. the new one was the hunter, and that hasnt had 500 round fired through it.

* Were the revolvers all purchased around the same time?

no. see above.

* Any other commonalities besides those mentioned?

not that i can think of. all started hitting left. then the ejector rod housing flew off. two broke the screw, one just seemed to back itself out.

It is possible that all three were defective (overly brittle screws for example), but that would be awfully rare. Please let us know how it turns out.

that wouldnt explain hitting left before the rod housing flying off.

myronman3 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2004, 02:40:17 PM »

The odds of this happening by chance have to be astronomical! Do you by chance have a grip like a gorilla? Maybe you are holding those guns so tight they can't move under recoil so all of the force is going into other areas?

i wish. but no, i hold it nice and soft, very relaxed. once i squeeze the trigger i let it buck.

Your problem sounds to me like the housings have worked loose, and have sheared the screws from repeated firing. It sounds like a case of a steady diet of hot loads. The Rugers can handle fairly stout loads, but after a while it'll take it's toll on them.

no. maybe 25 were nosler 240 gr. soft points with 22.5 gr. h110.
the rest were 310 grain cast rnfp over 7 grains unique. not hot by any means.

all very good thoughts, guys. i appreciate you all taking the time to think this over. i have gone over the same ideas put forth here. i just cant believe three in a row. with the random aquisition and all things considered, it is really quite amazing. maybe they just arent as strong as they are reputed to be. if true, this is very sad. i really hope it is a giant fluke. but, if something this astronomical is going to happen to me, why couldnt it be winning the lottery? yeah, i know i should just be happy a shark didnt eat me, or a bear for that matter.

you know me, if i aint complaining, i aint happy.

if ya think of anything else, post up. you can bet i that i will follow this up with details when i get them. i have confidence ruger will square up; but if i have one more problem i swear they are all going down the road and freedom arms will be making me the next one.
anyone want to buy a blackhawk? :-D

:-D

De41mag · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2004, 06:08:18 PM »

myronman3;

I hear ya, if I get a bad one it's gone, but three of them is unreal. MAN I feel your pain.
A friend of mine bought a FA in 454 Casull for $2300.00, but IT HAS GOT TO BE the MOST BEAUTIFUL handgun I've ever seen.
I shot it, Dang that thing was BRUTAL, shot five times and told him that was all I cared to shoot. I WON'T that gun again. Maybe a 41 or 44 but not a 454.
By the way I think I found my problem on my 629, the screw at the bottom of the grip had just about backed itself all the way out. This screw puts tenison on the mainspring, turned it in, and went to the range today, it shot everything just fine. Hope this is not a tempoary fix. I'll let you know. Keep us posted.

Dennis

TScottO · « **Reply #12 on:** October 31, 2004, 05:24:50 AM »

De41,

It wouldn't hurt to put a drop of blue lock-tite on that screw. I if backed out once it will probably do so again.

Be Safe,
Scott

Duffy · « **Reply #13 on:** October 31, 2004, 06:14:14 AM »

By chance did you pull the cyl out and check the throat on the forcing cone? Almost sounds like the cyl was not aligned and gradually had gotten worse, hitting the side of the throat, shaving the bullets and stressing the ejector.
Also check your fired rounds to see if the primer hit's are centered.

But that's just my office chair prognosis.

Ryan

Lone Star · « **Reply #14 on:** October 31, 2004, 09:12:02 AM »

Missaligned cylinder indexing could be a contributor, but three revolvers with the same issue seems as odd as any other potential cause. My experience with Rugers is pretty long and deep, and only two, from-the-factory problems surfaced. One was in 1974 with a brand new BH which hac an excessive barrel/cylinder gap of 0.018". When I sent the revolver back to Ruger for repair, they returned it with a pinched barrel. It isn't too bad, but you can feel it with a tight patch. The revoler shoots as well as before with a lot less gap blast.

The second was a M77VT with an incorrectly-inletted stock. This caused the front action screw to bottom out before the action was fully sucked into the stock. Poor accuracy, believe me. The floorplate was also too tight to open. I ended up gluing a piece of shim stock into the inletting behind the recoil lug, and this solved the problem, it shoots great now.

Of the other five Rugers I've owned, none had problems. One could argue that the two I had problems with should not have had those issues, but the fact is that few if any mass-produced items are 100% problem free. Just ask the automakers aboutthis, and their products sell for a heck of a lot more than firearms...

myronman3 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2004, 10:39:23 AM »

Quote from: De41mag

I shot it, Dang that thing was BRUTAL, shot five times and told him that was all I cared to shoot. I WON'T that gun again. Maybe a 41 or 44 but not a 454.

Dennis

you know the 454 is a great canidate for reduced loads. just because you drive a corvette doesnt mean you have to run it wide open all the time. i view the 44 the same way. mid range loads; or about 3/4 of full power is where i like to run it.

44 Man · « **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2004, 03:30:21 PM »

I have had several Rugers with no trouble with any of them. Now own only one. An early new model SBH cut to 5" with a beautiful blue job by Mag-na-port. The SBH doesn't get out much anymore since I got a couple of FA mod 83s in 44 mag. I absoulutely love them. Yes, they are worth every penny that they cost! It's the FA for hunting and a Colt or clone for woods walking. I may break down and get a model 97 FA. If I do, it will be in 44 spl but my next purchase will be a USFA in .45 colt. 44 Man

Old Griz · « **Reply #17 on:** October 31, 2004, 05:09:34 PM »

:cb2: I have six Ruger SA revolvers, and so far, no trouble yet. However, I haven't had enough time lately to shoot enough to cause any problems. On Fridays I leave home at 6:00 am and get home at 10:30 pm. All I want to do on Saturday is sleep! My wife has a sweatshirt that says, "You know you're getting older when Happy Hour is a nap." At this rate my Rugers will last forever!

THE#1hunter · « **Reply #18 on:** November 01, 2004, 12:00:15 PM »

I've never heard of anything bad...to that extent from ruger..wow :eek:

1911crazy · « **Reply #19 on:** November 04, 2004, 02:02:39 AM »

First with screws comming loose ruger could be doing something wrong with the machining(threads). They could be using a larger diameter TAP so the outcome would be a lesser % of threads or tapping too fast(rpm) causing a larger diameter hole. If there using a cnc machine to thread them. The drill size used matters too. I would get a thread gage(go/no-go) to see if their machined correctly. It could be a problem with the wrong diameter screws too. I've seen knucklehead bean counters try to save some $$ by buying lesser a quality product and they never checked to see if its the same exact size too. If the threads/screws are ok then i would use removable loctite on all the screws before i shoot it because if they come loose while shooting the threads could distort so they won't stay tight no matter what we do with them. There has to be something wrong to cause this problem. Sorry but its just my engineering test lab (failures/reliability) experience comming out of me. Ruger could have a quality control problem just like Springfield Armory is having with the M1a's.

I had a ruger super blackhawk in 44mag. years ago that I just hammered shooting it 2 to 3 times a week with near max reloads all the time and never had any problems. I expected to have problems with it but i never did.(screws) We beat this gun just to see if it could take it and it took everything we sent down the pipe. I traded it in to get two new redhawks in 44mag. when they first came out. BigBill

De41mag · « **Reply #20 on:** November 05, 2004, 06:56:31 PM »

myronman3;

I think that this post I'm about to make should be in the rifle section, under Ruger Firearms or Bolt Rifles, but here goes anyway.
As you know I fixed my problem on my 629 Smith.
But now I've got a problem with my Ruger Mod 77 MKII, in 7.62X39 caliber. Been shooting the Soviet stuff since last year. The latest stuff has been CRAP as far as accuracy goes. So I started using the US stuff, Federal, PMC, Winchester and Remington. Well the US stuff seems to shoot OK, Fed. about an inch and a half for five at 100yds. But the primers are backing out after firing (About .016") If the primers don't back out on the Win ammo, the case is heavly smoked. On the Rem ammo (which uses sm. rifle primers) they don't back out but I'm getting misfires. Called Ruger today and they said SEND IT BACK. :x
Talked to others and they said could be a Headspace problem.
So now here I go having to spend money on sending the rifle back.
I even posted awhile back about selling the rifle till this came up. I really like the little rifle and it is a true .310" bore dia. Was going to use it this deer season but now it's out of the question.
So it's just like we said, problems come in pairs or three's.
You know.... Greybeard might be on to something about these Rugers.

Dennis

myronman3 · « **Reply #21 on:** November 06, 2004, 09:13:26 AM »

i have tryed not to let this bother me. the main person i have dealt with from ruger is a woman by the name of "donna". that soft southern accent and understanding nature makes her very good at calming me down. and she has assured me that in the end i will be happy. as far as the other gal that answered the phones, well, she wasnt rude. but she acted like i should be relieved that they werent going to charge me for fixing it. i about blew my gaskets. instead i called back later and heard that silky smooth southern accent on the other end. i felt better already. :mrgreen: lets just leave it at i am hopeful at this point, but the proof is in the pudding and when i get those two guns back i dont know what i am going to do. i might keep them, i might sell them and start looking at the freedom arms; i havent made up my mind.

on a brighter note, the one my dad has works great now and he is tickled pink with it. what ever they do, i hope they do it right. i dont ever want to walk this path again.

good luck with your rifle, de41. if you call, i suggest you try talking with donna. she did wonders with my blood pressure. i can guareentee you'll feel better after talking with her. i hope ruger is half as good as she is.

De41mag · « **Reply #22 on:** November 06, 2004, 01:34:26 PM »

myronman3;

Funny you should mention her name (Donna), that is who I spoke to yesterday. Yes she has a way of calming the anger down.
So it's off to Ruger on Monday.
I feel the same way, don't know to sell it or keep it, when it comes back.
Just bought the Federal Power-Shock rounds that shoot good but at $16.00/20, Don't think I can handle those prices. Been reloading for over 19 years, and that is the main reason I bought the rifle. Shoot CHEAP and no reloading............ WRONG!
Oh well enough whining. Talk to you later.

Dennis

wanderung · « **Reply #23 on:** November 09, 2004, 07:59:13 AM »

Quote

all very good thoughts, guys. i appreciate you all taking the time to think this over. i have gone over the same ideas put forth here. i just cant believe three in a row. with the random aquisition and all things considered, it is really quite amazing. maybe they just arent as strong as they are reputed to be. if true, this is very sad. i really hope it is a giant fluke. but, if something this astronomical is going to happen to me, why couldnt it be winning the lottery? yeah, i know i should just be happy a shark didnt eat me, or a bear for that matter. you know me, if i aint complaining, i aint happy.
if ya think of anything else, post up. you can bet i that i will follow this up with details when i get them. i have confidence ruger will square up; but if i have one more problem i swear they are all going down the road and freedom arms will be making me the next one.
anyone want to buy a blackhawk? :-D :-D

You're not the only one who has had this problem. Back in '98 I bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk and after about 200 rounds it came apart just like you're describing. I managed to find all the parts, so I called Ruger and had them send me a couple of screws, and reassembled it, this time making sure to put Loc-tite on the screw. About a year and a few hundred rounds later it happened for a second time. This time I had to take it to a gunsmith to get the end of the screw out of the hole. I also had him reassemble it for me to make sure it wasn't something I had done wrong. Well, the same thing happened a third time so I sent it back to Ruger. They replaced the barrel and some other parts and sent it back to me. That seemed to fix the problem, but by that point I was sick of the damn thing and sold it.

By the way, all of the rounds fired through my Blackhawk were factory 240 gr rounds, no handloads at all. I have owned a Ruger SP101 for years that has been absolutely flawless and very accurate for such a short-barreled piece, I never expected to have this sort of trouble with a Ruger product. But I will never buy another Blackhawk and my next hunting handgun will probably be a Thompson Center.

Graybeard · « **Reply #24 on:** November 09, 2004, 10:58:56 AM »

Been telling you guys about them Ruuuugggggeerrr's fer years but do ya'll listen to old GB? :eek: Nooooo! :roll:

myronman3 · « **Reply #25 on:** November 09, 2004, 11:30:02 AM »

never one to say "i told you so", eh?

mr.frosty · « **Reply #26 on:** November 09, 2004, 01:32:50 PM »

I'm hardheaded and got a Ruger anyway and am looking at another SRH

Lawful Larry · « **Reply #27 on:** November 11, 2004, 08:50:22 AM »

I have had my SBH for about a year now. Have run about 500+ rounds through it and no prblems yet; knock on wood. I have been shooting all heavey reloads (23 grs of WC820 under a 230 gr XTP) so far and it shoots great.

I do like the idea of the Freedom Arms route. The only obsticle is the price. I have shot my friends 454 and love it. What a work of art though. :wink:

myronman3 · « **Reply #28 on:** November 11, 2004, 04:25:55 PM »

there is now a 44 freedom arms headed my way. i bought it for $900. mag-na-ported and 7.5 inch barrel. i will probably keep the short barreled blackhawk for a truck gun, but when i get them back from ruger the hunter is going up for sale.

Graybeard · « **Reply #29 on:** November 11, 2004, 05:25:46 PM »

What a novel idea, replacing those Ruuuggggeeers with a quality gun. Man wish I'd come up with that idea. :eek: Oh wait I did, years ago. :roll:

Once you start shooting the FA83 you'll likely dump all those Rugers.