Does Ruger have a problem?

[HaveGun]

Seems like on all the gun forums I frequent, threads pop up fairly regularly extolling the virtues of Ruger's customer service in dealing with a defective firearm. Then, invariably, the thread will be populated by multiple posts of similar stories of Ruger firearms with problems that were sent in and repaired quickly and without question.

What's curious, is that there are so many stories of defective firearms coming from Ruger lately. I own four Ruger firearms and three are flawless. The 22/45 Lite pistol I have is very ammo sensitive, but that's normal, I guess, for a .22 semi-auto.

The impression I'm getting is that Ruger is putting out a lot of defective firearms. But, that's a purely subjective view based only on having seen random responses online.

Perhaps someone who works at a retailer or distributor could shed light on whether or not there seems to be a much higher rate of issues with Rugers than with other manufacturers. I'm looking into getting a compact and lightweight bolt rifle in .308 and the Ruger Predator is high on my list.

Read More

 

[CLT65]

I think a lot of manufacturers have been using customers for quality control for a while now. Instead of rigorous QC on the production line, it's cheaper to just fix it if the customer sends it back.

On the other hand, I'd rather do business with a company who will at least make it right in a timely manner and at their cost, like Ruger, than someone like Taurus or Heritage.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I have had one bad Ruger. Jeremy sent it back and it was replaced, and I am quite happy. It had a bendy stock and would destroy brass if you tried to chamber a round. Now... I own a fair number of Their products. I have dealt with their customer service a couple of times and have been duly impressed. Every company has a certain number of products escape QC. It is how they treat their customers that matters.

I have had several defective guns arrive new. Most, not rugers. Would I trust my life to a Ruger? Yep. The other side of the coin is ruger is putting out a LOT of guns. And you hear about almost every problem.

 

[The Heretic]

I own 4 Rugers and have shot many/owned others. Never had a problem with them. I haven't bought one for a few years so I can't speak to their recent quality.

 

[Rascal01]

I bought a 10/22 stainless take-down rifle and was pumped with excitement. Spent some money on 25 round mags, even got a double. When I shot it the first time the pistol grip cap fell off. I wrote Ruger and asked what kind of glue to use to fix it. No answer. Second letter was sent back to me with "Use glue, any kind will do."

The rear sight was off to the left. I tried to drift it over. Multiple efforts without success and the sight was beat up. It would not budge, I put a scope on it and gave it to my daughter. What should have been a gem was much less.

I don't think it is Ruger. I think something has gone astray in America. I see it everywhere.

 

[aksu747]

I'd say so. When I was working the used guns area of cabela's I ran into more than few Ruger rifles that were not properly bedded.
A good friend of my had to re-bed his 10/22 before it would group well. The front sight on my Vaquero was definitely bent over to right a bit, had to adjust my aim to hit where I wanted it to. My Ruger LCP II did not shoot point of aim even at 5-7 yards. In short I haven't been real impressed with them lately.

That said I do want one of those new Ruger MK IV's with 10 inch barrel.

 

[UnionMillsNW]

I have three Rugers

1. A 10/22 that was purchased around 1998. It has run flawlessly through tens of thousands of rounds

2. A Wrangler I purchased last year. The finish isn't perfect (there is a visible seam on the grip) but it runs great

3. An SP101 I purchased last winter. The trigger was hot garbage. The worst of almost any gun I've ever fired. When I took it apart there were large metal burrs and shavings in the trigger group. I purchased an aftermarket spring kit and, after a lot of polishing, it now has a fantastic trigger.

The Wrangler can be forgiven due to the price point. There isn't much excuse to poor QC for the SP101...but it was fixable and now it's a great little revolver.

Is everything off the line at Ruger perfect? No. But they still make fine firearms

 

[po18guy]

From the web:

"In 2015, Sturm, Ruger (NYSE:RGR) produced almost 1.7 million firearms, making it the largest U.S. gunmaker, a position it held for several years running."

IIRC, they made 2 million firearms in a recent year. Even rounded down to one million firearms yearly - mechanical devices with production tolerances, let's say 10 million since 2010. Even at a failure rate of .05% (rarely achieved anywhere on earth), that would be 5000 warranty claims or reports. Consider the ratings website Yelp. Who posts there? Mostly folks who are disgrintled or dissatisfied with a product or service. Same with cars, appliances or firearms.

 

[P7M13]

I have two Rugers.
GP100 with beautiful fit & finish, but a very heavy trigger. Some day when I have time, I'll install better springs.
An All Weather Hawkeye II that is probably the coarsest receiver I have. The stock was dog poo too. I replaced and bedded the rifle, but haven't lapped the bolt yet. It shoots very well, but feels nasty when cycling the bolt.
Were I to buy them again, I'd bypass the Hawkeye and look for a Tikka.

 

[Kruel J]

I have a few and don't think they are anything special. No problems, but nothing to write home about. I bought a P89 in 1996 and it was fantastic. I also had a 77/22WMR that was lights out good. But nowadays I don't think nearly as highly of them.

 

[FullMetalJerk]

 

[CLT65]

I have two new Wranglers, and got my son a new stainless 10/22 for his 13th birthday last year. Haven't had a problem with the Wranglers, and my son has shot several thousand rounds through his 10/22, with amazingly few malfunctions for a rimfire autoloader.

My oldest Ruger has to be my Mini-14. No matter what folks say about them, I do love it. I've shot unknown quantities of ammo through it in the last thirty-some years, and I don't recall a single malfunction that wasn't magazine related (darn aftermarket junk magazines, and Bill Ruger with his refusal to sell magazines to the "common guy"). Then there's my old Standard, with untold thousands of rounds through it, and ready for untold thousands more.

I did have one recently that had a factory defect, and nearly went back for warranty work. Last year I found an old '70s Ruger Standard at a gun show. It has part of an estate, looked like it had been shot hardly at all, and was gummed up with old varnished oil and decades of disuse. I got it for a real bargain, took it all apart and cleaned it thoroughly. It malfunctioned, typically at least once per magazine, consistently. I fiddled and fooled with it for weeks, tried different magazines, even took a slo-mo video of it malfunctioning to try to figure it out. I finally narrowed the problem down to a simple tolerance-stacking issue with the bolt face. A very tiny, cautious modification and it works perfectly, never a malfunction since. I wonder if Ruger would have sent me a shipping label for a 40+ year old gun?

 

[Flymph]

My pop's bought a 10/22 and the front sight fell off, he never bothered getting it fixed, but I'm sure they'd do it no sweat.

 

[gmerkt]

I don't think it is Ruger. I think something has gone astray in America. I see it everywhere.

I tend to agree with this statement. At least Ruger makes an honest effort to make good on QC issues. I've had to send a couple of Ruger revolvers back in the past few years. But I've also had three new Smith & Wesson products that had QC issues and they are way behind Ruger in making mistakes right. Smith & Wesson has an attitude of "it's good enough" and actually said words of that sort to me with one problem gun. I no longer have the email, but I think what they said was a cosmetic issue and didn't affect function. Well, you pay $1,000 for a revolver it should look good, huh? Smith used to make good, quality guns and the few with problems they would take care of without a whimper. That's changed.

These days you are taking a risk by leaving your vehicle at the franchise dealer. In the hands of mechanics (now called technicians) who may or may not know what they are doing. My experience is few know what a torque wrench is. If they don't have a socket, they use the next size that will fit (and wreck fasteners). They bend steel hydraulic lines out of the way to change an oil filter because they are too lazy to go around the line. They use an impact wrench to install an oil drain plug. I could go on. For a while, I quit working on my own outfits and trusted them to the franchise dealers. Lately, I've taken to working on them again myself due to QC issues. You pay big money for service at the dealers, you'd think you'd get better quality service. My dad was in service management for decades, he had a quality crew who knew how to work on cars. True, cars are more complex now, I'll grant you that. On the other hand, at dealers now they don't even rebuild engines or transmissions, that work is sent out. Which was mostly done in-shop in my dad's day.

I wonder if Ruger would have sent me a shipping label for a 40+ year old gun?

They wouldn't have paid for a free shipping label, but they would've worked on the gun for free and returned it for free. I've done same with an old Mini-14 with problems.

 

[TTSX]

My take is old rugers have a reputation as affordable, built-tough firearms that worked. Now I feel like they're riding on that reputation and are commercializing more and more, much like Sig seems to be. But, I do have to give them credit for delivering what their customers are asking for. Nobody else made a 5.7 copy, the PCC is a smash hit, on no small part to Glock mag compatibility. I have a hard time hating them. I will admit though, that my rugers tend to "feel" more like toys than serious firearms

 

[Flymph]

I have a few and don't think they are anything special. No problems, but nothing to write home about. I bought a P89 in 1996 and it was fantastic. I also had a 77/22WMR that was lights out good. But nowadays I don't think nearly as highly of them.

I hold them in high regard as the working man's gun company.
That's to say they are inexpensive, fairly reliable, well built for the price, and they take care of their customers.
Any letter home would likely include putting food on the table.

 

[Alexx1401]

Seems like on all the gun forums I frequent, threads pop up fairly regularly extolling the virtues of Ruger's customer service in dealing with a defective firearm. Then, invariably, the thread will be populated by multiple posts of similar stories of Ruger firearms with problems that were sent in and repaired quickly and without question.

What's curious, is that there are so many stories of defective firearms coming from Ruger lately. I own four Ruger firearms and three are flawless. The 22/45 Lite pistol I have is very ammo sensitive, but that's normal, I guess, for a .22 semi-auto.

The impression I'm getting is that Ruger is putting out a lot of defective firearms. But, that's a purely subjective view based only on having seen random responses online.

Perhaps someone who works at a retailer or distributor could shed light on whether or not there seems to be a much higher rate of issues with Rugers than with other manufacturers. I'm looking into getting a compact and lightweight bolt rifle in .308 and the Ruger Predator is high on my list.

The only "problem" with Ruger is how many they sell. It's a lot like Kimber 1911's. Ruger outsells the other makers so of course there is going to be more bad ones make it out the door. The multiple K's that just work are of course never heard from. The one problem in that group is. Does not make the person who gets a problem feel any better but, ALL mass manufacturing works this way. The cost to make sure literally every gun that comes off the line is perfect would make the guns sell for a price no one would pay.

 

[Medic!]

I remember back before the Old Man died.



He was a dick.

 

[Alexx1401]

I remember back before the Old Man died.



He was a dick.

Sadly yes he sure as hell was. When they started making some REALLY nice stuff for the public I at first thought it was because the old man had died. Then later read the Son who took over seemed to be following in Dads footsteps and was not going to be any better. The reason things changed so much was someone bought them out and took over control from the family.

 

[Rascal01]

I tend to agree with this statement. At least Ruger makes an honest effort to make good on QC issues. I've had to send a couple of Ruger revolvers back in the past few years. But I've also had three new Smith & Wesson products that had QC issues and they are way behind Ruger in making mistakes right. Smith & Wesson has an attitude of "it's good enough" and actually said words of that sort to me with one problem gun. I no longer have the email, but I think what they said was a cosmetic issue and didn't affect function. Well, you pay $1,000 for a revolver it should look good, huh? Smith used to make good, quality guns and the few with problems they would take care of without a whimper. That's changed.

These days you are taking a risk by leaving your vehicle at the franchise dealer. In the hands of mechanics (now called technicians) who may or may not know what they are doing. My experience is few know what a torque wrench is. If they don't have a socket, they use the next size that will fit (and wreck fasteners). They bend steel hydraulic lines out of the way to change an oil filter because they are too lazy to go around the line. They use an impact wrench to install an oil drain plug. I could go on. For a while, I quit working on my own outfits and trusted them to the franchise dealers. Lately, I've taken to working on them again myself due to QC issues. You pay big money for service at the dealers, you'd think you'd get better quality service. My dad was in service management for decades, he had a quality crew who knew how to work on cars. True, cars are more complex now, I'll grant you that. On the other hand, at dealers now they don't even rebuild engines or transmissions, that work is sent out. Which was mostly done in-shop in my dad's day.



They wouldn't have paid for a free shipping label, but they would've worked on the gun for free and returned it for free. I've done same with an old Mini-14 with problems.

I got a flat tire and had it fixed. The air pressure wasn't right but it was 'good enough." Three visits to to my dealer for service and it was never detected or corrected, though their checklist assures me it is perfect every time. It was never checked.

Yesterday an inspector came to check termite bait station. There are 31. He was gone in 30 minutes. It is a 90 minutes job. Minimum.

Work ethic has been replaced by the hack, the improper and disingenuous shortcut to end results. Clever has replaced character. It has even been found in the service academies. It is the new American norm that has become the substitute for integrity.