Ruger gets Kudos so far

Mike Cork · November 27, 2018, 09:09:46 PM

Those that have been following me and my .380 Ruger issues know I was going to send it in to have them look at it.

A little back story. Laurie has had this weapon for a bit, I really didn't know how long. She didn't fire it much as it was difficult to get to a range. Well we bought a membership to an indoor range and she would use it often. We live in an open carry state and the vehicle is an extension of the home so she carries her gun every time she hits the road and stops by the range often to kill paper.

She went two years or so and only put two hundred or so rounds through it. It fired perfectly every time. Then in a year she put maybe three hundred rounds through it and that's when her jamming issues started.

I called Ruger last year when it started and they sent a magazine which didn't fix the problem. I called them back and they said to send it in through the store we purchased it. I didn't get it taken care of, go figure.

I called Ruger last week and gave them my information and they looked up the previous conversations. They still agreed that it needed to be sent in. I explained that it's a pain in the arse to get to the original place of purchase to have them send it in, so they emailed me a prepaid label. The label arrived while we were still on the phone.

I'm impressed so far. I shipped it out yesterday so we'll see how it goes. The rep on the phone said I'll get an email when they get it, another when they decide what is wrong and if anything needs changed. I'll also be notified if there are any charges I might have to pay. I stuttered at that and he said that the weapon is four years old already, which shocked me, but he assured me that there are rarely any charges due unless I ran over it with a truck or something... SO for them to send a pre paid label was pretty cool. We'll see how it goes with the charges. I didn't have to pay to mail it in, so they are getting a Customer Service thumbs up so far.

Wizard · November 27, 2018, 10:02:14 PM

Only complaint I have against Ruger is I've seen two weapons explode barrels. One was on a brand new weapon firing the first round. The barrel exploded but the shooter didn't get hurt. The second time was similar to the first. Midway through the box, the barrel exploded, This time the shooter lost a finger. In all my years shooting, those were the only two semi auto I have seen or heard explode. The problem on one was the ammo. Military weapons are built to mil-spec. The civilian equivalent may not be mil-spec. So, if you fire military ammo built to MILITARY standards you usually have a heavier grain bullet and 10-15 more grain of propellant in the same size round. Fire it through a non mil-spec weapon such as a Ruger and you COULD have problems. You can buy Swiss Military ammo in the US. It comes in 9mm with a 124 grain bullet vs. 115 grain for civilian ammo. I use it in my M-9 Beretta(mil-spec) but not in my Taurus PT-92, a Beretta clone built under license in Brazil. (non mil-spec). Same with civilian AR 15 rifles. Price a mil-spec AR vs. the less expensive AR. About $1000 difference.
Sorry if I got a little off track. Just saying you have watch what you feed your weapon.

Wizard

SteveTX · November 28, 2018, 12:57:36 AM

Mike its just my opinion but Id wager you get the gun back with no charge. That P95 I sent in literally was what I call a truck gun. Ya know the one gun that gets put in the floor or seat or wherever. It was not pristine and had signs of a lot of rounds being shot through it. I even told Ruger I had just bought it a month or so ago at a pawn shop. Still my bill was $0.00

From what you have said that .380 is still relatively new condition. 500 rounds or so is nothing but broke in imho. The gun worked great before and I am sure something changed to cause the issue. Its mechanical shit happens sometimes to the best mechanical stuff. Just look at the best boats best fishing reels etc they all have full time repair shops.

Heck last Friday took out the old 30-06 just to play and all I ended up with was about 3 shots and a broke gun. This gun has been extremely reliable for years yet its mechanical. Just have to find the problem and cure it. Here is what happened to it. That is suppose to be a spring.

The ammunition specifications from Ruger I copied and pasted below strait from the online manual for the Ruger 380 Auto LCP. Pretty much I read don't get +P or stronger charged rounds. And from what it says military spec 380 Auto rounds are not a problem therefore not +P. Remember grain size is not the charge size. The charge is what creates the pressure that potentially does the damage to the firearm.

QuoteAMMUNITION

The RUGER® LCP® pistols are chambered for the 380 Auto cartridge. Do not attempt to load any other cartridges into the magazine or chamber of the pistol. Do not use "+P" ammunition.

The RUGER® LCP® pistols are compatible with standard factory ammunition loaded to U.S. Industry Standards, including hollow-point loads loaded in brass or aluminum cases. No 380 Auto ammunition manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards is known to be beyond the design limits or known not to function in these pistols. Do not use "+P" ammunition

source: page 12 of

Oldfart9999 · November 28, 2018, 07:02:10 AM

Quote from: SteveTX on November 28, 2018, 12:57:36 AM
Mike its just my opinion but Id wager you get the gun back with no charge. That P95 I sent in literally was what I call a truck gun. Ya know the one gun that gets put in the floor or seat or wherever. It was not pristine and had signs of a lot of rounds being shot through it. I even told Ruger I had just bought it a month or so ago at a pawn shop. Still my bill was $0.00

From what you have said that .380 is still relatively new condition. 500 rounds or so is nothing but broke in imho. The gun worked great before and I am sure something changed to cause the issue. Its mechanical shit happens sometimes to the best mechanical stuff. Just look at the best boats best fishing reels etc they all have full time repair shops.

Heck last Friday took out the old 30-06 just to play and all I ended up with was about 3 shots and a broke gun. This gun has been extremely reliable for years yet its mechanical. Just have to find the problem and cure it. Here is what happened to it. That is suppose to be a spring.

The ammunition specifications from Ruger I copied and pasted below strait from the online manual for the Ruger 380 Auto LCP. Pretty much I read don't get +P or stronger charged rounds. And from what it says military spec 380 Auto rounds are not a problem therefore not +P. Remember grain size is not the charge size. The charge is what creates the pressure that potentially does the damage to the firearm.

What caused that spring to be deformed? That needs to be found out first, before a new one goes in.
Rodney

the_huber_show · November 28, 2018, 07:56:36 AM

That's great to hear Mike! Sounds like their customer service game is on point

Princeton_Man · November 28, 2018, 09:41:23 AM

I've never had a bad thing to say about Ruger. My very first Ruger was a single action Blackhawk .357 magnum followed by a 44 mag. I also owned a collection of Security Six models in various barrel lengths in both stainless and blue. One of my big mistakes was selling those right before I got married the first time. Shortly afterwards I bought a P89DC that I carried in a SOB and shoulder holster for years. My oldest son has it now, though like me he's grown fond of Sigs and Glocks.

Back during my wheel gun days I used to do a lot of hand loads and created some pretty dangerous rounds. Never cracked a cylinder or blew anything up.

No matter if it's a weapon for defense or hunting, I don't think you can ever go wrong with a Ruger. I can't even guess how many rounds I've put through my LCP. It's from the beginning of their second production run right after they corrected a drop-fire issue that was found in the first production. The finish is pretty worn from carry and cleaning but it still functions flawlessly.

SteveTX · November 28, 2018, 09:47:50 AM

Quote from: Oldfart9999 on November 28, 2018, 07:02:10 AM
What caused that spring to be deformed? That needs to be found out first, before a new one goes in.
Rodney

The gun is a Remington Woodsmaster 742 in 30-06 cal.. This is one of the earlier versions 1968-1975 sometimes called the hump back. (see hump in pic below) It had a different BCG (Bolt Carrier Group) than later versions containing this spring. I believe this is the spring that came out. I haven't taken it apart to verify this yet. This is a semi-auto rifle and when it fired it instantly locked up the action. The BCG became jammed on the spring when it came loose. Literally the BCG had to be drove back with a block of wood to remove the spring. It was wedged extremely tight on it. That pic is what was found as it fell out.

So to answer your question Rodney It was probably a combination of things but I will guess it broke possibly from fatigue the gun is old. Secondly getting caught up in the action of the BCG on that last time it was fired did some of the mangling. And third I probably didn't help it any driving that BCG back with a hammer and a block of wood to get it out.

Of course I will not be doing anything until the gun is completely torn down and gone through. It wont even cycle by hand properly so there is definitely a piece of something possibly that spring still in there.

I feel the same way Princeton_Man and have had the same experience as far as a working gun Ruger has been a excellent gun. Ive had several and I have a later model SR .45 that flat eats ammo.

Mike Cork · December 03, 2018, 07:24:17 PM

Got this weapon back today, right at 7 days. They replaced several pieces to include the extractor, extractor spring and barrel. Came with a nice note of apology for the inconvenience and a very nice wipe cloth.

I should be able to get it to the range this week and see if it's working correctly. Something I noticed right off the back is that it's very smooth right now. Makes the .380 body guard I just bought feel stiff and clunky.

Princeton_Man · December 03, 2018, 08:13:14 PM

That was fast!

SteveTX · December 03, 2018, 11:55:34 PM

the_huber_show · December 04, 2018, 09:01:49 AM

Quote from: Mike Cork on December 03, 2018, 07:24:17 PM
Got this weapon back today, right at 7 days. They replaced several pieces to include the extractor, extractor spring and barrel. Came with a nice note of apology for the inconvenience and a very nice wipe cloth.

I should be able to get it to the range this week and see if it's working correctly. Something I noticed right off the back is that it's very smooth right now. Makes the .380 body guard I just bought feel stiff and clunky.

That was very fast! Good signs too. Hopefully it get's back to shooting correct

Mike Cork · December 04, 2018, 09:06:58 AM

I was afraid I would get the call that they couldn't find anything

and blame it on shooting ability. Might get to the range this afternoon or tomorrow.

the_huber_show · December 04, 2018, 09:40:58 AM

Quote from: Mike Cork on December 04, 2018, 09:06:58 AM
I was afraid I would get the call that they couldn't find anything and blame it on shooting ability. Might get to the range this afternoon or tomorrow.

I think that would be unlikely since there is two of you shooting it with the problem.

Mike Cork · December 05, 2018, 06:41:35 PM

It shot great with Remington, Blazer Brass, and Sig ammo. I'm actually very pleased with it.

I also shot the body guard I just bought and man what a mean little gun. After about the third magazine my hand started hurting. It's so small there is nothing to soak up the recoil.

SteveTX · December 05, 2018, 07:52:42 PM

Quote from: Mike Cork on December 05, 2018, 06:41:35 PM
It shot great with Remington, Blazer Brass, and Sig ammo. I'm actually very pleased with it.

I also shot the body guard I just bought and man what a mean little gun. After about the third magazine my hand started hurting. It's so small there is nothing to soak up the recoil.

When a gun is working it will eat any proper sized ammunition. If its a 9mm and you feed it quality 9mm the brand should never matter. Glad Ruger fixed it up for you I was confident they would.

I have large hands and none of those real small guns work for me. Even with extended magazines they are not comfortable. These work great for ladies as typically their hands are smaller Also the gun is really light weight so they aren't discouraged to carry at all times. Of course any protection is better than none.

the_huber_show · December 06, 2018, 08:41:43 AM

Quote from: Mike Cork on December 05, 2018, 06:41:35 PM
It shot great with Remington, Blazer Brass, and Sig ammo. I'm actually very pleased with it.

I also shot the body guard I just bought and man what a mean little gun. After about the third magazine my hand started hurting. It's so small there is nothing to soak up the recoil.

That's great to hear Mike! The body guard are mean little boogers

SteveTX · January 22, 2019, 12:16:22 PM

Hows the gun working Mike? Have you guys been to the range much since repaired?

Mike Cork · January 22, 2019, 01:04:45 PM

Still firing great as far as I know. I bought Mother a membership to the range and she'll just stop in and fire off a few from time to time. I know she's been because I had to refill her boxes. No complaining so all must be good.

I'll see if she'll drag me along next time as her "plus one" and get some first hand Intel. But with Mother, no news is good news.

SteveTX · January 22, 2019, 01:23:05 PM

Good deal. I would agree if something went wrong you would hear first I would imagine.