Ruger Quality Control

[hammie]

I just purchased a new Ruger Vaquero two days ago. It had a trigger pivot pin which protruded out a little too much, but I thought that the problem was probably with the pin or its alignment and I could either realign the pin or replace it from my ruger spare parts kit.

When I took the grip frame off, it became clear that the non-gate side of the cylinder frame was ground down about .025 inches too much. The attached pictures show the asymmetry on the grip frame, the cylinder frame, and the protruding pins.

I would appreciate any opinions on what to do. The defect (if it is one) was not readily apparent to me until I took the grip frame off and looked very closely and so it is only aesthetic. It does not affect the functioning, reliability or safety of the revolver. Am I being too picky and should I just re-assemble the gun and enjoy it?

[TRex99]

I'd definitely make a call to Ruger to discuss.

[JohnKSa]

Take some better pictures and mark them so that it's readily apparent what is visible in the pictures that is troubling to you.

Then send the pics to Ruger with an explanation of the issue and see what they say.

[hammie]

@JohnKSa: I replaced the pictures with, hopefully, better ones. The asymmetry of the frame should show how the one side is more shallow.

There should be an e-mail contact on the ruger website. I'll try to e-mail them the pictures as you suggest.

[Kreyzhorse]

Good luck Hammie. If there is a problem Ruger will take care of you.

[Grizz12]

call them and send the gun back

[DPris]

Unfortunately, Ruger QC has been variable in recent times.
Talk to them, if yours bothers you.
Denis

[rodfac]

Ruger could do better than that with their QC...but their Customer Service is still first rate by all accounts...call 'em, and they'll most likely send you a shipping label...gotta ask tho, did you inspect the piece before you bought it? And, I take it that none of that was visible at the shop? Also, did you shoot it yet, and if so, is there any obvious function or accuracy issues? Rod

[hammie]

@rodfac: I did notice the protruding trigger pivot pin, but I didn't look for these other issues, and I wouldn't have even thought to look for them at the time. I guess, as the man said before his hanging, "This will certainly be a lesson to me." Today, I did examine three other mid-frame rugers which I own. The two .44 specials were fitted flawlessly. The .45 ACP birds head did show some grip frame to frame fitting and grinding problems, but they were not anywhere near as severe as this new, New Vaquero. As I said it was not anything I had been looking for, up to now.

I do realize that you can't expect perfection in mass produced guns, but there is a difference between being perfect and being correct. Two years ago I purchased a ruger 1-A, in .303 british, which had very slightly canted sights. I didn't notice it until months later when a friend pointed it out. The canting is not enough to justify fixing, but it's irritating once you know it's there. You can claim that I should have noticed the canted sights, but I somehow resent being unpaid quality control, and blaming the final user skirts the larger issue that neither of these two guns should have left the factory in those conditions in the first place.

After calming down a bit, I'm leaning toward just keeping the gun as is, and avoiding the hassle of the long drive to the UPS central facility and the very real risk of theft during shipping both ways (assuming ruger is even willing to address this). As I said in the original post, it is merely a cosmetic problem and does not affect function or reliability. Plus there is no way to fix it, other than throwing away the grip frame and cylinder frame and starting over. What I can say for sure, however, is that this revolver is my nineteenth ruger product and there won't be a twentieth. It is very disappointing.

[Grizz12]

ruger will send UPS to your house, no charge, for pick-up and delivery.

My mini is on its second trip back to them and should be done the end of this week. This time I added a note saying they need to shoot at least 60 rounds to test smooth operation. If it comes back and still does not work, I will send it back to them again.

My 10/22 I got a few months ago is perfect

[g.willikers]

If the pin sticking out like that is bothersome, why not just grind it down equal to the frame?
That might not be perfect, but will save a lot of hassle, and being without the gun.
After all, Rugers are good guns, but not exactly works of art, to begin with.

[hammie]

@gwillikers: That's a good idea. The trigger pivot pin protrudes .040 inch or almost 3/64th of an inch. I have a grinder and a buffing wheel, and can try to touch it up with cold blue, afterwards. If I screw it up, midway sells new pins for 3 bucks.

I'm sure most here are aware of this, but as an aside, ruger has a great video on the dis-assembly and re-assembly of their single action revolvers. Just go to ruger's homepage, rollover "news & resources", select videos on the drop down menu, and then on the next page click on tech tips.

[fastbolt]

Over the years of being a long time Ruger owner, I've come to learn it's probably best to learn where to draw the line on cosmetic versus functional issues.

Off hand, I can think of several Ruger pistols (.22's & a P90) and revolvers (SA & DA) which have either required either trips back to their respective factories for repair, or repair/correction outside the factory, to correct issues existing when the guns were new.

I remember my dad (being an avid Ruger enthusiast/owner) had much the same experiences with his Ruger Blackhawks and an early 50's Ruger Standard .22 (which I still own).

Ruger's customer service usually runs right up there with S&W's. I think the last time I had to return a gun they offered to reimburse me for the initial shipping if I'd send them a copy of the shipping invoice. (S&W fronts the cost of shipping.)

It might be prudent to first consider calling them and discussing your concern about the gun before you got out the files, stones, grinders, etc.

[dakota1911]

I would call Ruger and talk with them as a first step.

[Ozzieman]

I would call them but I have nonrelated question.
What is that blue round object you have holding your gun, looks interesting for holding a revolver.
Thank you.

[hammie]

Not only a lot of good advice, but much wisdom in the replies. I've pretty much decided to live with it but I still can't get rid of the gut feeling that we shouldn't HAVE to keep sending guns back for ruger to "get it right". Plus, as I said, the gun can't be fixed unless the grip frame and frame are replaced, which, as a practical matter, means a new gun. Nor should I have to go into a gun shop with a set of flat blade screwdrivers and a vernier caliper and dis-assemble a gun prior to its purchase. So it's my last ruger.

Two months ago I bought a new CZ, full stock, .30-06, and the wood, fitting and machining almost rises to the level of artwork. A few days ago, I bought a CZ 2075 rami, and again the craftsmanship was excellent. Same way with a henry pump, that I just bought. We shouldn't have to put up with shoddy workmanship.

@ozzieman: The blue round thing is a Wheeler Engineering Bench Block. It was mostly designed for gunsmithing 1911's, but can readily be used for any handgun. Midwayusa.com has them in stock for 17.30 $, and midway's product # is 265720. They're very handy.

[Ozzieman]

hammie
Thank you sir!