It seems like happens with most companies when the founder dies the quality control goes to hell. I've heard of and seen more stupid stuff on these guns lately but this one takes the cake. I bought a brand new 45LC Bisley as a donor for a customer and last night I began tear down. Aside from the normal crappy tolerances you can drive a truck through I ran into an issue with getting the barrel off. It didn't take long to realize the threads are galded. I worked at it for about an hour or so before giving up for the night. This morning I put a cheater pipe on it and the barrel made about a 1/2 turn and snapped. Although these pics aren't the best the barrel is welded in place from being cross threaded and forced by machine installation. I can just about guarantee they won't do anything about it since I was modifying one of their guns even though apparently it has got to the point if you want a decent Ruger it's going to have to be modified. I plan on contacting them Monday for what it's worth but I don't expect much. There isn't enough metal left to recut the threads so I may have to go oversize and cut the barrel to match. I had a bad experience last week at Nosler also, it's definitely not what it was when the old man was alive. They are riding the old mans name and ideas and they will run it into the ground. I can't say how many of these barrels I've taken off, all I know is it's a bunch and this is the second one in a week with bad threads. The other one I was able to chase the threads on but both were recent manufacture. I hope this isn't a sign of what's coming but I'm afraid it is.

Rod, couldn't agree more. I've now on my second SRH 454.

The first one had the front sight on about a 7 degree angle to vertical. Either the barrel wasn't setup right or the sight block was put on incorrectly. Ruger replaced the gun but it took two to three years for the replacement to arrive.

The second one is crap. The bore is full of the worst machining marks I've ever seen. The cylinder gap is excessive and the cylinder throats run around 454 to 455. Nonexistent accuracy and spits badly.

The type of faults are such that it indicates that there isn't a quality control system in place.

I'll be getting rid of it and never buying another Ruger product of any kind.

definitely not something that instills faith when dealing with something that can hurt or kill you. I think I'm going to look into getting my own frames made if this is what I have to look forward to.

Rod I'm right there with you on the quality going down. I've been considering ordering a new ruger but once it gets here it's mine. I think I may be better off going from shop to shop with a pocket full of gauges.

I definitely would suggest doing that if you can, the other thing of course on the new blackhawks is the locking system which I plan to make a something up to allow the locks to be removed.

Gee, I must have got kinda lucky. Although I was a little nervous when I ordered my new one. It kinda shoots with jacketed bullets and is showing potential with the cast. I think the next will either a BFR or a Built By Rod gun.

Sorry to hear your poor luck with them Rod and I hope that they make it right.

Just relaized that I have six BH/SBH revolvers (3 BH, 1 SBH and 2 Hunters). The newest is about six years old. Only two are completely original...the others have been tweaked internally or other custom touches done to them.

Sad to hear the quality to going down the tubes...better look for used ones!!

I'd felt like crap if yours had been a lemon after recommending it. I'll bet you the one mentioned a few weeks ago on the hunting forum with the loose barrel was caused from galded threads too.

I have three more brand new guns to tear down and I'm keeping my fingers crossed I don't run into more of the same. The bad thing is that these guns aren't safe, the only thing holding the barrel in was actual metal rolled up from cross threading, the threads are gone flush.

I'd be interested to hear what they have to say. I have always been very happy with all my Rugers whether SA, DA, semi-auto pistol or rifle. If they are just riding the brand name out now it looks like I bought my last Ruger. I'll still keep an eye out for good (older) Rugers.

I'm hoping it's something they will correct because I have always been a fan of both Ruger handguns and rifles and to be honest they probably aren't the only ones having issues. It seems like none of the companies make guns like they used to. Another example is the model 94 just before Winchester discontinued it. If you handled a 30yr old version and then a new one you'd throw the new one in the garbage. We'll see what they have to say but I'm not going to pull any punches with what I think about crap like this`although I'm sure I'll get the "you shouldn't have been taking apart our gun". I got that from another custom gun builder once and I found out why, the gun had been assembled incorrectly and although advertised as having had all this custom work done all it had was a new barrel and cylinder with just as bad of clearances as the factory guns.

Trouble maker!

I know but i just cant help myself and i never did get the hang of turning the other cheek

You only turn the other cheek to protect your strong side so you can still draw!

When i picked up my NMBH .357 last spring it would of stayed at the store if i had my reading glasses with. Alot of quality issues for 450.00. Only reason i kept it is that its a real shooter. Next Ruger will be good condition used.

Well I'm hoping that if there are enough complaints about quality they will get back on track with quality. Bill Ruger would never have tolerated this. I forgot today is a holiday so I'll be on the phone with them tomorrow and if they surprise me and don't fight with me about making it right then that will be something but if they don't correct stuff this serious an injury or death is imminent.

Rod i'm glad you brought this up, with all the Ruger fans i just kept my mouth shut.

The last three Rugers i've bought had sloppy tolerance and shot terrible. Not trying to get on the bash Ruger band wagon.

I've always loved my Rugers and i'm sourly disappointed in what i have been seeing lately.

I hear you and to be clear I'm one of the biggest Ruger fans there is but things are going downhill and I can't in good conscious recommend a product I'm seeing problems with. I owned well over a hundred of my own blackhawks and aside from minor stuff here and there they were always just a solid gun but something is up. I think the problem with Ruger and Nosler right now is the same thing that happened to Wal Mart. When the founders were alive they kept things in check because they were old school and it was their name on the product but in the days we now live in everything is controlled by bean counters and it's all about cutting corners to save a buck. I'm not saying Ruger is the only one either, I just bring them up because of this recent issue but also because so many people on here do like them I don't want to see any of them get burned financially or physically.

What kind of production dates are to be avoided? Very recent? I bought a sbhh in 44 last february, a yr ago, and have run many many many practice rounds thru it, and it has rapidly become my favorite gun. Its more accurate than I can be, and the fit, finish, and build quality is very good. Is the drop in ruger quality something thats happened over the past yr, or did I just get lucky with mine? Im very dissapointed to read so much about the drop in the quality of my favorite brand. This really stinks, because freedom arms is a bit (way) over some folks budget.

At this point I'm not sure, and your gun may be fine. I'm not saying all of them are bad but then again if the threads on your barrel were to be in the shape the ones on this last gun I took apart were it may hold together for an indefinite amount of time. The only way to know is to have the barrel taken off and if it's not giving you problems and your not having it modified there is no reason to do that. Just be aware, it will be obvious if a barrel starts coming loose. I will hopefully have more info after talking to Ruger although if there is an in depth problem I doubt they would be forth coming as they don't want to be looking at a recall.

Look at how long Remington hid the problems on the model 700, The original engineer found the problem in his own design and told them about it but rather than make a recall at the time and correct the problem they continued production of an action that could fail with catastrophic consequences and it did. there have been fatalities from the 700's failings and has just been fixed in the past few years.

I have many Rugers and not a dud in the bunch. It can, and will, happen with any manufacturing process. I hope it is but an episode or few, and not a trend, but one might take a closer look at that next gun before leaving the store with it. There are plenty of good old rugers out there.

I got my first Ruger Blackhawk back in 78 and it still works perfectly. A about a year a go I purchased 2 new Ruger handguns - a 41 mag Blackhawk and a LCP. Both needed to be sent back for repairs. The Blackhawk had what seemed like the barrel out of proper rotation causing the front sight to be off. The LCP had a defective slide that started to hang up between rounds. Both guns were repaired by Ruger at no cost to me and I am very pleased with the results. I was initially questioning my purchases but after the repairs I now have 2 quality handguns.

I've heard alot of complaints of sight alignment issues, the thing is you shouldn't have to send a new gun back and what you just posted just added to my concerns because as that is probably the eighth or ninth case of sight alignment I've seen or heard of in the past two or three months. Aside from the major issues I've been talking about I've heard of alot of people having to send their new Rugers back. The other problem Ruger has always had that you have to watch for is they overtorque their barrels and it can actually cause narrowind of the threaded part of the barrel and I've heard of extreme cases where this can be as much at .006" which causes accuracy problems as well as the potential for pressure issues.

I can deal with the tight throats which most of their guns have or the .006 cylinder gap or the .010 in rotation and lateral cylinder movement but galling of the barrel threads is a whole new ball game and if there seems to be an increase of guns being returned because of front sight alignment issues that sounds like a barrel torquing issue as I believe the sight and ejector housing hole are drilled before the barrel is mounted.

I was just talking to Mike Bellm and he said Browning had the same issue with some of their stainless guns a few years back and it got to the point he refused to work on them anymore. I would hope they have that corrected but who knows.

Just to reiterate I love my Rugers and they are the backbone of my business. I own both Ruger rifles and revolvers and I've owned their auto's but I felt like with me being in the business and with the fact that it no longer looks like a fluke I should forewarn people with the facts I've found. I am in no way trying to trash on Ruger owners, like I've said counting rifles I've probably owned over 200 Rugers in my life from 22 rimfire to 458 Lott and I've loved everyone and never had to return one for repairs and I've never had one break until now.

You talk to Ruger yet Rod?

No duds ever in Ruger stash either... I have never any problems with any of my Rugers. I just purchased a new Bisely 44 Hunter about 3 weeks ago. We all know its a great looking pistol but this gun shoots great.I took the gun apart and polished the trigger parts and replaced the hammer & trigger springs like I've done for all my Rugers. The trigger now breaks at about 2 lbs with just a hint of creep.
Sounds like I got lucky after reading this...Hope Ruger gets this corrected...On a personal note I have to say;I have never seen a Ruger revolver that did'nt function properly and shoot great...thats just been my experience anyway.

All my Ruger handguns and longguns are top notch.

I have never cared much for ruger auto pistols with the exception of the various models of 22 pistols they have made over the years. I like all of their revolvers and have owned probably 20 over the years. Never had one I would consider a tackdriver. Most wouldn't benefit from a scope. I have shot some that belong to others that really shot well. I would rather them charge a little more for each gun and do it right than them take one of the best designs and just build it with enough slop that every one will just slap together and work. It's fine for AK's and other mass produced firearms for third world militaries but it's a shame to see them take a great design and make it sloppy. I haven't heard much negative about the hunter line of pistols. I don't know if they spend more time on them or if there are just less out there so you hear about less problems.

My NMBH .357 is a tack driver with open sights, just not happy with fit and finish! Had to take trigger guard and file done sharp over hanging edges, wanted the pinto look anyhow but if you look closely at front blade sight left side it is half blued! Guess i"ll dab a little cold blue and keep it oiled up, my own fault for excepting gun new out of box like that. Stainless guns from here on, can't hide exterior flaws. Why am i having such a hard time finding a SingleSix Hunter used?

. Why am i having such a hard time finding a SingleSixHunter used?------Amen! I've been trying to find a Single Six Hunter, new or used for 9mos. No luck. My SBHH in 44 has been a wonderful gun. Very accurate, and good fit/finish. Maybe they do spend a minute more on the hunter line.

I've been blasted with work and wanted to tear down the rest of the guns I had in before I called Ruger. Last night I finally got the last of remaining 6 barrels off, three of those were brand new guns. All the remaining barrels came off ok, one was overtightened and took substantially more force to brake loose but other than having flared the barrel shoulder it came right off once broke loose. I did notice something on the three new barrels they all had a light grease on the threads. I'm guessing this wasn't present on the older guns either from being burnt out from shooting or it's something they've started doing more recently. The barrel that broke didn't have any signs of greas on it but the amount of heat created in damaging the threads may have burnt if out. I'll let you know what happens when I talk to Ruger.

whatever happened?

Every firearms maker produces a batch of bad guns, the difference is how the customer service dept takes care of the problem.
From my past dealing with them over a " varmint target rifle" a.22PPC,opened my eyes.
As long as your rifle will shoot 1" @ 50 yards it meets their specs as good to go.
I went round and round with them an it did not turn out well.
My last Ruger I bought was several years ago a Red Hawk .44.
It was a pile of crap. Action felt like it was full of sand would not shoot a group at all. Come to find out the chambers were off center and on and on.
After my dealing with customer service and how I was treated and talked to I just sold it.
If the customer service rep had not acted poorly and if when I sent the rifle back 3 times and it was returned with the head slots on the guard screws messed up and a target showing 3 shots in 1/2" @ 50 yards and basically told I can not shoot and it met their standards I was done with them.
Maybe their standards need to improve!
Sorry just venting some.