"Another thought on Ruger quality.
I wonder if Ruger could get away with borrowing from Freedom arms Premier / Field grade idea which even some of the Italian SA makers are doing to cater to the SASS shooters that want a better tuned revolver?"
A better tuned, or whatever things Ruger would "borrow" from FA or some of the Italian makers would only drive up the cost of the guns from Ruger.
FA,, you will pay about $3000.00 for a firearm. Over 3x what a Ruger will cost. Why? Because FA spends more time, (read money) on hand working their guns. Plus,, despite the cost of a FA,, the production rate is MUCH less,, and as such,, I think currently,, they have a 2 year backlog of builds. If Ruger had a 2 year backlog,, can you imagine the amount of complaining we'd see?
Ruger has stockholders,, and a different business model than FA.
As for the Italian makers, different country, different rules & different business models. Wages & expenses are totally different there.
Having had the honor of actually visiting both FA and Ruger manufacturing plants,, and actually seeing how the guns are made,, I can attest to the fact that FA has a MUCH smaller place, workforce, and in general, everything that Ruger has at it's disposal.
And at Ruger,, it's actually AMAZING watching them build guns as good as they do, in the amount of time, with the production levels, all while making them affordable to the masses.
Many complain about the "quality" of Ruger guns. They think they should get Rolls Royce quality at Volkswagon prices. I'm actually amazed at the quality, of a mass produced product, being offered at the price point they are sold for. Ruger excels at this.
There is a reason FA charges what they do, same as Rolls Royce charges more for an automobile.
For the complainers,, I ask; "Can you build a factory, to mass produce, a top quality, hand built, product, in a very timely fashion,, and sell it at a very low price for the masses to afford?" If so,, I challenge you to actually do it.
The amount of hand building that goes into a FA requires skilled LABOR,, and labor expenses translates into a higher costing firearm. A skilled gun builder like the ones who build FA handguns,, are much different than many of the workers at Ruger. Ruger Corp made history a few years ago, by building ONE MILLION firearms in a year. Then followed it by building TWO MILLION firearms in a year. In it's entire history, I do not think FA has gotten anywhere near a million forearms period.
The difference in mass production, and hand building.
Both have their place.
But back to the OP's comments & thoughts.
Ruger does listen to consumers. And they do try hard to build a top quality product within the guidelines of their production desires. And yes,, they strive to improve things as much as they can. Have they improved their products? From what I've personally seen, discussed with the folks at Ruger,, I can say that "Yes,, they have."
Add in the fact that if a person has an issue with a Ruger,, the company has stood behind their products for decades. They fix the issues as best they can. If they can't fix it,, they offer a replacement in some form. But occasionally,,,, they get a customer who demands much more than they should,, and well beyond what is normally offered. (Such as a hand tuned, hand fitted, perfect gun, at a cheap price.)
Looks like you are experiencing the results of Ruger trying hard to build a better mass produced Blackhawk. Kudos!
Will Ruger satisfy each & every customer every time? Absolutely not. And it doesn't matter what company, business or whatever,, none ever will. None of us are 100% perfect, 100% of the time, satisfying each & every person, or employer we encounter. I've had a small percentage of my customers who were not satisfied. Even after I made attempts to correct things as much as I could.