1986 RUGER AD

[jedagi]

I was looking at a 1986 Ruger GP100 advertisement today. What caught my eye was the slogan/statement on the front. " Our direction is toward perfection " signed Bill Ruger. I have 2 early 80's ruger pistols. I am curious as to what happened to that direction. My 2 older pistol are near perfect. No burrs, tool marks, dents are dings. My new GP 100 has burrs around the sight plunger hole, the slot that the cylinder locating lug raises out of, the end of the trigger was sharp enough to cut you until I hit it with fine diamond file. The champfer on the back of the cylinder has a sharp Burr around it. I could go on. It has a catch in the cocking of the hammer on one chamber. My old rugers function perfectly smooth. I wish i could work in QA at their plant for awhile. I would probably get fired.

 

[Tony_The_Liger]

I bet if you called Ruger, they'd make it right... >100%.

 

[BlkHawk73]

You want Freedom Arms fit, finish and quality and Ruger prices eh? :roll: Look at everything in mass production now. The age of workers having pride in their work is diminishing fast. Used to be that folks considered the result first and everything else was secondary. Now it's all about the paycheck.

" Our direction is toward perfection " signed Bill Ruger.

Bill Ruger died.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Their stainless guns do seem to have a lot of sharp edges and in general their guns have less than perfect fit and finish. That said I do think they are a good value and what they lack in fit and finish they more than make-up for in strength and quality engineering. A little tinkering can make almost any of their guns a good working and dependable firearm. If there is really something wrong with a Ruger gun a trip back to the factory usually results in a very satisfied customer.

...Jimbo

 

[jedagi]

As for the freedom arms fit Finnish and quality @ ruger prices. My Ruger Super Blackhawk cost 250.00. Less than half the price of the gp. It is near perfect. I was a production machinist for half my life and if we didn't deburr our parts they got red tagged and sent back to us. A few red tags and we got written up. 3 write ups and probation. And so on.
How long is the turn around on sending a firearm back to ruger?

 

[JNewell]

These are not good answers, but they probably are part of the truth.

1. No one, Ruger included, makes 'em like they used to.

2. You cannot overestimate the importance of the founder, whose name is on the door, running the company.

 

[Tony_The_Liger]

Turn around for my Gp100 was 8 days from leaving my hand to getting it back in my hand. I sent in a firearm that was just ok and got back one that was awesome and felt like a new gun with a trigger job.

It took Ruger less time to get it back to me than it did for USPS to deliver the notification that they even had the firearm.

In my experience, however, they'll only pay for shipping if you've had the firearm less than a year, if its something that they really messed up on, and if you are polite to the nice service folks in new hampshire and on your letter...

Just call and say you bought it recently, that the cylinder is catching when you pull the hammer back, and that you'd like a UPS pickup. You pack it unloaded with a letter in a taped up box. UPS picks it up with the tag. they aren't going to quiz you, and they'll make you a customer for life. Let us know how it goes

 

[jedagi]

I think ill just do that. I figured it would be a month are so like my friends blackhawk 45. I've had this pistol about 2 weeks.
thanks

 

[TRanger]

I am sure, with Mr. Ruger's passing, there are more problems with QC than there used to be. Having said that, I have bought more Ruger firearms in the last ten years than any other brand. I have been very pleased with all of them. More than twenty years ago, I got a new Ruger Blackhawk .41 Magnum; a good gun. But I have bought three of the new flat tops in recent years and they are better guns in nearly every respect.

 

[Tony_The_Liger]

Let us know how it goes. Just a hunch, but you'll get a better response on the phone if you mention your cylinder issue, and that the trigger is cutting your finger. Then, you can detail other issues in the letter. Photos always help as well.

I wouldn't mention having filed down the trigger or working on the gun at all.

They'll return it to factory spec, internally, externally, all the way round, maybe even better than factory (as was my experience).

Make sure to ask for the UPS pickup and stress that its only two weeks old. Generally, you have to ask. Hope it works out for you and you are happy with the Gp100. They are great guns.

 

[David LaPell]

It is no different with Smith & Wesson, Remington, Marlin or other companies. The bluing on Smith revolvers isn't as nice, and the IL sucks, look at the wood stocks on todays rifles all look the same. No more the nice quality wood grain that you used to see. They all look exactly the same and the wood looks like the crap you see the furniture at Walmart made from. Ruger is no different.

 

[jedagi]

Well in order to increase profits are at least keep them from decreasing. You have to raise prices, decrease cost of the product by cheaper materials, production costs.etc. With today's machinery you can make perfect parts consistently. The MAZAK vertical milling machine I ran for 10 years would make near perfect parts, compensate for tool wear, check the parts dimensions with a probe and tell you when the tooling needed to be changed. And do all this super fast. The word" perfect " is within set tolerance.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Look at everything in mass production now. The age of workers having pride in their work is diminishing fast. Used to be that folks considered the result first and everything else was secondary. Now it's all about the paycheck.

With all due respect, don't blame the workers. There is still plenty of pride among workers. Blame management. Workers have to answer to supervisors who have to maintain production schedules. I have been in this situation. After a while, you take too long trying to get things perfect, the supervisor gives you a lecture. So then you have to turn a blind eye to imperfection and maintain the schedule or you lose your job. And the supervisor is getting beat on from above to maintain that schedule or he loses his job. It all trickles down from management, and they are setting these production schedules because they have price pressure from the marketplace to keep the price down. It ain't 1986 anymore.

No more the nice quality wood grain that you used to see. They all look exactly the same and the wood looks like the crap you see the furniture at Walmart made from. Ruger is no different.

That is a huge oversimplification of the situation. There is simply less high quality wood in the world today because we cut most it down already. I used to make my living as a woodworker for over ten years. I watched the supply of high grades of wood go down while the price went up correspondingly. That's one of the reasons I no longer make my living as a woodworker. When the price of raw materials is so high, you have to pass the cost on to the consumer. After a while, the consumer stops paying the high price. That's why almost all the furniture in Walmart looks like crap, because the entire furniture industry has left the US and gone to China, where they could buy up all the wood and afford to pay the workers next to nothing.

Walnut trees take a long, long time to grow to maturity. Today, almost all the good walnut left in the country goes to the veneer industry because slicing the wood into thin slices is the only way to get enough value out of the relatively rare trees. Wood with good figure in it is even more prized. The wood merchants are charging over five dollars per board foot these days for walnut lumber. A nice stock blank with good figure is going to be a lot more expensive than that.

 

[5of7]

I was looking at a 1986 Ruger GP100 advertisement today. What caught my eye was the slogan/statement on the front. " Our direction is toward perfection " signed Bill Ruger. I have 2 early 80's ruger pistols. I am curious as to what happened to that direction. My 2 older pistol are near perfect. No burrs, tool marks, dents are dings. My new GP 100 has burrs around the sight plunger hole, the slot that the cylinder locating lug raises out of, the end of the trigger was sharp enough to cut you until I hit it with fine diamond file. The champfer on the back of the cylinder has a sharp Burr around it. I could go on. It has a catch in the cocking of the hammer on one chamber. My old rugers function perfectly smooth. I wish i could work in QA at their plant for awhile. I would probably get fired.

I think what happened was that Ruger went public and started selling shares in the company on the NYSE (RGR). For quite a while it was a good investment stock, paying a good dividend and I had some of it myself, but I unloaded it back when they cut the dividend.

Anyway, when a company goes this route, it changes the operation of a company from a quality oriented concern, to a maximization of profits concern. You are looking at the results. While they are still damned good guns, they are not of the quality that they once were.....of course, they are probably cheaper to buy this way too.

 

[J Miller]

Why is there always time to do it over, but never time to do it right the first time?

Joe

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Why is there always time to do it over, but never time to do it right the first time?

You would have to ask management that question. The grunts on the line are usually just doing their best and doing what they are told. And when it has to be done over again, it is never management that does it.

 

[ShortBBL]

I think a big part of it is people who will be happy with shoddy work and use excuses like: If you want decent quality, buy a custom.

That kinda thinking is what the managers probably love to hear.

Back when a single six cost $100, the quality was super. Now it's lame at best. And yes, they have raised the price quite a bit to cover higher costs.

 

[JNewell]

Kinda/sorta. Remember that WBR ran the company for decades while it was publicly traded.

I was looking at a 1986 Ruger GP100 advertisement today. What caught my eye was the slogan/statement on the front. " Our direction is toward perfection " signed Bill Ruger. I have 2 early 80's ruger pistols. I am curious as to what happened to that direction. My 2 older pistol are near perfect. No burrs, tool marks, dents are dings. My new GP 100 has burrs around the sight plunger hole, the slot that the cylinder locating lug raises out of, the end of the trigger was sharp enough to cut you until I hit it with fine diamond file. The champfer on the back of the cylinder has a sharp Burr around it. I could go on. It has a catch in the cocking of the hammer on one chamber. My old rugers function perfectly smooth. I wish i could work in QA at their plant for awhile. I would probably get fired.

I think what happened was that Ruger went public and started selling shares in the company on the NYSE (RGR). For quite a while it was a good investment stock, paying a good dividend and I had some of it myself, but I unloaded it back when they cut the dividend.

Anyway, when a company goes this route, it changes the operation of a company from a quality oriented concern, to a maximization of profits concern. You are looking at the results. While they are still damned good guns, they are not of the quality that they once were.....of course, they are probably cheaper to buy this way too.