Are all Ruger 45 Junk

[lilarky]

It seems like everytime I look at post on the 45 there's 20 people saying the first thing they have to do is get their cylinder reamed out. Ruger can't be putting so much junk out there and keep sales up can they.

I am looking for a stainless steel 45 converter new or used, are all the SS guns a distributor run only?

 

[Dan in MI]

Contrary to your point I think what you are seeing is a higher portion of the shooting public that actually knows what it really takes to make a wheelgun shoot cast bullets well. So the obvious things that are required are discussed more often.

 

[btrumanj]

Junk??
Dan in MI has it right.

 

[lilarky]

That was to be taken tongue and cheek. As I said I'm looking for a stainless steel 45 converter, to go with my SS 7.5 Blackhawk.

I'm wanting a smaller barrel but i'm having trouble finding any SS,all I come across are blued.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

That was to be taken tongue and cheek.

I would have never guessed. :roll: :roll:

...Jimbo

 

[Rigby]

I dunno, I just bought a SS 5.5" Bisley and it is hands down the best Ruger I have ever purchased.

 

[jimbo1096]

I kinda got bent out of shape when I read your first post. I guess you just gotta own one to love 'em. While they make the throats tight, that means they can be shot well with jacketed, and opened up to maximize their shootability with lead.
Ruger is the best sixgun out there for the money, and that's pretty darn good.

 

[welder]

Ruger is the best sixgun out there for the money, and that's pretty darn good. QUOTE



Exactly. I love my BH 45 conv.

 

[41manor44]

I've owned a 4 5/8" for about 15 years and am just now learning how much fun it is to shoot. Started trying some of the loads for Rugers and T/C's and it's showing me how much fun I've missed not shooting it with these loads sooner.

 

[flatgate]

My "Junk" stainless .45 cal. Blackhawk has fired 4" groups at 100 yards using my junk handloads which consist of junk 325 grain bullets setting over a decent pile of old school WW-296 powder and sparked by those magnificent CCI-350 primers. My sights are the junk that Ruger installed.

I gotta ask......"what's a converter"?

flatgate

 

[welder]

I gotta ask......"what's a converter"? QUOTE

That's easy: It a good gun store. They always "convert" my meager cash reserves into Rugers of one sort of another. :lol: :lol: Most recently a stainless P89.

 

[contender]

I currently own 14 Ruger 45 cal SA revolvers. Exactly 7 each of OM's and NM's. Some are safe queens, (NIB) and some are just shooters. The shooters ,,, so far,, have all been quite good. HOWEVER,, as mentioned above,, getting the throats reamed IF needed has helped them shoot even better. (Read; tighter groups with cast bullets.)
Junk,,,???? I think not. It's just that some folks like to tweak their guns,, just as they will a new car/truck.

 

[lilarky]

I guess I'll just go with a blued 45 colt. I haven't had the pleasure of shooting a Bisley only the Blackhawks. I really like the looks of the Bisley so next time I see one at the range I'll go beg a shot or three.

 

[eric conrad]

Post a want to buy here and look at the auction sites for JUNK 45 blackhawk/ bisleys. Look for the AcuSport models that were around a few years ago. OH! if your going to shoot cast bullets you will want to have the throats reamed to .4525 our own cas is the man to see about that. www.cylindersmith.com
Keep looking and ask questions here. They should be easy to find. Prices are going up so buy it now.
Eric

 

[mohavesam]

SO why are the degreed design engineers at Sturm, Ruger & Co so unaware of these "necessary" product alterations?
Ignorance or negligence?

Or is it just that everybody's bullits are the wrong size in the first place?

?

 

[AzRebel]

Rugers are not custom built revolvers. They're mass produced, and are a great gun for the price. Freedom Arms revolvers are better, and you don't need to do anything to make them shoot really great, but they're 3x the price of a Ruger.

From the factory, the vast majority of Ruger SA .45's shoot "good". That said, there are some fairly simple things that a person can do to make them shoot "better". For me, tweaking a gun to make it shoot or suit my needs "better" is half the fun.

But I'd never refer to them as "junk". Perhaps a "diamond in the rough" would be a better phrase for them.

Daryl

 

[TexNekkid]

SO why are the degreed design engineers at Sturm, Ruger & Co so unaware of these "necessary" product alterations?
Ignorance or negligence?

Manufacturing technique. Historically, Ruger drilled cylinders using six bits at the same time. Bit wear was uneven, resulting in throat dimension disparities. I understand Ruger has changed and is now using a single bit system. As the single bit wears, throats may become tighter, but they'll all be the same size in each cylinder.

 

[GAR]

Picked up my NIB 5 1/2" dual cylinder 45 cal Bisley yesterday and new even before I got it home that the cylinder throats were going to be off.

Never had one with oversize throats all have been undersized.

Not even going to shoot it. Cylinder will go out in the mail to Cylindersmith on Monday and it will be back to me in a week or so. It will then be throated appropiately.

Tom

 

[Cracker-American]

I am still early in the learning curve regarding this issue. But, as I understand it these cylinders, as they come from the factory are, by and large, sized correct for jacketed bullets. If you want to use cast bullets you must have your cylinders reamed to make them more accurate or to realize the full potential of the revolver.

As I see it you can always enlarge your cylinders but it is darn hard to decrease the size. And I would think Ruger would have a vested interest in supporting jacketed bullet use it seems logical to me that the cylinders would come from the factory sized for the smaller jacketed bullets.

And although I think there might be a more than even chance we have a pot stirrer amongst us I have learned some things from this thread. That I could learn things from a thread on this forum should come as no surprise.

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Clearly they are not junk. They are fantastic revolvers.
BUT...it's absolute Bull#$%t that they can't figure out something as simple as getting cylinder throats the right dimensions. My understanding is the new ones are a LOT better than the older version that were often way too large though. Of all the precision issues that come into play making a revolver, why can't they get this right?!? This might as well be a rhetorical question as many times as it's already been asked. I have never seen a Ruger come from the factory in acceptable (to me) condition. Hell I've even bought one NIB that couldn't be cocked. And I'm perfectly fine with that (I probably shouldn't be). All I ask is, get the chambers right. Is that too much to ask?

PS: The new ones I've bought have not been correctly sized for jacketed bullets. They've been several thousands of an inch too tight.

 

[Rafsob]

Well I have had quite a few of these Rugers in just about every caliber they come in. I love them all.

As to their accuracy, I shot this target with one of my cowboy Vaqueros:

Now I don't know about you, but this doesn't look like junk to me. How about you???

 

[Rodfac]

For almost any amount of money, short of custom work, Ruger is one first rate company...as to why they've historically produced .45's with under sized throats, I can't answer..but truth be told, both of mine needed to be opened up. Wish they'd change this part of their operation, but it's my only gripe.

Strong, well finished, and well designed; whether you want a rifle, shotgun, or hand cannon, Ruger has always come through for us. AND THEY'RE AN AMERICAN COMPANY...USING AMERICAN WORKERS...

Rod

 

[Bucks Owin]

I guess I'm lucky in that my 1974 NM .45 has .455"+ throats and groups .454" cast bullets just down it's .452" barrel just fine... :wink:

 

[Dale53]

I am not a gunsmith, nor do I play one on TV. However, I was trained as a machinist and have some hand skills.

I have two Ruger .45 Colt single actions - a Vaquero and a recently acquired SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP Convertible. Two friends and I bought the Bisley's at the same time.

All three of my cylinders throats measured .450" or so (they varied just a bit) with pin gauges. The same for my friends four cylinders. I reamed them all with a Manson Reamer Kiet (made for the job). We now have "custom" cylinder throats. All of us are cast bullet shooters and these revolvers shoot well enough to win a Nat'l Championship NRA Bullseye Match (not necessarily the shooters, but the revolvers).

Ruger should do better with .45 Colts but they are what they are. My .45 Colts are flat out WONDERFUL in every other category (other than the triggers - trigger job was done on all of them).

On the other hand, I have a .44 Lipsey Special (5½" blued) and a new SS 4 5/8" .44 Special Flattop and their throats are perfect right out of the box.

I don't know any Ruger employees so anything I might say regarding the factory is pure speculation. However, most of the firearms factories are not interested in reloading or reloaders. If the revolvers shoot well with jacketed bullets, I think they believe that they have done their job. The could care less what they do with home cast bullets and reloaders.... That's what I think...

FWIW
Dale53

 

[yankee7809]

I just got a .45 Blackhawk in a trade with a fellow I met at a local gun show. We were really trading each other our problem guns. He said the Blackhawk wouldn't shoot straight. I noticed that the rear sight was really worn and absent a lot of paint/blue.
When I got it home I checked the throats and found that they appear to be actually a tad UNDER .450. The gun was made in 1995. I put a new steel ejector housing on it and a brand new Ruger rear sight. Now to get the throats done and see if the little feller will run any better than the 1911 I traded away for him.
This isn't the only .45 Blackhawk I own but it has the 4.63" barrel which is scarce around here and now looks pretty good too. One could do a lot worse than a .45 Blackhawk. And that comes from a .44 Magnum fanatic.

 

[SargeMO]

Ruger is negligent in continuing to produce their .45 revolvers with tight chamber mouths. It doesn't seem to be preventing them for selling all they can produce. Most of them shoot well enough for the average weekend blammer.

I've only had one that was what I'd call 'junk' because in addition to the usual stuff, it had two chambers significantly off center, off axis- and the grip frame missed the receiver by a good 0.050" with overhang on one side. They were good enough to issue a refund on that one so in the end, it worked out.

My Old Vaquero is so good I have forgotten the semi-sorry Ruger .45 Colts I've seen and handled.

PS- Rafsob: We all have bad days. Sorry you missed the other 3 shots :wink:

 

[Bucks Owin]

Ruger is negligent in continuing to produce their .45 revolvers with tight chamber mouths. It doesn't seem to be preventing them for selling all they can produce. Most of them shoot well enough for the average weekend blammer.

I've only had one that was what I'd call 'junk' because in addition to the usual stuff, it had two chambers significantly off center, off axis- and the grip frame missed the receiver by a good 0.050" with overhang on one side. They were good enough to issue a refund on that one so in the end, it worked out.

My Old Vaquero is so good I have forgotten the semi-sorry Ruger .45 Colts I've seen and handled.

Well, IMHO, tight throats can be dealt with and are better than overly large ones so it's a step in the right direction. NOW, if only the charge holes themselves were tightened up and weren't cut for dirty, dented 1873 cavalry era ammo...(eg .486"+ :roll: )

 

[americal]

My "Junk" stainless .45 cal. Blackhawk has fired 4" groups at 100 yards using my junk handloads which consist of junk 325 grain bullets setting over a decent pile of old school WW-296 powder and sparked by those magnificent CCI-350 primers. My sights are the junk that Ruger installed.

I gotta ask......"what's a converter"?

flatgate

:lol: :lol: :lol: you got me good on that reply.

 

[Dan in MI]

Well I have had quite a few of these Rugers in just about every caliber they come in. I love them all.

As to their accuracy, I shot this target with one of my cowboy Vaqueros:

Now I don't know about you, but this doesn't look like junk to me. How about you???

Uhmmmm...... something ain't right. .075" group would have .45x" bullets ovelapping, almost one hole. Tell me there's a typo.

 

[Carolina Sorillo]

Well I have had quite a few of these Rugers in just about every caliber they come in. I love them all.

As to their accuracy, I shot this target with one of my cowboy Vaqueros:

Now I don't know about you, but this doesn't look like junk to me. How about you???

Uhmmmm...... something ain't right. .075" group would have .45x" bullets ovelapping, almost one hole. Tell me there's a typo.

I'm guessing he was measureing to the inside edge of the bullet holes.
If so, that transfers to approx. a 1.25" center to center group. Which still ain't nothing to sneeze at.

C.S.