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Post by babills on Dec 13, 2023 0:24:09 GMT -5
My wife recently applied for her CCW and wanted my beloved sp101 to carry. I thought to my self why not? She shoots it well and gives me an excuse to bye a longer barrel version. So I went looking at my local shops for a 3" Wiley clapp. None to be found but did come across a 4.2 in 357 at a pretty good price. I didn't inspect it as good as I should have I guess. The action was so stiff I couldn't pull back the hammer without 2 hands and the wife couldn't at all. I did notice this in the store but figured lighter springs would help. Wrong!. Then on the left side of the frame,where the cylinder meets the rounded edge of the frame. There were chatter marks for over an inch long from shotty machining. A light stone and scotch bright made it look OK. But not what I wanted out of a brand new gun. Then off to the range I went. Front dovetail fiber optic sight fell off. I put .002 shims under it and it was still loose. Took it home and tapped dove tail to tighten up, seems ok but not gonna trust it to carry. Finally looking at the barrel and it is off center of the frame by roughly .050. Not canted or twisted just off center. I'm besides myself that this gun left the factory. I guess I have to call Ruger tomorrow and see what they will do about it. Maybe they will replace.it with a 3in version? I own 6 other Ruger revolvers and though they are not all perfect none have been this bad
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Post by x101airborne on Dec 13, 2023 8:22:12 GMT -5
I would also say that is kinda odd of Ruger to send that out. But like you said, if they have to replace it maybe they would do so with what you really want. Would be a little bit of a price break to get a new weapon. Wouldn't hurt to try.
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Post by babills on Dec 13, 2023 10:43:35 GMT -5
Called ruger and got a shipping label and RMA number. We will see how it ends up working out.
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Post by RoninPA on Dec 17, 2023 17:25:37 GMT -5
Once Ruger gets it they will evaluate what you told them what your concerns are. I hope you sent a detailed letter with the gun so they know what you are unhappy with. If they can't fix it they will contact you with what they will do for you one way or the other. Ruger will make it right.
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Post by babills on Dec 18, 2023 5:20:17 GMT -5
Once Ruger gets it they will evaluate what you told them what your concerns are. I hope you sent a detailed letter with the gun so they know what you are unhappy with. If they can't fix it they will contact you with what they will do for you one way or the other. Ruger will make it right. I did send in a letter with it. I hope it turns out great. I really wanted to love this gun.
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Post by prisedefer on Dec 19, 2023 22:58:29 GMT -5
"The action was so stiff I couldn't pull back the hammer without 2 hands..." "I really wanted to love this gun." I advise a hard and fast rule, If it ain't good to go in the store, it ain't coming home with me. Otherwise, well, as W.C. would say "Never give a sucker an even break."
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Post by bigbore5 on Dec 19, 2023 23:27:03 GMT -5
"The action was so stiff I couldn't pull back the hammer without 2 hands..." "I really wanted to love this gun." I advise a hard and fast rule, If it ain't good to go in the store, it ain't coming home with me. Otherwise, well, as W.C. would say "Never give a sucker an even break." Every gun I buy except for a BFR, FA, or Korth comes apart shortly after I fire the baseline for internal polish, tune, trigger job, and to get all the gunk out the factory leaves now days. They really do not take pride in their work anymore at Ruger or S&W. Both the sp101 and the m642 Smith I got last year still had machining grit and chips in them. Machine marks on contact surfaces, poor fit, etc. Some stoning and polish plus Wolf springs and they are sweet and smooth as they should be for how much they cost.
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samuse
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Posts: 48
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Post by samuse on Dec 20, 2023 8:55:39 GMT -5
I just bought a new 3” SP101 yesterday and it looks good, has a nice action, but shoots about 5” right and 4” high at 25 yards.
Which I guess averages out since my newest New Vaquero shoots about the same but low-left.
It’s not me because I have other near identical guns that shoot where they should.
Is this something I should try to get Ruger to fix, or go straight to a good ‘smith?
I don’t mind paying someone to fix it, I just want it right.
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Post by RoninPA on Dec 20, 2023 18:06:40 GMT -5
Document, with pictures, what is going on and then contact Ruger and send them the photos. I would also look the gun over very closely and if something seems amiss, take a picture of it and send them also. See what they say and then make a decision to either press them a bit more, or send it to a gunsmith to see what they can see and/or do to get it shooting straight. Not saying you're doing anything wrong but you might also want to have a friend who is a small frame DA shooter try it and see what happens.
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samuse
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 48
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Post by samuse on Dec 20, 2023 19:49:20 GMT -5
I have another, identical 3” SP101 that doesn’t shoot 5” right at 25 yards..
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Post by prisedefer on Dec 23, 2023 13:03:17 GMT -5
Bigbore5..."Every gun I buy except for a BFR, FA, or Korth comes apart shortly after I fire the baseline for internal polish, tune, trigger job, and to get all the gunk out the factory leaves now days. They really do not take pride in their work anymore at Ruger or S&W.
Both the sp101 and the m642 Smith I got last year still had machining grit and chips in them. Machine marks on contact surfaces, poor fit, etc. Some stoning and polish plus Wolf springs and they are sweet and smooth as they should be for how much they cost."
You could leave a stack of business cards at your LGS, "Bought a new one? Problems?..." I, for one, could once again buy in confidence.
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Post by babills on Dec 23, 2023 21:53:01 GMT -5
Update Ruger sp101 was returned to me today from ruger. The replaced the cylinder latch and pawl, polished and removed most machining marks and added a few new scratches! They added a new front sight and seems to be tight. Sent me a target showing good groups at 10yds. The action still stiff but manageable. Expect it will get better with use. They did not mention barrel being off center but looks better now, I think they just removed more material on one side of frame. All in all it was a quick turn around and seems ok. We will see.
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Post by x101airborne on Dec 24, 2023 10:34:10 GMT -5
Best of luck and keep us updated with a range report please.
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xae289
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 23
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Post by xae289 on Dec 25, 2023 14:20:50 GMT -5
Unfortunately, some of Ruger's revolvers are shipped out almost as project kits rather than finished guns.
I also have a 4.2" SP101, but in .22LR. There was a gap in the crane to frame lockup, the revolver spat lead at me like an angry cobra, and the hammer was very sloppy. Unfortunately, it was only my first DA revolver and I did most of my research after buying it that revealed these as problems.
I sent it back, they fixed the cylinder alignment, I fixed the trash trigger by deburring the internals, polishing the action surfaces, swapping out for a lighter trigger rebound spring, and shimming the hammer. After that, it was a great plinker but not all that accurate with any given ammo. The rear sight was always basically unscrewed all the way up out of click adjustment to get close to zeroing it with any given load.
One day I realized that the rear sight had a really gross amount of lateral play. Seems to be a common issue with this gun because my buddy's has the same issue. Since I changed out my SBH's rear sight it got the cogs in my brain turning. I couldn't put the SBH rear sight on the SP101, but the springs did fit. So I swapped the rear sight spring with one from my SBH. That tightened it and gave me a useful amount of click adjustment. Then I remembered I had spare action shims, so I cut one 0.005" (or 0.003"?) and pressed the halved shim in alongside the rear sight, eliminating the lateral play.
Now the little revolver is actually decent. It has a very smooth and crisp action, though I left it pretty heavy for reliable rimfire ignition. It's reasonably accurate with ammo it likes. With its favorite ammo, I was able to get just under a 1.9" 8-shot group with it at 25 yards with CCI 40 grain subsonic, shooting benchrested.
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Post by bigbore5 on Dec 25, 2023 14:34:24 GMT -5
Bigbore5..."Every gun I buy except for a BFR, FA, or Korth comes apart shortly after I fire the baseline for internal polish, tune, trigger job, and to get all the gunk out the factory leaves now days. They really do not take pride in their work anymore at Ruger or S&W. Both the sp101 and the m642 Smith I got last year still had machining grit and chips in them. Machine marks on contact surfaces, poor fit, etc. Some stoning and polish plus Wolf springs and they are sweet and smooth as they should be for how much they cost." You could leave a stack of business cards at your LGS, "Bought a new one? Problems?..." I, for one, could once again buy in confidence. I'm not a gunsmith nor do I think I would like to be one. I just work on precision parts for a living, and am too impatient to send out a gun and wait for it. Plus I don't do people, so wouldn't want to deal with the public.
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