I just acquired an older Ruger Red label Over/Under shotgun that won't cock. I've tried everything I can think of. If you break open the gun,close it and then push the safety selector either way it releases the trigger but nothing happens. Any ideas as to how to solve this problem would be appreciated.
Jim

Doesn't this have an auto safety you need to push off? When you mean either way, are you meaning side to side or back and forth?

Not to offend you but starting with the basics. Usually left and right on the shotgun parties selects either bottom or top barrel. Forward and backward is the safety. Just making sure you have tried both barrels with selector up and down. When you open the gun do you hear it click halfway as the cock. You may not if it's already cocked and not released?? I always start basic and work up to more complicated.

Ok: Here's what's happening. Open and close the gun and I hear nothing cocking which leaves me to believe both barrels are already cocked. You can move the safety/selector lever on a bias either right or left and this unlocks the trigger. However the lever will not move straight forward if this is what it's supposed to do to fire and I should have probably stated this in my original post. Bottom line; I suspect the gun is cocked but I can't get the safety to release.
Jim

The safety will NOT move forward unless it is either biased right or left. If it doesn't move forward allowing you to fire the gun ship it back to Ruger.

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Shotgun safeties with barrel sectors are notorious for being hard to move. Try moving it all the way left or right and then pushing forward. Sometimes it is a real bugger to move. You can try a few drops all around the underneath of the safty. With the drops on there try moving back and forth in both the all the way to right position and the all the way in left position. The gun oil may losses in up enough to move then keep working it to get it to smooth out.

If you are comfortable doing so, take off the stock and watch how things move, or don't move. I don't believe Ruger will work on the Red label anymore as it is a discontinued model. Won't hurt to give them a call.

Is the action fully closing?,,sounds like a goofy question but the auto safe mechanism works off of the locking system/top lever.
If it is unlocked just a bit then the auto safe engagement is still to the rear as if opening the gun. That has the effect of not allowing the safety to be pushed forward (off).

It doesn't happen often,,but sometimes..
Don't be shy about dropping the bbls shut on the gun. Don't baby the top lever closed.
Let it snap shut on it's own and see if it makes a difference.

You should be able to select the top or bottom bbl by pivoting the safety to the right or left (a T or B will show stamped on the tang)'
You can only do this selection with the safety button in the SAFE (rear) position. Once the bbl has been selected, then the safety button can be pushed forward to the fire position if it's working right.
The second bbl won't require a second manual selection. Also the second bbl should fire on those even if you have a dud round on the first bbl.

If you can't get it to work,,I'd pull the butt pad off,,reach down in there and unscrew the stock bolt and remove the stock.
Nothing will come flying out, it's just a one piece attachment stock.
You can then better see the safety and bbl selector mechanism.
Might be something as simple as a wood splinter dropped in there and jammed it..I've had that before.
Might be a small part that has broken. There are a cluster of strange shaped investment cast small parts, coil springs, plungers and pins inside those and their cousin the Ruger Gold Label.

Sorry, no experience with this particular model but here are a couple generic thoughts.
If you put shells/snap caps in it, will it extract /eject them on open? This may indicate if it's cocked or fired.
Also, does this model have an adjustable trigger?
If so, try adjusting it for a heavier pull? The trigger may not set if set too light.
Have you tried calling Ruger?

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Dave

Two guns that Ruger should never have discontinued, the Red Label and the Old Army. I always loved the design of the Red Label with its shallow receiver and it really shines with the 20 ga. Sweet handling gun.
As far as the Old Army-a beast of a horse pistol and you can make some fun harmless noise with them by just loading a wad over your powder.

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As someone suggested you need to take the butt stock off. It is possible there is a piece of wood that has come loose and is blocking something.

I dont remember if Red Labels have an inertia trigger or not, but I have seen guns with them that the works were gummed up with WD-40 or the like and inertia device was stuck. That usually only affected one barrel though.

I pulled the butt stock and took these pictures of the action. I can't see anything wrong so I'm hoping a more knowledgeable person on here sees something that's not right. As far as I can see nothing is obviously broken nor is anything jammed and the action is very clean.
Jim

Attached Images

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	rugerredlabel 002.JPG (118.6 KB, 141 views)
	rugerredlabel 003.JPG (121.2 KB, 125 views)
	rugerredlabel 004.JPG (116.2 KB, 123 views)

Looks pretty clean and correct, but sure looks dry. Be sure to give it a good lube before you close it up.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Both barrels apear to be cocked!

Check the intertia weight/sear selector assembly to see if it's working freely.
That's shiny upsidedown triangular shaped part just under the safety button inbetween the tangs in the pics.

The inertia weight is a separate piece that pivots from the back side of the selector and swings backwards under recoil. A small wire torsion springs powers it..
It disengages the selector from the sears during the moment of recoil so the gun doesn't double on you.
**During that time the safety is also inoperable.
If the inertia weight part is stuck in the rearward position any amt and the sears dis=connected from the selector piece,,the safety won't operate.

Here's a look at what the inertia weight/selector assembly part looks like from Numrichs parts list.
Sear Selector / Inertia Weight Assembly | Gun Parts Corp.

Also by looking at the action in the pics,,I'd say the hammers are both down and in the 'rebound' position,,not at full cock.
But I could be wrong,,It's been a very long time since I worked on one. Just seems like a lot of uncompressed spring showing for a full cocked position and a very short hammer fall for the same as I remember it.

The RedLable hammers when fired go full forward to strike the fireing pin(s),,then rebound a short distance off the firing pins and are held there. That appears to me where the hammers are now.
However,, even with the hammers in that position (cocked or uncocked) the R/Label Safety should still be able to be moved betw SAFE & FIRE positions.

Put the bbls and forend back on the gun w/o the stock and work the action open and shut. You'll see the hammers retract/cock and can observe if they are being rotated much farther to the rear and then rotate forward again as the gun is closed. That will tell you the sear(s) are not engaging the hammers to hold them at full cock.
You may also be able to see if something is jamming the sears or the selector and then the safety from disengagement.

Just my thoughts and observations/(guesses!) from looking at the pics.

Having had one in 28, it had issues that Ruger couldnt fix.

If you Google red label safety and barrel selector, Steve's Pages comes up with a scan of the manual. Pages 8&9 discuss using the safety and selector. See if something there helps. If not, you may have other issues. Since Ruger no longer supports this gun, Numrich for parts might be necessary.

Otherwise, I'd be contacting the person you got it from to see if they have any insight.

Forgot to add,,, those approx 5/16" dia holes in the lower tang on each side just back of the frame allow you to see the sear nose and hammer engagement point.
You can check for proper full cock engagement, damaged sear nose, damaged or worn hammer notch, improper sear angle, ect.
Handy to see if hammer is rolling back far enough to catch the sear,,if sear spring is pushing sear into engagement, ect.
Gold Label SxS has the same feature.

With the butt stock off I sprayed the action with a liberal amount of CLP. I then opened/closed the action multiple times and nothing moves when i do so. The sear selector inertia weight selector will move freely under spring tension when pushed. The hammers remain immobile and pushing the safety on/off and pulling the trigger does nothing.In the off position the trigger moves freely as one would expect of an uncocked gun. Any other ideas?
Jim
I just tried something else. with the gun open I can,under spring pressure, move both hammers manually back to the cocked position. The gun will then fire when I close it back up. However upon re-opening it the hammers don't re-cock. From what I can see; the cocking pieces on either side are not moving back as one would expect upon opening the gun.

Just returned your email re: above

Cocking rods broken????? Maybe the issue isn't in the action itself.

I believe the rods protrude from the front of the action a bit. I can push on them and they're under spring pressure but nothing is pushing them back to cock the hammers. I suspect I'll have to send the gun to Ruger to get it fixed.
Jim

Check the fore arm. The issue might be there. When you fire the gun something in the forearm somehow knows it has been fired and moves the cocking rod in the receiver to cock that particular barrel while at the same time activating the ejector to eject the shell. May be as simple as that.

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CAJUN:
I looked at a schematic and see nothing in the forearm that's missing or amiss. I also don't see anything the would push on the cocking rods.I'm going to go ahead and send it to Ruger and let them sort it out.
Jim

Before you send it, you'd better call. This is discontinued and Ruger has not been supporting them. I do not believe they have parts.

I did call Ruger Customer Support and was given an authorization number to do so. So I'm going to go ahead and send it in. I'll let everyone know how this turns out.
Jim

for God's sake please let us know what the problem was!! I really want to know now

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I have to disagree with you there. I don't know about the Old Army, but the Red Label is one gun they never should have made. This thing was plagued with problems from the get go.

It's too late because he's already done it, but in any quality O/U, you should use lube sparingly. Only on the pivot points. None at all on the sears. Extra oil only serves to collect dirt and dust. I've never worked on a Red Label, but I've repaired many that were just packed with dirt due to over lubrication.

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I must be lucky as I NEVER had a problem with mine and have had/used it since the early 90's. Good thing the internet wasn't around when I bought it or I might never have bought one. What kind of problems...nevermind, I'll google it.

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I sprayed the action liberally because there was a good chance that something was gummed up. Keep in mind I used CLP and the purpose of this product is to clean as well as lubricate. Normally I would just oil the pivot points but this was obviously an exception. I also blew any excess out as soon at became apparent that nothing was being freed up.
And for the record: The primary problem with excess lubrication is it getting into the wood and I did this with the butt stock removed.
Jim

Tens of thousands of rounds through my 50th anniversary 28 Gauge Ruger Red Label and never so much as a misfire.It is a joy to shoot.I did send it back to Ruger when new to have the automatic "safety" deactivated,but other than that..stone cold dependable. One of those guns that will go with me to the box. They still command a premium price on auction sites..so they can't be that plagued by issues. Then again, Maybe I'm just lucky..

Indeed, I wouldn't want it getting in the wood either. It won't be a problem in any case as long as you don't have the action just dripping with oil; I've see a lot of guys do just that.

Caj,
I've only ever seen a few Red Lables in person. One guy at our Trap range had a 20ga version and must have sent it in for repair at least 10 times. He eventually traded it for an 870. He got severely ripped in that transaction. Maybe his problems were just him. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

In other cases, while I didn't see the guns myself, I've shot with guys that have had them fail like this one, double and several had stocks crack at the wrist. Just a lot of problems.

Ruger did discontinue them and then bring it back and then discontinue it again. They just couldn't compete with the other offerings in a similar price range. They were introduced in the late 70s and discontinued in 2011. Then reintroduced as the Red Label II in 2013 and dropped again in 2015. Many complained about poor weight distribution and poor fitting stocks. Obviously some people liked them because it had a decent run.

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They were about to reintroduce the Red Label a couple of years back, and they even made prototypes, but the brain trust at Ruger killed the project, as they did not think they could make them at a cost that Americans would pay. I believe the theory is that a Ruger, even though a great shotgun, must be priced substantially under the Beretta Silver Pigeon and the Browning Citori, or they will not sell.

I agree with you as to both guns. The Red Label and the Old Army should both still be in the line.

I will also say that they should re-introduce the version of the Super Blackhawk they made as the 50th Anniversary model - 6 1/2 inch flat top model, if I recall.

All three of the guns mentioned are Rugers I wish I had bought.

"I have to disagree with you there. I don't know about the Old Army, but the Red Label is one gun they never should have made. This thing was plagued with problems from the get go."

Hmmmm.... I have a 12 ga. field gun as well as a 12 ga. Sporting Clays Special. I bought my wife a 20 gauge Sporting Clays Special and had a .28 for awhile. I have had all of these guns since about 1996 or so and the two Sporting Clays guns each have about 30,000 rounds through them on skeet and sporting clay ranges. I ended up getting rid of the 28 just because it was so expensive to shoot.

I have only had one problem that wasn't ammunition related. My field gun wouldn't fire the bottom barrel one day. Aggravated me to no end as I was dove hunting with a single shot. Took it home and found that one single styrofaom pellet, likely from a shipping container, had lodged itself in the trigger mechanism. Flushed it out and back in business.

I went through several Citoris, Remington Peerless, Beretta and Charles Daily shotguns. I settled on the Rugers because they fit me, I shoot them well and they are bomb proof.

I agree......I had one; nothing but issues......

INCORRECT. It DID come out and failed a second time rather quickly so it was discontinued yet again. They never bothered trying to reintroduce the Gold Label. They never could get things to work out properly at the price point they wanted to sell the guns at - and at the price point they needed to sell at, there were/are much better options. Shotguns are not their forte......

Here we go...
I had lusted after a 26" w/ English stock for well over 10 years.
Finally was able to afford it.
Needed a longer buttpad.
I have shot over 250 rnds out of it in a single day several times.
Nary a problem.
YMMV.

My brother has 2, 12&20. No problems, but not shot much. I HAD an SKB 500, fancy SKB 28 and Citori, bro also has 2 Brownings, a 12 from '56, Citori 20 with English stock and 24" barrels, Weatherby Orion. Nothing wrong with any. 5 o/u's. HE MAKES ME SICK! I think the walnut is malnourished on the #1's they produce, plain JANE compared to older ones, especially for the price. If I ever get another shotgun it's going to Bea Tri Star Viper auto 28. Weighs 5 lbs, yes, five lbs! Apples to oranges tho. But, heck, I'm 70 and too FAT to woods hunt anymore. Solution is not to age or gain weight! Love you all, mean it!
I

Stop with home repair.

Call Ruger, they will fix it.

I bought one off my FIL like yours and in 20. It too had issues.

I fix guns but called Ruger, They put in a new set off BBLS and a new fore end. The wood did not match well but it worked great.

If you stumble around in the action you may void any warranty.

Sorry, after reading all messages I see Ruger no longer supports this gun. Hope you can fix it. My bad one was 20 years ago. I used a 12 gauge Red Label in the 1994 MO Sporting Clays Championship and never had any issues with it.

I do that on a regular basis with either a Browning O/U or Beretta gas gun., When that gun gets past 10K without issues, please post some pics....I had the 28, the one they supposedly got right................they didn't unfortunately and they never could get it right..........

Mine in 12Ga, built sometime in early 90's. 0 problems. I hope you get yours right soon.

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Update: Just received from Ruger:

Dear Valued Ruger Customer,

This is to confirm that we have received the firearm and currently reviewing the reported issue. We will return your firearm as quickly as possible.

If you have questions about this firearm than please call our service and repair number at the appropriate phone number listed below:

US Distributor Sales: 203-256-3866
Export Distributor Sales: 603-865-2453
Service, Parts, and Repair: 336-949-5200

Update:
I just got a call from the Ruger factory gunsmith. The Red Label just needed two ejectors sears which they replaced and is now operating properly. They are shipping it back to me and there's no charge! I'll let everyone know when it arrives. Sometimes one just lucks out and it seems this is one of those times!
Jim

The Ruger Red Label shotgun arrived back at my home this morning and is now in perfect operating condition. I would like to commend Ruger on their prompt and excellent repair. I should have included this: From shipping until return repaired duration - 8 days!
Jim

Thanks for the follow up-I thought it might have something to do with Forearm parts thingies

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Italiansport, double like for your follow up.