Ruger Red Label 20 Gauge Over/Under problem

italiansport · Sep 23, 2017

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

CAJUNLAWYER · Sep 23, 2017

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.

italiansport · Sep 23, 2017

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

oneounceload · Sep 23, 2017

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.

italiansport · Sep 23, 2017

oneounceload said:
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

CAJUNLAWYER · Sep 24, 2017

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

Rastoff · Sep 24, 2017

CAJUNLAWYER said:
Two guns that Ruger should never have discontinued, the Red Label and the Old Army.

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.

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

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.

CAJUNLAWYER · Sep 24, 2017

Rastoff said:
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.

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.

italiansport · Sep 24, 2017

Rastoff said:
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.

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

Breakaway500 · Sep 24, 2017

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..

Rastoff · Sep 24, 2017

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.

shawn mccarver · Sep 24, 2017

CAJUNLAWYER said:
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.

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.

stykshooter · Sep 24, 2017

"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.

oneounceload · Sep 24, 2017

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.

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

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

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......

Dennis · Sep 25, 2017

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.

Coaltminer · Sep 25, 2017

Ruger Red Label Problem

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

model70hunter · Sep 27, 2017

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.

oneounceload · Sep 27, 2017

Dennis said:
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.

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..........

SC_Mike · Sep 27, 2017

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

italiansport · Sep 28, 2017

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

Ruger Red Label 20 Gauge Over/Under problem

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