New Ruger red label

T

Tom Hickman

Active member
I'm getting ready to purchase a ruger red label for waterfowl hunting. Does anyone have any experience with the Ruger shotguns or have an opinion on another brand of over& under. I have a less expensive over & under, but have always wanted to own a red label. Thoughts ? Thanks
 
I purchased a tristar hunter mag in duckblind camo two seasons ago. I absolutly live this gun for waterfowl. My 1100 hasnt left the safe in two years.
 
I have Ruger Red Label. Mine is stainless, and it is a beautiful shotgun, but it is so heavy I hardly ever use it. If I were to buy another over under I would consider the weight before purchasing. Beautiful gun... I'm sure it will last several lifetimes. The weight is my only problem I have with the gun. Jeff
 
Didn't realize that Ruger had re-entered the double market.

I do like the Ruger O/U I purchased years ago, but it did have issues with 3" loads causing the second barrel to hang up and fail to fire.
 
If you are looking at getting a new one you better pick one up soon. I believe Ruger has once again discontinued the Red Label.

Tim
 
I really like Ruger firearms BUT some 14 years ago when I was in the market for a 20 ga. O/U I looked at a Red Label that was priced really right but felt as heavy as a 12 ga.. I ended up with a Browning White Lighting that now has over 10,000 rounds through it. The 28 Red Label is a different story.
 
10,000 shells???? I didn't thin you missed THAT much Tom!!!!! ;)


My B-I-L shoots a stainless O/U. I believe it has a synthetic stock... He won it at a Turkey Federation banquet. He loves it.
 
They have a lot of problems. If you start asking around you will find that they have a lot more problems than they should. Mine went back to Ruger several times for several different issues. Search my name and "Red Label" for some amusing and angry rants here that describe the problems well.

T
 
Buy a Barretta.


A friend of mine had one. For a while. He had a few problems.


I've owned a Barretta for a much longer time. Never had a problem.


Jon
 
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Thanks everyone for your opinions. I think I'll take a look at some of the other brands suggested by you all. Thanks again.
 
Phil, That's how you get to NOT miss that much. Seriously that may be a bit anal to keep track but since it was my first new nice gun I just started keeping track. BTW it was a birthday present from my wife (gonna keep her), won't say which birthday though. heehee
 
I had a red label many years ago purchased second hand that gave me some trouble. I just assumed that I had purchased someone else's problem gun.

shot a lot of ammo through a Beretta 686 with no mechanical problems.
eventually I began to get old enough to feel the pain when shooting 3.5" ammo though a fixed breech shotgun and sold it.

I wish I had it back when I switched to layout boats and didn't need 10 guage loads anymore.

mike
 
I had a red label many years ago purchased second hand that gave me some trouble. I just assumed that I had purchased someone else's problem gun.

shot a lot of ammo through a Beretta 686 with no mechanical problems.
eventually I began to get old enough to feel the pain when shooting 3.5" ammo though a fixed breech shotgun and sold it.

I wish I had it back when I switched to layout boats and didn't need 10 guage loads anymore.

mike
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I love my 686.... It does have some pretty good recoil when shooting heavy loads, but most doubles do.
 
Being an American made O/U makes the Red Label attractive to me, however after shooting a 12 and a 20 it is obvious they do not fit me well. I shoot Browning O/U Citori's much better.

I have a friend that I hunt with who won a Red Label at a DU event and it was the worst thing that I have ever seen happen to someones shooting. He was a longtime 870 shooter and hunted waterfowl with a Benelli Nova. The guy used to be very lethal with that Nova. I saw him kill 11 wild pheasants with 13 shots one week. On waterfowl he usualy only shot one shell at a time but it usually always connected. He won that Red Label and we took it out to shoot some clays. The gun obviously did not fit him. He shot a sporting clays league with the Red Label that did not fit him. That fall when he went back to the Nova, his shooting was terrible. He always shot his 870, Browning Gold and Benelli well until he got the Red Label.

I dove hunted with a Red Label 20 ga and it took me like 72 shells to kill my 15. The next day an old 870 20 ga took me 39 shells for 15. I am usually always in that neighborhood year after year when dove season opens. I got rid of the Red Label. For fit I like 870's, 1100's, 11-87's, Citori's and Nova's. I do not shoot Red Labels, Berettas, or Mossbergs well. Not that they aren't good guns they just don't fit me good.
 
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I also owned Ruger Red Labels. I never had problems with either of them. Loved the 20ga. The 12 was a club, at best. Man, that thing was unwieldy as all get out.
Gary
 
I got a 28 gauge red label and found that it wouldn't always fire the
second barrel. I sent it back to Ruger and the problem seems to be fixed,though I haven't used it a lot lately-just a little skeet now and then. I was surprised that the woman I spoke about the servicing remarked that a lot of the 28s had that problem! If that is true I would think Ruger would test all of them before sale! I also have a Ruger 10/22 and a 243 with no problems. I also have had good luck with a Wichester 101 20 and Citori 12 o/u s





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I find any over under a pain in the ass in a duckboat.
They need too much room to break open, and I have seen a lot of unsafe practice with one because of that.
Like bringing it into the boat to load and then closing it in the boat at other hunters
 
Tod's right, the internet is full of problem stories about Red Labels. Others on here have recommended various guns, and I'm no different. I'd recommend you buy a field grade Citori. I've had mine for 27 years now and have put about 10,000 rounds through it, with almost half of them 3" steel or equivalent.
Field grade Citori's are not the lightest guns when you are walking up pheasants in huge fields out west, but they can take the beating of thousands of 3" shells.


John
 
I'm considering a O/U that does not cost a arm and a leg. Mostly for upland and early season duck hunting. The new Feb. issue of Field & Stream has a very good Field Test of O/U's less than $1,000. It's worth the read. In my opinion CZ makes a very good gun for the money.

My dream gun is a 16ga. Citori, but that ship has left long ago...
 
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