? re Ruger Red Label O/U

Dick Sargeant

Well-known member
Do we have any gunsmiths out there who can advise me on this ?

I have a Ruger 12 GA O/U with a top tang safety that is Selective. If I get the darn thing centered instead of pushed right or left - it is very hard of course to get the safety off. This happens at the Most inopportune times.

It occurred to me that I would be fine with a top tang safety that was Not Selective and just had the top barrel fire first - or the bottom barrel first for that matter.

Anyone know if a selective can be changed by a gunsmith ?

thanks -
sarge
 
Any part time basement gunsmith should be able to do it simply.You could most likely do it yourself if you felt comfortable going into the action.
 
Dick,

Have you ever had trouble with your Ruger not firing the second barrel when using 3" waterfowl loads? We have a Red Label that my son uses and have taken to loading the first barrel with a 2 3/4" shell to avoid this. Gun is used extensively for skeet with 2 3/4 loads (light) and never displays this problem on the skeet range.
 
dick, I definitly agree I have not had a problem with it sticking.but the shifting from top to bottom barrels my problem.If you have the manual for the gun go to page #8 on the bottom of page.go to non-automatic safety available you can send it to ruger and they will fix it.other then that the gun has not failed me.also on page13 a diagram with the receiver components are there.if you know a gunsmth that should do it,good luck paul
 
Thanks guys for the info. I will check the manual, maybe call Ruger and see about a local gunsmith near Ipswich MA - although I will probably have to travel a little for that.......... here in the people's republic of Massachusetts.

Spent some quality time today grassing the barnegate and am ready to rock thru the late goose season !

sarge
 
My Red Label wouldn't fire Kent fast steel from the bottom barrel 80% of the time. Other brands seemed ok. I sent it back to Ruger. They found the problem, hairline crack which only showed on an xray. They replaced the barrel and it was fine after that.
 
I'd call Ruger immediately. Why is it that if a straight 2x4x8 goes crooked when laying in the sun...people bitch and want a new one but a 1300 dollar gun doesn't work and they want to fiddlefart around with it, letting the company off the hook for their responsibility?
 
Especially when you consider that the guy with the 2x4 is also willing to spend 2 hours and $5.00 in gas to get another $3.00 board
 
I dont think its a defect Lee. Design flaw maybe, but not a defect.
The Rugers safety swings left to right and if you stop half way.. there you are.

I know the Kittery Trading Post has a gunsmith who could make it non-selective for you.
Give them a call.
 
I had one about 10 years ago. 5 of us went together and bought 5 of them. Two of them had doubling problems. I couldn't hit sh*t with mine so I sold it. Ruger, and I love Ruger....has had a lot of problems with their shotgun line. I am sure a gunsmith could fix it bit I bet Ruger won't pay for it.....that is what I was getting at.
 
When I was young my hunting buddy's Dad owned a Browning Superposed Diana Grade that appeared to me to have been built of magic by wizzards and elves. The engraving was unbelieveable and fit of metal to wood the best I have ever seen. Opening that gun up was like opening some Tolkian-esk secret portal via magic wand. My whole life I lusted after a Superposed over under, and finally when in my thirties I figured I could finally afford one. Well actually, all I could afford was a Citori, but I had previously bought a made in Japan Browning 22 semi-auto rifle off the original Browning design and it was fine. I had to order my Citori through the mail because I lived on Maui at the time and there were no gun dealers that carried that kind of gun.

I realize it's not at all fair to compare an off the shelf Citori to a made in Belgium Diana Grade Superposed, but I was still disappointed in the wood to metal fit and general fit of the gun. It felt heavy and clunky to me, though I shot it very well with it, hitting 23 clays in a row before missing one, then hitting the last of 25, and that was my first time ever shooting trap. I moved to Montana with that gun in 1992 and used it for duck and pheasant. I grew disenchanted with the bulky action carrying it afield and it would occasionally freeze up on me in the duck blind, plus I occasionally had misfires which means you don't get a follow up shot because there is only one hammer that cocks on recoil.

So I ended up trading it in on a new Ruger sporting clays model, 300 " barrells. I love that gun! I have used it every year since 1993 and it has never failed me, though after umpteen thousands of shots the detent spring on the safety wore out and had to be replaced last season. Now my gun smith hates the insides of Ruger Red Lables and he adores Citoris, but from a functional standpoint, for me I prefer the Ruger. I occasionally switch triggers, and I haven't had a problem with accidently getting caught in between, but actually I don't find selective triggers that practical for fast shooting, I much prefer double triggers.

If you hit well with the Ruger and like the way it carries, why not invest a hundred dollars in a fix with a gunsmith. I don't remember now from your original post, but do you have this problem even if you don't switch barrels? If not just use it. I have seen various trigger selectors, the Browning, Ruger and Beretta, and I like the Ruger as well as any of them, the Barretta is hard to do with gloves on. As a piece of fine gun design the Ruger probably scores slightly behind the Browning and Beretta, but for me in the field I like it.
 
Quite poetic, if you bought a new Cadilac...and the wheel bearings went out in a thousand miles....would you take it to a shadetree mechanic, even if he was the best mechanic on earth...have him fix it and then reach in your pocket and pay him because it was a sweet car. Corporate responsibility is all I'm saying here. They designed it, made it then made a profit from the sale of it and supposedly, guarantee it so why let them off the hook on your dime?
 
I didn't read anywhere that his gun was defective in anyway. He wants to convert a selective trigger to a non selective trigger because he personally has a problem switching between barrels, stopping in the middle. I was assuming this was a "heat of the battle" thing, and he wasn't consciously pushing the lever all of the way from one barrel to the other. If the gun is truly hanging up in the middle, I'm sure Ruger would fix it for free.
 
I didn't read anywhere that his gun was defective in anyway. He wants to convert a selective trigger to a non selective trigger because he personally has a problem switching between barrels, stopping in the middle. I was assuming this was a "heat of the battle" thing, and he wasn't consciously pushing the lever all of the way from one barrel to the other. If the gun is truly hanging up in the middle, I'm sure Ruger would fix it for free.



oh....guess I've been in a bloody mood all week.
 
I'd pull the butt off and study it. I removed the push rod that pushes the safety back on safe when you break the gun open on the o/u I use for trap. I'm sure it would be real easy to disable the selector switch, just save the part in a safe place in case you change your mind, or decide to sell it. I've never had a red label apart, but most safety linkages are really simple in design.
 
Bob I had a Ruger in the past that did the same thing the safety would kick back on after the first shot. If you send the gun to Ruger they will fix it I know a friend of mine that did that and now it is fine.

If you want Rugar to do the work and make it non selective it is not that far of a drive from Ipswich to Newport, NH. HHG
 
The safety is a weak point (along with the action, imo). I've had the problem with the safety coming on between shots with heavy loads. I've had it fixed too, along with a ton of other things. Ruger rebarreled it because of slop in the action, I sent it back after it shot loose again and they reground/refit the locking lugs with marginal improvement, I sent it back twice for the safety and the second time as a bonus they replaced the stock because of a "hidden" crack they found (and didn't color match the forend, which they said I could purchase). Finally, they told me to pound salt. I bought it gun when I was poor, young and idealistic and thought buying american was a smart thing to do with my money.

Anyone want to buy a red label 12 gauge, 28" tubes, straight stock, minor rust freckles from using it marsh henning? I make you a good deal.

T
 
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