Ruger .44 Special Flattop Bisley-Review

[Hrfunk]

Yeah, I bet we had to work hard talking you into this one!

Another great video, Howard. Thanks for the review

Are you kidding? My arm is still sore from all the twisting!

Howard

[contender1]

Glad to see you weren't upset by my comments! All too often,, some folks on the computer get upset when others make comments like I did.
My goal is to try hard to help educate others about Rugers,, properly. AND,, I can be wrong occasionally myself.

I was one of many who pushed the fine folks at Lipsey's to produce the first .44 spl's. They did 1000 each of 2 barrel lengths originally. The demand was such that Ruger offered it as a production item. Then along came the other versions,, such as the fine Bisley you showcased.
Quite a popular offering for sure.

One thing to note about Ruger actions. Guns are assembled by workers,, within the tolerances at their station. Then the assy is moved to another person/station. It's a step by step process,, and as long as it "passes" the fit & function at one station, it moves to the next station. This continues until it's assembled. Then, directly off the line,, it's test fired for FUNCTION,,, and not smoothness etc. The test firing is done inside a control box,, not by human hands. As such,, the occasional burrs,, roughness,, etc are NOT detected during assy. Remember,, they want to produce volumes of guns,, quickly. Combine that with the fact that many of the gun assemblers are not real "gun folks" or especially gun builders,, a percentage of firearms may function & pass the machine test firing,, but when places in real hands,, the occasional rough action is found.
I have witnessed the assy process first hand & this was one of my points of discussion.

[Hrfunk]

Nope, not upset at all. I appreciate the additional info. As I said, I'm not an authority on Ruger firearms. I'm much more familiar with products from other companies. Having been to a couple of other factories over the years and seen the assembly of various firearms, I know you are correct with respect to the fact that persons in the process perform inspections/checks on their particular step in said process and then send the firearm on to the next person in the line. Typically with other manufacturers, there is a final inspection and function check prior to the test-firing procedure. Anything found amiss during that final inspection causes the firearm to be adjusted/repaired before being test fired and packaged.

I assume Ruger does something similar, and that is where I would have expected them to find the issue with my revolver's action. Now in their defense, the revolver does, in fact, function. So perhaps that was sufficient for it to pass its final inspection. It is just annoying as the end purchaser to have a firearm that needs to go back for service.

By the way, I'm not bashing Ruger or singling them out. I've had to send back several firearms over the years from different manufacturers for a variety problems. Over the last few years, however, it seems like the problems making it out of the factories are becoming more and more common. Maybe that's inevitable as mechanization replaces craftsmanship and cost-cutting measures are implemented; but it makes them no less irksome.

In the end, I like my .44 Special Bisley. Sooner or later I'll get that little problem resolved and move on with life!

Thanks again,
Howard

[contender1]

"By the way, I'm not bashing Ruger or singling them out. I've had to send back several firearms over the years from different manufacturers for a variety problems. Over the last few years, however, it seems like the problems making it out of the factories are becoming more and more common. Maybe that's inevitable as mechanization replaces craftsmanship and cost-cutting measures are implemented; but it makes them no less irksome."

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well put!!!!!!!!!!

All big manufacturers have stockholders to answer to,, and production is the way to sell more & make more money. It's the way of modern manufacturing. And then the skill levels of employees,, well,, think of the firearm business. Employees must pass drug & background tests. That can eliminate many potential employees easily. Former CEO Mike Fifer told me once; "I've got everybody in New Hampshire hired that wants to work and that can pass these tests. I could use 50 more employees right now!"
And when I was at a Ruger plant,, I not only watched the work,, I studied the employees. Some were truly "gun folks" while others,, well,, they were just assemblers or machine operators. I could delve into a lot more,, but you summed it up quite well above!

[comprschrg]

I have the stainless FT.
Sent the first one back twice it had a terrible gritty action and the hammer stuck like yours. (Would lock up bad) The sent me a new pistol, except a 4 5/8 barrel. They had no 5" left. Not happy.
The new one also jams like yours, the grips fit worse than yours also. I'm very displeased with ruger. Never buying another ruger!!!!!

[Hrfunk]

I have the stainless FT.
Sent the first one back twice it had a terrible gritty action and the hammer stuck like yours. (Would lock up bad) The sent me a new pistol, except a 4 5/8 barrel. They had no 5" left. Not happy.
The new one also jams like yours, the grips fit worse than yours also. I'm very displeased with ruger. Never buying another ruger!!!!!

Wow! I'm sorry to hear about that. Did they give you the option of repairing the one you sent back, or did they just replace it with something they had on hand?

Howard

[onelight]

Before ordering my stainless I looked at a blued like new used flat top 44 spec. at a gun shop and it was binding when cocked and would occasionally lock hard enough to cause concern of doing damage with any more pressure applied to the hammer it felt like what you guys describe.
I would sure like to hear from someone who has discovered the cause and fix of this issue.
I have some experience tinkering with most SA Ruger models , the guns I have seen or heard about with this problem have all been 44 flat tops but I don't know if it is limited to them.

[Hrfunk]

My best guess at this point is the hand is catching on the inside of the frame as the hammer is cocked. I'm not sure what else would cause the binding before the hand engages the cylinder ratchet. The cylinder is free by the time that catch occurs, so I don't think it's an issue with the cylinder stop.

Howard

[comprschrg]

Howard,
the first one I sent back (I special ordered it) stainless 5". grip fit was so bad you could see the step inside the grip frame because they didn't grind/sand the casting sprue on one one side causing the grip to be held back.
If you take your grips off, I bet the positioning hole (in the grips) are twice the size needed to fit the roll pin that's in the grip frame. They just find a happy medium fit, and crank the crap out of the screw.
I was hesitant to send it back because the timing was perfect. BUT.....the grip issue, giant gouge between the trigger gaurd & frame fit, and terrible auction. The killer was some bone head eather fanned the action or spun the cylinder, & slammed the gate. Because three cylinder notches were just about peened completely out.
When I called ruger (had a long talk) the guy was super nice. He looked up the history & found out it had been to three distributors over a few years.
They sent it back & it looked like it had been used to teach retards (special needs) how to sand & polish.
They used a wire wheel to round EVERYTHING!
It got sent back with nice letter.
I had to wait a few months for them to get around to making more, except they weren't making any more 5 ". Only the 4 5/8.
Moral of this. DON'T ORDER ONE. LOOK IT OVER GOOD BEFORE TAKING IT HOME.

[comprschrg]

I had pictures, but my phone sent tem to cloud, or smithing, and can't find them now.

[comprschrg]

As far as the hammer sticking.
This one has done it maybe 5 times. Always when your not ready.
I've had a number of rugers apart it's eye opening how little it takes to change the timing/workings of some of the parts.
Mine hasn't locked up in quite some time now. Just gotta shoot it more to get the trust back.

[MakeMineA10mm]

I’ve got one of these with the 4” barrel from the first run done for Lipsey’s. It runs like a Rolex. I’m stunned and saddened that the on-going production is having so many problems...

Now, I do have a 50th Anniversary 44 Magnum Blackhawk which has the barrel not screwed in far enough (shoulder wasn’t cut far enough on the barrel), requiring the rear sight to be all the way to the left to hit paper.... That was a well-known/common problem with those.

[onelight]

My best guess at this point is the hand is catching on the inside of the frame as the hammer is cocked. I'm not sure what else would cause the binding before the hand engages the cylinder ratchet. The cylinder is free by the time that catch occurs, so I don't think it's an issue with the cylinder stop.

Howard

That makes sense , I would think the hand or transfer bar but who knows .
The Bisley I have felt fine out of the box I did a basic cleaning fired 200 rounds to make sure no major issues , only one was front sight was to short for factor equivalent loads. I ordered a taller sight when it came in I did a total tear down and cleaned out a few chips and buffing compound cleaned up all the burrs put in a shim kit and a couple of springs . I almost ordered a set of grips but thought I try reshaping the factory's grips first , huge improvement on the feel for me on the grips with a little work.
I have had dozens of Ruger SAs through the years and I think this is going to be my favorite.
I certainly hope you get yours lined out they are a dandy gun when sorted.

[Hrfunk]

That makes sense , I would think the hand or transfer bar but who knows .
The Bisley I have felt fine out of the box I did a basic cleaning fired 200 rounds to make sure no major issues , only one was front sight was to short for factor equivalent loads. I ordered a taller sight when it came in I did a total tear down and cleaned out a few chips and buffing compound cleaned up all the burrs put in a shim kit and a couple of springs . I almost ordered a set of grips but thought I try reshaping the factory's grips first , huge improvement on the feel for me on the grips with a little work.
I have had dozens of Ruger SAs through the years and I think this is going to be my favorite.
I certainly hope you get yours lined out they are a dandy gun when sorted.

I think that's the part of this that bugs me the most. With the exception of this one issue, I really like this revolver. It's like buying a brand new car that you really like, and having the engine periodically stall. Now you have to take it back to the shop and screw around getting it fixed (hopefully).

Howard

[If1Hitu]

You fellows helped talk me into this one (Not that it took a lot of effort to do so, Ha, ha!). Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the review!

Howard

It's a beautiful revolver,thanks for sharing the video.

[sonoransixgun]

Enjoyed watching....Thanks!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Excellent video Howard! I have the 4 5/8 version and mine shoots pretty well too. I also have the big one.

I was rooting for you on that third shot! Well done.

Randy

[Hrfunk]

Excellent video Howard! I have the 4 5/8 version and mine shoots pretty well too. I also have the big one.

I was rooting for you on that third shot! Well done.

Randy

Thanks Randy! I'll take all the Rooting I can get!

Howard

[bigted]

H R ... might remove the grips and inspect the spring and strut as well as the block the strut moves in and out of.

They are a pain to disassemble and reassemble ... but those struts can and do remain rough with sharp edges that grab onto the spring, strut block. Smoothing this strut goes a long way for a smoother action.

I agree that the customer should never need to disassemble their new gun ... but ... especially a gun that has been awaited and lusted after ... to take the chance upon returning it ... and finding out there is no replacement and having it replaced with a "second" choice would be heartbreaking.

My second gen Colt SAA is prime example. I found a rough action and horrible trigger ... rather then allowing it out of my paws, I began smoothing carefully but considered sending it to a Colt Doctor and foot the bill myself just so my loooong awaited revolver had zero chance of getting away from me.

[Green Frog]

One would hint that at the current MSRP for brand name firearms, the customer would receive more than a fancy DIY kit, but that seems to be where we are going. I remember 30 years or more ago that if you wanted a 45 Bullseye gun, you bought a new Colt Government Model or a GI surplus gun and paid about as much as the original price to get it ready for the firing line. More guns to choose from now, but improvements?? Not so much.

The crotchety old Frog