New, 7 round, GP100 Problem.

powwowell

powwowell

Located in Deep Run, NC
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I've owned 6 shot GP100s before and sold them. I scratched my itch for a new GP100. Got a new 7 shot GP100 right after Christmas. I've done the spring kit, shimmed the hammer and hammer dog. Very slick, 2 3/4 lb. trigger. Beautiful revolver. Still un-fired.

Now the bad news . . . my GP100, 7 shot, won't work with Armscor 158 grain, 38 Special ammo. When loading the seventh round the case rims touch each other. The last round is "proud" and the cylinder won't close. Forcing the round down flush with the other rounds, the cylinder will close. When ejecting the un-fired rounds, (I haven't fired any of the problem ammo yet), they won't eject. I have to take a pencil and forcibly eject a round or two.

I'm not exactly happy with a new revolver, that is restricted to certain brands of ammo. My SP101 works just great with the Armscor ammo. If Armscor is the only ammo that won't work with the new GP100, I can live with that. I'm now reading that others have reported issues with Blazer Brass and still others with Magtech.

This is a heads up for possibly any new 7 round, GP100 owners.
 
I don't understand how this interference only appears when you insert the last round. Rim diameter should be 0.44 in - how does the Armscor ammo check out?
 
Catfish said:
I don't understand how this interference only appears when you insert the last round. Rim diameter should be 0.44 in - how does the Armscor ammo check out?
Click to expand...

0.436, 0.438, 0.436, 0.437, 0.437, 0.436, 0.436. Well below SAMMI specs. A few pictures.
SAM_0848.jpg
Rim of case striking frame

SAM_0845.jpg
Top round is "proud". Not seated. The round can be forced down. Rounds will not eject. The 1st one, or two has to be forced out with dowel rod.

SAM_0841.jpg
Picture is blurred. The round at 10 o'clock is "proud".

 
and if you pop another one out that 10:00 round will seat just fine - the problem moves around whacka-a-mole style?
 
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Catfish said:
and if you pop another one out that 10:00 round will seat just fine - the problem moves around whacka-a-mole style?
Click to expand...

That's right. Other owners have contacted Ruger and Ruger's response implies to not use the brands of ammo, if the rims touch. Damn poor response from Ruger, if true.

The first time I read of this happening the ammo was Blazer Brass. Then another Ruger user had problems with Magtech ammo. I have neither and thought I'm home free. Then I loaded up a cylinder of the Armscor and discovered I had a problem. Armscor makes my 7 shot revolver a 6 shooter!

My reloaded Winchester case's seat alright. It chaffs me that I'm restricted to brands of ammunition. In my opinion Ruger dropped the ball when engineering the 7 shot GP100. Maybe a larger cylinder, providing more room for the chambers, was required?
 
I called Ruger Customer Service on 2/20. I spoke with Sandy and she sent me a shipping label. The revolver was returned on 2/21. I received a call from Kim, at Ruger, on 2/23. The techs could find nothing wrong with my revolver. She offered to return it to me, or replace it with another GP100, of my choice. I asked for some time to think about it. I spoke with Kim on 2/26 and told her that I didn't want a revolver that would not handle ALL .357/.38 Special ammo. I asked for a six shot Match Champion.

Ruger Customer Service has been great. Except . . . I still don't have the revolver. Maybe this week?
 
I had a Redhawk convertible that would not close the cylinder with .45ACP ammo. Ruger fixed it but I was done with it and traded it (fully disclosed) for a GP100 Wiley Clapp that is awesome. Ruger will let you pick whichever revolver you want in their lineup if you push a little...
 
I received my replacement Match Champion yesterday. There are gaps, front and back, between the front sight and the barrel. According to other Match Champion owners, this is common. Fit of the Hogue wood grips is not great. All sharp edges have been relieved. Nice. Except the hammer and the trigger guard. A few minutes with some sandpaper will fix the trigger guard. It's been dry fired about 24 times and I see where the hammer is rubbing the frame. I thought the Match champion had shimmed hammers and triggers?

Overall I'm pleased. In this day and time of mass production, and bean counter imperatives, I suppose this Ruger revolver is average. Maybe above average? Customer Service might be the best in the firearm business.
 
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What are the chances the cases are out of spec, maybe the rims are to large. Might be a good idea to measure a few rims.
 
I read that the 8 shot Redhawk is OK. I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules, but Rugerforum.net is a terrific forum for Ruger products.

"What are the chances the cases are out of spec, maybe the rims are to large. Might be a good idea to measure a few rims."
None! All of my rounds are under SAMMI specs. See post #4, in this thread.
 
sorry, but you were supposed to check on the Rugerforum before purchasing...…..or Greybeards ruger forum, too

surely I'm not the only 1 who checks specific forums before purchases!

pretty crappy that it happens at all...…..IMO
 
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I'm in my 70s and have owned, and still do, Ruger products. Their Customer Service might be the best in the industry? I appreciate that. With their high production rates, and so many models, they need it.

The .357, seven shot, GP100 is a disgrace to their engineering department. SAAMI specs were ignored! Or, never even considered! The cylinder ain't big enough for 7 chambers to meet SAMMI specs. If they move the chambers further out to the cylinder edge, then the cartridges won't line up with the forcing cone. If all the rims of your ammo are at minimum to mid range SAMMI specs, the seven shot GP100 works as advertised

I take full responsibility for purchasing a faulty product. But, I will never feel the same about Ruger. I am grateful that they replaced my revolver with a six shot GP100 Match Champion. Then again that's great Customer Service.
 
I'm pretty glad I'm not trying to run a firearms manufacturing company under today's market conditions. It must be awful facing starving competitors, soft demand, regulatory requirements and commodity cost inflation all while trying to make a profit; any profit. I'm wondering whether those executives might be considering voting Democrat in 2020. :eek:

They've all certainly tightened the belt as far as they believe possible. One cost I'm sure they try hard to control is after-sales service. The first time I met Jerek, we had a nice conversation during which he tried to estimate the manufacturing cost of a certain pistol that interested me. He went through each of the major components (even down to the packaging) and the labor, added on a gross margin and arrived at something close to his buying price. When he was finished, I asked, "What about calculating the cost of providing parts and repairs for my lifetime and that of anyone/everyone who will own this gun FOREVER?". I pointed out the cost of sending guns back and forth by FedEX as just one example. He agreed that is a real and significant cost he hadn't considered.

One of the guns I eventually bought from Jerek ended up making the roundtrip twice for repairs. The third time they got it back they admitted it was unrepairable, scrapped it and sent me a brand new and significantly more expensive gun in exchange. They even offered to pay the FFL on the replacement (which I just couldn't bring myself to submit, considering how reasonable they'd been). I wonder how many guns they had to sell in order to cover the cost of all those shipments (6 by Fedex, including the replacement) and their other costs in trying to make the gun run and administer the claim.

Turning to Ruger, I was a little concerned by the "warranty" statement in the owner's manual of the last Ruger I purchased. In a world with escalating costs and diminishing profits, I'm not really sure what to expect from them. Caveat emptor. :confused:

WHY NO WARRANTY CARD HAS BEEN PACKED WITH THIS NEW RUGER® FIREARM
The Magnuson-Moss Act (Public Law 93-637) does not require any seller or manufacturer of a consumer product to give a written warranty. It does provide that if a written warranty is given, it must be designated as “limited” or as “full” and sets minimum standards for a “full” warranty. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has elected not to provide any written warranty, either “limited” or “full”, rather than to attempt to comply with the provisions of the Magnuson-Moss Act and the regulations issued thereunder. There are certain implied warranties under state law with respect to sales of consumer goods. As the extent and interpretation of these implied warranties varies from state to state, you should refer to your state statutes. Sturm, Ruger & Company wishes to assure its customers of its continued interest in providing service to owners of Ruger® firearms.​
 
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