Bass Pro and Ruger American

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ozarkhillbilly

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Quick question: My buddy just purchased an Ruger American in 5.56 from Bass Pro today. Took it home to shoot it and it would not chamber either 223 or 5.56 the case would go in 80% and get stuck and when he removed the round you could see where the brass had deep scrapes from the chamber. Since he had just purchased it from Brass Pro hours before he ran it back to the store to see what they could do. A guy at the counter told him they could not exchange it but that they had a buy back program where they would buy it back at full purchase price and let him buy another Ruger American, but the manager would have to do that. Well after a couple of hours and talking to 5 different people Bass Pro said they were not going to do that but he could leave it with them and let their gunsmith look at it sometime in the next week to see what he could do with it and if nothing then they would send it back to Ruger but that might take months.

My advice was I would not leave it with Bass Pro as I would not want their gunsmith working on a new gun, I would just take it and call Ruger myself. I have no doubt that Ruger will not fix it, probably replacing the barrel.

What would you do?
 
Once you leave the store with a NEW gun they won't take it back. You have to deal with the manufacturers customer service. But I don't have a problem with letting their gunsmith look at it. It might be something simple. And Ruger will still make it right even after it is worked on by someone else. Plus, if it has to go back I'm betting BPS will take care of that hassle for you. I don't see a downside to letting him look at it.

Ruger is pretty fast. I'm betting you get the repaired gun back no more than 7-10 days from the day you ship it back to them.
 
1. We have removed the bolt and looked into the chamber w/ a flashlight to see nothing grossly amiss?
2. (with bolt removed) we've simply dropped a round into the chamber by hand and it won't seat?
3. We're sure the rifle is in fact chambered in 5.56/223 ?
 
Last edited:
Multiple 223 and 5.56 rounds were tried by both my buddy and Bass Pro and the chamber is to tight, he said he could see brass scrapes inside the chamber when he shined a light in the bore.
Yes the barrel says 5.56 on it.
I can't speak as to why Ruger missed this one but it will happen no matter how good you are.

My buddy biggest complaint now, is that Bass Pro has a program to take care of customers when thing like this happen because they told him about, but they do not want to use it for this case. Good customer service says you stand behind your sales. Had they look at him and said "Look we know you could have purchased the gun for a multiple of stores and we appreciate you buying it from us, but we can't take the gun back you will have to send it to Ruger but here is a $50.00 gift card for your troubles. That would have been customer service yes it would have cost them money but they would not have lost a customer, who has spent thousands of dollars with them over the years on hunting and fishing goods and at their hotels and restaurants.
 
ozarkhillbilly said:
Quick question: My buddy just purchased an Ruger American in 5.56 from Bass Pro today. Took it home to shoot it and it would not chamber either 223 or 5.56 the case would go in 80% and get stuck and when he removed the round you could see where the brass had deep scrapes from the chamber. Since he had just purchased it from Brass Pro hours before he ran it back to the store to see what they could do. A guy at the counter told him they could not exchange it but that they had a buy back program where they would buy it back at full purchase price and let him buy another Ruger American, but the manager would have to do that. Well after a couple of hours and talking to 5 different people Bass Pro said they were not going to do that but he could leave it with them and let their gunsmith look at it sometime in the next week to see what he could do with it and if nothing then they would send it back to Ruger but that might take months.

My advice was I would not leave it with Bass Pro as I would not want their gunsmith working on a new gun, I would just take it and call Ruger myself. I have no doubt that Ruger will not fix it, probably replacing the barrel.

What would you do?
Click to expand...
As a small home based FFL, if we had a customer complain that the gun they literally just got from us wouldn't chamber a quality factory round such as Federal Power Shok in the caliber stated on the barrel, we could ask them to come by the house and we would get their gun and check it out with some ammo we have personally and if it still wouldn't chamber a round, we would double check for any junk in the chamber, we try to do that before selling a gun but life happens. Then if all else fails we would call the company who sold us the gun i.e. Davidsons or Chattanooga and ask if they've had other dealers with this problem recently and then ship it back to the manufacturer.
 
^^^^ THIS ^^^^

Notwithstanding Bass Pro "can't take it back....." BP ought to be the one
shipping it back to Ruger instead of having the customer jump through
all the packing & shipping hoops to take care of their problem as seller
of a grossly-defective product.
 
just call Ruger. the retailer is just the retailer IMHO, you don't really need or want them to look at it. you want answers from Ruger.
 
jmr40 said:
Once you leave the store with a NEW gun they won't take it back. You have to deal with the manufacturers customer service. But I don't have a problem with letting their gunsmith look at it. It might be something simple. And Ruger will still make it right even after it is worked on by someone else. Plus, if it has to go back I'm betting BPS will take care of that hassle for you. I don't see a downside to letting him look at it.

Ruger is pretty fast. I'm betting you get the repaired gun back no more than 7-10 days from the day you ship it back to them.
Click to expand...
Depends on the store. I bought a Marlin .444 and discovered multiple holes under the recoil pad on the butt. There were so many that the integrity of the stock was in question. The store took my rifle and swapped it for another one off the shelf. Some attendant paperwork was necessary but no extra charges ensued.
 
ozarkhillbilly said:
Multiple 223 and 5.56 rounds were tried by both my buddy and Bass Pro and the chamber is to tight, he said he could see brass scrapes inside the chamber when he shined a light in the bore.
Yes the barrel says 5.56 on it.
I can't speak as to why Ruger missed this one but it will happen no matter how good you are.

My buddy biggest complaint now, is that Bass Pro has a program to take care of customers when thing like this happen because they told him about, but they do not want to use it for this case. Good customer service says you stand behind your sales. Had they look at him and said "Look we know you could have purchased the gun for a multiple of stores and we appreciate you buying it from us, but we can't take the gun back you will have to send it to Ruger but here is a $50.00 gift card for your troubles. That would have been customer service yes it would have cost them money but they would not have lost a customer, who has spent thousands of dollars with them over the years on hunting and fishing goods and at their hotels and restaurants.
Click to expand...
Yet another example of the impact of AFTER the sale customer service ( or the lack thereof ). That, IMHO, more than anything else either ensures repeat business or it ensures the opposite.
 
Pizz poor business practice, if you ask me. If I sell something and it doesn't work, I will make it right. BP has already made their profit, screw you!
I have had good luck with them but only by going I the store manager
 
The emphasis on customer service within a company has to be set at the very top. A good CEO will establish direct lines of communication with his/her customer service division and will require regular feedback on customer complaints, especially if trends develop. Expectations as to how those complaints are handled have to be a part of the company culture.
 
Bass Pro is a big box store that charges 110% of a local gunstore, offers NO support, and frankly doesn't care what happens after you give them your credit card. They make Walmart look good.

Ruger will take care of you. Contact them and skip Bass pro next time. Make sure every online review site says how dissatisfied you are.

Next time, find a good local gunstore (or at least one in your state), and when you buy from them they will handle everything for you if a sale is not perfect.
 
dranrab said:
Ruger absolutely sucks at the most important kind of customer service, making a product that works as intended. They are very good at problem resolution though. I suppose because they have a LOT of experience.
Click to expand...
In my 75 years on the planet, I`ve come to the conclusion that the American consumer understands that things can go wrong with any product. They are amazingly forgiving IF a company deals with an issue/problem in an efficient, effective and timely manner. Of course, I`m not referring to a systemic design flaw that reoccurs over and over. Those must be eliminated at the source. Ruger sells a lot of rifles. Excellence in customer service after the sale certainly contributes to that.
 
Beck said:
One more thing... Ruger tests firearms for functionality before they leave the factory. Ending up with one that is allegedly brand new that won't chamber a round is more than a little odd...
Click to expand...

Can't speak for Ruger
A few years ago after Remington had
bought out Marlin and H&R, I had bought
a Handi Rifle that had zig zag rifling, in
that a couple of inches of rifling went
one direction, then the next couple of
inches went the opposite direction,
this zig zag the whole length of the
barrel. I took it back to the LGS where
I'd bought it to show somebody that
I wasn't hallucinating, then sent it
back to the H&R service center and
they fitted a new barrel.
It's a tack driver now, but it was a
big piece of you-know-what when
they sold it new.
There's no way on God's green earth
that anybody competent or alert
inspected the gun, or any of the pairs
of hands that should have caught the
major flaw from the time it was assembled, to the time it got put in
the box and sent out the door.
There's several videos on yoofloob
outlining the shabby Marlins that
the Remington factory was putting
out the door also if anybody wants
to look. A friend bought one of those
Jurasic park movie 45/70's that was
a big piece of something like is
featured in those videos
 
I used Ruger customer service for a minor finish issue on a pistol once. They resolved the issue & I had the pistol back about a week after I sent it in. I would probably call Ruger.
 
It's not a toaster from Walmart. A firearm is not like any other consumer product. There is a legal aspect when it comes to possession, no matter what state you're in. Once you fill out that 4473 and walk out with it, the game changes. I know people love to denigrate big box stores but you could expect no different from your average gun shop. Which is to look at it and send it back to Ruger. I would have sent it back to Ruger and not fooled with Bass Pro. It's not their fault or responsibility, it's Ruger's.
 
As many said, I would go to Ruger directly. Forget the store. I had a friend with a Ruger revolver, it had a burr in one of the chambers that would catch a casing and jam it in place. Took it back to the local LGS and they said they would ship it back to Ruger, and charge him shipping. Then they sat on it for months waiting for 'enough' products to make it worthwhile to ship. He retrieved it, shipped it to Ruger and got it back in real time. I've had a local LGS try to fix a new SW revolver, when I was a newbie. What a joke. Ended going back to SW.

Most companies will give you a shipping label to make life easier.
 
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