Ruger Redhawk barrel came loose

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Basically what I'm hoping for. I would hate to have to replace it, the trigger is so smooth by now it would be a shame to start over smoothing out a new one...
 
My fix cost me 30 bucks. My gunsmith said he could drill and pin it if I wanted or if it loosened after the Loctite. I didn't want to go that route. I didn't baby the gun after the fix. I went back to shooting magnums.
 
A Cop friend received as a duty weapon, one of the first fixed sight L frame S&W's, the M681. S&W had also stopped pinning the barrels to keep them rotating. Bud shot the revolver and the barrel unscrewed. Opps!.

He, being an evil devil, took the cylinder, grips, off the revolver, put them with the barrel and frame in a paper bag and took everything to his Armorer. Bud explained to the Armorer he had taken the revolver apart for cleaning but could not get it back together. He takes the grips, the cylinder out, normal reaction from the Armorer. He takes the barrel out, and that's when he got a reaction!

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Send it to Ruger. Does not sound good.

My Redhawk is 33 years old. I've put probably 30,000 rounds through it maybe half of them full magnums. Handloads within specs of reputable manuals). Have had zero problems with it.
 
You said you were out with family members which is a beautiful thing. But to hurt one of them is not worth finding a solution here online. Or to cause lost of limb or life to yourself is just not worth it. Send it back to Ruger they will take care of it in short order.
 
680 loctite and they shall be one forever :evil:.


JK! Ruger has great customer service. They fixed the canted barrel on my gp100 (I'm not the original owner) free of charge,and I've been hooked since. To "bubba fix" it and have something happen to you or a loved one is just not worth it. Good luck and let us know how you make out.
 
The barrels are inserted into the barrels using a process called crush fitting. That means it's inserted into the frame very tightly. Loc-tite won't do it as others have said. Any tighter and the barrel will separate. Any looser and it's not going to stay no matter what you use. It'll eventually loosen. God forbid they should swap you out a GP-100 for a Security-Six!
 
JohnKSa said:
It wasn't a problem with the design, it was an assembly problem which, according to the information I've seen, was traced back to a single employee on one shift who was over-tightening the barrels on some guns, not all of them. It never affected the entire Redhawk line, even during the time that the separations were actually happening.
Click to expand...

Anybody know the serial number range of the affected revolvers?
 
R.L. Wilson's book "Ruger and His Guns" indicates that the Redhawk problem occurred during the development of the Super Redhawk which would place it sometime before 1987 since that's when the SRH came out.

I also found a quote in the book which indicated that the barrel separation issue was not considered to be a safety problem. That probably accounts for the lack of a formal recall with a published serial number range.

I was able to find an online report of one person who had the problem with his revolver. He reported that the serial number on his gun was: 501-10445. Based on Ruger's website, that would place the production date sometime in 1984.

I found another similar report where the owner indicated his Redhawk was made in 1983.
 
Well I'll be calling them tomorrow if my wife doesn't go into labor (due date today with our fourth) or my boss doesn't keep me too late. We'll see what they say...
 
Get Loctite hot enough and it becomes a lube.

All the other screws, I’d Loctite without a second thought. That barrel, forcing cone, Frame area has the potential to get really hot.

That should be mechanically seated.
 
No brainer- back to RUGER!
Have the courtesy to allow RUGER to fix the problem. After all, they designed, tested and manufactured the revolver. They know it better than anyone else!
Good for them, good for you!
Please let us know what they say!
 
Back in 85 I had one that the barrel broke off during shooting. A group of us was practicing for a nra silhouette pistol match. Easy lite loads. Gun was backup gun to a ruger super black hawk. Fired several rounds and the barrel broke off at frame. The barrel went 10 feet in front of line. A slow flipping movement. Pistol went back to ruger and they fixed it. They will fix yours too.
 
So I got in touch with Ruger today, no free shipping, but if it tops $30 they have a $30 shipping label you can buy. I will be sending it back hopefully tomorrow. The gal at Ruger did tell me that the barrel separation issue serial number range is the 500 series revolvers, but mine is a 501 series, so it may be within the window. We will see what they say after they get it in there hands...
 
If it DOES turn out to be a warranty issue, there's a good chance that Ruger will, upon receiving your polite written request, refund your shipping costs.
 
JohnKSa said:
I was able to find an online report of one person who had the problem with his revolver. He reported that the serial number on his gun was: 501-10445. Based on Ruger's website, that would place the production date sometime in 1984.

I found another similar report where the owner indicated his Redhawk was made in 1983.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, JohnKSa. My Redhawk (sn 500 299xx), purchased new, was apparently made sometime in 1982 or 1983; leaving me with the question if mine is one of the affected revolvers. I don't have many rounds through it and would hate to have the barrel fall off when trout fishing on a stream in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in grizzly country. Guess I might should contact Ruger for a definitive answer...:scrutiny:
 
SwampWolf said:
Thanks for the info, JohnKSa. My Redhawk (sn 500 299xx), purchased new, was apparently made sometime in 1982 or 1983; leaving me with the question if mine is one of the affected revolvers. I don't have many rounds through it and would hate to have the barrel fall off when trout fishing on a stream in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in grizzly country. Guess I might should contact Ruger for a definitive answer...:scrutiny:
Click to expand...
If it's in the 500 series it might be worth a call. The BOB is a pretty remote place to have your gun fall apart in the middle of...
 
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