doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ruger Red label back

Stan, I don't know much about the source of reliability complaints on Red Labels except that every time the gun is mentioned on the web, somebody brings it up, usually somebody who has tried them as a trapgun.

My own actual experience mirrors the remarks above; Red Labels need a longer stock for those of us blessed/cursed with "ape hanger" arms, and they basically are all "duck/turkey/coyote" guns--fine as long as you don't have to pack them very far.

The 28 is an exception to the above, and I wonder if Ruger would ever make a 20 on the 28 frame? Or make a 20 with an alloy frame--certainly Ruger has the technical expertise to do that! (Of course then people would gripe about the recoil with 3" magnums.....).

Tripp's Red Label is used for duck hunting very hard. His only complaint is that the bottom barrel will not eject high brass loads. There really IS something about the high brass that causes the hull to stick in the chamber and not eject.

In spite of that, it's killed a train load of ducks. It's stainless and, once when painting his duck boat, he stood the gun up by the boat and just painted it all together!

Here they are:




SRH

Its about time. I hope Ruger stays on track this time and builds more Red Labels.

Hmm. I own two 20 ga. and never thought about the LOP. Turns out they're both 14" with Ruger's thin rifle-type pad, so it shouldn't be a problem adding some length. Most are probably used as field guns, which makes Ruger look like they knew what they were doing.

They were reliable guns. Are the new ones using the same mechanicals?

Some of the problems with Red Lables were operator error. On some guns you had to make sure they were opened 100% to cock both barrels. The lower ejector does seem weak, most likely that is a problem of angles and physics, perhaps corrected in the new design. The internal parts were rough and finished only in areas that needed to be finished. If you took a stock off and looked at the sum of the parts you were not impressed. They did work as a unit but were not nice to look at. Then the gun did not have the means to re-tighten the action if loose and to many they seem loose early.

Perhaps the biggest failing is that the gun was designed as a field gun first and not a competition gun. With light use a Red Label should last several lifetimes as a target gun it would be loose and problematic due to part wear in just a few years. If you want a K-80 then buy a K-80, do not spend an eight of the money and expect the same service. Even a weekend warrior shooter, shooting trap or skeet, will put 5K to 10K through a gun in a year. A dedicated hunter might put 500-1K shells through a gun. It will last as a shooter with normal care but will be hard pressed as even a modest clays gun. Use the gun for what it was designed for and you should be happy.

Now as to most of the complaints coming from trap shooters. It was pointed out to me by a well known gunsmith that most trap shooters are tinkers at heart and they cause most of their own problems. While they might not mess with a 10K gun they will work on a Red Label in a heartbeat. Consider the source.

Look at the receiver, its different from the old design.



Its been my go to pheasant gun for the last twenty years, works flawlessly, looks great.

Word is, other than fairly minor cosmetic changes illustrated above, that the major changes are mechanical.

red label is a best buy when compared to browning and beretta pricing...hope the new ones are not over priced.

Gunblast.com did a review recently. MSRP is $1399.

lee: how does that compare to a field grade citori and a beretta 680 whatever?