doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Status of the Ruger Gold Label side-by-side?

Did any of these Rugers ever hit the market, or was it a "Bust"??

Fox, they sold the Gold Labels for a coupla years, but they are out of production now, supposedly because they could not figure out how to make the barrels cost effectively. There are usually some for sale on GunBroker...Geo

Thanks George. After I posted my question, I went to GunBusters and saw two sorta-NIB 12 Gold Labels at $2800. Apples to oranges here, but when the first series of Parker Reproductions (Yakasaki mfg. I believe) came out about 1989=1990- 20 gauge-they were retailing at about what? $2600?? Now a used one in good condition will fetch more- will this also affect the few Rugers that did "hit the market"--

I have also heard that there is a concern about the Galazan RBL- a shooting pal has one of the first- a 20 bore with single trigger, believe he paid about $3500 for it.

I have always wondered about the Ruger shotguns. The most accurate of all my scoped .22 rifles is a std. M77 Ruger BA- my "baby" M70- same three position safety- But why do they use that garish brushed stainless steel for the receivers? If memory serves, the first Ruger O/U's were in 20 gauge, no choke tubes and blued receivers-good guns, heavy for their gauge, a friend took one to SA for doves, shot over 500 shells a day in his for 4 days straight-gun never malfunctioned-so the Ruger design should be beyond reproach-

Thanks again for your kind reply- most insightful, as always Sir!!

Somewhere, I remember reading the Ruger Red Labels were problamatic...?? ..Can't remember the problem area...?..

Fox...what problems do the RBL's have, which you mention...?..

Best,

I have a three digit serial numbered gun that I bought the first year they came out. Got it after Ruger displayed it at a RMEF dinner. I've shot everything from low recoil Winchesters through 3" magnums through it without a quibble (except for the recoil. It weighs 6 lb, 3 oz.) My friends keep telling me that I should only be allowed to carry one shell in it because I keep hogging the game. That's only because they miss a lot. I paid $1600 for it.

Got one as a gift from my older bro and have had nothing but fun with it. It is the pistol-gripped version, and has a semi-delicious stock (one side full of "flames"). He has the straight-gripped version with a handsome but not delicious stock. He has also had no problems with his; both shoot to POA.

These guns REALLY kick with 3" magnums. Fortunately I don't need them; I've killed everything from woodcock to coyotes with various 2 3/4" loads. You have to be very careful with their "thin-wall" choke tubes and the thin muzzles; a friend whacked his on a rock chukar hunting and had the devil's own time removing the tube on that side....

Unfortunately the status appears to be "vollkommen kaput"!

They were nice guns for the money. I simply cannot understand why Tony Galazan can make a pretty nice American made double gun and no one else can.

Rumor is that the new Ithaca gun company is gonna try. I wish them real success!!

None mechanically. My shooting partner is a retired Judge- very fussy about his double guns- He has two older Philadelphia ejector grade Fox doubles- when he acquired them (from an estate when he was an attorney-they often find the best guns that way)I saw them, shot them, found them to be A-OK- not so for him- had them reblued, re-case colored, new pads, wood refinished-

Sorta like the Fox Sterlingworth 12 Field and Stream shotgun editor Phil B. wrote about a few years ago- bought it from Iowa Scheels at I believe $1800 (must have had ejectors and single trigger to bring that amount??) and had it refinished to "like new"- and then remarked that it would be worth just about the $1800 he spent to buy it after all the work, should he wish to sell it--

My friend was concerned about the wood to metal fit at the tangs, the fit of the pad to the buttstock, one screw in the trigger guard bow didn't line up with another, etc- He also wished he had ordered the double trigger version- none of these "nitpicks" would keep me from owning that gun (if I had the cash) as it fit and balanced perfectly for me-

I won a Ruger 12 O/U Sporting Clays at a PF Banquet about ten years ago-I assembled it, and it felt like a 2x4 in my hands. I am NOT a clays shooter, much prefer side by sides to any O/U (unless you have a Boss or Woodward 20 bore at $3000 you want to sell)so I sold it at cost to the Banquet Chairman and took home a check instead of the Ruger for my $20 raffle ticket-to each his own!!

Seems like PA24 and FoxwtRuns want to discuss the Red Label over under Ruger. Maybe someone could start another thread to discuss the Gold Label side by side. I kind of thought that the side by side was what we were discussing.

Ruger wasted a lot of money tooling up to build a SxS then have it fall flat on its face as opposed to improving on an already popular design, which, if the numbers are correct, is losing market share and maybe in jeopardy itself.