- Location
- Aaaaaadmontin AB
I'm still chuckling about it. A couple weeks back on the pistol range some uncultured oaf started beaking off about what crappy guns Ruger is cranking out...and the reaction from the Peanut Gallery was much like these tofts crapping their pants at the dinner table:
I own several Rugers, and when this uncultured, unsophisticated ill mannered oaf said that Ruger guns are not properly finished...well, I hate to say it, and I would love to disagree with it - but he's right.
I recently bought a Ruger Mk III semiauto .22 pistol and the fit and finish were great - but the trigger was the *****. Ruger is famous for their crappy triggers even back in the 80's when I bought my last one. But, as God is my witness - if anything those horrible Ruger triggers have gotten even WORSE! I was utterly disgusted with mine and if I couldn't improve it I would have flogged on the EE at bargain bin prices to get rid of it! I feel some vindication in saying this; the .22 Plinkster on Youtube said the exact same thing in one of his scholarly videeyahs.
Fortunately I consulted the foolish firearm forum folk before taking such drastic action - and was given some excellent advice on accurizing the little auto. I've heard of the big names in the business like Volquartson and Kidd and some others but I never heard of Majestic Arms and their speed strip kit. I ordered one and since I hate futzing with guns, and because I hate Rotten Rod (my gunsmith) - I took the guns and the parts down to him and made HIM do the work of installing them! I suffered a little bit of verbal abuse for it - but the man does good work and he's fast.
Long story short:
$460.00 Ruger Mk III (I think that is what Tanner at Prophet River charged me last year)
$230.00 For the Majestic Arms Speed Strip 3.2 Parts Kit (I got an extended mag release and a snazzy bolt rack gizmo in that price too, supplied by some outfit called 'Dante' in Quebec).
$100.00 Rotten Rod The Gunsmith
---------
$790.00
So. Whaddya get for $790.00?
You get one tack driving sum##### rimfire pistol, that's what. Normally when I go to the range I stink the place out with my marksmanship but today I was shooting as rock solid as I did when I was a kid with brighter eyes, better nerves and steadier hands! Haven't done any formal ammo/accuracy tests but shooting at a rock up on the berm the size of a fist - I hit it a few times and gave it very close shaves when I missed. That was off my hind feet and I started shooting at the rock because the 8" Shoot NC's I had were no challenge at all - and this is at 50m. Function was flawless with the CCI and Federal stuff...but I bought 1000 rounds of that crappy M22 Winchester stuff during the ammo drought and will have to see how it handles low end ammo.
At the risk of being The Jelly Oaf - that guy on the range is absolutely right when he said Ruger is selling unfinished guns. The difference between the stock trigger and the one my MK III has now is night and day. Is it worth it? To me it is.
The problem I have now is that with an accurate pistol like this...do ya scope it? Ugh...MORE money into it!
And - now I have a new Ruger Redhawk with a crappy trigger driving me nuts! Once I get some pointers on that, I will order in the parts and send that to Rod too! I will say this about that though - when you finally do "finish" a Ruger...there are no sweeter guns on the planet!
Hope y'all had a good weekend on the range like I did - and please pass the jelly...
I own several Rugers, and when this uncultured, unsophisticated ill mannered oaf said that Ruger guns are not properly finished...well, I hate to say it, and I would love to disagree with it - but he's right.
I recently bought a Ruger Mk III semiauto .22 pistol and the fit and finish were great - but the trigger was the *****. Ruger is famous for their crappy triggers even back in the 80's when I bought my last one. But, as God is my witness - if anything those horrible Ruger triggers have gotten even WORSE! I was utterly disgusted with mine and if I couldn't improve it I would have flogged on the EE at bargain bin prices to get rid of it! I feel some vindication in saying this; the .22 Plinkster on Youtube said the exact same thing in one of his scholarly videeyahs.
Fortunately I consulted the foolish firearm forum folk before taking such drastic action - and was given some excellent advice on accurizing the little auto. I've heard of the big names in the business like Volquartson and Kidd and some others but I never heard of Majestic Arms and their speed strip kit. I ordered one and since I hate futzing with guns, and because I hate Rotten Rod (my gunsmith) - I took the guns and the parts down to him and made HIM do the work of installing them! I suffered a little bit of verbal abuse for it - but the man does good work and he's fast.
Long story short:
$460.00 Ruger Mk III (I think that is what Tanner at Prophet River charged me last year)
$230.00 For the Majestic Arms Speed Strip 3.2 Parts Kit (I got an extended mag release and a snazzy bolt rack gizmo in that price too, supplied by some outfit called 'Dante' in Quebec).
$100.00 Rotten Rod The Gunsmith
---------
$790.00
So. Whaddya get for $790.00?
You get one tack driving sum##### rimfire pistol, that's what. Normally when I go to the range I stink the place out with my marksmanship but today I was shooting as rock solid as I did when I was a kid with brighter eyes, better nerves and steadier hands! Haven't done any formal ammo/accuracy tests but shooting at a rock up on the berm the size of a fist - I hit it a few times and gave it very close shaves when I missed. That was off my hind feet and I started shooting at the rock because the 8" Shoot NC's I had were no challenge at all - and this is at 50m. Function was flawless with the CCI and Federal stuff...but I bought 1000 rounds of that crappy M22 Winchester stuff during the ammo drought and will have to see how it handles low end ammo.
At the risk of being The Jelly Oaf - that guy on the range is absolutely right when he said Ruger is selling unfinished guns. The difference between the stock trigger and the one my MK III has now is night and day. Is it worth it? To me it is.
The problem I have now is that with an accurate pistol like this...do ya scope it? Ugh...MORE money into it!
And - now I have a new Ruger Redhawk with a crappy trigger driving me nuts! Once I get some pointers on that, I will order in the parts and send that to Rod too! I will say this about that though - when you finally do "finish" a Ruger...there are no sweeter guns on the planet!
Hope y'all had a good weekend on the range like I did - and please pass the jelly...
