Rant of the day - Stupidity in the packaging/marketing department at Ruger

[autobaun70]

So I picked up a new pistol today. It is a Ruger 22/45 with a threaded heavy barrel, dual rails, and the factory iron sites deleted. Because there are no iron sites, you have to use an optic of some sort. What does Ruger send for a case?????? A soft case that will only work with no optic installed. Absolutely ignorant on their part. Writing them a kindly worded email this evening.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1462499012.591865.jpg

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1462499041.379270.jpg

On a happier note, all of the accessories for it came in before the gun did, so I've already removed all of the California compliant BS (mag disconnect and loaded chamber indicator), and installed a match hammer/sear and speed strip kit. It will be in ready to rock form on its first range outing, which is hopefully tomorrow afternoon. Now if the ATF will just hurry up with my suppressor approval all will be well with the world.

 

[Jaybird]

Well when you write your letter..Don't go all "GUNS BLAZING" on em! ha ha ha.. Sorry... Couldn't resist!

Nice looking weapon!

Cheers
Jay

 

[Michigan_Wolfman]

Nice looking piece of shooting equipment.

 

[Accidic]

That was their masterful way of giving you an excuse to buy more stuff. It's actually rather ingenious from a marketing perspective if you think about it.

For example... I bought a rifle last year (actually bought the scope prior while on sale) and turned right around to pick up a nice detachable (but zero holding) scope mount, 500 rounds+ of Lapua brass, honed dies, micrometer seater... etc. And if Boyd's hadn't temporarily (hopefully) dropped that rifle from their pattern library I would have picked up a custom stock to replace the tupperware pos it came with.

If you change your outlook slightly you could look at this as a blessing! Excuse to buy new silencer? Check. Excuse to buy new leather holster allowing your optic to fit? Check. Excuse to buy new safe box for item? Check. See? All kinds of win!

 

[mongoose33]

Just one question: since they didn't know what you were going to mount on it, what size should they have sent you, if there even is such a beast?

On another note, I'm looking to add a .22 pistol, and let us know how you like it. I have a few Rugers, e.g., a Takedown, GP100, and an SR1911. All excellent.

 

[EcuPirate07]

Just one question: since they didn't know what you were going to mount on it, what size should they have sent you, if there even is such a beast?

On another note, I'm looking to add a .22 pistol, and let us know how you like it. I have a few Rugers, e.g., a Takedown, GP100, and an SR1911. All excellent.

I was thinking the same thing. They make a generic cheap case and its up to you to find a better one. In their eyes job done and done. At least that's always been my experience.

 

[Natdavis777]

The case could go both ways. What if they had sent you an oversized case to accommodate a red dot/eotech/etc when you planned to to just add your own flip up iron sights? Not saying that is a very smart option, but if that were the end game for the gun, one would be upset that the gun was provided an oversized case.

Nice Ruger btw :rockin:

 

[k1ngl1ves]

That's a large optic for a handgun! You'd probably be better off mounting a laser to the bottom rail. Then you can be lazy, and look cool too! Plus, it'll fit in the case.


I don't understand the large optics. I see it frequently too. I was always under the impression that if you can't see, you probably shouldn't use a weapon...

 

[hunter_le five]

Pretty standard IME. Never had a firearm that came with a case that woould allow for anything to fit other than what came from the factory.

Factory cases suck anyway. Buy a better one and move on. Not worth getting bent out of shape over.

 

[Firewalker11]

That's a large optic for a handgun! You'd probably be better off mounting a laser to the bottom rail. Then you can be lazy, and look cool too! Plus, it'll fit in the case.


I don't understand the large optics. I see it frequently too. I was always under the impression that if you can't see, you probably shouldn't use a weapon...

There's no magnification, it's a both eyes open ghost site. An outstanding pairing for a handgun.

 

[kev211]

Just one question: since they didn't know what you were going to mount on it, what size should they have sent you, if there even is such a beast?

On another note, I'm looking to add a .22 pistol, and let us know how you like it. I have a few Rugers, e.g., a Takedown, GP100, and an SR1911. All excellent.

Why shoot .22 anymore? Its too expensive, better off shooting 9mm haha. That being said, I love my S&W M&P22. Same frame as the 9mm, .45, etc so its great for practice. Awesome all around gun

Pretty standard IME. Never had a firearm that came with a case that woould allow for anything to fit other than what came from the factory.

Factory cases suck anyway. Buy a better one and move on. Not worth getting bent out of shape over.

This is what I was thinking. My factory cases get designated as spare parts carrier and the gun goes in a nice new pelican or similar

 

[mongoose33]

Why shoot .22 anymore? Its too expensive, better off shooting 9mm haha. That being said, I love my S&W M&P22. Same frame as the 9mm, .45, etc so its great for practice. Awesome all around gun

I shoot all kinds of calibers, of which .22LR is one.

I also reload, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, 38 SPL, .357 magnum, .223, .270, and shotshell.

They're ALL cheap to shoot--and they're about the same price as .22LR. Well, the 9mm and .38 Spl is.

 

[kev211]

I shoot all kinds of calibers, of which .22LR is one.

I also reload, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, 38 SPL, .357 magnum, .223, .270, and shotshell.

They're ALL cheap to shoot--and they're about the same price as .22LR. Well, the 9mm and .38 Spl is.

Ya .357 magnum is not cheap to shoot. Thats why I shoot .38 special
The cheapest Ive been able to find .22LR out here is like $65 bucks for a brick of 500 cheap Winchester rounds. That makes me sad

 

[mongoose33]

Ya .357 magnum is not cheap to shoot. Thats why I shoot .38 special
The cheapest Ive been able to find .22LR out here is like $65 bucks for a brick of 500 cheap Winchester rounds. That makes me sad

Hey, it's a gun thread. There is nothing which is off topic in a gun thread, as long as it's on guns.

.357 Magnum costs me about a 3 cents apiece more to shoot than .38 special. About 12 cents per round, is what I have in the .357. But then, I'm casting my own bullets, powdercoating the bullets, and reloading them.

BTW, about powdercoating the lead bullets; I'm not kidding:

 

[kev211]

Hey, it's a gun thread. There is nothing which is off topic in a gun thread, as long as it's on guns.

.357 Magnum costs me about a 3 cents apiece more to shoot than .38 special. About 12 cents per round, is what I have in the .357. But then, I'm casting my own bullets, powdercoating the bullets, and reloading them.

BTW, about powdercoating the lead bullets; I'm not kidding:

View attachment 353982

View attachment 353983

Why do you powder coat them? Does it affect the ballistics?

 

[Zuljin]

Pretty standard IME. Never had a firearm that came with a case that woould allow for anything to fit other than what came from the factory.

Factory cases suck anyway. Buy a better one and move on. Not worth getting bent out of shape over.

This.

Get you a Pelican or something similar, and buy whatever cushion floats your Cut it to whatever size you need.

 

[mongoose33]

Why do you powder coat them? Does it affect the ballistics?

No, though they're pretty darned accurate.

I'd been shooting lead bullets with the normal lube grooves and lube, and they're smoky. One night I was shooting a competition and I literally lost sight of the target due to the smoke. Take it from me, it's harder to hit the when you can't see them.

You can buy coated bullets, with proprietary formulations, some are HiTek coatings.

But once I learned that I could coat them myself, well, I just had to try it. Turns out they're much cleaner than most other bullets. They shoot just fine.

There are two ways to powdercoat them. One is to tumble them in a #5 plastic tub (the "5" is the recycle number). Put in some black airsoft BBs, a spoonful of powder, a couple dozen bullets, pop on the lid, and swirl and shake. Static coats them, and you pluck them out w/ tweezers or forceps, and put on a piece of nonstick aluminum foil (or oven parchment paper, that works too). Bake at 400 degrees in a dedicated toaster oven for 10 minutes once the coating turns shiny, and you're good.

The downside is they're not as smoothly coated, though many have great luck with them.

The other way is to put them on a tray covered with nonstick aluminum foil, connect the wire to a powdercoating gun to the foil, and coat them.

Same procedure w/ the oven. You want it to be in an open garage or outside, as fumes come off the PC that are not good for you. Also, the toaster oven ends up being useful only for powdercoating, as it's no longer food safe for the same reason.

After coating, they're sized as normal and load 'em up.

Here's a pic showing the tray I put them on. I epoxy small nuts to the tray, and press the foil down over them, creating little pedestals on which the bullets sit.



Here's a link to a Youtube video showing a guy spraying PC:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xskyPnEOURM[/ame]

 

[Firewalker11]

Nice set up! My son came home with a cheap Harbor Freight powder coater to paint some motorcycle parts at my place (old Viking toaster oven) a couple years back and his younger brother went crazy, jumping up and down with excitement.

They made me break into my stash of lead and we poured some 9mm RNL bullets and they powder-coated them. My first impression was, "Oh my Lord, what kind of fouling is this gonna cause? No way in heck they are borrowing my pistols!"

Turns out that the powder coating cuts down fouling significantly due to the high temp at which powder-coating deteriorates, about 300°C, and will wipe the barrel to an extent.

From my point of view, using red PC, you can see when you are done cleaning too. Methylene chloride, acetone and benzyl alcohol (about $1.00 an ounce) works well to remove the PC from the bore.

Back to the OP: A free sleeve or case is a bonus, they are NOT intended to fit all setups! BTW- why would you put a scoped pistol in a soft side anyway?

 

[autobaun70]

That's a large optic for a handgun! You'd probably be better off mounting a laser to the bottom rail. Then you can be lazy, and look cool too! Plus, it'll fit in the case.


I don't understand the large optics. I see it frequently too. I was always under the impression that if you can't see, you probably shouldn't use a weapon...

This is a red dot, no magnification. It is mainly going to be used in the dark, and a light will be added to the bottom rail.

Just one question: since they didn't know what you were going to mount on it, what size should they have sent you, if there even is such a beast?

On another note, I'm looking to add a .22 pistol, and let us know how you like it. I have a few Rugers, e.g., a Takedown, GP100, and an SR1911. All excellent.

On this particular gun, it has to have an optical site. Flip up, etc., won't work. All they would have needed to do is use an existing foam lined case from their larger frame guns, and it would have been perfect. I'm not going to use a case myself (eats too much space in the safe), this was more of a rant of them being short sited, and not thinking through the application. In this situation, they may has well have wrapped the gun in bubble wrap, as the case provided would not be able to be used by anyone, once in shootable configuration. On a foamed rigid case, if you leave a couple of inches above the frame nearly any pistol scope or optic would work. Something like the pic below would work well.



As far as Ruger .22 pistols go, I love them. This is my third. I'm not as big of a fan of the MKIII & 45/22MKIII as I am the MKI & MKII, because they added a magazine disconnect and loaded chamber indicator to these, however these can be fairly easily (and inexpensively) eliminated. The loaded chamber indicator can create feeding issues, and the magazine disconnect is just down-rite pesky, and prevents the magazine from dropping freely. I am generally against magazine disconnects, because I feel like they can encourage less safe gun handling, and give novice shooters the feeling that there is an inherent safety device built in that they can rely on. I added a Volquartsen loaded chamber indicator, and elimination of the magazine disconnect was done via a Majestic Arms Speed Strip kit. It can be done less expensively than the speed strip, but the improved trigger pull and ease of cleaning justified the cost.

This particular gun is going to be fairly purpose specific. We have a serious muskrat problem at the lake (they do thousands of $$$'s in damage to boats and docks), and this is going to be used to upset them. My criteria in purchasing was that it have a top and bottom rail to accommodate an optic and light at the same time, plus have a threaded barrel for a suppressor. This was the only target style .22 that had all of these features. Muskrats typically come out right at nightfall, so it is critical to be able to light them up, and the suppressor will avoid drawing attention from the less understanding neighbors.

Had I not needed the bottom rail, I would have given serious consideration to the S&W Victory, or gone with the stainless MKIII Hunter model, which is absolutely beautiful. I actually sold a Beretta NEOS to fund this purchase. The NEOS was going to be very difficult to thread, and didn't have the bottom rail, but was an outstanding plinking gun, and super ease to clean.

 

[mongoose33]

Nice set up! My son came home with a cheap Harbor Freight powder coater to paint some motorcycle parts at my place (old Viking toaster oven) a couple years back and his younger brother went crazy, jumping up and down with excitement.

They made me break into my stash of lead and we poured some 9mm RNL bullets and they powder-coated them. My first impression was, "Oh my Lord, what kind of fouling is this gonna cause? No way in heck they are borrowing my pistols!"

Turns out that the powder coating cuts down fouling significantly due to the high temp at which powder-coating deteriorates, about 300°C, and will wipe the barrel to an extent.

From my point of view, using red PC, you can see when you are done cleaning too. Methylene chloride, acetone and benzyl alcohol (about $1.00 an ounce) works well to remove the PC from the bore.

Interesting. Probably depends on the type of powder; I never have any colored fouling in my barrels. One swipe of a boresnake and the bore is shiny bright.

I buy my powder from a guy at CastBoolits whose powder is known to work well on bullets.

I wish I had a larger oven because I could hang other kinds of metal parts and PC them too.

The stuff I use is pretty durable stuff. Here's the results of what we call the "smash test" where you whack a PC'd boolit with a 3-pound hammer. Amazing that the PC simply won't flake off.

 

[Firewalker11]

Yupper, cheap HF stuff probably comes off easier...