Yesterday a friend was shooting his 20 gauge RRL that he bought new about 1979. He noticed a brown liquid seeping from the joint between the monoblock and the top barrel.

I told him I thought the joint was loose and would need to go back to Ruger and he shouldn't shoot it. So he called Ruger today and the said it was "No problem and to keep shooting it."

Doesn't sound safe to me, what should he do now?

Follow what Ruger told him. I've heard of this before and it was explained as flux used in assembling the barrels. Why it took 30 years to seep out is a mystery to me but if Ruger is not worried, neither would I.

Flux seeps out....water seeps in....why worry?

I had the exact same situation with my Ruger Red Label 20 ga. and when I contacted Ruger and told them my experiences I was told it was nothing to worry about, that it was probably gun oil I had swabbed down the barrels and had seeped out under pressure through a tiny, insignificant imperfection in the weld.

Mike why are you using a picture of a K-80 Trap gun? They are the guns that blow up more often than all the damascus gun in the World.

Ruger Red Labels have had this problem noted in the past. And to date I do not know of a single one that has ever failed.

I shot mine a lot between 1979 and 2003 when I (foolishly) sold it. Never had a single problem other than having to occasionally wipe off that little bead of oil at the seam.

Not exactly the same as the oil problem but a fellow shooter had a RL that he shot at skeet. He began having problems with the rib moving forward, at times leaving a gap of a quarter inch between the "rib ramp" on the monoblock and the rib itself - something that can occur only on a RL (as far as I know) since the rib floats on a series of supports down the barrel.
He tried several means to secure the rib from floating forward during shooting and finally discovered that the barrel was slowly separating from the monoblock where it was joined. If I had not actually seen this occur, I would have sworn that this was an "urban myth". He returned it to Ruger and they did repair (not replace) the barrel but it took about 6 months. Not sure if the oil has any bearing on this unusual failure but just thought that I would offer up the experience. And yes, I do own a RL and enjoy shooting it - but I am a little wary of the rib/barrel joint.
Z

Boy and some get nervious at the mere mention of shooting Damascus/composite barrels. I will sleep better now.

Thanks for the replies, I'll let him know what you guys think.

Strangest thing I've seen with a Red Label.....
A buddy of mine had just purchased a new 28 ga and we were giving it a workout from the 27 yard line. We were having pretty good success when things started to degrade. We started consistantly missing targets......all targets. My buddy noted that the lower barrel looked like it had a bow in it. I told him that the 70's hadn't been to kind to him, but he insisted. So we took a straight edge to the lower barrel and sure enough it had about 1/4" of bow (downward) making the lower barrel shoot high.
He sold it the next day.