Good farmer friend of mine mentioned his interest in getting a clean used Ruger 12 O/U sporting clays shotgun. He mentioned that Ruger is no longer in production of that gun. Any "Ruger-ists" here have insight into this, and would it follow on as when Winchester dropped the M12 in 1963- market wise as to price and availability? RWTF
The Wikipedia article about the Red Label sums it up nicely.
I own a Ruger 20ga/30" sporting clays gun. I like it a lot. Handles at least as well as, maybe better than, my 687 SP-II in the same configuration. RRL 20s are pretty sleek. I've never owned a 12, but they seem to be heavy, not a bad thing for a clays gun.
Son has a 12 Sporting Clays model he uses for waterfowl. Loves it. I have three 28’s which get a lot of use on Sporting Clays and dove. They are getting pricey. For limited use the Red Label is fine. For high volume shooting not so much. And parts are a problem. Ruger is a victim of their success. A couple years ago they had to stop accepting orders when back orders exceeded one million guns. They soon there after dropped the new Red Label from production. Red Labels were created as a hunting O/U not a target gun. As a dedicated hunting gun they should last decades. Take out every week for a hundred or two rounds and you will put ten years of wear on one every year.
Of late, Ruger stock is better than any of their guns.
Best,
Ted
Believe it or not I know a guy that has a Ruger SBT its actually a pretty nice gun
what, pray tell is Wikipaedia?? Something like Facebookie? Or a scam site with Pay Pal like Ex-Lax Bay? A trap for the unwary perhaps.?? RWTF
I was unaware of a Ruger SBT - please elaborate.
Fox heres what wiki says...
"When the Browning Superposed was introduced in 1931, American sportsmen soon fell in love with the concept of a stacked barrel double gun. Unlike traditional side-by-side double barrel shotguns that have issues with aiming points and recoil, a shotgun with two barrels stacked one on top of the other offers a single sighting plane and lighter recoil. The Superposed became the first mass-produced Over/Under (O/U) shotgun. By the 1970s the Belgian-made Browning Superposed, and other over and under shotguns imported from Europe had become so expensive that they were out of reach of most American shooters, and there were no domestically produced over and under shotguns that did not cost more.
The Red Label was introduced in 1977 in 20 Gauge with a 26" barrel for a price of $480.00 (equal to $2,074.95 in 2018) At the time the Remington Model 3200 was the only other quality American Made over-under, and it cost nearly twice as much. The Red Label soon proved a hit with the American shooting public for its affordability, reliability, and handling. It remained in production for over three decades. In 1979, Ruger began to offer the Red Label in 12 Gauge and eventually a scaled-down version in 28 Gauge (1994). The design was born of William B. Ruger's desire to produce a quality US made over and under shotgun. In order to achieve this and put quality on par with hand-made European shotguns, Ruger invested in expensive machinery to do most of the work."
Until Benelli jumped into the O/U market I put Ruger right at the top in butt ugly.
Her flaws according to Wiki...
"Criticism of the Red Label included complaints about the weight of the shotgun, poor balance when swinging the gun onto a flying target, poor fit of the metal to wood on some examples, and loose (rattling) sighting ribs. Many shooters disliked the automatic safety (which could be disabled by the factory if requested by the owner"
It goes on to say pretty much that Rugers heart just wasn't into it.
Nor was it in the short-lived side-by-sides Ruger made for a short period. A friend at our pheasant club has a 12 Ruger side-by-side, but seldom shoots it. Thanks for the wiki thingy, Joe. Guess I am a dinosaur living in a high tech world- will be 79 right after Election Day this year-- tempus sure fugs-it, ain't that a fact??? RWTF
I'm also intrigued, along with Parker-pal Deano!! RWTF Be a bit of a challenge on doubles, right??
I had a Ruger Sporting Clays model 30 inch multichoked barrels.I liked the lines of the gun and at a time when over and unders were regularly chambered at 2 3/4 inch it’s 3 inch chambers were handy for handling the 1 7/8 oz Winchester loads I used on Solway geese. It was overly barrel heavy however for walked up shooting ,it balanced poorly when compared to a 680 series beretta and the join of the top rib at the end of the chamber was invariably higher at one side than the other. Mine was a 12 bore I have read that the 28 bore was a nicer handling gun. I think it was a gun that would have been a lot better in a fixed choke with better balance barrels and a little more effort in the fitting of the rib
I have a very early 20 gauge Red Label (blued). Before he left Kodiak Sam Welch engraved my beloved hunting dog "Runyon" on the bottom of the receiver--flying dove and ptarmigan on the sides. The last retrieve Runyon ever did was the first bird my oldest son ever shot!
In the early 80's I had Stan Baker custom choke the 20, real open and full. I have shot lots of dove and quail with it. It handles OK, sort of the old boot comfortable feeling.
Dam 16 Yes a Ruger SBT. The only one I've ever seen in person and they made less than 300. I'm sure if you Google it you can find one