NEW VAQUERO Help needed from gunsmiths

Whiskey Banjo · May 13, 2013, 08:47:12 PM

so to make a long story short, i bought another ruger new vaquero off of gunbroker.com. the auction said it was in excellent used condition. i finally get the gun to my FFL and go take a look at it.. something is wrong with it.

when i spin the cylinder with the loading gate open it makes a clunking sound, not a nice smooth click like my other vaqueros.. like its hitting the barrel, or the frame.. it was really hard to tell what was making the sound. the front of the cylinder bushing seemed to have a lot of wear on it, and the cylinder itself had a lot of slop, even with the hammer back it seemed a little more then my other vaqueros.. with the hammer de-cocked it was DEFINITELY a lot of slop.

so heres my question.. since i bought it from an auction site, of coarse it says AS IS and no refunds accepted. but this obviously isnt a excellent condition used vaquero. is the problem im seeing an easy fix? seems like it would need a new cylinder to fix all the play in there correct? i didnt get a chance to put a feeler gauge on the gap since its at my FFL dealer.. but something is obviously up with it.

i didnt fill out the paperwork to switch it into my name because im gonna email the seller tonight to see what he has to say for himself.

has anyone run into this problem? and is it even worth my trouble to fix it? or should i file a fraud claim with gunbroker.com and try and get my money back from the guy who sold me a messed up pistol?

Whiskey Banjo · May 13, 2013, 08:48:21 PM

another thing i found weird was when pulling the hammer it clearly only had 2 clicks.. when my other vaqueros have 3..

whats up with that?

Whiskey Banjo · May 14, 2013, 11:33:49 PM

No one?

Bugscuffle · May 15, 2013, 03:52:32 AM

It is my understanding that acording to the site's rules for sellers is that all guns are sold with a three day no shoot return policy. Check the policy and if it hasn't been three days notify them that you are returning it "for cause". That's a legal way of saying that there is something wrong with the product. I think that you only have to notify them that you are returning it, but again check with the Gunbroker rules.

Coffinmaker · May 15, 2013, 11:03:58 AM

If you bought it "right," ship it back to Ruger with a note explaining what you think is wrong. They'll fix it. Probably for free. I once sent a cigarette lighter back to Zippo. I found it in the mudd of a tank trail ai Grafenwer, Germany. It was crushed very flat. Included a note that said "won't light." Three weeks later I received a new Zippo, with an apology for being unable to repair mine!! Anyway ....... Give Ruger a shot at it.

Coffinmaker

Mean Bob Mean · May 15, 2013, 05:03:30 PM

Ding the seller too--hard.

GunClick Rick · May 16, 2013, 12:48:01 AM

Tell him you have a cousin in his area and he will be bringing it to his place to TALK about it..

Whiskey Banjo · May 16, 2013, 11:01:25 AM

Hes in kentucky.. maybe the johnson county rangers can go "talk"

So.. finally got a hold of the seller. He claims the gun was in perfect working order when he shipped it. I find it pretty hard to believe that the damage on this gun could ever come from shipping. He then says well maybe my FFL dealer tampered with it. I told him he opened the box in front of me.. so that didnt happen.

He is still standing by his no return policy.. and is standing by the gun being in excellent condition when he shipped it. Im starting to think this guy has no idea what excellent condition is.

So im stuck waiting to hear what he says. What a mess this turned out to be.

Im thinking im probably not gonna be getting my money back and having to spend more money to get this gun checked out and fixed once i put it in my name.. the gun is just sitting at my FFL dealer waiting for this to be resolved

Coffinmaker · May 17, 2013, 06:11:35 PM

Skip the hassle with the seller. Transfer the gun and ship it to Ruger. You'll get to enjoy it sooner.

Coffinmaker

Whiskey Banjo · May 17, 2013, 07:53:46 PM

Quote from: Coffinmaker on May 17, 2013, 06:11:35 PM
Skip the hassle with the seller. Transfer the gun and ship it to Ruger. You'll get to enjoy it sooner.

Coffinmaker

Ruger will fix it for frer no matter what the damage? It seems the damage is from firing it.. wasnt sure if ruger will warranty it or ill get a fat bill with what needed to be fixed.

Also, it took me almost 2 hours to get someone from ruger on the phone, it seems they are highly overwhelmed.. do u think their repair department will still turn the gun around in a reasonable amount of time?

Pettifogger · May 17, 2013, 08:25:45 PM

Quote from: Whiskey Banjo on May 17, 2013, 07:53:46 PM
Ruger will fix it for frer no matter what the damage? It seems the damage is from firing it.. wasnt sure if ruger will warranty it or ill get a fat bill with what needed to be fixed.

Also, it took me almost 2 hours to get someone from ruger on the phone, it seems they are highly overwhelmed.. do u think their repair department will still turn the gun around in a reasonable amount of time?

That's exactly the kind of thing Ruger will fix without question. Crappy home gun smithing is something else and they will usually fix that too. How would anyone know whether the repair department will take a "reasonable time?" Ruger is very good and they have a permanent repair department. Broken guns come in all the time regardless of the present buying frenzy. Ruger has no "written" warranty. But, if you send in something they will fix it if it is fixable.

GunClick Rick · May 17, 2013, 09:01:26 PM

And if there is a fee it will be low and you will have a very nice Vaquero~ :)If you send it and they fix it make sure to give them the kudos they deserve in an apreciative email to the CEO.

Whiskey Banjo · May 23, 2013, 06:40:52 PM

So i followed u guys advice. Put the gun in my name and im plannin on shipping it to ruger.. After getting a chance to take a closer look at the pistol it seems its the cylinder bushing thats worn down. Its causing to much play and when u spin the cylinder with the loading gate open it flops back and forth making that clunking sound i was talking about. But when i held the cylinder forward it was a nice smooth click.

So with knowing that, are there replacement cylinders that i could buy that would fix the issue, or should i just send it in to ruger? If its just a matter of getting a new cylinder id rather do that then ship it out.

Thanks in advance
-whiskey

Pettifogger · May 23, 2013, 08:23:47 PM

Ruger won't sell you a cylinder. It has to be fitted.

Cactus Mac · May 24, 2013, 04:25:17 PM

I've shot the original Vaqueros for years and picked up a New Model this morning in our tech room. I found that the New Model didn't have the same distinct "click" as the old. I found that Ruger added a new part called the "Ejector Alignment Pawl" which is what you hear as the cylinder ratchets spin over it. This does not produce the sharper clicks you hear when the ratchets are contacting the pawl, aka hand. The original Vaqueros and Blackhawks definitely had a more pleasant click.