Recently we built a 500 Linebaugh for a young man on

Gary Reeder
[subject]
Monday, February 24, 2025, 16:01 (518 days ago)

a Ruger as the base gun. About a month later we got the gun back and it was almost totally destroyed due to his hot loads. In a hot load the cylinder will go egg shaped for a micro second, slamming into the top strap and lower cylinder window. Each time it will leave a long mark on the cylinder where it hit, plus leaving flat spots on the cylinder. The loads were so hot it stretched the frame and bent the loading gate spring breaking thru the frame under the loading gate. He had someone weld it which didn't help at all. The frame was warped so he had someone (probably him) file it trying to get it back into shape. The gun was dropped once or twice due to the recoil. The frame got so hot the bluing on the top strap turned gray. It was a testament to how strong the Ruger frames are. When we got the gun back the young man said he only shot the gun 4 times and wanted his money back. We went over the gun completely and it will cost a minimum of $1000 to get the gun back to semi normal with a new cylinder, barrel and small parts. Unfortunately, the welding of the lower frame where the loading gate spring broke thru can't be brought back to normal. It can be fixed but not to the strength it had as new.
So now comes the decision. Do I fix it and send it back to him, knowing he will just reload the same loads as before, and this time, due to being weakened in the damage the first time, the gun won't hold it. Legally I can't keep it as it legally belongs to the young man who bought it. So I have to do some heavy thinking.

My opinion: no. Clearly abuse, not your fault. Lucky he did

SPB
[subject]
Monday, February 24, 2025, 16:11 (518 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

not kill himself or someone else.

Now if he wants to pay the fix fee it’s up to you. You play stupid games you win stupid prizes. Just my opinion. YMMV.

He needs to utilize some common sense. Yes, I know that it is not common.

Once he had someone weld the frame, would`ent that

JFS
[subject]
Monday, February 24, 2025, 17:05 (518 days ago) @ SPB

absolve you any responsibility to make repairs??

That would definitely void any other manufacturers warranty

Derek
[subject]
Monday, February 24, 2025, 17:43 (518 days ago) @ JFS

For sure!

irresponsible

FSimon
[subject]
Monday, February 24, 2025, 18:46 (518 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

Gary, please speak to legal consul before responding ...I would not fix it... He ended your warranty when he welded an Filed...

Gary, in addition, document everything with pictures. Yes,

SPB
[subject]
Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 07:14 (518 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

voided any warranty.

IMHO, the most satisfactory reaction is . . .

ORG
[subject]
Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 08:00 (518 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

. . . return his money and keep the gun as an example of Ruger's strength and one guy's stupidity.

This would likely be the cheapest thing to do in the long run, but definitely check with a real lawyer (which I'm not). ;-)

Send it back as is he clearly voided the warranty

Blake
[subject]
Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 19:22 (517 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

- No text -

He obviously voided his warranty but this poses

Gary Reeder
[subject]
Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 13:38 (517 days ago) @ Blake

another problem. The gun is dangerous as is and it wouldn't take many more hot rounds for that gun to come apart. Sending it back to him as is is just asking for trouble. The owner of the gun obviously thinks loading 550 grain bullets in a 500 Linebaugh case with max loads for a 400 grain bullet is just normal reloading. He doesn't think he did anything wrong, which is why he is demanding his money back.
I am going to do some serious thinking about this one. I won't send that gun back in the condition it is in right now as somebody is going to get hurt when that gun comes apart, which it will do with more of his loads. So sending it back with a note saying he voided his warranty is not among my choices.

Ruger 357 Maximums

AlanT
[subject]
Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 20:42 (516 days ago) @ Gary Reeder

I have been warned by many people numerous times to never send a .357 Maximum back to Ruger for any reason.
They will keep it; claiming "Recall & unsafe firearm" and offer you a replacement item up to and including the original list price of the Maximum.

If Ruger can do it, I'm sure you can figure out a way to keep the gun while still offering the owner "fair value" for the original list price of the base gun.

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