Ruger has updated the Red Label and rereleased it! lots of good features, 26,28 & 30" Barrels, Back bored, 2" long forcing cones, updated "refined" action and Briley chokes are just the start of the updates all for under $1100.00 on some of the gun auction sites :grooving: This is a heck of a deal on a solid O/U, I bet the price won't stay this low very long!
Yes, I saw this the other day on their website. The old Red Labels were pretty nice also, my buddy has a DU banquet gun engraved and very nice, I hope he will sell it to me. :thumbsup:
Other than a slightly changed wood-to-metal angle on the receiver, I can't see any changes from the previous Red Label. ( At one time, I owned four Red Labels and still have two of them. ) There are possibly some internal changes that aren't obvious from the website.
As always, the RL is a solid gun that is excellent for carrying in the upland game fields. Its light weight is an advantage there, but is a disadvantage in the duck blind or as a serious clays gun.
I consider the Ruger to be the least expensive of the O/U's that have acceptable quality. As such, the gun is far above the Russian and Turkish O/U's on the market....much more than the modest step-up in price might indicate. I hope Ruger sells a ton of them.
The new Red Label comes in just under 8lbs with 30"BBL's so it is looking very good for a waterfowl gun, the open barrel design is better for a gun that get's wet often, when an O/U gets water between the side ribs bad things happen down the road . All of the early reports say the new gun handles MUCH better than the old one the balance point has been moved back between the hands rather nose heavy like the old model. This great news for us! a quality O/U for $600-700.00 less than some of the Autos on the market :thumbsup: . They are going to sell a ton of them and I bet that price won't stay that low very long, if they do the other company's will be crying!
The original 'Red Label' had the barrel 'filler... and I really like the fact the new one does not. ('Makes me want one even more in fact.) It would make a great companion-gun to my trusty Beretta 686 Essential.
I wish Ruger luck with the new 'Red Label'... though I think they should have picked a different name/color to distance this gun's reputation from the original, flawed product.
--Tim
The orginal RL's did have a filler between the barrels, but it is easily/quickly removeable. I removed them on all my Rugers because I felt it improved the looks of the gun.
I just weighed my 30" barreled 12ga RL; it weighs just a shade over 6 pounds. Variations in wood density can change advertised weights of individual guns, but not almost two pounds?
Part of the redesign must have included adding lots of lead someplace. :yes:
I was watching one of the gun shows the other night and they featured the new red label. The biggest change was in the manufacturing of the reciever. If I understood correctly the old recievers were cast in two parts and welded together then machined, where the new ones are cast as one piece then machined. This allows them to keep the costs down. I definately will be looking for one in 20 ga.
I was watching one of the gun shows the other night and they featured the new red label. The biggest change was in the manufacturing of the reciever. If I understood correctly the old recievers were cast in two parts and welded together then machined, where the new ones are cast as one piece then machined. This allows them to keep the costs down. I definately will be looking for one in 20 ga.
So far, Ruger website lists it only in 12 ga. with 26", 28", or 30" barrels. with a MSRP of $1399.00
I do hope they make them in other gage's like 20ga and 28ga. I also would love to see one in .410 bore someday :smile:
Keep in mind that the MSRP listed by Ruger is likely several hundred dollars higher than what dealers will list them for. On the TV show (Gallery of Guns?) they expected them to retail for around $1000.......
Several times I almost bought one...............good feel, weight and looks.
Was thinking really hard on a 410 Ga. O/U but then our trap club closed down...........bummer.
It was a great gun with out the updates............. even better now.
For those that want a good quality O/U that works and is made in the USA.........
This is a great buy.
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