Ruger Red Label Over Under

[Tag457]

Does a Ruger Red Label Over Under 12 or 20 gauge have cast off or natural cast? Thank you.

 

[foxtrot1]

Pretty sure they are neutral

 

[Hutch01]

It is an exceptional bird gun. But it’s mass produced. I shot one for twenty years. To obtain cast, a qualified gunsmith will need to fit ‘you to it’. He may run hot oil over the stock after he obtains your measurements and bend the stock for cast on or off. Length of pull is also very important. If your over 6 feet tall the LOP won’t fit you properly out of the box. The Red Label is $1K shotgun. If you want a custom fit shotgun I’d look at Grulla or AyA in Spain. Hutch

 

[HankBuck]

It is an exceptional bird gun. But it’s mass produced. I shot one for twenty years. To obtain cast, a qualified gunsmith will need to fit ‘you to it’. He may run hot oil over the stock after he obtains your measurements and bend the stock for cast on or off. Length of pull is also very important. If your over 6 feet tall the LOP won’t fit you properly out of the box. The Red Label is $1K shotgun. If you want a custom fit shotgun I’d look at Grulla or AyA in Spain. Hutch

Hutch01, I also believe the Red Label is neutral cast - as were almost all low end over/unders made. Regarding having the stock bent/hot oil in order to obtain a desired cast - very likely will Not work. The stock tends to “return to straight” shortly after the hot oil cast is completed. I had a gunsmith perform this stock work for me and he warned me against it in advance “very likely will return-to-straight”......he was correct and it was “straight” in a few weeks - waste of $$. There are certain guns that I just love and invest a little money in them even though they are not especially valuable or even well made. That would have to be the case with a Ruger Red Label, it is decent hunting OU, better then Stoager or Marlin and a step below Browning, it’s a nice looking OU, the 20ga is very light- nice to carry hunting...but would never hold up well to the volume of skeet or sporting clays shooting. I will also say that in 30 years at my skeet club only saw one member shooting a Red Label - back in late 1990s - an older gent and he “loved it”. He use to say, “I know a lot of people don’t think Red Labels are any good but for hunting it’s great and I keep rounds low - only skeet shoot a fewtimes a year with it”....

 

[WAB]

I had one years ago. I like the action design but I did not shoot it well. The stock dimensions do not suit me at all. This is a common complaint. I don’t know that I ever saw a shooter use one
In anything but very informal competition.

 

[FLC]

Never own one but the one have seen are neutral .

 

[BeeMaa]

I’d save my pennies and get a used Beretta 686 before I touched a Ruger Red Label. The Beretta is almost infinitely rebuildable and will handle the volume of clays & birds nearly anyone can handle.

It’s an investment in your shotgunning future.

 

[WAB]

I’d save my pennies and get a used Beretta 686 before I touched a Ruger Red Label. The Beretta is almost infinitely rebuildable and will handle the volume of clays & birds nearly anyone can handle.

It’s an investment in your shotgunning future.

Agreed, or a Citori/Miroku. As an engineer, I like the Beretta action better, as a shooter I prefer the deeper action of the Citori. Both are utterly reliable. I had my Miroku 9000 stripped down for cleaning after approx 100,000 rounds. It was like new. Even the trigger pulls were still within an ounce of original spec. The smith that tore it down was a Krieghoff service guy. He said that if the K guns were that reliable he would be out of business.

 

[Woodcarver]

Hutch01, I also believe the Red Label is neutral cast - as were almost all low end over/unders made. Regarding having the stock bent/hot oil in order to obtain a desired cast - very likely will Not work. The stock tends to “return to straight” shortly after the hot oil cast is completed. I had a gunsmith perform this stock work for me and he warned me against it in advance “very likely will return-to-straight”......he was correct and it was “straight” in a few weeks - waste of $$. There are certain guns that I just love and invest a little money in them even though they are not especially valuable or even well made. That would have to be the case with a Ruger Red Label, it is decent hunting OU, better then Stoager or Marlin and a step below Browning, it’s a nice looking OU, the 20ga is very light- nice to carry hunting...but would never hold up well to the volume of skeet or sporting clays shooting. I will also say that in 30 years at my skeet club only saw one member shooting a Red Label - back in late 1990s - an older gent and he “loved it”. He use to say, “I know a lot of people don’t think Red Labels are any good but for hunting it’s great and I keep rounds low - only skeet shoot a fewtimes a year with it”....

The Red Label has a through bolt, does not work to bend them. They do have a neutral cast. The only practical way to give one any cast is to restock.
I've had mine since sometime in the 90s. Bought it because I needed something that would handle steel shot. Mine does fit, so it has shot well for me, both in the field and for trap. I like the straight grip. That said, they are muzzle heavy, and heavier overall than others, so packing it around CRP fields chasing pheasant can be a bit of a chore.

 

[Tucketed]

Love my 20 gauge. 1979 and still running. Plenty of birds east and west fell to it. Now the kids use it. Last weekend snipe hunting