I have an opportunity to purchase a Ruger Red Label O/U All Weather stainless steel/synthetic shotgun. A family friend passed away and his widow wants to sell it. I want to give her a fair price for the gun.
It is a 26” barrel 12 gauge with removable chokes. I would say the condition is not quite NIB (there is no box), but very good.
Knowing the previous owner, I would expect that he shot 4 boxes of shells through it at most.
I have looked on Gun Broker, Guns International, several forums, and I haven’t really found much info. It seems that they are scarce because Ruger stopped making them in the early 2000s.
As best I can tell, somewhere between $1500-$2000 would be about right. For those who know about this sort of thing, does this seem correct?
Honestly, pass. Ruger red label o/u were never very good. Poor reliability and durability, barrel regulation, etc. This is from a clay shooting perspective - so higher volume. Fair i guess for one box a year, but I wouldnt pay over 500 bucks.
Ok, I appreciate that information and your perspective.
I’m not crazy about the shotgun to be honest. I’m not a shotgun guy in general, and I don’t really want one that’s of questionable quality.
A few years back I had a Ruger RL 28 ga for Grouse hunting and the gun was like a lazer but it had a habit of not kicking fired casings out. Needless to say but I soon replaced it with a Browning Lighting in 28 ga that was twice the gun that the Ruger was.
As other have mentioned they didn’t have the best reputation. Looking at value I can’t see someone paying $1k+ for one of these without a personal connection to the gun. In the $1500-$2000 price range you’re competing with new and used o/u’s from Browning and Beretta.
Bit of an old thread, but had to weigh in. I bought a Ruger Red Label All-Weather 26" about 4 years ago and paid $850. Mainly on nostalgic as I learned to shoot sporting clays on an RL. Fast forward 20+ years, I had to have one and then learned about the All-Weather version and that was my hunt. There are not that many out there and it became a bit of a unicorn hunt. All that being said, I have been shooting trap and skeet with it since buying it and easily have several thousand rounds through it. I love it and it is definitely a conversation starter at the range. I was concerned about 26", but I think I’ve gotten used it. It does look a bit funny on the rack next to all the other 30"+ high-end shotguns, but it holds its own. I know I have more shooting errors than the gun does. As far as reliability, I have had zero issues. Give it a good cleaning and it runs like a champ with whatever I shoot through it. I use extended chokes, so I’m running just shy of 28". I am interested in hearing how it worked out.
My uncle and father both have Weatherby Orions (the old Made-in-Japan ones) in 20ga with 26" barrels. They’re light and handy and quick-swinging and a delight to shoot.
I liked them so much that when I bought a Benelli M2, I picked out a 21" barrel, because the gun’s overall length and sight radius is the same as those O/Us with 26" barrels.