Sturm, Ruger & Company has been
producing double barreled shotguns of the superposed, or more
commonly called over / under, configuration since 1977.
Introduced in twenty gauge, the then-new Red Label was an
instant hit with hunters who desired a quality over / under at
a reasonable price. While the Red Label is by no means a cheap
shotgun, Ruger used their modern manufacturing methods and
design to produce a superior product at a price well below the
competition. While other major American builders of double
guns struggle to keep a design going for more than a couple of
hunting seasons, after 27 years Ruger still produces the Red
Label in many different configurations and three different
frame sizes. Designed from the beginning to be a hunter’s
gun, Ruger now has Red Labels tailored specifically for the
clay shooting games.
There are several features that are unique to
the Red Label among other competitive designs. Most notable
from an aesthetic standpoint is that there are no exposed
screws or pins on the exterior of the shotgun. None. This
lends a very clean and sleek appearance to the shotgun.
Another feature of the Ruger that I really like the
self-opening design. Pushing the top lever to the right
releases the action to fall open on its own. Some less-knowledgeable
shooters think that this means that the gun is worn out. That
just ain’t so. They are accustomed to most new double guns
taking the use of both hands and one leg to open the action.
The Ruger drops open smoothly with the push of the lever. The
Red Label also has mechanical triggers, meaning that if you
have a failure to fire with one barrel due to a bad shotgun
shell, the other barrel will still fire. The use of trunions
cast integrally with the frame allows for a sleeker, lower
profile as opposed to using a cross pin underneath the
barrels. The safety button also doubles as the barrel
selector, and the safety is automatically engaged when the
action is opened. The ejectors are selective, ejecting the
fired shells and lifting the unfired ones for extraction. All
Red Labels are supplied with five thin-wall screw-in choke
tubes; one each of improved cylinder, modified, and full
choke, and two that are labeled as skeet chokes. The gun is
also supplied with a dandy little choke wrench.
I have always thought of the Red Label as an
upland bird gun, and for that it is well suited. The smooth-sided
stainless receiver, polished blued barrels, and checkered
walnut stock, along with good balance and smooth handling,
make the gun look and feel like a fine hunting gun. However,
within the past few years, Ruger has introduced more
unconventional variations of the Red Label to better suit the
needs of other hunters, such as the All Weather Red Label,
made with a dull gray stainless finish to the metal, and the
stock made of a black synthetic material. While very
practical, it did take some getting used to for someone
accustomed to rich walnut and blued steel.
The latest variation of the Red Label geared
towards hunters is their twelve gauge stainless gun with a RealTree®
High Definition Brown finish to the entire exterior of the
gun, with the exception of the dull gray trigger and safety
button, and the black recoil pad. The gun wears twenty-eight
inch barrels, and weighs precisely eight pounds, with any two
of the choke tubes installed. The good balance of the piece
makes it feel lighter. The finish is both durable and
attractive, if a bit unconventional on an over / under
shotgun. I at first thought that this gun would be suitable
for waterfowl hunting, and for that it would be perfect.
However, with further thought, I decided to try it out in
pursuit of the wild turkey.
The turkey gun market is dominated by single
barrel guns of either pump or semiautomatic operation, and
these guns do very well in that role. The pump and auto guns
offer the hunter a relatively inexpensive choice in a gun for
hunting turkey. However, the superposed shotgun offers a
shorter overall length compared to a pump or auto with equal
barrel lengths, due to the shorter receiver. Pumps and autos
compensate for this by using shorter barrels to achieve
handiness. The main advantage to using an over / under, and
one that is often overlooked, is the instant choice between
two chokes. With a single barreled shotgun, you are pretty
much stuck with one choke after the turkey appears on the
scene. With a double barreled gun, you have a choice of choke
constriction with the gentle flick of a switch. Most turkey
hunters want the tightest choke available for their gun. This
is a mistake. A turkey hunter needs a choke tube that will
throw a good, tight pattern, but not one that is so tight as
to destroy the meat. A choke that will place ten or fifteen
pellets of number four or five shot into the head and neck of
a turkey is perfect. The problem is that a choke that patterns
perfectly at fifty yards will destroy a bird at fifteen or
twenty. With a choice of two different chokes available
instantly, the hunter can throw an effective pattern at a bird
that won’t call in any closer than sixty yards, and use a
more open choke on a bird that appears from behind a tree at
fifteen. With a single barrel gun, that close range bird will
be nothing but turkey burger if using a choke better suited
for sixty yards. The Red Label, with its very effective camo
pattern, conceals as well as any gun on the market, yet allows
that instant choice of chokes in a very handy turkey gun.
Although the RealTree Red label comes supplied
with five choke tubes, I wanted to take the gun out after a
wild turkey. To produce a good tight pattern, I wanted to fit
the gun with dedicated turkey choke tubes. A call to George
Trulock of Trulock Chokes
had some of his excellent turkey chokes on the way. I
installed the .650 choke in the top barrel, and the .665
constriction in the bottom barrel. Both patterned extremely
well. My plan was to use the top barrel for long range birds,
and the bottom barrel for a closer shot. I loaded the gun with
Remington three-inch magnum high velocity shells loaded
with number four shot. This shell shoots only one and
three-quarters of an ounce of shot, but at the higher than
normal velocity of around thirteen hundred feet per second.
Some turkey hunters want nothing but a three and one-half inch
shell, with the idea that if they throw out as much shot as
possible, it increases their chances of hitting a bird. They
could be correct. However, a turkey is killed with a few
well-placed pellets, not by the barrage of shot sailing past
his head. I would rather have a shell with more velocity to
reach farther and hit harder, as long as it patterns well. In
the Red Label with the Trulock choke tubes, the Remington load
groups the shot very effectively. There is no need for two and
one-half ounces of shot when the gun patterns well.
Daybreak on Saturday morning found me in the
woods with expert turkey caller Burris Byrd. Burris has
been hunting turkeys and guiding others since back when a
turkey gun meant just whatever shotgun you happened to have
available. He has called up and killed more turkeys than
anyone I know, and I knew that he could put us near a few
birds. He didn’t let me down. He soon located a couple of
gobblers, and we set up next to a wooded ditch line between
two fields. Burris set out four decoys, and began calling.
After an hour or so of coaxing a couple of good birds into
view across one of the fields, they disappeared into the woods
and followed the ditch line, sneaking up behind us. When the
biggest of the birds offered a clear shot, he was within
twenty yards. Selecting the bottom barrel with the more open
choke, I aligned the Ruger’s gold bead with the bird’s red
head, and pulled the trigger. He went down instantly. The gun
patterned the number fours perfectly, right where I wanted
them. Had I been forced to use only the tightest choke, the
bird would have been killed, but likely would have rendered
much of the meat inedible. As can be seen in the photos, choke
constriction makes a big difference depending upon the
distance from the target. The .650 tube in the top barrel is
perfect for a long shot, but too destructive at close range.
The Red Label gave me a choice with the flick of the selector,
cleanly taking the bird without destroying the meat.
Until this Realtree Red Label came along, I
had never considered an over / under shotgun for turkey
hunting. The new gun offers the good concealment of other
turkey guns, with all of the advantages of a fine double. The
ventilated rib provides the means to mount other sighting
equipment if one so desires, but I found the gold bead to work
perfectly under the conditions that we were hunting. The only
thing that this gun needs is a set of sling swivels. A good
turkey gun should be so equipped, and I would like to see it
offered that way from the factory. Anyway, it is easy to add a
set to the Ruger’s synthetic stock. This particular
variation of the Red Label is distributed exclusively by Lipsey’s,
so if your dealer does not have one in stock, he can contact
Lipsey’s and have it in a couple of days.
Check out the full line of Ruger products
here.
To order some of George Trulock’s excellent
choke tubes, go to: www.trulockchokes.com.
