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"Ruby" Pistol Range Outing Number One
Inspired by a recent thread (See link at bottom of this post) on these generally overlooked martial arms from WWI, A "Ruby" marked "-Cal765 Hijose de A. Echeverria-EIBAR-" was obtained in order to discover if it had any particular merits.
From a pre-range inspection it appears to be reasonably well made, with the possble exception of the ejector, which was discovered to be "bent". It didn't bind the action, so the bend was left alone.
Here's the pistol at the 25 and 50 yd bullseye range:
Put up a full sized 25yd timed and rapid fire target, loaded two mags with five rounds each, loaded the pistol, and pulled the trigger. And pulled the trigger. Pulled a little more and then checked again that the safety was "off". (It's also the slide catch, and was rotated to load the weapon to start this sequence.) Yup. "Off". Try again. Pull real hard whilst trying to keep sight picture. Pop!
Yay, it works!
No holes in the target. Hmmm. Try again- four more times. (BTW, it's best to pull the lower extremity of the trigger.) No hits! ...really??? When was the last time you completely missed such a large target this close-multiple times? I can't remember if it's ever happened to me or anyone I know! No clue why. At least it functions. Brass looks good, primers well struck and centered. Cases not bulged.
Oh, well. Shot some other test pieces until things got blurry, so that's it for "bullseye range".
So off to the plate range and some closer targets to see what's going on with the Ruby.:
25yd target set at 7-10 yds.
Results up close?
Really really low!
Reset the paper at ~20yds and aimed at the protruding cardboard "head". ("Head" visible w/o the paper target attached in the lowest two photos):
Eh, not great, but better than a rock!
So, loaded the mags full with nine rounds each and set the 15 yd plates.
Loading with the slide locked back led to a failure to feed the first round on both mags. Pulling the slide back slightly unseized the round both times. Not a huge issue. Minor technique change would probably eliminate the failure to feed from a fresh, full mag.
First run wasn't too good, hits were low, or misses. One plate was hit low twice and did not go down.:
Next run, the sights were raised until the entire plate was obscured. This worked fine, but one plate still required a couple of hits, and the end result was only five plates for nine rounds.
In actual fact, the little Keltec P32 does a better job. But had the sights been somewhat regulated, the muy heavy trigger pull would just slow down getting effective hits. Ejection was good, if erratic in the "brass landing zone". Sights themselves are a "W" more or less, and the front blade tended to disappear- which SHOULD have helped POI!
When the ammo supply is replenished, you may see another installment.
But overall impression? Better than expected! It DOES function, with both mags. Mechanical accuracy is probably OK, it's just hard to shoot well. Grip feels good, slide serrations are effective, and the safety/slide hold open is well placed.
So..., a trigger job, feed ramp polish and BoMar sights and it's ready for competition!
Link to Trebor's instigating thread:
The Ruby pistol was a 'procurement nightmare' that armed French troops in WWI
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Last edited by jmoore; 08-26-2011 at 08:17 PM.
Reason: Photos are up!
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08-26-2011 04:48 PM
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Heard that the Ruby isn´t that quality it should be and that the bores are worn out after 500 to 600 rounds. Looks like it is more accurate if you use it as a boomerang
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