"Ruby" Pistol Range Outing Number One

[jmoore]

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

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[jmoore]

A couple of photos showing the "long range" target better:

[gunner]

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

[jmoore]

This pistol has the Post WWI "safety bump" on the slide and is in better condition, so perhaps the French kept this one, whilst the other was surplused soon after war's end.

First, the harsh 25 yard test:

Attachment 44303

Attachment 44304

Not nearly as low as the other! Actually only about 6-8" low, which is no big drama with some familiarization. No case bulging even with the deep feed ramp, and th primers are fairly well struck in the center. Ejection is at 3 o'clock and is very uniform. Trigger pull is very heavy!

So off to the plate range. Held at the tops of the plates at 15 yards and had no trouble hitting them, but it took all nine rounds to push the six plates over. Not so powerful is the .32...

Addtionally, two others shot the pistol for the first time and they made hits easily as well.

A much better performance from this expedient purchase weapon!

Attachment 44302







A couple of useful links:

This one is the the fine MKL article elsewhere on this site:
https://www.milsurps.com/content.php...-65-genre-Ruby

And the only other substantial thread in the Milsurps forums:

The Ruby pistol was a 'procurement nightmare' that armed French troops in WWI