tplumeri - You're right, I was mistaken. It was in fact a factory magnum.
Sarge - I just sent a contact email through Ruger's website. They will supposedly contact me within 3 business days. (I'm hoping tomorrow)
zxcvbob - My 48th Edition Lyman reloading manual says 10.3 - 11.5 gr. of Unique for a 240 gr. jacketed bullet. 11.5 is at about 39k psi. I'm 90% sure this was more on the high side of the 44 Special loads, like 7 gr. The recoil was not in the same ballpark as a 240 gr. factory magnum. I don't have the load data any more. I had it in the Lee Shooter program, which crapped out on me. From now on, it is all going on good old fashioned paper.
laytonj1 - Yep, the bullet made it out. The barrel is still clean inside. It hit in about the right area of the target. Look at the bottom photo in
this thread. That was shot at about 25 ft. I expect it would be low if the previous owner had it zeroed for 50-100 yards.
I'm already kind of a Ruger fan; if they make this right, I will be impressed. The more I look at it, the more it looks like bad casting.
I just hope they don't replace the gun. This one has a VERY nice trigger. Much nicer than the new Super Redhawks I've tried.