Sturm, Ruger & Co Archives

Sturm Ruger and Company

Founded by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm in 1949 with a minimal investment of $50,000.00, the Sturm, Ruger and Company (NYSE: RSR), as it is now known, is one of the leading manufacturers of quality firearms in the United States today. You can hardly glance at the history and timeline of this business and not have an appreciation of what an American company can accomplish. This is especially true for the controversial commercial shooting and sportsmen market.

Being a worldwide recognized name Ruger offers over 400 variations of firearms and accessories in more than 30 current product lines. For over 60 years, the Ruger motto of “Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens” has proven to be just this in a case of success and American entrepreneurship.

When you enter a gun shop or other firearms/sportsman supply dealer, you will literally find a Ruger firearm in every section on display. This is one more addition to the long list of Ruger accomplishments.

In pistols, you will find the classic arms of the old west in the single six and the like; you will also find the more modern and vaguely Luger-ish Mark III series. Moreover, you will see the metal and polymer modern styles that are so popular today for target, plinking and self-defense.

Glancing over at the rifle counter you will see the head-nodding classic, in the Ruger 10/22. You will also find its multitude of aftermarket accessories for variation and customization. Looking a bit further, you will see the Mini-14 and Mini-30. Both of these firearms have taught us that a short-barreled rifle is more than just a ranch-hand gun. On down the line you spy the award-winning Gunsite Scout Rifle, which continues to promote self-head-slapping in appreciation of how it shoots.

As you continue further down the rifle racks, you begin to see the more modern sporting rifles. The SR-556 is a rifle system that more than competes with the multitude of competitive “black rifles” out there on the market today.

Ruger also offers duplicating classic pistols such as the Colt Single action in .22 rimfire as the “Single Six.” It eventually moved on to making its own pistol influenced by the design of the German Luger in the “Ruger Standard” line.

Stepping up to the handgun counter, the number of Ruger pistols may seem daunting. That is until you examine each one practically. You also need to understand that each series has an intended purpose and few are designed to “overlap” the others.

You will find plinking and target shooting to handgun hunting and everything in between, in the Ruger line. Both single and double action units, each complete with an assurance of quality that can be matched by a few industry leaders.

Few manufacturers today can boast the diversity of their product lines for just about every type of shooting that may exist on the planet. Military and law enforcement, competition shooting, concealed carry, home defense, hunting, plinking or firearms for instructional purposes; a Ruger firearm is available in some variation that can fit any need.

As an owner of Ruger firearms myself, (.22 Mark III handgun competition model and a Ruger All American Rifle in .30-06,) I can attest to the quality of these guns. The only time I have ever had to contact Ruger for any reason regarding a post-sale, was the first time I took the Mark III apart. Getting it apart was not the issue. That came when I could not get it back together while referring to the video on its website. You should know that it has since changed the video, and now the instructions are much more clear and understandable. I can now disassemble and reassemble the gun literally with my eyes closed. Customer service was thorough, attentive and pleasant to deal with.

Another alluring feature of firearms by Ruger is the medium price point. While any builder of fine shooting equipment will have its top-tier models and designs, Ruger has managed to keep the great majority of its models at the median price point. This allows the company to still provide an excellent product, yet keep them affordable for the everyman and, more importantly, every woman.

If you think I am biased because I am an owner of more than one Ruger firearm, check out this short list of some of the awards taken home by Ruger:

Manufacturer of the Year: 1992, 1993
Handgun of the Year for:
- 1993: Ruger Vaquero
- 1997: Ruger Bisley-Vaquero
- 2001: Ruger Super Redhawk
- 2008: Ruger LCP
- 2009: Ruger LCR
- 2010: Ruger SR9c
- 2011: Ruger LC9
Rifle of the Year:
- 1999: Ruger .22 Magnum 10-22
- 2002: Ruger 77/17RM .17 HMR Rimfire
Shotgun of the Year:
- 1992 Ruger Red Label Sporting Clays
- 2002 Ruger Gold Label Side-By-Side

Now, here is a current list of all the available firearms from Ruger. However, this list does not include accessories or parts, but does include variations on the model listed.

Bolt-Action Rifles

Ruger American Rifle®
Standard
Compact
Gunsite Scout Rifle
Guide Gun
M77® Hawkeye®
Standard
Standard Left-Handed
All-Weather®
Compact
Laminate Compact
African
Magnum Hunter
Sporter
Tactical
Predator
M77® Mark II Target
Ruger 77/44®
Ruger® 77/357™
Ruger 77/22®
Ruger 77/17®

Single-Shot Rifles

- No.1
- Light Sporter
- Varminter
- Medium Sporter
- Tropical
- International

Autoloading Rifles

SR-556®
Standard
Carbine
E-Model
Varmint Target
Uppers
SR-22® Rifle
10/22®
Takedown
Carbine
Target
Compact
Sporter
Tactical
Mini-14®
Ranch Rifle
Target Rifle
Tactical Rifle
Mini Thirty® Rifle

Centerfire Pistols

LCP®
Standard
LC380™
LC9®
Standard
SR9c®
Standard
SR9®
SR40c®
Standard
SR40®
SR45™
SR1911®
P95™

Rimfire Pistols

SR22®
Standard
Mark III™
Standard
Target
Hunter
Competition
22/45™
Lite
Threaded Barrel
Target

Double-Action Revolvers

LCR®
Standard
SP101®
Standard
GP100®
Standard
Redhawk®
Super Redhawk®
Standard
Alaskan

Single-Action Revolvers

New Bearcat®
Standard
New Model Single-Six®
Single-Ten®
Single-Nine™
Convertible
Hunter
17 HMR
New Model Blackhawk®
Blued
Stainless
Convertible
Bisley™
New Model Super Blackhawk®
Standard
Hunter
Bisley™ Hunter
Ruger Vaquero®
Blued
Stainless
Bisley™
SASS®

A firearms manufacturer has to provide more than just quality shooting experiences. It has to produce consistency and reliability that is tangible. The only proof to this testament is when someone asks you what it is that you shoot, and your answer is along the lines of “I own Colts, Sigs, Remington’s and Winchesters, but I’m shooting my Ruger.” This leaves little doubt to what you are saying. It also states the kind of American shooter that you are. Which is a shooter who expects affordable reliability in a long-lasting platform that will continue as it has to this day and well into the future.

I will pass my Ruger firearms down to my grandchildren. History and success with dangerous products has proven that it will be so.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Review

The second incarnation of the Ruger 77 has met with nothing but success. The Mark II is a controlled round feed action with dual-opposed locking lugs and a non-rotating claw extractor. In many ways the Mark II filled the gap left in the market when the Model 70 switched to a push feed action. For a long time almost all American-made rifles were push feeds due to the fact that many of the push feed designs work just as well as controlled round feeds and the push feed was traditionally much cheaper to produce. Bill Ruger’s commitment to investment casting and mechanical genius allowed Ruger to produce a controlled round feed action that was actually lower in cost than many push feed designs. The 77 is never as slick as the original Model 70 right out of the box (this has been referred to as “Ruger Smooth”), but after break-in it’s hard to tell the difference. One of the best advancements the 77 brought to the market was integral dovetail scope mounts machined into the top of the receiver. In addition to reducing points of potential failure, this system allows the scope rings to be installed correctly every time with only a large screwdriver, which is a real boon for the mechanically disinclined.

Controlled round feed actions have a reputation for jamming less and extracting better than push feed designs. Whether this reputation is deserved is always going to be a matter of contention, but what is for certain is that the controlled round feed Ruger 77 works wonderfully. As a platform for different variants, the Mark II is accurate enough for varmint rifles while still being reliable and strong enough for safari rifles. The Mark II is a favorite among gun cranks looking for an action to rebarrel for a wildcat cartridge. Ruger has produced so many variants of the 77 over the years that they are getting hard to keep track of, but they have had no trouble selling any of them and have received few complaints.

The 77 Mark II suffered in our comparison in Fit/Finish because Rugers are not always as pretty as they could be. That being said, current Ruger rifles look far better than the original offerings and they are improving all the time.

For all uses under all conditions and especially when price is taken into account the 77 Mark II action is currently the best value in the market, and many say it is superior to far more expensive actions available from custom companies. The 77 Mark II might be Bill Ruger’s best idea among many great ones.

For more information on Ruger click here.

Ranked #1 of 7 in our Best Bolt Action Rifle Comparison

Ruger American Review

The Ruger American is the company’s first venture into any kind of entry-level bolt gun, although the price of all Ruger products has always been very reasonable for what you get. The American is a big divergence from the company’s previous bolt action offerings; about the only thing it has in common with other Ruger cousins is the reappearance of a two position tang safety like that found on original Model 77s.

Action-wise, this new Ruger has three locking lugs and a 70 degree bolt lift. Multiple bolt lugs are nothing new — the Weatherby Mark V, T/C Venture and the old Texas Rifle all have more than two lugs; currently there seems to be a resurgence of interest in the idea. The American’s trigger is adjustable and the action is bedded, both features which generally improve accuracy. The overall package is trim and feels light with good balance for offhand shooting. Ruger’s traditional receiver-integral dovetails for scope mounting have been abandoned on this model, but the new scope base is included in the box. Some folks will miss the dovetails, but if the new scope mount works well most will get over it. The most interesting feature of the American might be its magazine. While detachable magazines on bolt guns are no longer uncommon, the American has a polymer three-round rotary magazine, which makes it unique. At first blush a plastic rotary magazine might seem like a bad idea, but Ruger turned out a lot of them for their 10-22’s over the years and they were very reliable. No centerfire magazine will see nearly as much use as one for a 10-22, and rotary magazines are less prone to rattle in the gun or in the pocket.

With The American we have been cautious in our scoring. It lost points in the scope mounting, fit/finish, loading, safety and accuracy categories. The average grade for accuracy should be expected on a very light sporter in early production. The rest of the points were lost because the rifle is such a radical departure from Ruger’s time-tested designs. When people step into new territory they may stumble. This might be unfair to a company like Ruger that prides itself on breaking new ground, but we’ll have to wait and see which of the new concepts fail or flourish. The new Ruger American has a lot going for it and they are going to sell a lot of these rifles. Ruger has an extremely loyal following and some folks will buy this rifle just to have another Ruger product.

Ranked #5 of 7 in our Best Budget Bolt Action Rifle Comparison