Sturm, Ruger & Co.

"Ruger" redirects here. For other uses, see Ruger (disambiguation).
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.
Public
Traded as NYSE: RGR
Industry Firearms
Founded 1949
Headquarters Southport, Connecticut
Key people
 William B. Ruger & Alexander McCormick Sturm (Founders)
Michael O. Fifer (CEO)
Christopher J. Killoy (President/COO)
Thomas A. Dineen (Vice President/Treasurer/CFO)
Revenue $679 million (2013)[1]
Number of employees
 2,000 (2013)[2]
Slogan Arms makers for responsible citizens
Website www.ruger.com

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. is an American, Southport, Connecticut–based firearm manufacturing company, better known by the shortened name Ruger.

The company was founded in 1949 by Alexander McCormick Sturm and William B. Ruger and has been publicly traded since 1969. Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, and single-shot rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and single- and double-action revolvers.[3]

History

Ruger's MK II 22/45 target pistol.

Sturm, Ruger & Company was founded by William B. Ruger and Alexander McCormick Sturm in 1949 in a small rented machine shop in Southport, Connecticut.[4]

Just prior to their partnership, Bill Ruger had successfully duplicated two Japanese "baby" Nambu pistols in his garage, from a captured Nambu that he acquired from a returning marine, at the close of World War II. When it came to designing their first auto pistol, Ruger decided to incorporate the looks of the German 9mm Luger and the American Colt Woodsman into their first commercially produced .22 caliber pistol (see Ruger Standard), which became so successful that it launched the entire company.[4]

Ruger is a dominant manufacturer in the .22 LR rimfire rifle market in the U.S., due primarily to the sales of its Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle.[5] The 10/22 is very popular due to being relatively inexpensive and of good quality.[6] As a result, a wealth of after-market accessories and parts were made available for it, which has further increased its popularity.[5] The availability and variety of after-market parts makes it possible to build a 10/22 using only these parts; most of which are marketed to target shooters and hunters.

Ruger similarly dominates the .22 rimfire semi-automatic pistol market with the Ruger MK II and Ruger MK III, descendants of the Ruger Standard pistol. Like the 10/22, the MkII is supported with a wide variety of after-market accessories. The 22/45 is similar to the Ruger Standard family of pistols but features a different grip angle, that of the Colt 1911 (as opposed to that of a Luger utilized in the Ruger Standard).[7]

Ruger Casting has plants in Newport, New Hampshire and Prescott, Arizona, making ferrous, ductile iron and commercial titanium castings. Ruger Golf makes steel and titanium castings for golf clubs made by a number of different brands.[8]

Sturm, Ruger stock has been publicly traded since 1969, and became a New York Stock Exchange company in 1990 (NYSE:RGR). After Alex Sturm’s death in 1951, William B. Ruger continued to direct the company until his death in 2002.

From 1949 through 2004, Ruger manufactured over 20 million firearms, and currently offers models for hunting, target shooting, self-defense, collecting, and law enforcement.

Facilities

Sturm, Ruger & Co. is headquartered in Southport, CT, and maintains manufacturing facilities in Newport, New Hampshire, Prescott, Arizona, and Mayodan, North Carolina. Ruger's subsidiaries are Ruger Precision Metals LLC in Earth City, Missouri, Pine Tree Castings in Newport, NH and Ruger Sportswear & Accessories in Mayodan, NC[9]

Statistics

Of the total 2,288 makers of civilian firearms operating in the United States from 1986–2010, Ruger led the industry with 15.3 million firearms produced within the period.[10] Ruger was ranked the number one U.S. firearms manufacturer from 2008–2011. In 2011, Ruger manufactured 1,114,687 firearms, as their promotion, the "Million Gun Challenge to Benefit the NRA", played a significant role in the company maintaining its top U.S. manufacturer status.[11] The company has set a new goal of 2 million firearms produced per year.[12] From 2009 to 2012, Ruger was the top-seller of handguns.[13]

Products

Ruger breaks down their products into nine categories: bolt-action rifles, single-shot rifles, autoloading rifles, lever-action rifles, shotguns, centerfire pistols, rimfire pistols, double-action revolvers, and single-action revolvers.[1]

Bolt-action rifles

Ruger M77 Mark II Stainless Bolt Action in .204

Single-shot rifles

Autoloading rifles

Lever-action rifles

Shotguns

Centerfire pistols

Rimfire pistols

Double-action revolvers

SP101 with Corbon Load Data and speedloader
The first variation of the Ruger LCR 38 Special with laser grips

Single-action revolvers

Stainless New Model Super Blackhawk and Redhawk
Old Model Ruger Super Blackhawk c. 1962

Ruger and the USA Shooting Team

Sturm, Ruger & Co. has a history of assisting the USA Shooting Team in direct funds contribution, and by creating Distributor Exclusive models through TALO Distributors, Inc.[16]

See also

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "Corporate Report" (PDF). February 25, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Corporate News". July 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ "BATFE Annual Firearms Manufacturing And Export Report". 2006.
  4. 1 2 Wilson 1996, p. 47.
  5. 1 2 House, James E. (6 July 2006). Customize the Ruger 10/22. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media. pp. 6–12. ISBN 978-1-4402-2413-3.
  6. ↑ Garrison, Kerry (14 March 2014). Getting to know the Ruger 10/22: Everything you need to know to shoot, clean, maintain, and modify your Ruger 10/22. Kerry Garrison. pp. 2–5. ISBN 978-0-9831639-3-0.
  7. ↑ Sweeney, Patrick (24 December 2007). The Gun Digest Book of Ruger Pistols and Revolvers. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 18. ISBN 0-89689-472-X.
  8. ↑ Ph.D., Gregg Lee Carter (4 May 2012). Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law [3 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 930. ISBN 978-0-313-38671-8.
  9. ↑ http://www.ruger.com/corporate/directory.html
  10. ↑ "Guns At A Glance: 40% of All Firearms Made in America Come From These 3 Companies". The Blaze. March 26, 2013.
  11. ↑ "US Firearms Industry Today". Shooting Industry. 2013.
  12. ↑ http://ruger.com/micros/2million/index.html
  13. ↑ "US Firearms Industry Today". Shooting Industry. 2012.
  14. ↑ Gallery of Guns - Shooting Times - Gun Reviews
  15. ↑ http://www.ruger.com/products/rugerAmericanPistol/models.html
  16. ↑ "Ruger Raffle for USA Shooting Team". NSSF.

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