bennedose wrote:Nice collection - but pardon my ignorance - what is special about Rugers over all the other brands? I ask because I had not heard the name before. Google tells me that this is a well established brand - but the collection seems to have "old style" revolvers that were used in the "Wild West". Is that the attraction i.e the historic significance?
Sturm, Ruger & Co. is now the largest individual firearms maker in the USA. For many years, Ruger had the reputation of being the new kid on the block but now you have a whole generation who has grown up with the Ruger name and are not hesitant to buy a Ruger. Ruger has a reputation of making guns that are an excellent value for the money. They are usually not flashy or anything fancy but just good robust firearms. The first two guns that I purchased after I came to the states were Ruger Rifles. I still have both of them and they still work and look fine.
When Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. opened for business in 1949 with a meager $50,000 investment, the Company faced serious doubts from industry insiders. The "it can't be done" remarks of the experts reflected the widespread view that the manufacture of guns had likely peaked, and was in a state of decline. There seemed to be few new ideas, and the apparent trend was that the large, established-name gunmakers would continue to dominate the market.
But this fledgling company was guided by several well-thought-out concepts, not the least of which was founder William B. Ruger's intent to build each product "to a standard so I would want one even if it was made by our competitors." This fundamental concept, this deceptively simple touchstone of the underlying principles of innovation, quality and value, has proved so compelling that over 60 years later there is no question which company is preeminent in the American firearms industry. Ruger's rise to its present well-earned position has made it a respected company on the New York Stock Exchange since 1990. Ruger produces hundreds of thousands of firearms each year for hunting, target shooting, collecting, self-defense, law enforcement, and government agencies.
From Ruger 's Corporate website
Their most well know firearms are the Ruger "mark" series of pistol:
Ruger Mark III pistol
However, they make a large number of other pistols, both single action and double action revolvers as well as a number of semi-auto pistols.
and their .22 LR rifle
Ruger 10/22 rifle (one of the most popular .22 LR semi-auto rifles ever made)
They make other bolt action, single shot and semi-auto rifles including and AR-15 variant.
While the survey found 2,288 makers of civilian firearms operating in the U.S. from 1986-2010, more than 40% of those guns came from three key companies:
Sturm, Ruger & Co. leads the U.S. firearms industry with about 15.3 million firearms produced in the period.
Remington (owned by Freedom Group) produced about 14.2 million and comes in second.
Smith & Wesson is third, with nearly 10.5 million.
quote from here
Ruger Firearms Website“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941
Thanks for the informative reply.
