Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and Prescott, Arizona. The company was founded in 1949 by Alexander McCormick Sturm and William B. Ruger and has been publicly traded since 1969.

"Ruger" redirects here. For other uses, see Ruger (disambiguation).

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.
TypePublic
NYSE: RGR
S&P 600 Component
IndustryFirearms
Founded1949 (1949)
FoundersWilliam B. Ruger,
Alexander McCormick Sturm
Headquarters
Southport, Connecticut
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ronald C. Whitaker (Chairman)[1]
Christopher J. Killoy (President and CEO)[2]
ProductsRevolvers, pistols, rifles, shotguns
Revenue$664 million[3] (2016)
139,100,000 United States dollar (2006) Edit this on Wikidata
$88 million[3] (2016)
Number of employees
2,120[3] (2016)
Websiteruger.com

Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, and single-shot rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and single- and double-action revolvers.[4] According to the ATF statistics for 2015,[5] Ruger is currently America's largest firearm manufacturer,[6] as well as the second largest pistol and revolver manufacturer (behind Smith & Wesson) and rifle manufacturer (behind Remington) in the United States.

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.[7]

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 semi-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.[7]

The 1970 Ruger Sports Tourer was a brief attempt by Ruger at building a high-end, retro car. In the end, only two prototypes were made.

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.[8] The 10/22 is very popular due to its reputation for being relatively inexpensive and of high quality.[9] As a result, a wealth of after-market accessories and parts were made available for it, which has further increased its popularity.[8]

Ruger similarly dominates the .22 rimfire semi-automatic pistol market with the Ruger MK IV, a descendant of the Ruger Standard pistol. Like the 10/22, the Mark Series 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).[10]

Ruger is also renowned for the production of high-quality revolvers, such as the GP100 and Redhawk lines. They also have some presence in the semi-auto pistol market, with the SR1911 and SR lines of handguns.

From 1949 through 2004, Ruger manufactured over 20 million firearms. The company is headquartered in Southport, Connecticut, 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, New Hampshire, and Ruger Sportswear & Accessories in Mayodan, North Carolina.[11] Ruger's Pine Tree Castings division makes ferrous, ductile iron, and commercial titanium castings. Ruger had a division known as Ruger Golf, making steel and titanium castings for golf clubs made by a number of different brands.[12]

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.

In September 2020, the company bought the Marlin Firearms company from bankrupt Remington Outdoor Company.[13]

Statistics

Ruger was ranked the number one U.S. firearms manufacturer from 2008 to 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.[14] The company has set a new goal of 2 million firearms produced per year.[15] From 2009 to 2012, Ruger was the top-seller of handguns.[16]

Products

Ruger breaks down its products into nine categories:[3]

Bolt-action rifles
Ruger M77 Mark II Stainless Bolt Action in .204

Autoloading rifles
Ruger 10/22 "Stainless" With an aftermarket Butler Creek Folding Stock and a TRUGLO Red Dot Sight

Lever-action rifles
  • Model 96 (96/44, 96/22 and 96/17 discontinued)

Single-shot rifles

Shotguns
Red Label shotgun

Submachine guns
  • MP9 (discontinued)

Handguns

Centerfire pistols
Ruger P89
Ruger SR1911 (.45 ACP)

Rimfire pistols
Ruger MK I

Double-action revolvers
The first variation of the Ruger LCR .38 Special with laser grips

Single-action revolvers
Stainless New Model Super Blackhawk and Redhawk

See also

References
  1. Ruger. "Board of Directors - Ruger". Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  2. Ruger. "Corporate Officers - Ruger". Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  3. "Corporate Report" (PDF). February 22, 2017.
  4. "BATFE Annual Firearms Manufacturing And Export Report". 2006.
  5. BATFE Annual Firearms Manufacturing And Export Report 2015
  6. Duprey, Rich (March 4, 2017). "Can You Guess the Biggest Gunmaker in the U.S.?". Fool.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  7. Wilson 1996, p. 47.
  8. House, James E. (July 6, 2006). Customize the Ruger 10/22. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media. pp. 6–12. ISBN 978-1-4402-2413-3.
  9. Garrison, Kerry (March 14, 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.
  10. Sweeney, Patrick (December 24, 2007). The Gun Digest Book of Ruger Pistols and Revolvers. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-89689-472-3.
  11. "Directory". Ruger.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  12. Ph.D., Gregg Lee Carter (May 4, 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.
  13. "Remington Auctioned Off to Seven Bidders in Bankruptcy Court". September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  14. "US Firearms Industry Today". Shooting Industry. 2013.
  15. "The Ruger 2 Million Gun Challenge". Ruger.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  16. "US Firearms Industry Today". Shooting Industry. 2012.
  17. "Gallery of Guns - Shooting Times - Gun Reviews". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.

Bibliography
  • Wilson, R. L. (1996). Ruger & His Guns: A History of the Man, the Company and Their Firearms. ISBN 0-7858-2103-1.
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