Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated is a Southport, Connecticut–based firearm manufacturing company, better known by the shortened name Ruger. Sturm, Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, full-automatic, and single-shot rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and single- and double-action revolvers. Ruger is the fourth largest firearms manufacturer in the United States.

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

Ruger is a dominant player in the .22 LR rimfire rifle market in the U.S., due primarily to the sales of its Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle. The 10/22 is very popular due to being relatively inexpensive and of good quality. As a result, a wealth of after-market accessories and parts available for it, which has only increased its popularity. The availability and variety of after-market parts makes it possible to build a 10/22 using only after-market parts, most of which are marketed to target shooters at premium prices.

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 extremely well 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).

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.

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.

Products
Ruger breaks down their products into four main categories: rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and revolvers.

Rifles

 * Ruger No. 1
 * Ruger Gunsite Scout
 * Ruger M77
 * Ruger 77/22
 * Ruger Mini-14
 * Ruger XGI (not produced: development halted)
 * Ruger Police Carbine (discontinued)
 * Ruger Deerfield Carbine (discontinued)
 * Ruger 96 (96/44 and 96/22, discontinued)
 * Ruger Model 44 (discontinued)
 * Ruger 10/17 (discontinued)
 * Ruger 10/22
 * Ruger SR-556
 * Ruger American Rifle
 * Ruger American Rimfire (.22 LR)

Submachine guns

 * Ruger MP9

Semi-automatic pistols

 * Ruger Standard (MK I) (discontinued)
 * Ruger MK II (discontinued)
 * Ruger MK III
 * Ruger P series (all discontinued but the P95)
 * Ruger SR series
 * LCP
 * LC380
 * LC9
 * Ruger SR1911

Single Action

 * Blackhawk
 * Vaquero
 * Single Six
 * Bearcat
 * Super Blackhawk
 * Bisley
 * Old Army (discontinued)

Double Action

 * GP-100
 * SP-101
 * LCR
 * Redhawk
 * Super Redhawk
 * Alaskan
 * Security Six (discontinued)
 * Service Six (discontinued)
 * Speed Six (discontinued)

Shotguns

 * Red Label (discontinued)
 * Gold Label (discontinued)

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.

Awards
Sturm, Ruger & Co. received the following Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence Awards:


 * Manufacturer of the Year: 1992, 1993
 * Handgun of the Year:
 * 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