I love to put a hate on for Ruger. I just don’t like them as a company and I dislike most of what they do… Yet I have to give them some respect, even if I don’t want to.
There are some things that they do right.
The 10/22 rifle is pretty much THE .22lr Semi-Auto. They flat out own that market. They could ask 100 bucks more for every 10/22 they make, and it would still be the .22 Semi to buy.
The Vaquero. If you want a Colt Peacemaker type gun, but you want a good transfer bar safety so you can carry all six chambered loaded and it wont go off if you drop it. There was two cases of this in the last few years here in Utah with Single Action Revolvers that didn’t have a TBS and one of them resulted in death. The other, near death and long term hospital care. The Vaquero is a good gun, built well, and it’s even sharp looking. I purchased one myself. Loved it. Sold it in a fit of Ruger Hate and I kinda regret it now. If I can find one with a 4″ barrel and I have the cash at the time – I’ll buy it. (Looking off into the distant future)
The one Ruger gun that I really like… and I can’t help myself for it. A 3″ SP101 in .357 Mag. With a little custom work in it, I’d rather have it than a S&W 60 with a 3″ barrel. I’ve fired some different versions… one was a tweaked SP101 owned by Norseman on WTA. The accuracy was shocking, even with Norse’s Dragon Slaying hand-loads. The weight, balance, and the lines of it… it just looks “Right” to me. They feel good in my hands too. You give me an SP101 with a little bit of a “Melt Job” done to it to take off all the sharp edges and blend it all together… Pure Win. I could happily own that for the rest of my life and ask to be buried with it. Yes, I just said that about a Ruger.
Give me a reasonable man every time. I had a chapped ass at S&W for a while but couldn’t part with my 19 or 66. Time heals all wounds. I’m now considering a new one for a CCW gun.
Love my old model Vaquero Colt 45. Bought (stole) it to horse trade, got hooked and you’ll have to pry it from my hands now. The other Ruger that calls out to me are the old “Six” models (Security, Speed, Service). A 3″ Stainless .357 in any of those would be a keeper and get sent out to the likes of Grant Cunningham for the full treatment.
I have a pair of Mini 14 Ranch Rifles, one with a factory folding stock I kept in a violin case while on Patrol, a Black Hawk in .45 Colt/45 Acp, a Single Six, two 10/22’s and an SP101 in .22LR (that disappeared into the depths of Mrs Wyatt’s purse about 20 years ago). I like Ruger’s Carbines and Revolvers. I DON’T like their Boat Anchor pistols.
Probably my next gun purchase and last Ruger purchase will be their New Ruger Bearcat Revolver. At my stage of life I’ll probably get more use out of a Bearcat than all all my other guns combined.
Love my Security Six 4″ barrel with trigger vent rib, job and Hogue grips. My favorite winter carry with shoulder holster that detatches quickly and goes into my desk drawer at work, then quickly straps back on before I leave home.
Maybe the most accurate handgun I shoot. I love it.
Got it as a present from my folks for my 18th B-day.
Almost sold it till I found the Hogue grips at a gunshow that would dramatically improve my marksman ship.
The two stock wood grips were so bad, I couldn’t hit paper with it. Very frustrating. I know it was me but those Hogues made all the difference.
LOVE the transfer bar for carrying six.
“trigger job” & Vent Rib which I had added after market…
Four of my six handguns are Rugers: a MK III 22/45 target pistol; a 7 1/2″ Single Six and new-model, medium-framed Flattop Blackhawks in .357 and .44 SPL. I just love those Blackhawks. Am seriously tempted to add a SP101 to the list as well. They’re certainly more comfy to shoot than my Airweight…
And, just when I thought it was safe to take out my wallet, Lipsey’s is now hawking another Ruger Flattop Blackhawk in a .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertible flavor. Darn it. Must. Resist…
When I get a backup gun, it will be an SP 101 with a bobbed hammer. My wife likes the look of a 3 inch model 60, but if I can find a good, worked in 3 inch SP 101, who knows, maybe she’ll change her mind.
Wasn’t Norseman’s mod to his gun just lots of trigger pulls?
Yeah, that was pretty much it. Lots of dry fire practice, a little sandpaper work on some burred edges. Proper clean and lube. Done.
Butter pull, glass break, and with full snort 357 loads, POA/POI match up wonderfully at the distances this gun is intended for.
I have found myself looking at SP101s for years.
My carry wheel guns are all .44s, so I have passed on them.
Now… if they would make a GP100 in a 5 shot .44 spl like Dave Clements does… Ohhhhhh Nelly.
I DO have to applaud Ruger for giving the .44 spl some love lately.
Jim
Carried a Security-Six as a federal officer. Sold it to another officer who preferred it to our issued S&W’s.
A Single-Six is my “go to” gun for training new shooters. After 25+ years Ruger reset the head space and replaced the loading gate spring … for free.
10/22? Check.
Ruger Vaquero .45? Check
Want list includes a Redhawk in .45LC and another Security-Six.
I have carried an SP-101 in 9mm (with full moon clips) as a back-up for 18 years and I recommend it to everyone looking for a snub revolver. It’s so beefy and robust. I love it. I want another one in .357.
One of my favorite revolvers is a Ruger security six with a 3″ colt (or is it S&W?) stainless steel barrel, they were a special order run back in the 70’s made in Bellevue WA State. WISH I could find the guns and ammo article about them to keep with the gun. Heavy but still one of the best carry SD guns I have ever seen. Still Ruger Inc’s wish to curry favor with the Feds and for years not allow legal citizens to buy more than five round magazines for thier rifles still makes the hairs on the back of my neck rise up when I think about it…
I have both the 10/22 and the Vaquero in my small gun collection. I wouldn’t part with either for anything!
I’m a amateur shooter, both guns shoot better than I do, smooth action, crisp trigger break, easy to maintain. And the awesomeness of shooting the Vaquero is hard to beat.
I’ve been worried that one of my younger brothers (he’s a Army Capt, a collection that could be called a ‘cache’ or a ‘stockpile’ by the nanny state pussies) would abscond with them if I ‘forgot’ to keep an eye on them.
I highly recommend either.
I am curious what has caused you to have such a deep-seated animosity for most things Ruger. I own an SR9c and a 4″ SS GP100 in .357 mag. that are fine handguns in my opinion. Most folks I know consider Ruger revolvers to be quality weapons. The reviews are a little more mixed on their semiauto pistols, but still much more positive than negative. Inquiring minds want to know…
No… I’m not a fan of Ruger. Everything they have done – even their good stuff – is a Rip Off of someone else’s design.
The Mini-14 apes the M-14 and M-1 Carbine combined.
The M-77 is a rip off of the Mauser.
The Vaquero apes a Colt Peacemaker.
The No. 1 apes the Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878.
The LCP directly rips off the Kel Tec P3AT. Then they did it again with the LC9.
The new .22 Charger is just a factory example of what Volquartsen has been doing for ages.
Their .22 was designed to look like the German Luger, so even that isnt’ original. It would have been better if they had even used the toggle action because then it would have at least been interesting.
I think Bill Ruger was a hack and we can see the company continues that tradition.
Two new guns, two new recalls for firing when dropped. Not impressed. I’m trying to think of something interesting and original Ruger has come up with… and I’m firing a blank here. Wait… no… I know. The Magazine Limitation of the Assault Weapons Ban.
Bill Ruger can roast in hell.
The only gun that Ruger had done that was completely original, is the 10/22. Oh, wait… no… not really… It’s too similar to an old Winchester design… but I have to give them credit for that 10/22 Magazine. That’s well done.
Looks like George has been putting Red Bull in his Hater-Aid…
Hater-Bull 😀
As of right now… no Rugers under my roof.
However I did buy my son a 10/22… and Caryns first handgun was a GP100.
Being the Hand Cannon fan that I am… I do randomly fondle their big bore wheel guns.
Jim
See… Like I said in the first post here… it’s Grudgingly Respect for some of these guns. Even the Vaquero because of that TBS.
The lack of inovation can be said about a lot of gun manufacturers and US companies in general:
S&W: their sigma line was a direct copy of the glock
Marlin: their lever actions are a 19th century design
Crusader Weapons: AR15s and lightly modified Glocks; surely no originality there either
and so what? Capitalism is not about originality; it is about selling a product that people want in sufficient quantity so that one is able to make a living doing it.
Walmart is successful not because their products are innovative (they sell pretty much the same crap everyone else does), but because they had an innovation way of marketting, and distributing their goods to maximize profitability. That is where you will find innovation because capitalists do not redesign time tested products to lose money; they redesign them to make them more profitable.
Congrats to Ruger execs for finding a way to keep people wanting to buy firearms based on old designs.
Congrats to Ruger for ripping off a small company that’s trying to innovate? Kel-Tec takes chances, and Ruger rips them off at will. No, no Congratulations to Ruger are in order.
Well I guess I could say that Ruger has opened up the shooting sports to a certain segment of the United States that might otherwise have not had the opportunity to become a firearms owner. Ruger has bad products, bad customer service, bad politics, and derivative engineering. Just search on the Internet and read the first couple of pages of complaints about how they run their factory and the scandals within the Ruger-Vogel family.
I have shot Ruger firearms, but no Ruger product will ever find its way into my safe. There are much better firearms available as mil-surp and are more affordable and just about any established modern American manufacturer produces better products than Ruger cast pot metal.
I used to dislike Ruger when I heard about Bill Sr’s anti gun policies. Though now I have a 10/22, GP100 and am eyeing an LCR.
Look at the P3AT closely.
As a lefty, I prefer the Ruger revolver.
I’ll prolly step on Mr. Wiggly by dipping into this thread, but I like the .22 Ruger semiauto pistols I have. One is a 22-45 with a 2x scope, the other is an old Mark that is still a hoot to shoot. Bitch to put back together after a breakdown, but I’ve had both for years and enjoy throwing lead with them.
I need a 10-22, just can’t decide which configuration to go for. I lean toward a bull barrel with a synth stock, but a tricked out plain jane would be fun too. Beat the hell out of my Browning .22 semi rifle, that thing throws the brass straight down, straight down the sleeve of your shirt. Ouchy baby.
Bill Sr. & his politics are dead. The company is far past that now. I own 10 Rugers, and will be buying many more in the future. My 4″ Redhawk 44mag has seen over 10,000 rounds through it – mostly heavy loads, and it’s smooth as silk. My buddy bought a 629, and it’s needed to be fixed 2 times already with less than 1000 rounds down the pipe (with just moderate loads). My GP100 has seen about 10,000 heavy loads through it, not one issue. My P90DC will feed and fire every load I’ve ever tried in it… I could go on and on, but all of my mine have been accurate, reliable, and affordable.
I love Ruger revolvers especially their single actions. I have 44. mag SBH and a .22 Single Six. The first autoloader I owned was a Ruger P95 and while it was a good gun it was too bulky for my likeing. I have never warmed to their rifles but the few I have handled and fired have been well-built and accurate. I could see myself owning a Model 1 but they are a bit pricey. I have no experience with Ruger shotguns.
Also, the Rugar rotary magazine is a derived from the Mannlicher-Schounaer.
It has always been my opinion that Bill Ruger’s talent was not in innovation but updating and refining the old designs. He also made improvements in the casting process in relation to firearms. This allowed him to make available rugged, quality guns based on time-proven designs at affordable prices.
Don’t like Ruger? read the book Glock