TD has some advice to Sturm & Ruger. I couldn’t agree more. I am less than pleased with my Mk.III Hunter. It shoots fine, but all the extraneous idiot proofing features make a bitch to clean and disassemble. I agree it would be unwise for Ruger to enter the AR-15 market, but they could do something with the 10/22 and Mini line to make it as easy to accessorize as the AR platform.
Ruger’s big problem is they become a politically correct gun company in a market that doesn’t want politically correct guns. I think Ruger still needs to stay in the beginner target .22 market, but they need to make guns for serious shooters as well.
The same goes for smith and wesson.
I disagree about Smith and Wesson.
The company that signed the deal with the devil really doesn’t cease to exists. The owners then were British. They lost hundreds of millions of value in S&W, which was sold to new American owners at firesale prices. I think its pretty clear, between the 500 S&W and the S&W AR 15s and S&W polymer frame hand guns, etc. that S&W is back on our side.
Regarding Ruger, yeah I think their problem is a failure to imagine the market. They have sought to become an elitist firearms company, building gorgeous rifles for the African Safari set (witness their biggest development in years, the 375 Ruger) but that’s a small and shrinking market whereas most gunnies like to shoot. Would an AR15 help? I doubt it. But 30 round mags with Mini14 purchases and 10/22s would send that signal.
As to making the mini 14 and the 10/22 more after market friendly? I simply don’t know how to do that. the vibrant aftermarkets that grew up AROUND the 10/22 and mini 14 are the reason their is such a robust AR15 after market. The 10/22 IS the most (and most easily) accessorized gun available (mine may be the only stock 10/22 I actually know about) and one glance at a Cabellas catalogue will show you 2-3 pages of mini 14 accesories (the one thing they COULD do to the mini 14 is bring back the marine model in stainless steel with a folding stock and 30 round mag – first ever folding stock gun I ever shot was a stock marine mini 14)
As far as the safety do-whits. I agree and wouldn’t buy one of their handguns as a result. I do have a Mark II that I’ve had for years, with what Les Jones claims is the nicest trigger he’s ever shot. Didn’t really understand the need for the mark III, but then I subscribe to the “if its not broke, don’t fix it” school of thought.
My favorites of Ruger are the wheelguns; love their single actions.
How about the new Ruger Wunder-nine! Mega capacity 9mm Polymer frame with a 1911 grip angle and a DAO trigger. Ok you have my attention. Then I see that it has a manual safty AND a magazine disconnect.
Jesus, god forbid the gun actully goes bang. Why not fill the barrel with lead.
Seriously how do the people who pocket-carry snubbie revolvers survive. A DAO trigger, no safty, and not even a magazine. OMG IT COULD GO OFF AT ANY TIME!111!11!1
A manual safty is GREAT on the 4lb trigger on my 1911, but jesus if you’re going to make a long DAO trigger pull, that’s good enugh. Adding more passive shit like cross-bars and grip safties are fine, but you don’t want any more extras when a gun might save your life.
My comment had nothing to do with the Clinton deal. I’m familiar with the background of that and I have started buying S&W again since a couple of years ago.
I’m talking about the smith and wesson pistol I own that has every single safety feature known to man. I know not to point the gun at my head and pull the trigger. I don’t need the gun to disable itself under half a dozen different situations. If there is a bullet in the chamber, I expect the gun to go bang when I pull the trigger. If it doesn’t go bang, I shouldn’t have to go through a 10 second drill to discover which safety feature protected me from firing my gun at a squirrel.
Also, I have been carrying a P3AT in my pocket for years with a round in the pipe. It has no safeties of any sort. Yet strangely, it doesn’t seem to fire unless I take it out and pull the trigger. Isn’t that odd?
And the ironic thing is that none of these safeties protect idiots from shooting themselves or accidentally shooting friends. There is no substitute for knowing the basic rules of gun safety. These attempts at idiot proofing seriously underestimate the tenacity of American idiots.
I think the 10/22 line is as about as easy to accessories as it can be. You can do just about anything if you have a 10/22 receiver.
Just like the mini, if they offered a 20 and 30 round magazine for the 10/22 it would sell. People are forever complaining about problems with high capacity 10/22 magazines.
An unmodified 10/22 is a plinker. You can easily make it an award winning a bench rest shooting but out of the factory it is a plinker. plinkers need high capacity magazines!
I think they have a big share of the SA crowd. Most of the race guns that Bob Munden does are Vaqueros. I also love my M77. My biggest beef is the huge warning stamp on their revolvers.
Got me a Ruger Vaquero in .45 colt, love it. Their single action revolvers are hard to beat.