History of Ruger
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 Baby Nambu pistols in his garage, from a captured Nambu that he acquired from a returning US Marine, at the close of WWII. Although deciding against marketing the Nambu pistols, he incorporated the Nambu’s rear style cocking device and a modified Nambu’s silhouette into their first commercially produced .22 caliber pistol, which became so successful that it launched the entire company. Ruger firearms are the nation’s fourth largest firearms manufacturer, and the only one producing firearms in all four market segments: rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers.
Ruger is a dominant player in the .22 rimfire rifle market in the U.S. with its Ruger 10/22. The 10/22 is popular due to being relatively inexpensive and of good quality as well as the wealth of aftermarket accessories and parts available for it. In fact, it’s possible to build a 10/22 using only aftermarket parts, several of which are marketed to target shooters at prices starting at approximately $1000.
Ruger similarly dominates the .22 rimfire semiauto pistol market with the Ruger MK II and Ruger MK III. Like the 10/22, the MkII is extremely well supported with a variety of good aftermarket accessories. The Ruger pistols are amongst the most popular.
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. 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 Ruger magazine and gun models for hunting, target shooting, self-defense, collecting, and law enforcement.