William B. Ruger
Encyclopedia
William Batterman Ruger (June 21, 1916 – July 6, 2002) partnered with Alexander McCormick Sturm
in 1949 to establish Sturm, Ruger & Company
. Their first product was the Ruger Standard, the most popular .22
caliber target pistol ever made in the US. After Sturm’s death in 1951, and under Ruger’s continued leadership, the Company produced one of the widest varieties of firearms of any manufacturer in the world.
, New York
. He first developed his passion for guns when he received his own rifle from his father at the age of 12. As a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, he converted an empty room into a machine shop and, in 1938, came up with initial designs for what eventually became a light machine gun
for the United States Army
– executing the drawings on his in-laws’ dining room table. U.S. Army Ordnance officials liked the gun so much that they launched Ruger into becoming a full-time gun designer. He helped invent and patent dozens of models of sporting firearms during the last 53 years, which were instant and enduring successes. From the start, his company stressed mechanical innovation and safety.
Ruger shared and exchanged technical information on firearms and ammunition with many like-minded people worldwide, including English rifle maker and cartridge designer David Lloyd
.
When not involved with firearms operations, Ruger was deeply involved in a variety of activities including antique firearms, 19th century Western American art, and his nationally noted antique car collection of more than 30 vehicles, including Bentley
s, Rolls-Royce
s, Bugatti
s, Stutzes, and a 1913 Mercer Raceabout, among others.
Ruger supported and commissioned the design and construction of a classically styled sports touring car in 1970 that he called the Ruger Special. It was based on the design of the 1929 Bentley 4½ Litre. He also designed and commissioned a 92 feet (28 m) yacht, the Titania.
Ruger continued to lead his company on to world prominence in gun manufacturing and it became the largest manufacturer of firearms in the United States. Not only an expert inventor, designer, and engineer, Ruger was also a skilled manufacturer and marketer of firearms.
A legend in American industry, Ruger had a hand in the original design and time-honored styling of every firearm his company produced. He continued to work on new creations up until his death. With his legendary leadership style, he led his business from “it can’t be done” remarks to a corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: RGR). His firm has produced more than 20,000,000 firearms for hunting, target shooting, collecting, self-defense, law enforcement and for US and foreign governments.
Today, with plants in Newport, New Hampshire
, and Prescott, Arizona
, and corporate headquarters in Southport, Fairfield, Connecticut, Sturm, Ruger manufactures high-quality rifle
s, shotgun
s, pistol
s, and revolver
s for a variety of sporting and law enforcement purposes. Its precision investment casting
s are made for a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, general manufacturing and the golf
market.
in Cody, Wyoming
, where he served as a member of the Board of Trustees for over 15 years.
.
Ruger is survived by his son William B. Ruger, Jr., who served as the Chairman of the Company until his retirement in 2006; daughter Carolyn R. Vogel; six grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren.
R.L. Wilson, firearms historian and Ruger’s biographer wrote of Bill Ruger, "Ruger was a true firearms genius who mastered the disciplines of inventing, designing, engineering, manufacturing and marketing better than anyone since Samuel Colt. No one in the 20th century so clearly dominated the field, or was so skilled at articulating the unique appeal of quality firearms for legitimate uses".
Alexander McCormick Sturm
Alexander McCormick "Sandy" Sturm was an American artist and writer who was a co-founder of Sturm, Ruger, a firearms manufacturer...
in 1949 to establish Sturm, Ruger & Company
Sturm, Ruger
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...
. Their first product was the Ruger Standard, the most popular .22
.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...
caliber target pistol ever made in the US. After Sturm’s death in 1951, and under Ruger’s continued leadership, the Company produced one of the widest varieties of firearms of any manufacturer in the world.
Early years
Ruger was born on 21 June 1916 in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He first developed his passion for guns when he received his own rifle from his father at the age of 12. As a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, he converted an empty room into a machine shop and, in 1938, came up with initial designs for what eventually became a light machine gun
Light machine gun
A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...
for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
– executing the drawings on his in-laws’ dining room table. U.S. Army Ordnance officials liked the gun so much that they launched Ruger into becoming a full-time gun designer. He helped invent and patent dozens of models of sporting firearms during the last 53 years, which were instant and enduring successes. From the start, his company stressed mechanical innovation and safety.
Ruger shared and exchanged technical information on firearms and ammunition with many like-minded people worldwide, including English rifle maker and cartridge designer David Lloyd
David Lloyd
David Lloyd may refer to:*David Lloyd , chief justice of colonial Pennsylvania*David Lloyd Welsh cleric and translator*David Lloyd , British tenor...
.
When not involved with firearms operations, Ruger was deeply involved in a variety of activities including antique firearms, 19th century Western American art, and his nationally noted antique car collection of more than 30 vehicles, including Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
s, Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
s, Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
s, Stutzes, and a 1913 Mercer Raceabout, among others.
Ruger supported and commissioned the design and construction of a classically styled sports touring car in 1970 that he called the Ruger Special. It was based on the design of the 1929 Bentley 4½ Litre. He also designed and commissioned a 92 feet (28 m) yacht, the Titania.
Ruger continued to lead his company on to world prominence in gun manufacturing and it became the largest manufacturer of firearms in the United States. Not only an expert inventor, designer, and engineer, Ruger was also a skilled manufacturer and marketer of firearms.
A legend in American industry, Ruger had a hand in the original design and time-honored styling of every firearm his company produced. He continued to work on new creations up until his death. With his legendary leadership style, he led his business from “it can’t be done” remarks to a corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
(NYSE: RGR). His firm has produced more than 20,000,000 firearms for hunting, target shooting, collecting, self-defense, law enforcement and for US and foreign governments.
Today, with plants in Newport, New Hampshire
Newport, New Hampshire
Newport is a town in and the county seat of Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. It is west-northwest of Concord. The population was 6,507 at the 2010 census. A covered bridge is in the northwest...
, and Prescott, Arizona
Prescott, Arizona
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....
, and corporate headquarters in Southport, Fairfield, Connecticut, Sturm, Ruger manufactures high-quality rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s, shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
s, pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s, and revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
s for a variety of sporting and law enforcement purposes. Its precision investment casting
Investment casting
Investment casting is an industrial process based on and also called lost-wax casting, one of the oldest known metal-forming techniques. From 5,000 years ago, when beeswax formed the pattern, to today’s high-technology waxes, refractory materials and specialist alloys, the castings allow the...
s are made for a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, general manufacturing and the golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
market.
Philanthropy
Ruger was active in a wide variety of charities especially in communities where his factories were located, as well as the Buffalo Bill Historical CenterBuffalo Bill Historical Center
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a complex of museums displaying artifacts and art of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. Founded in 1917, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center is the oldest museum in the West...
in Cody, Wyoming
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
, where he served as a member of the Board of Trustees for over 15 years.
Awards
Bill Ruger received the following Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence Awards:- Shooting Industry Award 1993 William B. Ruger
- Manufacturer of the Year: 1992, 1993
- Handgun of the Year: 1993 Ruger Vaquero, 1997 Ruger Bisley-Vaquero, 2001 Ruger Super Redhawk
- 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
Controversy
Ruger received criticism from gunowners for suggesting that rather than ban guns, that Congress should outlaw magazines holding more than 15 rounds. On March 30, 1989, Bill Ruger sent a letter to every member of the US Congress stating:
"The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. By a simple, complete and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty of defining 'assault rifle' and 'semi-automatic rifles' is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single amendment to Federal firearms laws could effectively implement these objectives."William B. Ruger
Death
On Saturday, 6 July 2002, at age 86, after a period of failing health, Ruger died at home in Prescott, ArizonaPrescott, Arizona
Prescott is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, USA. It was designated "Arizona's Christmas City" by Arizona Governor Rose Mofford in the late 1980s....
.
Ruger is survived by his son William B. Ruger, Jr., who served as the Chairman of the Company until his retirement in 2006; daughter Carolyn R. Vogel; six grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren.
R.L. Wilson, firearms historian and Ruger’s biographer wrote of Bill Ruger, "Ruger was a true firearms genius who mastered the disciplines of inventing, designing, engineering, manufacturing and marketing better than anyone since Samuel Colt. No one in the 20th century so clearly dominated the field, or was so skilled at articulating the unique appeal of quality firearms for legitimate uses".
External links
- http://www.nypress.com/15/31/nyc/nyc2.cfm Article on Bill Ruger from the New York Press
- http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Corporate/index.html Sturm, Ruger and Company Official Site