If you were CEO of Ruger Inc.

[twoblink]

Nate and I got talking.. and it led me to think about the strange possibility, since Ruger is a publically traded company; what if you bought enough shares to vote yourself as CEO?

What would you do as CEO of Ruger Firearms?

I'll give it a go.. As CEO, I'd open up with a speech that began with:

"No Honest Man.... needs less than 30 rounds in their magazine..."

 

[El Tejon]

"I apologize for Bill Ruger. His sordid actions will be wiped clean from the history of this company."

 

[foghornl]

Good start...

Next thing, stiffen up the Mini-14/30 barrels a bit.

Make a Mini-308 under $600.

Standard capacity mags for the P-series handguns.

Buy some Volquartsen (sp?) extractors to find out why those are so much better than the standard 10-22 extractor type, and make the 10-22's like the Volquartsen ones. (From what I see, that is the weakest part of a 10-22....Foggy says, while donning asbestos bloomers )

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

I'd make a lever rifle in .454

 

[rock jock]

There are probably not enough shares on the open market to wrest 51% control. And, of course, if you did start to buy that many, the share price would rocket up. You would better of starting your own company and then you could do and say what you wanted from the outset.

 

[41mag]

I would promote a self-shucking hunting rifle that shoots rifle rounds & uses a detachable magazine.I'd also push for a heavy barreled variant that,coincedently,can be made to use either M-14 or FAL type magazines.


My pet project would be to bring back the "Maximum" single action frame.I'd dearly love to see factory five shooters in .357/.414/.445Supermag.Other chamberings to include .454Casull,.480Rug/.475Linebaugh,.50AE,&,what the heck,.500 S&W.W/the Bisley frame option,of course.




When do I start?

 

[tulsamal]

I would bring back the adjustable sight version of the Single Six in .32 Magnum. And offer it in stainless.

I would make sure there were multiple versions of the No 1 and Mk 77 available in 6.5x55 Swedish.

I would send the engineers back to the beginning and tell them I want a rifle like the original Deerstalker but in 10mm. Tube magazine. Nothing sticking out of the bottom. Nice and slick like a slightly larger 10/22 but with some real punch. I guess we could sell another version in 10mm and .45 ACP that takes Glock 20 and 21 magazines. But I would make some flush fitting 5-8 round magazines for them as well for times you don't want a mag jutting way out of the rifle.

Make five shot versions of the Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 and .480. I don't need that sixth shot and I would prefer more steel in the cylinder.

And modifications to the Mini-14 sounds like a great idea. Talk to the people who have been accurizing them and figure out what a Mini-14 Mk II would be like. Steal a march on the competition and see if you can't start making one in 6.8. Sell it with a 20 shot magazine and Remington would have an ammo winner on their hands.

What happened to that side by side Ruger? Is it actually for sale yet?

Figure out what went wrong with a dual cylinder Bearcat and fix it. A little gun like that in .22 WMR is a great idea.

Look at the S&W 696 and the Taurus Trackers and figure out a way to make a 5 shot 41 Magnum and .44 Special in a mid size gun. Might make that 3 inch GP100 with half lug barrel into a real seller!

I'm sure I could think of many more!

Gregg

 

[ballistic gelatin]

In a word, overhaul......

A big "howdy" speech would be great, of course it would include promises of no-one losing their jobs and blah, blah, blah feel good stuff. Emphasizing Sturm Ruger's rich history in the American Firearms Industry. Followed up with promises of a brighter tomorrow.

Then I'd review the financial and sales records for the past two years and see what models were actually profitable. Find out who's got the big salaries and who's calling the shots in manufacturing, development, sales.

Revamp the product line. Probably break it down like this:
1. cowboy action
2. hunting/sporting/target
3. defensive weapons/law enforcement

Get rid of models that don't sell and improve weapons that could be better sellers. Sales staff would either hate or love me. Manufacturing would love me. New Marketing Director, then they would love me.

And oh yeah, maximize magazine capacities on every firearm. Give away free stuff with fierarms purchase (i.e., t-shirts, nra memberships, earmuffs, shooting glasses, knives, free ammo, Camp Perry tickets, etc.) Advertise on outdoor channels and during tv-shows like COPS, Law & Order, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, CSI Hoboken, Lifetime, Oprah Winfrey, ER, Will and Grace, Survivor. SPonsor highschool shooting teams with rifles, apparel, gear. Sponsor the SWAT competitions in Orlando, Florida and a whold bunch of other fun stuff like that...Marketing.

Drastically reduce the "special edition" firearms.
Make a 1911
Make a .308 semi-auto
Make a .308 "precision sniper rifle"
Make an AR/AK/Mini-14 hybrid mutant
Make a .50 caliber rifle

When is my interview?

 

[zahc]

reduce the weight of every trigger in the lineup by 80%.

 

[El Tejon]

Wasn't the prototype Ruger .308 the "XM14" or something like that? Having mental block.

 

[cslinger]

Introduce a concealed carry line as my first act of business. The demand is out there and the closest thing they have is the SP101 which is a phenominal gun but a little on the chunky side.

So first order of business put the SP101 on a bit of a diet and scale down the P-Series into a series of small autochuckers to compete with the the Glocks and XD's etc.

I would also re-design the loaded chamber indicators (Which I like). I just don't like the fact that it is as big as a friggen sail on a 17th century frigate.

AND THE NUMBER ONE THING I WOULD DO IS MAKE THOSE FRIGGEN MAGAZINE DISCONNECTS OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR ALL!!!!!!!!!

 

[JamisJockey]

1) Denounce Bill Ruger as a threat to the constitution.
2) Introduce a concealed carry line
3) flood the streets with fully automatic baby killing rifles

 

[twoblink]

Uttering "MAGAZINE DISCONNECTS " would be an instant salary reduction if I were CEO..

oh yeah, the sucky triggers... I'd hire a few guys on trigger duty..

Nate wanted me to urinate on Bill Ruger's grave. I wouldn't go so far.. Fertilizing it, now that's not a bad idea

ccw? Definitely. They need a ccw line.

Pump 357Mag Rifle!!

 

[cslinger]

Ruger triggers are heavy and a little gritty out of the box but with use they really smooth up nicely.

Chris

 

[TonyB]

Bring back the Six line....sp 101 in 44 spec.....ccw line(as others have said.)Send everyone who has a Ruger auto 2 high cap. mags.....

 

[halvey]

Either figure out the Gold Label mess or scrap it.

 

[cthulhu138]

I'd personally call each and every government agency that does not understand the concept of "Shall not be infringed" and let them know that until they get right with the constitution, they need to go buy something else (they do anyway).

Then, to be honest, I'd show up once a month just to say I did, and spend the rest of my time personally assuring that Ruger firearms functioned well and were highly accurate. And hang out on a yacht with the rugerettes shooting bouys at least twice a month when the weather was nice.

I'd last a few months before they fired me, but it sure would be a good few months.

 

[Halffast]

Wasn't the prototype Ruger .308 the "XM14" or something like that? Having mental block.

It was the XGI and they scrapped it when they couldn't get the bugs out at the intended market price.

 

[Ewok]

There are probably not enough shares on the open market to wrest 51% control. And, of course, if you did start to buy that many, the share price would rocket up.

If I'm reading this right, 81% is on the open market.

Sturm Ruger & Co. (RGR)

Market Cap (Mil) $235
Shares Outstanding (Mil) 27
Public Float (Mil) 22
Last 8.52
52-Week High 13.97 (02/25/04)
52-Week Low 8.29 (08/06/04)

 

[R.H. Lee]

52-Week High 13.97 (02/25/04)
52-Week Low 8.29 (08/06/04)

That's quite a spread in less than 6 months.

 

[Jim March]

CCW line, of course.

Here's an odd one: take the various 357Mag SAs and offer them with a second cylinder in 356GNR.

That round is a 41Magnum necked down to 357, and offers MORE performance than the 357Maximum but with a standard frame!

See also:

http://www.sixgunner.com/backissues/paco/356gnr.htm

http://www.cartridgeperformance.com/product.htm#revolver

In a Hunter variant, Bisley, Blackhawk or even Vaquero/BizVaq, this would *rock*.

 

[Lobotomy Boy]

Dvelop a new line of poly-framed autoloading pistols

Concealed carry line:
Ultra compact, single-stack 9mm/.40 cal/.45 cal
Compact double stack 9mm/.40 cal/.45 cal

Value-priced, high-content M77 to compete with Tikka T3

Vastly improved Mini 14/Mini 30/Mini .308

PC .45 cal/10 mm carbine

Lever-action .308 carbine

Performance Center-type 10/22 and GP 100

Standard capacity mags all around

 

[Delmar]

The first thing I'd do is buy Colt, tell the state of Connecticut to check out the mistletoe on my shirt tail, move them lock, stock, barrel and prancing pony to either Arizona or Texas. Finally, no more rumors...........

Colt becomes my "premium" division of pistol products. Nothing marked "Ruger" on them.

All 1911A1's go steel and wood, made of the same heat treated parts as the old ones were. No plastic, sintered metal-MIM, or cast parts need apply.

Everything goes into production on CNC machinery as much as possible, especially the SAA, along with the Python and Anaconda.

I think that I might have to drop the MkII 22 line and bring back the Woodsman, or just keep the basic MkII with the Woodsman at the top.

The AR line stays pretty much the same.

Every center fire bolt action rifle gets the MKII palma match trigger and get rid of the non-adjustable abomination they currently use.

The mini-14 gets a complete overhaul and beefed up to take military type abuse, accurized to no more than 1.5 MOA, and develop a MAXI-14 in 243/7-08/308 Win., standard and super grades.

 

[Standing Wolf]

If I woke up tomorrow morning and discovered I'd somehow become the C.E.O. of Ruger, I'd immediately issue a public apology for making such wretched firearms, then resign.

After buying a Mark II pistol a year ago, I'll never buy another Ruger anything.

 

[tulsamal]

If I woke up tomorrow morning and discovered I'd somehow become the C.E.O. of Ruger, I'd immediately issue a public apology for making such wretched firearms, then resign.

After buying a Mark II pistol a year ago, I'll never buy another Ruger anything.

I guess the polite thing to say is to point out that most of the gun buying public is in disagreement with you!

And the half a dozen or so around my house are all good guns. Anybody can get a lemon I guess. (My person MK II is a very sweet pistol.)

Gregg