Ruger Hires Doug Koenig

Unfortunately, a heck of a lot of the top competitve shooters sign on with a big gun company and then still have to shoot custom double-stack open guns because their sponsor doesn't support that area.

Wouldn't it be sweet, though, if Ruger came out with a ready-to-rock open gun???

I can't remember what division(s) Koenig shoots in USPSA. I know Bianchi Cup is his main event.

OTOH, having figured out the coned barrel thing, it should be easier for Ruger to come up with a competitive LTD or even Open gun!

I mean, even Rock Island Armory figured out how to crank out 1911's (2011's) with double-stack mags.

I wonder if he will be content to shoot Production and Single Stack or if they will produce a widebody.
Or assemble one. One company, I don't remember which, put their slide on a STI lower for a short lived foray into USPSA sponsorship in Open and Limited.

I don't think Sig is making the frame for Max Michel's open gun, nor is Taurus making Jessie Harrison-Duff's 2011's. Sadly, Jim, what you describe is very common. Some manufacturers want the cred of top-level competition, but don't actually make products for it outside the "retail" divisions.

I mean, I get that as a business move, but it makes me appreciate the sponsors who actually put out guns geared towards competition alongside their "consumer-grade" guns (like CZ and Tanfoglio and STI and S&W but only for revolvers).

Picture of Doug K in S&W livery shows a comp+dot gun but with steel trigger guard a la 1911. Wonder what event that was.
Picture of Jesse D shows a definite 2011. Picture of Max M shows some sort of widebody, but he also shoots SS with a Sig.

I know, but will a pro be content to shoot the lesser Divisions? I am sure you could tune up a Ruger American into a fine Production gun, they are all just Glock knockoffs except for the CZs and TZs coming across from IPSC. I expect them to fake up an Open and/or Limited gun like the "Sig" and "Taurus" guns.

Multiple other companies have, why would Ruger not?

USBP379 said:

Same goes for an open gun since Ruger doesn't make anything that could really be reworked for that division. Maybe the American can be equipped with a mag well, dot and comp...

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Nothing in Ruger's current catalogue appears to be a viable starting point for an Open gun, nor a Limited gun. Open and Limited are two of the biggest 3 divisions in USPSA, and the 2 oldest. They are the flagship divisions.

I hope this signals an intent by Ruger to become a provider of true "gamer" guns. That space needs more competition from large-volume American manufacturers. Right now, it's mostly botique American shops, gunsmiths, and some European makers. And a few people franken-gunning Glocks in fairly extreme ways.

The last two matches I've seen him shoot he was shooting Carry Optics. My guess is he will switch to Single Stack because Ruger doesn't have a good Production gun for him to adapt to CO or use in Production.

Timed to put him on display brandishing Rugers at SHOT?

I find it interesting that Ruger brought out their Ruger Precision Rifle, which is really geared towards the Precision Rifle Game more than hunting... and had a smash hit. They really re-set the marketplace there in terms of what it cost to get an off-the-shelf gun that was very competitive at even fairly high levels. Suddenly, there was a viable alternative to the $3k-$5k guns.

I have no idea how many people shoot PRS in the bolt-gun divisions, but it cannot a quarter of the number of people who shoot USPSA/IPSC in LTD or Open divisions. Just think about what Ruger could do for the market and the sport if they came out with a LTD class blaster that was really competitive and was under $1k.... or, an even bigger game changer, a serious Open gun that was under $1,500. And, just like with the RPR, I bet they'd sell a lot to people who don't actually do any competitive shooting, but who do enjoy shooting guns that have outstanding performance.

Very little. There's like 30,000 USPSA members compared to the millions of gun owners in the US. They'd much rather sell a bunch of cheap to manufacture plastic guns to the masses than market to competitive shooters.

waktasz said:

Very little. There's like 30,000 USPSA members compared to the millions of gun owners in the US. They'd much rather sell a bunch of cheap to manufacture plastic guns to the masses than market to competitive shooters.

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But see the existence and success of the RPR.

They made a gamer gun for a different game (with smaller numbers of participants), but then managed to sell it to a lot of people who like to do kind of similar shooting in a non-comptetitve context. I'd argue there are a heck of a lot of shooters who don't actually play USPSA, but who like to blast fast at targets and would have a lot of fun with a "space blaster" open gun. They're not going to pay $5k for an Akai or Limcat or anything... but they might pay $1,500.

Also, look at some of the tricked-out "Performance Center" revolvers that S&W sells that are sort of gamer guns without any particular game.

Finally, I'd note that Ruger seems to be well-capitalized. I don't think they have to make a choice between marketing plastic guns to tens of millions of potential buyers versus doing something different. They have the bandwidth to do both, if they want.

Will Ruger do what I'm talking about? I have no idea. Certainly other major/consumer-grade manufacturers have hired/signed pro shooters and then not gone after the gamer market (or chased only the retail divisions). I'm just saying I sure wish they would, and that I could see Ruger having a good chance of making it work from a financial perspective.

It will be interesting to see what they do in the future. They'd have to drastically change their lineup for me to consider anything they make.

USBP379 said:

I'm sure tweaking an existing product like a 1911 to be "aimed" at IDPA CDP and USPSA Single Stack will cost Ruger little extra as a manufacturer and will sell well in this small market.

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Doesn't take much tweaking of a 1911oid to get into IDPA CDP/ESP or Single Stack. Their "target" models have adjustable sights and ambi safeties. All I would do is change to a F.O. front sight, add a mag well funnel, and adjust the trigger pull downwards. Assuming reliable function, of course.

I don't see why an American could not be honed to shoot SSP and Production as well as any other Plastic Pistol. Especially if the shooter were getting paid to.