Ruger Revolver Prices!

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ArchAngelCD

ArchAngelCD

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What in the world happened to the prices over at Ruger? Yes it's good to see them producing all different guns but one of their claims to fame was their fair pricing. Well that's is no more. With the yearly price increases in place Ruger is posting higher Retail prices than S&W, at least for what I was looking at.

My case:
Ruger Redhawk in .44 Magnum
Stainless 6 round revolver.
OAL 9.50", barrel length 4.20", Weight 47oz.
Suggested Retail Price = $1079.00

S&W N Frame in .44 Magnum
Stainless 6 round revolver.
OAL 9.60", barrel length 4.125", Weight 41.5oz.
Suggested Retail Price = $949.00

I posted the specs to show I'm comparing very similar revolvers and as you can see the Retail price for the Ruger is $130.00 more than for the equivalent S&W revolver. Again, what happened and why should I spend more for a revolver that might not be superior?
 
Both can be bought for much less but you're right, Ruger's are priced $100-$150 more. I have always thought Ruger's claim to fame was being built like tanks while the Smith's were more refined. Neither is lacking in quality and I'd go with the one I like best and not worry about $130 if I were looking to buy one.
I have a SRH 44 mag with the 9 1/2 inch barrel that I like a lot. Wouldn't mind having a Smith too.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
Again, what happened and why should I spend more for a revolver that might not be superior?
Click to expand...

The Obama administration and the series of mass shootings that occurred during that democratically held office made folks seriously scared that guns and/or gun rights would be limited, as you know. Sandy Hook, Orlando, the Sik temple in Oak Creek WI, the white supremacist kid who shot up a African American church, others............ The last few years have probably been record gun sales years.

More and more people are carrying guns as well, and that means new shooters are getting hooked. I found out that with the new permits issued in my state last year, we now have a 1 in 6 permit holder rate for adults. Pretty cool!

I think you are looking at a simple case of supply and demand. S&Ws are stupid expensive now too. I believe Ruger thinks as long as they stay below the competition's pricing, they are viable. Based on their NRA million dollar contributions and their sales, it seems they are right.

Now that there is a conservative in the oval office and conservatives are in control of congress, I expect folks to slow down on their purchasing. Will prices drop? I doubt it. They seldom do, but I guess it's possible.
 
Mostly due to inflation and the cost of raw materials. That said, Rugers have always sold for 75-80% of retail pricing.
 
Guys, I know the street price is lower than the Retail price but that's true for both company's revolvers. The fact remains, the price if the Rugers are starting higher than the comparable S&W revolvers. The Rugers always had a lower Retail price, usually quite a bit lower.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
Guys, I know the street price is lower than the Retail price but that's true for both company's revolvers. The fact remains, the price if the Rugers are starting higher than the comparable S&W revolvers. The Rugers always had a lower Retail price, usually quite a bit lower.
Click to expand...
So the Ruger you noted in your OP doesn't have any bells and whistles to make it more desirable than the Smith? Hmmmm. That is a little perplexing, unless the gun buying public has just decided they like Ruger's products better, and the demand is that high.
 
I wonder if it's just the 44 mag line up? I've thought about a Red Hawk a few times, but they are so spendy and shoot an expensive ammo.

When I was .357 shopping several weeks ago, the GP100 was (I think) at least $90 less than the comparable 686.
 
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Fiv3r said:
I wonder if it's just the 44 mag line up? I've thought about a Red Hawk a few times, but they are so spendy and shoot an expensive ammo.

When I was .357 shopping several weeks ago, the GP100 was (I think) at least $90 less than the comparable 686.
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Could be. I didn't check out all Ruger revolver prices compared to Smith revolver prices, but I just came from both company's websites, and while the listed retail price for a Smith Model 66 is $849.00, the listed retail price for a standard GP-100 is $20.00 less at $829.00.
Still strange about Ruger Redhawk pricing though.
 
I noticed this a few months back. It left me with a frown on my face. Any current production revolver I prefer the Ruger over a Smith, which was fine and dandy since I would spend less anyway, but then that happened. It makes me want to cry that I sold my 480 Ruger SRH for $600 a few years back. I bought it for $450 out the door
New. Wish I had bought several of them. Oh well.

In regards to prices dropping with a conservative President, that will happen with battle style rifles like ar15s but I doubt it will have as much effect on wheel guns. But who knows.
 
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Maybe Ruger just decided that their guns were good enough and popular enough that they could jack up the price to the same range as the competition.


I know that in my area the gun cases in both gun shops and pawn shops, the Rugers outnumber the S&Ws by about 10 to 1 for both new and used. But the prices are still close. Then I’m also only about 12 miles from the Ruger Prescott, AZ factory so that may make a difference.
 
Twiki357 said:
Maybe Ruger just decided that their guns were good enough and popular enough that they could jack up the price to the same range as the competition.


I know that in my area the gun cases in both gun shops and pawn shops, the Rugers outnumber the S&Ws by about 10 to 1 for both new and used. But the prices are still close. Then I’m also only about 12 miles from the Ruger Prescott, AZ factory so that may make a difference.
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And the revolvers aren't even made here. :) Davidsons's puts Ruger at the top of their manufacturer list, with the rest alphabetically. There does seem to be some local bias...
 
IMHO - Although, not deserving of the recent higher asking "MSRP" prices, Ruger Quality has gone up, over the recent years. On the other hand, S&W quality has not improved and in some cases, have actually gone down. Just Saying!

Ruger is making a fortune on their LCP and LCR line, which should be pretty cheap to produce, however, they are getting premium prices now days.
 
I see Ruger GP-100s, brand new, for over $600. SP101s for well over 500. I dunno, I am not impressed with the prices of revolvers now.

The only happy spot is J frame size guns. I see 'em for about $350, new.

Deaf
 
I brought this same thing up a while back when a Ruger vs S&W thread contained a post claiming that Rugers were significantly cheaper. I think it is a combination of a coupla things. First, marketing. Set a MSRP price higher than your nearest competitor, but then price them wholesale so the actual selling price is less and customers think they are getting a better deal on a better gun. Second, all this new tooling for the wide variety of model being introduced lately by Ruger cost something and the company is trying to recoup some of it. Since they have a loyal following and there is such an increase in demand for revolvers as of late, now is a good time to price their revolvers high in order to recoup this cost.
 
I was just looking at Match Champions and they are getting into the 800 dollar range out the door. That is just too much for me to spend on a revolver. I think I will look at some used GP's.
 
I wonder if the reason for becoming higher priced than S&W's is the differences in how they are made.

S&W is making it's revolvers using materials and designs that many shooters of old S&W's question the durability and accuracy over along period of time. Use of MIM parts, two piece barrel construction, poorly designed internal lock turn many traditional shooters off.

Ruger use of one piece conventional barrels and staying with the same design which has proven itself over many decades has broad appeal. Rugers are well regarded for their durability and have proven the strength of investment casts.

For cheap, er frugal, shooters like myself $1,000+ msrp is too hard to handle. Even $800.00 out-the-door is a hefty bite out of the paychecks. I priced the GP100 the other day at a Farm Supply Store that sells guns. They want about $750 for the standard GP-100 and $750 for the Match Champion. With the out-the-door price it is easier on the paycheck especially with used ones.
 
I do more browsing than buying of guns, since I don't have time to shoot the ones I already own nearly as often as I'd like and don't have extra cash to spend on more guns I won't have time to shoot. Having said that...

One of the revolvers that stays at or near the top of my "want" list is a Redhawk in .45LC. With the price point, it's likely to stay on that list much longer than some less costly firearms.

I've never really considered a similar S&W model because it seems fairly well established that the Rugers stand up better to heavy loads over time, and I'd like to be able to run some of the "Ruger-only" loads without worrying about it. I've read many similar statements about the .44 Mag S&W model 29/629 not being as robust as the Redhawk / SRH.

Whether or not these reputations are true and deserved, they're out there and widely believed. Perhaps Ruger finally figured out that their big bore DA revolvers have the reputation of being the top dog in their niche and decided to price them accordingly. If so, who could blame them?

The only other DA .45LC revolver that I see discussed as handling "Ruger-only" levels is the Colt Anaconda. I'd love one of these, but not enough to take out a second mortgage. I'm rooting for Colt to make buckets of money on their new Cobra revolver so that they'll follow it up with new versions of the King Cobra (in .357) and Anaconda (in .44 and .45), at prices below the GP100 & Redhawks.
 
Continuing down that train of thought, it occurs to me that Ruger prices started to rise after Colt stopped making DA revolvers. I doubt that's a coincidence.

Come on Colt! Get it right this time. We need another option in the market.
 
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