Bill Ruger Dies
altj...@webtv.net
him third behind John Browning and Paul Mauser as the leading innovators
of the firearms we use today and regret his passing.
Paul
Charles Gallo
Paul,
Are you sure? Nothing on the Ruger web site or on the AP newswire
Charlie
--
73
KC2IXE
For the Children - RKBA!
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel.
Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force.
Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined"
-- Patrick Henry
Jeepers!
> On Mon, 8 Jul 2002 16:27:30 -0500, altj...@webtv.net wrote:
>
> Paul,
> Are you sure? Nothing on the Ruger web site or on the AP newswire
>
> Charlie
>
http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/news/state2002/valley_ruger_2002.shtml
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=12472
--
http://Sprite.viptx.net/~moomesa/index.html
Michael Brady
> him third behind John Browning and Paul Mauser as the leading innovators
> of the firearms we use today
Interesting. I regard Ruger as an innovator of manufacturing techniques, as
well as the maker of some cagey marketing decisions over the years, but the
arms themselves are rarely the best of their respective breeds. Good
hunting!
Y. L.
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/news.html#founder
"Charles Gallo" <Cha...@thegallos.com> wrote in message
news:sjbkiuoh836gg82sb...@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 8 Jul 2002 16:27:30 -0500, altj...@webtv.net wrote:
>
> Paul,
> Are you sure? Nothing on the Ruger web site or on the AP newswire
>
> Charlie
>
>
altj...@webtv.net
I would say you are right---and wrong. I do not think that Bill Ruger
was the firearms designer that John Browning or Paul Mauser were.
However, outside of those two I cannot think of another designer that
has affected the design of firearms across the breadth of the field that
he has. That includes rimfire and centerfire rifles in a variety of
actions, o/u shotguns, single action pistols, double action pistols,
autoloaders and manufacturering processes.
You are right that perhaps his strongest pursuit was in manufacturing,
designing both the guns and processes that allowed a reasonable quality
firearm at a price affordable to greater numbers in a period that
brought us the 1964 Winchesters. I see manufacturing processes as
influencing the firearms we use today. In terms of "real dollars" guns
are less expensive than I believe they have ever been allowing many more
people to own multiple firearms.
You may call them cagey marketing decisions but I see him as the prime
mover in leading the public away from the flashy and gaudy rifles of the
60s known as the "California School" and re-popularization of single
action revolvers.
I believe that all of this makes him a leading innovator of the firearms
we use today as I stated. For he affected design, manufacturing, and
styles in firearms.
Paul
EDBIRD
>
>Paul,
>Are you sure? Nothing on the Ruger web site or on the AP newswire
Found it, guys
http://www.nandotimes.com/business/story/460139p-3682288c.html
The Associated Press
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (July 8, 2002 9:35 p.m. EDT) - William B. Ruger, founder of
Sturm, Ruger and Co. Inc., one of the largest firearms manufacturers in the
United States, has died. He was 86.
Company officials said Ruger died Saturday at his home. The cause of his death
wasn't immediately available. Ruger had been ill for some time.
The company, which has plants in Prescott, Newport, N.H. and Southport, Conn.,
makes rifles, shotguns, pistols and precision investment castings used in the
aerospace, automotive, general manufacturing and golf markets.
Ruger, who was born in Brooklyn in 1916, had a hand in the design of every
firearm his company ever produced.
He teamed with Alexander Sturm to form the company in 1949. His first firearm
for the company, produced that year, was a .22-caliber target pistol that is
still in widespread use today.
Ruger is survived by his son William Ruger Jr., the company's current chairman;
a daughter, Carolyn Vogel; six grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren. His
wife, Mary Ruger, and a son, James Ruger, died before him.
Funeral services will be held Saturday in Croydon, N.H.
Charles Gallo
wrote:
>On or about 7/9/02 11:35 AM, Charles Gallo spanked keys that wrote:
>> Paul,
>> Are you sure? Nothing on the Ruger web site or on the AP newswire
>>
>> Charlie
>>
>http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/news/state2002/valley_ruger_2002.shtml
>
>http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=12472
Thank you - It moved on the AP wires last night after I checked. To
tell a story on myself, I work for one of the "Big 3" networks (There
are a few pro RKBA folks there - a FEW), so I have full access to
reading ALL the major news wires - I questioned it when NONE of the
wires had the story (BTW I work on the software that compiles the
wires into one list for us)
Charlie
--
73
KC2IXE
For the Children - RKBA!
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,
for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
MyDogReese
>I do not think that Bill Ruger
> was the firearms designer that John Browning or Paul Mauser were.
> However, outside of those two I cannot think of another designer that
> has affected the design of firearms across the breadth of the field that
> he has.
Garrand? Smith, Wesson? Henry? Kalashnikov? Stoner? Come on, now.
No personal offense to Mr. Ruger (and my sympathy to his family) but
one .22 pistol does not a giant make. And his comments that led to the
hi-cap ban made me to lose any admiration I might have held for the
man.
Yale
altj...@webtv.net
I am not happy about Ruger's testimony on magazines. That does not say
he did not have accomplishments.
As far as my comments did any of the names you mentioned work with as
many diferent rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers or the variety of
actions that he did? All the names you mentioned made significant
contributions, none of them showed the breadth of knowledge in such a
variety that Ruger did which is what I stated.
Ruger deserves some political animosity, but I suspect your's is
applying a set of blinders from your .22 pistol comment.
Paul
Robert P. Firriolo
>
> altj...@webtv.net wrote in message news:<21048-3D2...@storefull-2195.public.lawson.webtv.net>...
> >I do not think that Bill Ruger
> > was the firearms designer that John Browning or Paul Mauser were.
> > However, outside of those two I cannot think of another designer that
> > has affected the design of firearms across the breadth of the field that
> > he has.
> Garrand?
John C. Garand's design that became the U.S. M1 Rifle is certainly a
classic, but Garand is hardly a designer who has had a broad effect
across the field of firearm design.
> Smith, Wesson?
I agree on Daniel B. Wesson, but as I recall, Horace Smith was a "money
man" and never designed firearms.
> Henry? Kalashnikov? Stoner? Come on, now.
All deserve accolades, though B. Tyler Henry, Gene Stoner, and Mikhail
Kalashnikov are really noted for single designs, and not a broad range
of firearm designs. (Along with Kalashnikov you could also add Fedor V.
Tokarev and Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov for the Soviet designers.)
Others you can add to your list are Oliver Winchester and C.C. Loomis as
well. But the one significant name you left out is John D. Pedersen.
After Browning, Pedersen is doubtless America's greatest firearm
inventor, and likely ranks among the greatest in the world. His designs
include (either in whole or in part) the Remington Models 10, 12, 14,
17, 25 and 51, as well as the famous "Pedersen Device" for the M1903
rifle. [IIRC, the Rem. Model 17 (Pedersen's improvement of a Browning
design) became the famous Ithaca Model 37 when Remington ceased
production of the M-17 in the early-1930s.]
Frankly, IMO, Bill Ruger isn't in the same category as Browning or
Pedersen, and arguably, some of the others. His use of quality
investment castings is certainly significant, but most of the actual
designs attributed to him are IMO not particularly innovative or
impressive.
> And his comments that led to the
> hi-cap ban made me to lose any admiration I might have held for the
> man.
Agreed, 100 percent. For more on this, see:
http://communities.prodigy.net/sportsrec/gz-papabill.html
--
MOLON LABE
http://firriolo.home.netcom.com/
[Remove "nospam" from reply-to e-dress]
Michael Brady
> John Browning
> Paul Mauser
> John C. Garand
> Daniel B. Wesson
> B. Tyler Henry
> Gene Stoner
> Mikhail Kalashnikov
> Fedor V. Tokarev
> Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov
> Oliver Winchester
> John D. Pedersen
Did we miss Hiram Maxim?
Douglas Bernhard
Founder of Largest U.S. Firearms Manufacturer
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.
Prescott, Arizona, July 8, 2002 - -, William Batterman Ruger, founder and
Chairman Emeritus of Sturm, Ruger & Company, the largest firearms
manufacturer in the United States, and widely recognized as one of
"America's greatest gun designers," died peacefully at home on Saturday,
July 6, 2002, at age 86, after a period of failing health.
A legend in American industry, Ruger had a hand in the original design and
time-honored styling of every firearm his company has produced, and
continued to work on new creations up until his death. Ruger steered his
business from "it can't be done" remarks to a New York Stock Exchange
corporation (NYSE: RGR) which has produced more than 20,000,000 firearms for
hunting, target shooting, collecting, self-defense, law enforcement and
government agencies.
Ruger teamed with Alexander McCormick Sturm and established Sturm, Ruger &
Company in 1949. Subsequent to Sturm's death in 1951, under Ruger's
leadership, the Company produced more types of sporting firearms than any
other firearms firm in the world. His first firearm introduction in 1949, a
stylish .22 caliber target pistol, was considered "the first gun" of many
Americans, and is still one of the most popular target pistols in widespread
use.
With plants located in Newport, New Hampshire, and Prescott, Arizona, and
corporate headquarters in Southport, Connecticut, Sturm, Ruger manufactures
high-quality rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers for a variety of
sporting and law-enforcement purposes. Its precision investment castings are
made for a wide variety of industries, including aero-space, automotive,
general manufacturing and the golf market.
"Ruger was a true firearms genius who mastered the disciplines of inventing,
designing, engineering, manufacturing and marketing better than anyone since
Samuel Colt," said R.L. Wilson, firearms historian and Ruger's biographer.
"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."
Born June 21, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, Ruger first developed his passion
for guns when he received his own rifle from his father at age 12. As a
student at the University of North Carolina, 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 Army - executing the
drawings on his in-laws' dining room table. Ordnance officials liked the
gun, and 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. His advertising stressed
mechanical innovation and safety.
When not involved with his firearms operations, Ruger indulged his life-long
passions, including antique firearms, 19th Century Western American art, and
his nationally noted antique car collection of more than 30 vehicles,
including Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Bugattis, Stutzes, and a 1913 Mercer
Raceabout, among others.
Ruger also commissioned the design and construction of a classically styled
sports tourer automobile in 1970 called the Ruger Special, based on the
design of the 1929 Bentley 4½ liter. He also designed and commissioned a
92-foot yacht, the Titania.
His philanthropy was especially evident through charities in communities
where his factories were located, as well as the Buffalo Bill Historical
Center 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 is the current
Chairman of the Company; daughter Carolyn R. Vogel; six grandchildren; and
ten great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, the late Mary
Thompson Ruger; and a son, the late James Thompson ("Tom") Ruger. His
inspirational leadership and guidance will be sincerely missed by all who
were privileged to work for him.
Visiting hours will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.,
Friday, July 12th at the Newton-Bartlett Funeral Home, 42 Main Street,
Newport, New Hampshire. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday,
July 13th, on the grounds of the Central Station of Blue Mountain Forest
Association, Central Station Road, Croydon, New Hampshire. There will be a
reception at the same location, immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, contributions should be sent to the Dartmouth Medical
School, 1 Rope Ferry Road, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755; or the Yavapai
Regional Medical Center, 1003 Willow Creek Road, Prescott, Arizona 86301.
<altj...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:21048-3D2...@storefull-2195.public.lawson.webtv.net...