| Bill Ruger: A Man on a Mission - Page Six | |
Page Six
ST: The 10/22.
WBR: We used a die-cast, aircraft-quality aluminum alloy receiver, which was quite unique. Of all the 10/22s we’ve made, I’ve never seen one receiver fracture. We combined the elements of a rotary magazine, aluminum alloy receiver, a strong and reliable trigger mechanism....it was a very straightforward proposal once we knew what we wanted. It really has set a standard for .22 autoloading rifles.
ST: The Model 96.
WBR: They (.22,
.44 Magnum) were designed during the winters in Arizona. Jim McGarry did the
legwork on it for me. It was designed a great deal from the Savage (99), as
anyone can see in terms of the shape of the lever, lockup, and all that. We
spent a lot of time working on the design of lever, bolt, and firing pin so
that the cocking mechanism worked fluidly in terms of not being fired unless
the bolt was fully locked and safe.
It’s not as popular as I had hoped it would be, but that’s not due
to its design but to some decline in popularity of lever-action rifles.
ST: The P-Series pistols (from 1985 to 1999).
WBR: I accepted the fact that autoloading pistols became so popular when most police went from revolvers to pistols. We had to take that into consideration. We began working on it. It had a very complicated double-action/single-action mechanism. We put a lot of time into it. It is just about the most reliable centerfire pistol going.
As we’ve refined the design of the P-Series and with the use of CNC machinery, we feel we now have a gun that nobody can compete with us as the best value in a quality pistol. And the last gun we have, the new polymer-frame .45 (for 1999), is going to be a dandy.
ST: What’s the future hold for Sturm, Ruger & Co.?
WBR: In the next 50 years I believe gun design will become somewhat static. It will boil down to I think a state of full refinement. New technologies will be incorporated like CNC manufacturing, automatic tool changing and so on. For example, at one time in gun manufacturing there could have been 100 operations on a receiver that started out as a seven-pound forging that ended up weighing 15 ounces. We (Ruger) have now trimmed the process to a spoonful of chips from a precision investment casting and a half-dozen steps. Further simplifying the gun manufacturing process will be the key to future success.
Page One - Intro,
Birth of the Company, First Steps
Page Two - Thoughts
on Colt & Browning, Competitors
Page Three -
Why
Buy Ruger, 50 Years, Failed Designs, Single-Six, Flattop
Page Four - Bearcat,
No. 1, Red Label, Super Blackhawk, Redhawk, Old Army, Security-Six
Page Five - .44
Deerstalker, GP100, SP101, Super Redhawk, Mini-14, 77, 77 MK II, 77/22
Page Six - 10/22,
Model 96, P-Series, Looking Ahead
This article was originally published in Shooting Times magazine in March, 1999.
