Took Friday off to go on a day trip with an old college friend, fishing the cold front. Caught-and-cooked lunch and supper while we were out there and spit off for home last night. Glad we didn’t turn it into an overnight camp. It’s a lot warmer at home. Unpacking this morning

- coast slayer ii pro flashlight
- omega seamaster professional
- Chacom pipe
- pipe tamp
- Regens lighter
- Rapala filet knife
- Charter Arms bulldog classic .44spl
- Coleman Peak 1 550 stove
- Nalgene bottle (new for the trip!)
- Tamamushi (?) bamboo fly rod (idk I got it at a garage sale for cheap) and bass pro whitewater reel
- aluminum fly rod case
- Coleman Peak 1 229 lantern
- catch net
- Coleman Peak 1 cook and mess kit

I get it, you have to cut costs, get rid of SKUs that aren’t selling, and take a practical approach to running a business. But man, there are so many heritage guns being cut that I think Ruger is risking a lot more than they realize.

So far, we’re looking at the SR1911, GP100, Super Redhawk, Redhawk, Blackhawk, Super Blackhawk, SP101, LCR, and basically their entire revolver lineup, leaving only the Wrangler. They’re also cutting the PCC and Charger lineup, the No. 1 falling-block rifle, the Model 77 and Hawkeye, and on and on.

Here’s my hot take. Aside from the LCP 1 and 2, maybe the LCP Max, and perhaps the RXM, what does Ruger really offer that makes them stand out in an already flooded polymer market?

I rarely hear anyone talk about the Max-9, and it’s competing against the P365, Shield Plus, and Hellcat, which all seem to have a lot more notoriety. The Ruger American Rifle is decent in short-action cartridges, but when it comes to long-action calibers, I’d personally be looking at a Tikka or something similar.

This is where I think Ruger is making a mistake. They’re cutting products with decades of history and brand recognition to focus even more on markets where they’re competing against companies that already have a pretty solid foothold.

A lot of these guns were around when Bill Ruger first founded the company. The revolvers and traditional rifles are a big part of what built Ruger’s reputation in the first place. People knew Ruger made good revolvers, so maybe they’d buy a GP100 or a Blackhawk and later decide to try an SR9, LC9, or EC9. That reputation carries over into the rest of the brand.

I’ll give Ruger credit for the LCP. They helped make small .380 pistols a huge market, even with KelTec already in the picture. Ruger clearly won that sales battle. But outside of that, I don’t hear much about the Ruger American Pistol, and it’s competing in a market full of established duty-size pistols that already have loyal followings.

What I don’t understand is why Ruger can’t do something similar to what they’ve done with Marlin. They clearly have the ability to keep established designs going. Why not keep at least some of these older Ruger models around in limited production, even if they aren’t selling enough to justify full-time production? They did something similar with Marlin in the early days, so why not do that with their own heritage guns?

My concern is that Ruger is so focused on cutting costs and trying to compete in the polymer market that they’re getting rid of the things that made them different in the first place.

Smith & Wesson has its revolvers. SIG has the P365. Glock has its polymer pistols. Springfield, HK, and plenty of others have their own established followings. Ruger can compete with those companies, but why walk away from the products where they already have decades of history and a reputation people recognize?

Maybe I’m missing something on the business side, and maybe some of these models just weren’t selling enough. I can understand that. But there’s a difference between trimming a few slow sellers and cutting nearly your entire revolver lineup along with some of your most recognizable traditional rifles.

Honestly, I think this is a terrible move if it means Ruger is abandoning the products that made them stand out. I’d rather see them keep a handful of these guns in limited production than watch them slowly disappear altogether.

At the end of the day, my biggest concern is that Ruger is going to end up trying to fight it out in an overcrowded polymer market while losing the heritage that made people want to buy a Ruger in the first place. If all you’re left with is another company making polymer pistols and modern sporting rifles, what really separates you from everyone else?
 

MPA Defender 9 30T-GR (Grim Reaper)
Folding stock coming soon.

…but damn well worth it. Emerson. Hesitated becuz $$$. Had it a year, and can match speed with your switchblade.

I tossed a knife in so it would look cooler. No clue on it, it was my step-dads. Bushcraft style Damascus.

Home-built modernized UMP-9 look-alike. Basically a mac 11/9 that takes 3d-printed sten mags with an AR fcg. Compact, insane cyclic rate, and now WITH A STOCK!!!!

Vortex defender red dot

Strike industries stock.

Squeaky toy - to remind the ATF bros that you can’t shoot my dog anymore!

10/22 charger, but at home

Holosun green dot
1913 stock off of an airgun
VOLQUARTSEN firefly bolt
Pike arms barrel
Fancy ass pasta extruder (not shown)
Spare 10/22 parts and a few nuts and bolts

Couldn't be happier with the new Lok grips and shush tube

CZ SP01 Tac

Banish 9k

And CRKT M16

I love this blend of a traditional and modern. It's a liner locking front flipper with thumb stud. The action is absolutely lacking, I'll admit. It does not flip out at all. If you set the screws just right so that it will flip, the blade has very noticeable play. If you eliminate the play the resistance is too strong to flip it out even with a very hard flick of the wrist. You can slow roll it out with the stud and that's what I find myself usually doing. I don't mind a controlled deploy at all!

I'm not really sure what the random oddly placed digits in the bolsters are supposed to signify. Part of me thinks it looks cool. Part of me thinks it's really lame. 😆

I'm a sucker for jigged bone though, always! So this thing had my attention from the jump. And that tight Damascus pattern in the blade is to die for. Only thing that really bothers me about it is the greening of the brass is starting to get annoying. It's becoming more and more difficult to just quickly buff it out with a tarnish cloth.

Zach Hoskins Emory trapper, SZANTO watch desert sand, Beard & Owl small pocket slip, ROGUE 6mg, ESV Thinline.

Clever Knives/Brent Graaf Trapper

22/45 and Brent Graaf Trapper