While folks still are pissed at Ruger, but only annoyed at Colt, and S&W

[Nathan_Bell]

Ruger's release of their first AR has spawned multiple threads all over the Internet gun forums. Nearly all of them have someone state "screw Ruger" Which eventually is countered with a point that S&W and Colt have both compromised to keep the Anti's quiet. Or the comment that Bill is dead get over it.

Why people still harbor real ill will towards Ruger. IMHO YMMV etc
Colt and S&W have been corporate entities for longer than anyone I know has been alive. Ruger, well is is Sturm, Ruger, and Co. kinda puts a face to his CYA activities.

His actions had a direct and lasting impact on gun owners accross the country, and most folks were old enough when he did it to recall it, as opposed to reading about it

He got his pieces of silver out of the deal, as his rifle was 'innocent' of being evil.

He then played as a Great US gunmaker and 2A supporter.

These have combined to have folks reacting to the good news that a mjor player in the US firearms world has gotten into the AR game, which not only offers consumers more options, but also helps with backing the SCOTUS basis for citizen armament; with ambivelence to real hostility.

Dude is dead, but until Ruger Co. really makes a solid gesture to the defensive shooting community, he and his words will remain an albatross around the company's neck. I am uncertain what this action would have to be to cool some of this, though.

Any ideas of what they would need to do?

[jwinch2]

My own 2 cents here.

America as a nation is one that tends to respect someone who has the guts to stand up, admit they were wrong about something, and ask for forgiveness in a genuine way. All of us, some more than others, have made decisions that in retrospect turned out to be poor ones. This one was particularly stupid and assisted in screwing over a bunch of good people for a number of years.

Some public admittance of that fact and some public contrition, along with taking steps to ensure that the world knows what Ruger's public position on such issues is now, would go a very long way towards rebuilding their reputation in the shooting community.

Even then, I think it will be a while, (years). If they don't do what I suggested above, I think it will be a generation before they recover their market share.

[The_War_Wagon]

When S&W was caving, they were owned by the limeys - a people who have forgotten there ever WAS a Common Law of 1686, that allowed them to OWN guns equal to the standing army's (a foundational document to the drafting of our OWN Constitution, btw). We punished them, by NOT buying their products, and eventually they were sold to people who UNDERSTOOD firearms and firearm owners. Problem solved.

Colt's problem, is that they are located in Connecticut - People's Democratic Republic of - and the state was strong-arming them BEFORE the AWB, in much the same way the OBAMANATION is strong-arming GM & Chrysler (especially ) now, and Colt was in no economic shape to move their HQ and facilities out of state.

Personally, I'd like to see Ruger & Colt leave CT for good, move to MT , and tell the anti's to get bent. FIRST company to do so, will REALLY make a good impression with firearm's owners, and quite possibly grab the corner on the market!

[apb2772]

For a good read look here:

http://www.thegunzone.com/rkba/papabill.html

Also as far as S&W is concerned at the very point in time that they "Caved" they were in a "Damned if you do-Damned if you don't" type of situation. Yes they as a company could have "Stuck" to their guns, and made no concessions. The problem is that they were fighting MULTIPLE HUGE BOGUS lawsuits at the time and even though they were almost guaranteed to undoubtedly win all of these lawsuits, they would have been BANKRUPTED and out of business after winning them. So they "Cut A deal" and continued to survive. Once they were sold to Safe T Hammer (domestic company) they pretty much told the .Gov that the previous "agreement(s)" were null and void.

As for Ruger, well Bill was a cat of a different color and was out for his own interests. He never became the "Big Wheel" Govt contractor that he wanted to be, so he focused his attentions on protecting and promoting his products and pushing the ideals the best benefited him.


The way I see it he is dead and gone and the company (and country) are better off for it. He did make some dandy firearms (like the original tang safety M77's), but he was always looking out for no 1.


--->APB

[Terry]

IMO, it's not as important that we remember what they did, but it is important for the gun manufacture's to remember what we did.
I have no problem with anyone not buying a gun from a company they don't feel supports there rights, my problem is someone telling me who I can buy a gun from.
Terry.

[M&P45]

I think that Ruger's introduction of the SR-9, LCP, LCR and NRA Mini-14 speak volumes of where the company stands on the 2nd amendment today. The new AR variant only bolsters that in my mind.

[Saginaw79]

Thats why i dont buy anything COLT. I tend to hold Grudges against anything less that 100% pro gun

[puskrat]

Standing up is standing, and caving is caving, regardless of how tough things get. Smith changed ownership. The people in charge of that are gone. Bill is also gone. But Ruger hasn't done anything to say "That was Bill's decision. It was the wrong thing to do." Plus, his was not a compromise under attack, but shot in the back.

[TY44934]

I think that Ruger's introduction of the SR-9, LCP, LCR and NRA Mini-14 speak volumes of where the company stands on the 2nd amendment today. The new AR variant only bolsters that in my mind.

Clarification: the "NRA Mini-14" comes with factory high capacity magazines.

Under Bill Ruger, and for a while after he croaked, Ruger would NOT sell 20 rounders directly to the public EVEN THOUGH the AWB expired.

I no longer have a beef with Ruger, Inc. With the new 556, their conversion to the dark side is complete.

The actions of BIll Sr. cannot be defended and he damaged our cause immensely. I am pleased that many of his policies have now been reversed.

[CarlosDJackal]

Let's have a recap:

Ruger (1994) - Bill Sr. helped spawn the magazine capacity limitation movement. From the legislation he had suggested:

"The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. By a simple, complete, and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty of defining "assault rifles" and "semi-automatic rifles" is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single amendment to Federal firearms laws could prohibit their possession or sale and would effectively implement these objectives."

Until recently, would not sell Mini-14 magazines that held more than 5-rounds to the general public.

S&W (2000) - Made a deal with HUD to:
- Install gun locks and other child-safety devices on all guns
- Introduce "smart-gun" technology in all newly designed handguns.
- Agreed to impose marketing and distribution rules on retailers who carry its wares, as ways to keep guns from children and criminals.

Colt (2000) - Supported "smart gun" legislation and spent millions to develop the technology. They were even awarded a $500k Federal Grant to develop this technology. Back in 1989 cost stated that "AR-15 sales to the public would be discontinued because Colt did not believe they had a purpose for the average citizen." Until very recently, minimized selling their ARs to the general public.

So why are people focusing on Ruger? IMHO, it's because they aren't as big nor do they have the historical pedigree as Colt or S&W. I too was boycotting Ruger until they started changing directions after the death of Bill Sr. I also boycotted S&W until they were sold to the Saf-T-Loc guys and they announced that they were no longer going to honor the HUD agreement.

I'm still boycotting Colt because they have not completely changed their tune about the civilian market plus they have their ugly mits in the military weapons procurement process. Clearly, Colt has put its profit way ahead of our Liberties, the US Constitution, or the men and women of our Military. JM2CW.