I’m strolling the IWA firearms and hunting trade show in Nuremberg, Germany looking for interesting story material from the heartland of hunting country. Germany boasts more hunters than any other country in Europe and hunting is more like a religion here than a sport, hobby or pastime. It takes in excess of two years to pass the German hunting license exam and the “jager” tradition here is steeped in ritual and romance. A wild boar or roe deer is toasted when it’s shot and a ceremonial “last meal” is placed in its mouth as a token of respect.

So what do I find here in Germany? A great chance to interview the CEO of Sturm, Ruger & Co.

I’m walking into Hall 2, on my way to look for something German to write about, and I see Mike Fifer in the Ruger booth, relaxed and alone. That’s weird. CEOs of companies the size and importance of Ruger are usually secreted in meetings with key customers or other VIPs during trade shows. I veer off and approach him.

Two uninterrupted hours later, the affable chief executive looks at me and smiles and says: “I think this is the longest interview I’ve ever given.” I nod my thanks as I think to myself, “Only at IWA, the show where no one knows your name.”

The beauty of a show like IWA is that guys like Mike Fifer are not swamped with a meeting schedule. You can catch them in their booth, talking to passers-by and, quite by chance, buttonhole them for an in-depth interview.

The first topic Fifer wants to address is what he feels is a grossly unfair situation between the ease with which foreign gun companies export to the U.S. and the hurdles American gun companies face in selling guns overseas.

“I’m calling for a tit-for-tat policy. If the number one and number two handguns in America are from European countries that totally prohibit U.S.-made handguns, then we should reciprocate. We will have a perfect mirror. We’ll follow whatever they do. If their regulations loosen, ours will loosen. If theirs become more strict, ours will become equally strict. We’ll do the same as they do. Tit-for-tat,” Fifer said.

Clearly, Ruger’s new CEO (he came aboard in mid-2006) is chafing at the unfair trade bit that’s placed in America’s mouth by foreign countries with highly Draconian gun laws. The first and second place handguns he refers to are the Glock and the XD, from Austria and Croatia respectively. “I can’t sell any handguns in either of those countries,” he huffs.

I respectfully point out that free trade is not an issue that any one industry can affect because America’s trade polices are a complex web of issues that span everything from farm subsidies to banana tariffs.

“I’m not talking about tariffs or taxes. I’m referring to regulations that prohibit us from selling into a country that has no such restriction to stop them from selling to us. A simple tit-for-tat policy would level the playing field for all of us,” the former Naval Academy graduate said.

To add insult to injury, the U.S. government recently purchased 200,000 (not a typo) Glock pistols for the Iraqi police. According to Insider sources, the non-competitive deal didn’t allow Ruger or any other American company a chance to bid; it was a slam-dunk for the Austrians, orchestrated by former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr who is employed by Glock as a lobbyist.

Granted, Ruger has some obstacles in exporting handguns and faces stiff competition from European gunmakers like SIG, Beretta, Glock and XD, but there are some successes. One of the most notable of them is right there in the booth with us, the Ruger LCP .380 Auto.

Find out what Michael Fifer has to say about some Ruger's newest products and the direction he's taking the company in my next Industry Insider blog.