Ruger Hits A Million-Already

by
posted on August 21, 2012
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
201282114659-r_million_h.jpg

8/21/2012

Sturm, Ruger & Co. hit a new record last year. For the first time in the company’s history, the gunmaker made more than 1 million firearms—1,114,700 to be exact—in one year. That record won’t stand for long. This time Ruger reached 1 million firearms manufactured for the year on Aug. 15, 2012.

“Last year, Ruger became the first commercial firearms company to produce 1 million firearms in one year, and we were incredibly excited and proud to reach that milestone,” Ruger President and CEO Mike Fifer said. “It took us nearly all of 2011 to build 1 million firearms, but in 2012 we accomplished it on August 15th. We continue to invest in and improve our manufacturing processes to help us respond to the strong demand for Ruger firearms. We expect 2012 will be another record-breaking year for Ruger, and we want to thank our loyal customers for their continued support.”

Ruger’s Fifer pledged to donate $1 for every gun sold between the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Pittsburgh in 2011 and St. Louis in 2012, making more guns in a single year than at any time since the company’s founding in 1949. Not only did Ruger’s American workers deliver on the production side of the “Million Gun Challenge,” they actually exceeded it—prompting Fifer to up the ante to the “1.2 Million Gun Challenge.” The keys to the record-breaking figure were increased demand, production efficiency and popular new introductions, including the Ruger American Rifle, 10/22 Takedown and SR22 pistol, among others.

So what was the 1,000,000th gun for 2012? It was a Ruger SR1911 pistol, made at the firms’ Prescott, Ariz., factory. The gun is set to be engraved by Baron Technology and will be auctioned to support NRA.

Latest

Marines are wearing Model 1911 pistols and carrying Winchester 12-ga. “trench guns.”
Marines are wearing Model 1911 pistols and carrying Winchester 12-ga. “trench guns.”

Arms Of The Mail Guard Marines

While difficult to imagine today, brazen armed thefts of the U.S. Mail in the 1920s became all too common and beyond the abilities of mail personnel to handle. Enter the U.S. Marines—armed to the teeth.

The Armed Citizen® Oct. 13, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Editor’s Choice: Trijicon MRO SD

As can be sussed out from its name, the Miniature Rifle Optic (MRO) is a sealed reflex sight developed by Trijicon for use aboard carbines and rifles to facilitate lightning-quick target acquisition and smooth transitions between multiple targets.

Preview: MAC 9 DS Duty

Military Armament Corp. (MAC) introduced an affordable 2011-style pistol in 2024 with its MAC 9 DS.

The Chiappa 86 Wildlands: A Modern Take On The Winchester 1886 Lever-Action

Chiappa has updated the nearly 150-year-old Winchester Model 1886 lever-action design with the 86 Wildlands Angle Ejection Takedown, giving it added versatility in the way of accessory-attachment points and optics-mounting.

Preview: White River Knife & Tool Ursus 45

The White River Knife & Tool Ursus 45 offers plenty of hand-filling area that is made all the more comfortable by way of well-shaped, replaceable burlap Micarta scales.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.