What new Ruger would you like to see in a limited special run?

odonata said:

The reason I asked the original question was prompted by two events. First, APHA (the Alaska Professional Hunters Association) had a special Guide Gun in 416 Ruger made for their members. The extra rifles were sold out of Arctic Ammo in Wasilla, Alaska.

Second, Randy's Hunting Center in Bad Axe, Michigan had a special run of 450 Bushmasters made for the straight-wall restricted deer crowd in that area.

So this sparked the idea of "What is the criteria for getting a small run of rifles made by Ruger?". The email reply I got from Randy was "Generally they require between 75 and 100 firearms (same model and caliber), but we believe that they would run a minimum order of 50 rifles."

The big problem is that there are two competing goals that are hard to reconcile. First you have to pick a chambering that is popular enough that commercial ammo is readily available from multiple distributors. Second you have to pick something that is uncommon or unique enough that it warrants a special run. There can't be a bunch of unsold similar rifles already sitting on the shelves.

The first choice that immediately came to my mind was the 7x57. At least 10 companies make ammo for it and no one is currently making a production rifle chambered in it. Plus it has a historical connection to hunting in Africa. It shouldn't be a surprise that it was the number one choice but it could only get about halfway to the required count even after adding the 275 Rigby votes to it.

The vast majority of the submitted votes were for options that only a single poster thought was a good idea. Not enough consideration was being given for the consensus that is required to make this happen. Too much emphasis was on rare personal desires. For those of you who didn't see the tally on page 9, this is what the counts looked like. It is easy to see that there is way too much individuality & impractical suggestions for a group purchase.

In my personal opinion, the best way to make this happen is via a rich benevolent dictator instead of a committee. Someone with deep pockets would have to believe in a particular offering enough to put in an order for a bunch of rifles with the confidence that they would sell them all & at a bare minimum, recoup their investment. The latest offering that I'm aware of is someone ordered 250 each of the left-handed Alaskans in 35 Whelen and 9.3x62mm through Lipsey's. I will buy one simply to support the endeavor & encourage future unique left-handed offerings.
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Spearhead said:

I talked to someone at Lipsey’s on Tuesday the 25th of Aug . These guns have not landed and are not available to pre purchase. He said you can go to your dealer and add them to their wish list and orders will be filled that way, and no I am not BS’ing

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TXTad said:

Which guns?

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odonata said:

He's referring to the recently announced left-handed Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan in 35 Whelen & 9.3x62 that I had mentioned at the bottom of post #365.

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Huvius said:

I’ve read every response on this thread and the one question that I must ask is this:

Is it ultimately important to prospective buyers to have a factory offered model or can one find what they pine for with a simple rebore/chamber or rebarrel of an existing rifle?
With a few exceptions, most of the suggestions could be had with very little effort and expense and there are many existing examples of rifles that some of you list as a wanted model.
Maybe the idea of buying a factory new rifle has some appeal but it seems that itch could be scratched without the wait for something that will probably never come to fruition.

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BTX_Game said:

Glad to see an African in 30-06 was popular. I have been asking Ruger for one for a while. I have a Guide Gun in 30-06 and love it. But it really needs a 2" longer barrel and have 5/8X24 threads.

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ThreeJacks said:

They made the USA 250th anniversary model in a .30-06, but it has gold and engraving. It has a 22" barrel and a price tag of around $4500. Hopefully they will make a "hunting" model with a 24" barrel.

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ThreeJacks said:

They made the USA 250th anniversary model in a .30-06, but it has gold and engraving. It has a 22" barrel and a price tag of around $4500. Hopefully they will make a "hunting" model with a 24" barrel.

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Rick R said:

I may be the only person on the planet that wants a Ruger “African” in .300 HAM’R.
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I figure the .300 HAM’R could be the Tiny Ten rifle.

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Rick R said:

I found a .44 Magnum #1 (made in 2007) and put Ruger’s express sights on it making it my Warthog Edition.

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odonata said:

Personally I love my 300 HAM'R & think it's a great little round. It's a shame its popularity hasn't expanded much beyond the Wilson Combat sphere. Flipping a Cutting Edge ESP Raptor around & shooting it backwards would give you a 100gr solid for the little targets.

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Rick R said:

I’ve sporadically looked for a suitable donor .223 bolt action rifle...

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Rick R said:

The #1 in .44 is a great little deer rifle and just fun to shoot. It’s a shame Ruger only made them for one year.

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Rick R said:

I may be the only person on the planet that wants a Ruger “African” in .300 HAM’R.
I found a .44 Magnum #1 (made in 2007) and put Ruger’s express sights on it making it my Warthog Edition. I figure the .300 HAM’R could be the Tiny Ten rifle.

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