National Ruger Day Archives -

Happy Ruger Day!

October 22nd – 10/22 – has been declared as National Ruger Day for obvious reasons. A number of dealers are holding events from what I’ve heard. You can find more on that here.

I am happy to celebrate as both my first and last firearm purchased were Rugers. My first was a 10/22 Carbine that I bought just after my 18th birthday. I paid all of $55 for it at a non-defunct local discount chain called Best Products. I wish I could say I still own that little carbine but I sold it sometime in the 1980s to pay some bills. I have since added a couple of 10/22s to my armory including a Ruger 10/22 International (Mannlicher stocked).

My last Ruger purchased was a SP-101 revolver in 9mm. I paid significantly more than $55 for it! I do plan to run a test on various 9mm moon clips for the SP-101 to see which works best.

National Ruger Day

Celebrated every year since 2017, October 22nd – 10/22 – has become National Ruger Day. It is a day to celebrate all things Ruger. I can get on board with this as I have many Rugers in my armory ranging from Security-Six revolvers to an older model Ruger Red Label shotgun. Their common stock hasn’t done too poorly for me either over the years.

This year is a little special as it coincides with Ruger’s 75th Anniversary. Bill Ruger partnered with Alexander McCormick Sturm to found Sturm, Ruger, and Company in 1949. As most know, their first product was the Ruger Standard semi-auto pistol in .22LR.

While today is the day to celebrate Ruger, there are many events going on all week long. You can find a list of the participating retailers here. Depending upon the retailer, there will be sales as well as Ruger swag.

Probably the best way to celebrate the day and the week is to introduce a non-shooter to shooting using a 10/22 carbine. It is light, easy to handle, and, like all .22s, has virtually no recoil.