Ruger Flagship Semi Auto.

[Hvymax]

IMO Ruger lost most of their significance playing the Meee Too striker game. Ruger has shown that they are capable of doing a DA/SA solid full chassis/polymer frame semi.
The reason most of the newer chassis designs are lacking in inherent accuracy like the Glock and some others is the little sheet metal tabs that retain the slide. My Max9 is more accurate than any Glock I have seen due to having actual rails. The reason CZ's and 1911's still dominate is the full length solid rails. So a steel or aluminum chassis that extends past the trigger guard that could accommodate extended, service or compact slides and frames with a good DA/SA trigger that can accommodate any number of frame mounted safeties with a hammer. The slide again well fitting rails with a well fitted barrel allowing for reliability. Again available in optic ready cowitness extended/compensated, threaded and standard lengths. I would add a barrel bushing to the competition variants. Is this largely a throwback to the P series and several others? Yes in a way. What Ruger didn't create were truly modular packages. Everything can be mixed and matched across the line. Glock Mags like MK&10-22 mags haven't changed since their inception. Having modular frames allows for various grip configurations as well single and double stack. Normal and even that stupid Glock angle for people with wrists limp enough to achieve that angle. Simple Solid locking barrels available in various lengths threaded and non. One of the Beauties of Glock barrels is that aftermarket and custom Smith's can order 9" blanks and cut, crown, thread, brake, etc etc. Being a modular line also simplifies production, aftermarket and parts support. Glock made the basic 10-22 of semi auto pistols and look how that worked out. Ruger could do it better. I'm sure the Max9 will be replaced in a few years just like the average line of cars which is what Ruger has been doing now for years.
If Ruger wants to do truly absolutely epic build a Semi Auto handgun for 350 Legend, 450 Bushmaster and 50 Beowolf!!! Would the grip be huge? Sure. Would anyone wanting such a thing care??? I doubt it. They would look at the guy with a deagle and say " I wouldn't know what to do with something that small!!!"

 

[dweis]

I find they the Ruger Security series pistols which I have or still own are very accurate pistols due to their long slide rails and. The hybrid half cocking hammer action. I would match them against ant sritker fired pistol in an accuracy test.

 

[Hvymax]

I find they the Rutgers Security series pistols which I have or still own are very accurate pistols due to their long slide rails and. The hybrid half cocking hammer action. I would match them against ant sritker fired pistol in an accuracy test.

Exactly!!! The thing is that a modular frame could accommodate that or DA/SA along with various safeties. Instead of a maintainable modular line they just replace them every few years. Which IMO makes them less desirable. I guess the bean counters are counting on people buying new ones every few years like they do cars. My favorite handgun is still my early Tanfoglio CZ75 Clone. It's a great and timeless design that EAA took to multiple next levels with available for a few decades slides/barrels etc. They made it truly modular. I had 5 slides. Extended Compensated 9&40 and Standard 9&40. The original is a 41ae which I still have. Along with the rail I could show up at a match and choose between 6 classes depending on the circumstances with 1 frame and trigger to train with.

 

[roylt]

I have swapped several things around here and there with the P-guns. 40 to 9 and 9 to 40. Took a DAO and made a DA unit. Took a safe model and turned it into a DC. Stainless and blue mixes etc. Longer 94 barrel into a 93 short slide.

Just tinkering.

 

[RSIno1]

The market drives what Ruger makes and sells - the bean counters drive Ruger design and manufacturing.
Innovation is just another word for let's build something new and different since the market is getting saturated with last weeks fad.
How many here felt the need to replace their Standard Pistol with a MKIV because it's main pitch was a new way to take it apart. It had worked fine for nearly 70 years.

 

[hittman]

Ruger's flagship semi auto is their dozens and dozens of 1911 variations.
Seems like all sell and all work. No break in needed.

 

[Hvymax]

I have swapped several things around here and there with the P-guns. 40 to 9 and 9 to 40. Took a DAO and made a DA unit. Took a safe model and turned it into a DC. Stainless and blue mixes etc. Longer 94 barrel into a 93 short slide.

Just tinkering.

Exactly!!! Versatility across the line. I think the P guns lost out because they were so clunky. Next to a Beretta and a Glock they looked like you would need a wheelbarrow to hump around. When looking for something you intend to carry ALL DAY LONG those are considerations. I think the P guns were aiming at the Beretta with a lot of things. Ruger did best aiming at his own target. Compact and ergonomic are where it's at. Parts interchangeability across the line multiple triggers and safeties to meet most any need. Slides and barrels etc.

 

[Hvymax]

I find they the Rutgers Security series pistols which I have or still own are very accurate pistols due to their long slide rails and. The hybrid half cocking hammer action. I would match them against ant sritker fired pistol in an accuracy test.

Now make it optic ready. I prefer DA/SA for the inherent safety of the DA first shot with the option of cocking the hammer for a DELIBERATE shot.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Another vote for the 1911. No other pistol they make could be considered a "flagship".

 

[Hvymax]

The market drives what Ruger makes and sells - the bean counters drive Ruger design and manufacturing.
Innovation is just another word for let's build something new and different since the market is getting saturated with last weeks fad.
How many here felt the need to replace their Standard Pistol with a MKIV because it's main pitch was a new way to take it apart. It had worked fine for nearly 70 years.

A lot of people would disagree!!! That and the 10-22. I think the most common bag of gun jobs gunsmiths get is Ruger MK's

 

[the_leper_colony]

... I think the P guns were aiming at the Beretta with a lot of things. Ruger did best aiming at his own target. Compact and ergonomic are where it's at. Parts interchangeability across the line multiple triggers and safeties to meet most any need. Slides and barrels etc.

Yeah, the original P-series gun (P85) came out when everyone wanted a high-capacity 9mm, including Uncle Sam. The S&W Model 59 and Beretta 92 were big sellers at the time, and I'm sure Ruger looked at everything on the market. Ruger was hoping for the military contract, and in retrospect, the P85 would have worked just fine - super strong, super reliable, and American designed & manufactured. One of the biggest complaints about the M9/Beretta 92 seems to be the XL grip, and IMHO the Ruger would have been better for people with small hands. And (FWIW) as @roylt noted, there's a lot of modularity/parts swapping potential in the P-series - I've got one frame that will handle four different calibers, with full-size or compact slides, using parts from the P85, P89, P90, P91, and P95.

Obviously, all that is water under the bridge - the company, the market, and the world are different today.

As always FWIW, IMHO, YMMV, etc., etc.

 

[Hvymax]

Another vote for the 1911. No other pistol they make could be considered a "flagship".

Unfortunately it's already somebody else's. Ruger making them is more Meee Too. Same with AR's. A 3/4 length full rail steel and or aluminum chassis option that can accept a selection of fcg's. Polymer frames in single and double stack full to compact grip and rail length. You can configure it like Legos.

 

[Hvymax]

Yeah, the original P-series gun (P85) came out when everyone wanted a high-capacity 9mm, including Uncle Sam. The S&W Model 59 and Beretta 92 were big sellers at the time, and I'm sure Ruger looked at everything on the market. Ruger was hoping for the military contract, and in retrospect, the P85 would have worked just fine - super strong, super reliable, and American designed & manufactured.

The P series hit most of the marks very well. Just like the Sixes a solid option in a saturated market. Instead of looking around at what everyone is IS doing look for something nobody else IS doing unless you can do it so much better that it eclipses the other. Look at the LCP. It's a reliable Kel Tec. Add the semi cocked hammer and it's a much more shootable Kel Tec. The newer ones have left the Kel Tec behind. Everyone else and their sister is making striker guns. Rugers slogan could be Real Guns have Hammers!!! Have the gamut available like the P series on everything from micro like the Max9 to extended/compensated guns for special Forces to competition. A heavy semi with a fixed barrel as a silencer host would be awesome.

 

[Stantheman1986]

Ruger should have stopped at the P95 and just stuck with a polymer hammer pistol . But what we think doesn't put money in the Ruger families bank accounts

Like it or not , Rugers bread and butter is/was tank tough Single and Double Action revolvers , but Single Actions are "range toys " for most buyers and a Double Action .357 is no longer a first choice for home defense.

People want polymer striker pistols and Glock dominates the market. Ruger has to offer something cheaper to stay in the market

Ruger should have easily won the Service Pistol trials in 1985 with the P85 .

The Security Six was superior in every way to S&W's revolvers in the early 70s but S&W was already well established with Law Enforcement customers . Ruger offered a lower priced service revolver that was more durable and they were widely used, but Smith & Wesson will always be synonymous with the Double Action revolver. If Bill Ruger had jumped on the Service Revolver market in the early 60s instead of 70s the story may be different

Every gunmaker has a niche, and Ruger has always been the "tank tough blue collar guns that last longer and cost less" gunmaker, that was always a Top 5 manufacturer and a solid choice for guns to use for rough field use or carry

My fear is that Ruger is becoming an American version of Taurus with all the $2-300 plastic pistolas. The new SP101 I just bought was a train wreck. I own more Ruger revolvers than I can count, and I am concerned they are forgetting where they came from

 

[Mike J]

I think when Ruger came out with the American they thought they had their flagship auto. The market was just too saturated. A lot of people liked/respected the SR series. Many were upset when they were discontinued. They didn't want the American. I don't think the American ever really had a shot at getting off the ground. The Security 9 etc. don't really interest me.
What you describe would be interesting. The first question is would Ruger make something like that? The second is if they did would anyone buy it?

 

[Hvymax]

Ruger should have stopped at the P95 and just stuck with a polymer hammer pistol . But what we think doesn't put money in the Ruger families bank accounts

Like it or not , Rugers bread and butter is/was tank tough Single and Double Action revolvers , but Single Actions are "range toys " for most buyers and a Double Action .357 is no longer a first choice for home defense.

People want polymer striker pistols and Glock dominates the market. Ruger has to offer something cheaper to stay in the market

Ruger should have easily won the Service Pistol trials in 1985 with the P85 .

The Security Six was superior in every way to S&W's revolvers in the early 70s but S&W was already well established with Law Enforcement customers . Ruger offered a lower priced service revolver that was more durable and they were widely used, but Smith & Wesson will always be synonymous with the Double Action revolver. If Bill Ruger had jumped on the Service Revolver market in the early 60s instead of 70s the story may be different

Every gunmaker has a niche, and Ruger has always been the "tank tough blue collar guns that last longer and cost less" gunmaker, that was always a Top 5 manufacturer and a solid choice for guns to use for rough field use or carry

My fear is that Ruger is becoming an American version of Taurus with all the $2-300 plastic pistolas. The new SP101 I just bought was a train wreck. I own more Ruger revolvers than I can count, and I am concerned they are forgetting where they came from

My point exactly.

 

[Hvymax]

I think when Ruger came out with the American they thought they had their flagship auto. The market was just too saturated. A lot of people liked/respected the SR series. Many were upset when they were discontinued. They didn't want the American. I don't think the American ever really had a shot at getting off the ground. The Security 9 etc. don't really interest me.
What you describe would be interesting. The first question is would Ruger make something like that? The second is if they did would anyone buy it?

Ever since the 80's they have been building to a Saturated Market of Mediocrity. Playing me too. Building a better version sometimes of what the other guys have been selling for years. My Max9 with a Crimson Trace totally eclipsed my almost 30yr old P11. My next and probably last carry gun will be a CZ RAMI cut for an optic and cowitness sights.

 

[Hvymax]

I think when Ruger came out with the American they thought they had their flagship auto. The market was just too saturated. A lot of people liked/respected the SR series. Many were upset when they were discontinued. They didn't want the American. I don't think the American ever really had a shot at getting off the ground. The Security 9 etc. don't really interest me.
What you describe would be interesting. The first question is would Ruger make something like that? The second is if they did would anyone buy it?

The American is Mediocrity at best. Look at the "Competition" and look at what people actually Compete with. A full length steel chasis with a barrel bushing and a good DA/SA trigger and manual safety would be reasonably priced and as accurate as anything in existence. The bushing would allow anyone with a reamer to match tune their own gun!!!

 

[GasGuzzler]

Unfortunately it's already somebody else's. Ruger making them is more Meee Too. Same with AR's. A 3/4 length full rail steel and or aluminum chassis option that can accept a selection of fcg's. Polymer frames in single and double stack full to compact grip and rail length. You can configure it like Legos.

Then Ruger doesn't have one. I like my P95DC just fine. No need to get something newer.

 

[Hvymax]

Then Ruger doesn't have one. I like my P95DC just fine. No need to get something newer.

I have multiple older guns that are still just as good as they were 30-40 years ago. I'm going back and adding optics, lights and lasers to any of them I still use/carry with purpose. My whole point with this thread is to brainstorm the next 1911 or CZ 75. What features would make the most versatile, accurate and configurable platform humanly possible. A handgun that will be as significant in a century as it is now.