When was "read the instruction manual" added?

[k22fan]

When did Ruger start stamping "Warning: read the instruction manual ..." on barrels? I'd also like to know when long neck eagles were changed to the modern eagles on grip medallions.

 

[Anonymous]

When did Ruger start stamping "Warning: read the instruction manual ..." on barrels?

January 1978.

 

[k22fan]

Thank-you Gus.
I owned a couple Rugers back then but I remember my reloading and target shooting more clearly than gun details that interest collectors today.

 

[Slanteyedshootist]

The problem with stamping "Read the instruction manual" on the barrel is you don't know you should read the barrel until you read the manual which says "Read the barrel". :lol:

 

[Coogs]

Actually began in late 1977. Announced in Ruger Newsletter, vol. 1, NO. 4, June, 1978.
"New Rollmarking on Barrels"
"Late in 1977 we began rollmarking the barrels of Ruger firearms with the following legend: BEFORE USING GUN--READ WARNING IN INSTRUCTION MANUAL AVAILABLE FREE FROM STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC., SOUTHPORT, CT., U.S.A."

"Many of our customers have asked why we are marking Ruger firearms this way now. Most of them are experienced shooters who already to know how to handle firearms safely and responsibly."

"In today's consumer-oriented society we are seeing an era in which government seems determined to protect the individual citizen from himself, whether he likes it or not! Over the years, this has resulted in the subtle erosion of our personal liberties, and the emergence of an ever-increasing number of people who have never learned to accept responsibility."

 

[Bucks Owin]

Actually began in late 1977. Announced in Ruger Newsletter, vol. 1, NO. 4, June, 1978.
"New Rollmarking on Barrels"
"Late in 1977 we began rollmarking the barrels of Ruger firearms with the following legend: BEFORE USING GUN--READ WARNING IN INSTRUCTION MANUAL AVAILABLE FREE FROM STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC., SOUTHPORT, CT., U.S.A."

"Many of our customers have asked why we are marking Ruger firearms this way now. Most of them are experienced shooters who already to know how to handle firearms safely and responsibly."

"In today's consumer-oriented society we are seeing an era in which government seems determined to protect the individual citizen from himself, whether he likes it or not! Over the years, this has resulted in the subtle erosion of our personal liberties, and the emergence of an ever-increasing number of people who have never learned to accept responsibility."

Ruger should have said:

_"We are covering our butts from frivolous lawsuits in an era of gun hating liberals"..... :wink:

 

[azranger45]

Now that warning would be more appropriate as well as politically correct.

 

[stantheman86]

Better to have a warning on the barrel than a hole in the side of the frame

That way if anything happens, someone blows a gun up with a mega-hot handload, Ruger can say "hey it's right on the barrel, it says read the manual!"

The warning doesn't bother me, I was cleaning up a 1975 production Service Six last night and noticed the Ruger brand name and Address is on the side of the barrel anyway, Ruger just added the warning under it in 77. It's not like it was "clean" and then Ruger cluttered it up. All the warning did was give GunBroker sellers a reason to jack prices up on "pre-warning" guns :roll:

 

[k22fan]

Actually began in late 1977. [...]

You're colse enough to Gus Petch's date for you both to be correct. It takes manufacturors a while to use up old parts and phase in a change so Jan. '78 is probably a good average. I wouldn't be surprised if it took that long before a majority of Rugers were leaving the plant roll stamped to keep us oh so safe.

Thanks for adding a more detailed response.

 

[k22fan]

Bucks Owin wrote:
[... in their 6/78 newsletter anouncing the new safety roll marking ...] Ruger should have said:
_"We are covering our butts from frivolous lawsuits in an era of gun hating liberals"..... :wink:[/quote]

While frivolous lawsuits by gun haters are more infamous and more important nationally, for awhile a few law firms made virtually all of their income sueing Ruger for acidents involving dropped Old Model single actions. In the mid 1990s a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article was devoted to these law firms and their suits. Before the current owner bought the the WSJ it was known for well researched lenghty articles that contained far more fact than opinion. Lawyers are infamous for rationalizing whatever side of an argument will pay them the highest fees. No doubt some of the lawyers that sued Ruger were partially motivated by their political opinion, but plain old fashioned greed cost Ruger or Ruger's insurance company a fortune.

I apologize for continueing this thread's drift away from gun details and into politics. I'd like to refocus it at least long enough to ask again when long neck eagles were phased out of grip medalion production.

 

[wavehopr]

Additionally, why are they called eagles when the name of the gun is BlackHAWK

 

[k22fan]

Additionally, why are they called eagles when the name of the gun is BlackHAWK

Don't eagle medallions predate Blackhawks? I thought the first .22 autos Bill Ruger and Mr. Sturm made in a garage were sold with eagle medallions but maybe that's a bad rumor.

 

[Anonymous]

Bill Ruger was also something of a car collector and named some of his guns after the Stutz automobiles. Hence the Blackhawk and Bearcat.

 

[street]

Additionally, why are they called eagles when the name of the gun is BlackHAWK

Don't eagle medallions predate Blackhawks? I thought the first .22 autos Bill Ruger and Mr. Sturm made in a garage were sold with eagle medallions but maybe that's a bad rumor.

Actually I think that the bird is a Phoenix.

"A mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope".

Alex Sturm designed it and it was to represent Bill Rugers Company going bankrupt and sort of rising from the ashes of bankruptcy to start a new company. Anyway that was the story that I remember years ago when I first started collecting Rugers. As for the word Eagle, they were always called eagles, first started out when Ruger made the first Standard Autos. The were called "Red Eagles". You couldn't call the birds Blackhawks, because the Blackhawk revolver wasn't made until 4 years after the last Red Eagle was made. So the term "Eagle" has always been used to name the bird used on the grips of Ruger guns.

As for the change from the skinny neck eagles to the fat neck eagles I think it was sometime around 1966 to 1968. Maybe chad can give a better time period for this.