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454PB
11-03-2006, 11:08 PM
As a Ruger stock holder, I was reading one of the message boards as the stock price rose over 13% today. Several posters say there is a rumor the military is going to replace the M-16 with the Mini 14. Huh?

Also interesting that the Ruger family has sold over 9 million shares recently, and most of it was at around $6 per share. It closed today at just over $10 per share.

The Double D
11-04-2006, 01:28 AM
Ruger having financial problems maybe?

MtGun44
11-04-2006, 01:43 AM
I love my Ruger guns, my first pistol was (is) a Ruger std auto .22, BUT
the Mini14 is not even remotely up to the military stds of the M16. I
don't really think the Stoner system is all that great, but it IS very
sorted out and stands up to lots of full auto very well. I have heard
that the Mini14 was tested in some African countries with the eye
towards using it as a military assault rifle. They melted in testing,
with military type full auto abuse, as I heard the report. Also, I have
never seen a stock Mini14 that would group better than 3" at 100 yds,
and most AR-15s today seem to be 1" or better guns. Not that all
assault rifles need to be tack drivers, but it doesn't hurt. :-D

I sure hope Ruger is not in financial difficulty. I understand that they
actually make much more money from their investment casting work
for others -- like golf club heads, than they do from guns. Don't know
that it is true, tho.

Bill

waksupi
11-04-2006, 01:50 AM
Well, since Bill died, things are going a bit down hill. Don't bet any long odds on the Mini 14. Ain't gonna happen.
Ruger desperately needs to increase the quality of their casting prodution, as that is thier mainstay. Their finished firearms business is a minor sideline.
Right now, the variation in the metal structure, and hardness thier casing is producing, is more than questionable. Many action castings must be reheat treated, after they leave the original manufacturer.

Ricochet
11-04-2006, 03:39 PM
I've never even gotten close to 3" groups with my Mini-14. It's hard to keep bullets on paper at 100 yards. It's a fun short range blaster for things like tin cans and water-filled milk jugs. Ruger advertised it in the '70s as "The World's Most Expensive Plinker." That's what it is. I do keep it close at hand for possible burglar blasting, which doesn't demand a high degree of precision. Firing a 20 round magazine through it quickly will smoke oil right off of the barrel.

rockrat
11-04-2006, 04:44 PM
Use to be a Ruger stockholder, but sold off the stock earlier this year. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ruger or Marlin goes under. Face it, there just are not enough people taking up hunting/shooting like we do and the guns we do buy can last for hundreds of years if taken care of. To me, all these new cartridges are just trying to get more guns sold, cause everything out there now can do what we want them to. See too many people during sight-in days just way overgunned and have a hard time shooting the loudenboomers. Guy came out with a lightweight 7mm mag for his daughter and it was kicking the snot out of him and his flinch made sighting in the gun somewhat time consuming.

onceabull
11-04-2006, 06:26 PM
Gents: the fable that RGR's casting segment keeps the company going sure enough has legs!!! Facts are the co's Casting segment produced a net loss in each of the last 3 fiscal yrs. and the firearms business was profitable (but weakening.) This is all public info.but apparently not viewed by many(except the longs and shorts among actual investors.). Sales by the casting business exclusive of intercompany sales are less than 1/6th of firearms division sales..and the Chinese are eating up the competition in investment casting sales,so I doubt one can expect much future growth. Recent stock activity is probably two headed;shorts covering, and value investors coming in,both due to recent recommendations by "the Motley Fool". One fact stands out, in the 7 days ending 11/1/06 ,the stock was in the top five for "insider buying."with the new CEO and two directors taking up 36,000 shares...I've been long and short this company multiple times over the years,but missed this rally,so will be watching for some consolidation in price before trying it on again..:roll: .fwiw, Oncebull

leftiye
12-01-2006, 02:03 AM
I had a mini 14 once- (got another one now) that shot 1.5'' reliably. Hit a jack at 300 yds with it several times (I'm not going to tell you it was offhand, you wouldn't believe me). Other than very painstaking handloads, I think that refinishing that so fine (?) western walnut stock was one of the reasons it shot so well. After sanding off the original finish, the action had a hair of light between it and the stock when locked down. I think it prevented the action fron flexing, and then wedging in a flexed position against the stock, thus changing where the scope was pointed in relation to the muzzle. Another thing that just happened along this same line was that that little curved piece of metal at the front of the stock got lost, and the stock just rested in the bracket for the gas piston - loosely.

Four Fingers of Death
12-01-2006, 07:06 AM
I'e used Mini 14s at work for 22+ years. Give me Ruger mags with them and I'll swear by them. I don't know how they'd go as a battle rifle, but they might cope a bit better with the fine sand than the Stoner system. I don't know if it's true, but I have been told M14s are being re-issued out of storage.

Whatever happens, I hope the Blackhawks/Vaqueros are safe, I can handle the 94 and 70s going under (just), but gimme a break, not my Ruger SAs as well! I have been twiddling about trying to decide about a new pair of 45 VAqueros, time to get the finger out it seems.

arkypete
12-01-2006, 08:41 AM
#1 Was the rumor that the military was looking for a new side arm in 45 caliber, true ?
#2 Is it true that Ruger didn't bother with the requests for bids or proposals for the new military side arm.
Jim

Scrounger
12-01-2006, 10:20 AM
I've never even gotten close to 3" groups with my Mini-14. It's hard to keep bullets on paper at 100 yards. It's a fun short range blaster for things like tin cans and water-filled milk jugs. Ruger advertised it in the '70s as "The World's Most Expensive Plinker." That's what it is. I do keep it close at hand for possible burglar blasting, which doesn't demand a high degree of precision. Firing a 20 round magazine through it quickly will smoke oil right off of the barrel.

The first Mini-14 I had would do 1" with a scope. It was a 1976 commerative model. It got stolen. Over the years I must have tried at least 15 others and the best of them would do 3" at a hundred yards. I had one rebarrelled with a heavier 12" twist barrel from a well known manufacturer in Germany (What I really mean is I can't think of the name). It would shoot half inch groups. So the Ruger's problem has always been the horrible quality barrels that were put on them. So if you really like the action, just go ahead and have a good barrel put on it and make it a lot better. I think Clark is doing it now as well as the place I used in Odessa, Texas.

ssgt
12-01-2006, 10:30 AM
The Joint Combat Pistol was the name for a former US program for a new military sidearm to replace the M9 Pistol, extant from late 2005 to early 2006. The program is being run by USSOCOM as of 2005. It is the result of a merger of two earlier programs, the Army's Future Handgun System (FHS) and the Special Operations Forces Combat Pistol. Among the current requirements for the JCP, include being chambered for .45 ACP, having an integrated rail, Day/Night sights, and capable of accepting a suppressor.

On March 10, 2006 a modification to the earlier request was made, changing the name from Joint Combat Pistol to Combat Pistol. The number of pistols sought was reduced from 645,000 handguns to 50,000. This basically reverted back to the SOF Combat Pistol program in terms of its scale, as the Army dropped its participation.[1] In Fall of 2006, the Combat Pistol (CP) program was suspended indefinitely.[2]



Heres the link I found...... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Combat_Pistol

45 2.1
12-01-2006, 11:46 AM
The first Mini-14 I had would do 1" with a scope. It was a 1976 commerative model. It got stolen. Over the years I must have tried at least 15 others and the best of them would do 3" at a hundred yards.

The 1976 version would have been a 180 series Mini and all of the 180 series shot very, very well with handloads. None of them went over 1.5 MOA that I had. On the other hand, the later series that had the new gas system with the deeper forend shot about 2.5 to 3 MOA which was not an improvement at all.

Abert Rim
12-01-2006, 12:43 PM
If the quality control on Ruger castings is as spotty as the QC on their firearms, I can imagine they have issues. I have owned dozens of Ruger firearms, and consider them well-designed, durable and a good value -- IF they work.

mtngunr
12-01-2006, 12:53 PM
Ruger's acceptance standards for the Mini-14 and Mini-30 have always been the same.....three shots at 50yds into 2" or less and correctable to the sights....which puts it on par with legends like the AK....both of which seem to work when dirty, while.....(ahem)....some don't.....

ssgt
12-01-2006, 01:36 PM
Ruger's acceptance standards for the Mini-14 and Mini-30 have always been the same.....three shots at 50yds into 2" or less and correctable to the sights....which puts it on par with legends like the AK....both of which seem to work when dirty, while.....(ahem)....some don't.....

[smilie=1: Careful, youll have the M-16/ AR missionaries after you!