Ruger Standard

The Ruger Standard Model is a rimfire semi-automatic pistol introduced in 1949 as the first product manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co., and was the founding member of a product line of .22 Long Rifle cartridge handguns, including its later iterations: the MK II, MK III, and MK IV. It is marketed as an inexpensive .22 caliber rimfire intended for casual sport and target shooting, and plinking. Designed by company founder William B. Ruger, the Standard model and its variants are the most sold .22 caliber semi-automatic pistols ever produced.

Development

After World War II, firearm designer and entrepreneur Bill Ruger acquired a pair of World War II Japanese Nambu pistols from a returning US Marine, which he successfully duplicated in his garage. Using the Nambu's silhouette and bolt system, Ruger produced his first prototype, but lacked the venture capital necessary to fund its introduction. When his affluent friend Alex Sturm was shown the 1949 prototype Ruger had created, he was impressed by its aesthetic and its slight resemblance to the German Luger P08 pistol.

Realizing that prospective buyers would share his sentiment, Sturm invested $50,000 and the two teamed to form the company Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Ruger's new product was named the "Standard" model. Intended as a low-cost recreation and sporting product for outdoor, hunting and firearms enthusiasts, Ruger employed a number of simple and innovative manufacturing techniques used in the production of the new pistol. These included using coil springs made of piano wire in the action, instead of the flat springs most manufacturers were using at the time; also, the receivers were made from two stamped and welded sheet metal halves.

These practices worked well with a firearm which needed to handle only .22 rimfire pressures, and the cost savings it produced allowed Sturm and Ruger to undersell other manufacturers whose production relied on more expensive methods.