The Ruger Custom Shop is born: as announced in a press release, the Custom Shop “represents the culmination of almost 70 years of innovation, quality and experience gained manufacturing rugged, reliable firearms” and it “will feature exclusive collectible, competition, hunting and personal defense firearms for the most discriminating of shooters.”
In doing this Ruger is aligning with other famous gun manufacturers, like SIG and Smith & Wesson with its Perfomance Center, that for several years now have been producing enhanced, upgraded and accurized versions of their products. "Our customers have been craving high-end performance variations of our popular models for a long time," explains Chris Killoy, Ruger President and CEO. "We are thrilled to respond to the call and bring the Ruger Custom Shop to fruition. We are confident that these new products represent the very best in craftsmanship and performance."
Ruger Custom Shop’s first offering: SR1911 Competition Pistol
The newly born Ruger Custom Shop is already introducing its offerings. The very first one is SR1911 Competition Pistol. Developed in close collaboration with professional shooting team captain and world champion competitive shooter, Doug Koenig, it’s a rather stylish, full-sized 9mm handgun designed for competitive shooting in IDPA, IPSC, USPSA, Bianchi Cup, Pro Am Shooting and Steel Challenge disciplines.
The SR1911 Competition Pistol features a precision-machined Koenig Shooting Sports low-mass hammer and competition sear combined with a custom flat-faced trigger shoe, precision-machined disconnector and hand-tuned sear spring for a match-grade trigger pull. Slide and frame provide are hand-fitted while the competition barrel sports a polished feed ramp, fitted barrel lug, target crown and unique 1:16" slow twist to increase accuracy with lighter weight match bullets.
The stainless steel frame is black nitrided with a 25 lines-per-inch checkered front strap and matching checkered mainspring housing. Grips panels are Hogue G10 Piranha, while the trigger guard is undercut and blended for a comfortable high hold designed to reduce muzzle flip. The stainless steel slide with its anti-glare, black nitrided top with precision-ground slide serrations, makes for an attractive, two-tone finish. The TechWell magazine well is machined aluminum.
Other interesting details are a fiber optic front sight, adjustable serrated rear target sight, beavertail grip safety, extended magazine release, forged slide stop and integral plunger tube. With a suggested retail price of 2,499 USD, the pistol ships in a waterproof, fitted hard case and includes two, 10-round competition magazines, a Ruger Custom Shop Certificate of Authenticity, challenge coin, cleaning cloth, gun peg and decal.
The new 10/22 Competition Rifle
The Ruger Custom Shop is also introducing the 10/22 Competition Rifle. Chambered in .22 LR, the latter features a free-floating barrel, a hard-coat anodized, CNC-machined, heat treated and stress relieved 6061-T6511 aluminum receiver with an integral, optics-ready, 30 MOA Picatinny rail.
The bolt is a 4140, heat treated and nitrided, match CNC-machined piece. The receiver incorporates a second bedding lug, ensuring it is securely bedded to the stock, and a rear cleaning port, providing access to the barrel from the rear of the receiver for ease of cleaning. The 10/22 Competition Rifle is also equipped with the Ruger BX-Trigger, an oversized bolt handle, a match bolt release that allows the bolt to be released forward with a quick pull and release to the rear, and an extended, ambidextrous magazine release.
The fluted bull barrel is 16-1/8" long with a 1/2"-28 threading pattern to accommodate the included muzzle brake or other barrel accessories. The stock also features a fully adjustable cheek rest. The rifle ships in a hard case, and includes a detachable 10-round rotary magazine, Ruger Custom Shop Certificate of Authenticity, challenge coin, cleaning cloth and decal. Suggested price for the 10/22 Competition Rifle is 899 USD.
