Ruger custom shop

[sabbfan]

Received am email from Ruger announcing their new custom shop, appears to be similar to Smith’s performance center. The 1911 looks very nice, I’ll be curious if people will be willing to pay the price for a Ruger with an MSRP of $2500. Really looking forward to see what else they offer, there is also a 10/22. Link to the 1911
https://ruger.com/micros/customShop/SR1911.html

 

[Walkalong]

I’ll be curious if people will be willing to pay the price for a Ruger with an MSRP of $2500

Ouch, me too. May be a great gun, but they are trying to break into a tough limited market.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I saw that announcement and thought it looked like a nice offering, but the price.......

Every time I start looking into higher end guns I consider that the cost would be two to four of my mortgage payments.

I find it really hard to justify any gun over $1500.

 

[Spats McGee]

I'll be interested in seeing what they do, as well. Not that I'll ever be able to afford a pistol from anyone's custom shop, but since I'm kind of a Ruger fan, this interests me.

 

[George P]

So, is this the ploy to get you to pay 5X the price for a gun that actually works correctly? (like the original cheaper version was supposed to?)

 

[Jim Watson]

"unique 1:16'' slow twist to increase accuracy with lighter weight match bullets."

Stuff like that reduces my interest in their product even though the flunky who wrote it is not really involved in manufacture.

 

[rbernie]

I assume that Ruger having a 'custom shop' is mostly about marketing (displaying the ability to be more than 'consumer grade') and senior employee retention (the bestestest / brightestest get to work in the hallowed halls of 'the shop') than it is about 'custom-built' sales volume.

 

[Walkalong]

So, is this the ploy to get you to pay 5X the price for a gun that actually works correctly? (like the original cheaper version was supposed to?)

Rugers 1911s have a good rep, and as far as cheap goes, there are plenty of inexpensive 1911s that work.

What we assume you get at that price range is flawless execution of the machine work/fit/finish, super smooth action, great repeatable trigger, outstanding accuracy, 100% dependability........Does Ruger have the talent there to do this and be competitive in the custom 1911 market? I don't know either.

 

[Winkman822]

This is a tough pill for me to swallow given the fact $2,500 easily gets you into a Les Baer, Christensen A-series, some of the stuff out of the Springfield Armory Custom Shop, or for not terribly much more, a Wilson Combat, Ed Brown, or Cylinder & Slide custom.

 

[George P]

Rugers 1911s have a good rep, and as far as cheap goes, there are plenty of inexpensive 1911s that work.

What we assume you get at that price range is flawless execution of the machine work/fit/finish, super smooth action, great repeatable trigger, outstanding accuracy, 100% dependability........Does Ruger have the talent there to do this and be competitive in the custom 1911 market? I don't know either.

To start, I forgot to add a sarcasm emoticon with my post. But to your comment, why wouldn't Ruger, (or any other maker) want to put out products already with flawless work/fit/finish? By analogy then, are they saying that unless you pay their new higher prices, you are going to get substandard products?

 

[Mike J]

There are differences between this & the standard 9mm SR 1911 models that set it apart from them. I own an early manufacture .45 acp SR 1911 & it has been fine. I did have to tweak the extractor because I was occasionally getting hit in the head with brass but that is the only thing that I touched. I don't know about this custom shop gun. $2500 dollars is a lot of money. Most Ruger models sell around 25% under MSRP but I don't know if this will. I guess time will tell if the different features & Koenig name are enough to make it a winner.

 

[George P]

The thing is, Ruger's marketing (and the chorus of their Net fan boys) is that they make "rugged guns for the average working man"; obviously, the average working man just isn't "good enough" for Ruger's profit model

 

[Walkalong]

By analogy then, are they saying that unless you pay their new higher prices, you are going to get substandard products?

I better get better products for two to three times the money. Maybe not any more reliable if the cheaper ones are 100%, which they certainly can be, but definitely prettier, smoother, better triggers etc.

 

[DT Guy]

If the machine work on that frontstrap is indicative of their 'Custom Shop' work, I don't think they'll thrive on gunshop shelves alongside Wesson's, Brown's and Baer's.....


Larry

 

[9mmepiphany]

given the fact $2,500 easily gets you into a Les Baer, Christensen A-series, some of the stuff out of the Springfield Armory Custom Shop,

I think you just named their target market segment.

I saw that announcement and thought it looked like a nice offering, but the price.......

I find it really hard to justify any gun over $1500.

I've long said that a correctly manufactured non-custom 1911 would be in the $2500 price range...that's why the Springfield Armory Professional always seemed priced correctly. When you find a great working 1911 for less than that price point, that is a great value...thinking of the Dan Wesson lineup

Every time I start looking into higher end guns I consider that the cost would be two to four of my mortgage payments.

I can't even fantasize of a mortgage payment that low anymore. This Ruger would be about 2/3 of mine

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I can't even fantasize of a mortgage payment that low anymore. This Ruger would be about 2/3 of mine

It's amazing how big the income level and cost of living differences can vary based on location isn't it? My career is something I'm very passionate about but it doesn't make you rich. I live within my means and on my income alone. No spouse, because there's a trade off too to my low cost of living. No one wants to live here.


That's a good point about the value of DWs.

 

[JDR]

You pay your money & take your choice, those “arrow” cocking serrations don’t do it for me, strictly “MHO”.

 

[9mmepiphany]

those “arrow” cocking serrations don’t do it for me

I think those, and the cut out in the trigger are reflective of the "K" in Koenig's logo

 

[tarosean]

By analogy then, are they saying that unless you pay their new higher prices, you are going to get substandard products?

Add the aftermarket parts, machining, etc to their standard pistol and see what price you come up with.


The price doesn't dissuade me, its the fact that its a SS Minor gun. Which I have zero interest in.

 

[9mmepiphany]

...are they saying that unless you pay their new higher prices, you are going to get substandard products?

I'd say that if you don't want to pay for the optimal parts, you'd be getting the standard parts. I don't think anyone can honestly believe that the Ruger wasn't built to meet a pricepoint.

It would also be unrealistic to expect a true custom quality build at this pricepoint. What they are offering is a 1911 built correctly without being overly concerned about the eventual pricepoint.

IIRC: when H&K looked at getting into the 1911 market, before introduction of the HK45, they found that they'd have to price it at close to $4k to justify going into production

 

[mrmike7189]

I saw that announcement and thought it looked like a nice offering, but the price.......

Every time I start looking into higher end guns I consider that the cost would be two to four of my mortgage payments.

I find it really hard to justify any gun over $1500.

I was drooling over an old uzi 9mm with a $2k price tag. I told my wife,it was good thing I didn't buy the uzi or else the mortgage wouldn't get paid this month.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Deleted

 

[JR24]

I saw that announcement and thought it looked like a nice offering, but the price.......

Every time I start looking into higher end guns I consider that the cost would be two to four of my mortgage payments.

I find it really hard to justify any gun over $1500.

I agree to a point. The offerings I've shot in that custom shop price range didnt seem any better than the Dan Wessons I've shot and owned, I'd be hard pressed to justify one over 1.5 DW Valors.

So, is this the ploy to get you to pay 5X the price for a gun that actually works correctly? (like the original cheaper version was supposed to?)

I dunno, the 2 ruger SR1911s I've owned functioned correctly and shot as good as anything I've owned short of a DW. Of course if you want custom hand fit parts you are going to pay more. I'm not sure why offering a more expensive, slicked up, model is a bad thing? Plenty of gunmakers (and many other industries) do it.