Ruger Standard

About the Ruger Standard

The Ruger Standard is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic rimfire pistol chambered in .22 Long Rifle, introduced in 1949 as the first product of Sturm, Ruger & Co. Designed by company co-founder William B. Ruger, it broke from the conventional Browning-style slide by using a cylindrical bolt cycling inside a tubular receiver, giving the pistol its distinctive Luger-like profile, low bore axis, and reputation for simplicity, accuracy, and durability. Sold at a $37.50 retail price and famed for its five-second takedown, the Standard and its Mark-series successors became the best-selling .22 semi-automatic pistols ever produced.

The Ruger Standard launched Sturm, Ruger & Co. on a $50,000 investment from Alex Sturm. William B. Ruger reverse-engineered the bolt design after studying two captured WWII Japanese Nambu pistols, and the resulting tubular-receiver layout gave the company an instant commercial hit that funded its growth into one of America's largest firearms makers.

Ruger Standard specifications

Original 1949-1952 examples carry a red eagle grip medallion ('Red Eagle' models, roughly 27,000 made) honoring co-founder Alexander Sturm; after Sturm's death in 1951 the medallion was changed to black. The Standard was succeeded by the heavier-barreled, adjustable-sight Mark I target model and later the Mark II, III and IV series.