American Firearm Directory
  • Home
  • LONG GUNS
    • AR RIFLES & PARTS
    • SEMI-AUTO & AK
    • BOLT ACTION RIFLES
    • LEVER & PUMP ACTION RIFLES
    • TARGET
    • RIMFIRE
    • SHOTGUNS
    • MUZZLELOADERS & BLACKPOWDER
    • GUNSMITHS
    • AIRGUNS/AIRSOFT/PAINTBALL
    • ARCHERY, CROSSBOW & SLINGSHOT
  • HAND GUNS
    • SEMI AUTO & PARTS
    • REVOLVERS
    • RIMFIRE
    • SBR/SBS/PCC/CCU
    • DERRINGERS/OTHER
    • LESS-LETHAL
  • AMMUNITION
    • CENTERFIRE
    • RIMFIRE
    • SHOTGUN
    • AIRGUN
    • RELOADING
    • CHRONOGRAPHY
  • ACCESSORIES
    • ARMOR, SAFETY & PROTECTIVE
    • CAMS, COMMS & NAVIGATION
    • CLEANING & CARE
    • FOOTWEAR/CLOTHING
    • GRIPS/STOCKS/BRACES
    • HOLSTERS
    • HUNTING & FISHING, CAMPING, SURVIVAL & DOG CARE
    • KNIVES
    • MAGAZINES
    • OPTICS/SIGHTING/LIGHTS
    • SAFES/RACKS/GUNCASES/RUGS
    • SILENCERS/BARREL ACCS
    • SLINGS & BELTS
    • TRIPODS & GUNRESTS
    • TACTICAL
    • TARGETS, TRAINING & RANGE
  • MIL/LE/CONTR
  • RESOURCE
    • WHOLESALERS, MANUFACTURING & BUSINESS SERVICES
    • ONLINE GUNSTORES, BLOGS & YOUTUBERS
    • TV, MEDIA & PRINT
    • NON-PROFITS, GROUPS & EDUCATION
    • TRADESHOWS
    • PHYSICAL GUN SHOPS BY STATE
    • GUNSMITHING, FINISHING & ENGRAVING
  • BLOG

NEW FIREARMS & ACCESSORIES

We make every attempt to only preview new products when they are actually available on the market. This spares consumers from wasting time trying to locate an item to buy when it hasn't yet left the prototype phase. Please note that during SHOT Show (January of each year) manufacturers often announce new items that are several months from stores: we still announce these despite not being immediately available for purchase.

Ruger: getting it right with the mk iv

4/3/2017

 
Picture
​The great thing about being Ruger is the ability to turn ideas into tangible products quickly. A virtually unlimited budget combined with advanced mechanization, their own forge and a team of stellar engineers means that when they decide to proceed with a product it can hit the dealerships in a matter of months as opposed to years. Nevertheless I'm impressed with their restraint: if I had that kind of output potential I'd be popping out new guns faster than Chiappa, but Ruger has the temperance of a seasoned manufacturer and a level of discernment only acquired by a deep understanding of the market. Via this acumen they succeed in releasing popular products time after time. Clearly they are doing their market research, spending hundreds of hours reading online forums to see what gun owners are looking for, observing what products are being sold by other manufacturers and how they can improve on those existing platforms. Though they're occasionally accused of purloining other companies concepts, this could also be construed as flattery: however you interpret it, Ruger have amply demonstrated an ability to react to customer's opinions on any given firearm and apply those to constructing their own, new improved versions. I think we could say this about the LCP (a la Keltec), the SR22 (think Walther P22), the New Vaquero (um, Colt Peacemaker?) and of course the original copycat Mk I pistols based directly off the Japanese Baby Nambu pistol by Bill Ruger himself, circa 1949. Though all the Mk series are excellent pistols they've long been loved AND loathed by the millions who own them: they’re a bear to take down and customers have suffered that aggravation for three whole generations! Why they never fixed it before now I'll never know, but then when S&W pulled a Ruger and released an easily taken-down Mk style .22 in late 2015, Ruger promptly retorted with the Mk IV. Touché. I'm one of the fools who held off owning one for years then finally succumbed to buying a 22/45 in the last months of Mk III. Damn, was I mad! Anyway, it probably took years for S&W to get their SW22 Victory to market only to be upstaged in 12 short months by big daddy. And, true to Ruger's habit the Mk IV is even easier to takedown than the Victory so S&W will have to think fast and work faster if they want to reclaim their fair share of this market as Ruger bombards the stores with the full range of all it's previous configurations (but with that "button"). Personally I'm a fan of competitiveness, it's simply smart business. And as a consumer I want to see constant improvements in the products I like to buy. Admittedly I wished I’d waited, or somehow been forewarned, but I will eventually get myself a Mk IV if for no other reason than it’s a damn good pistol and there’s a thousand aftermarket enhancements to personalize it to my exact taste. But after all's said and done I primarily love Ruger’s customer service: it’s the benchmark of manufacturer care, courtesy and consideration. It’s respect for the fact we’ve spent our hard-earned dollars on one of their products and want it to work perfectly. It’s polite, prompt and effectual. And it’s a sure fire way to win a loyal following - I know folks who will ONLY buy Ruger for this very reason. Ruger are the LL Bean of the firearm world. Every manufacturer, no matter how good, produces lemons: but it’s how they remedy the problem that makes the difference. If I was starting my own firearms company I’d emulate that quality first and foremost because making it right is wholeheartedly American! The Ruger Mk IV upholds that spirit, though they lose a star for taking so damned long to do it. Ed. 

Comments are closed.

    the afd blog

    Previews and reviews on newly available items are written-up by our team as quickly as we can find them. Please let us know if we've missed something debuting on the market. As a firearm enthusiast or an AFD listed company you are welcome to submit a blog entry about a new product. You may also submit a firearm related commentary, idea or nostalgic musing: we like things celebratory of American ingenuity and manufacturing. All entries are subject to editing and/or fact-checking.

    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    RSS Feed

Are you a Firearms, Sporting Goods or Veteran owned business?
Donate $500 to the
DV Farm for Homeless Veterans and receive a DV Farm Donor Coin
plus a year of FREE advertising on the American Firearm Directory!
Type "AFD referral" in
special instructions to seller at DV Farm donation portal.

HELP HOMELESS VETS

    subscribe to afd updates & newletters

Subscribe

Support

Contact Us
Promote Your Company
Picture
© COPYRIGHT AFD 2016-2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Founded in Vermont, USA
Unless otherwise specified, all images are Copyright & Courtesy of the Manufacturer highlighted in each post.
  • Home
  • LONG GUNS
    • AR RIFLES & PARTS
    • SEMI-AUTO & AK
    • BOLT ACTION RIFLES
    • LEVER & PUMP ACTION RIFLES
    • TARGET
    • RIMFIRE
    • SHOTGUNS
    • MUZZLELOADERS & BLACKPOWDER
    • GUNSMITHS
    • AIRGUNS/AIRSOFT/PAINTBALL
    • ARCHERY, CROSSBOW & SLINGSHOT
  • HAND GUNS
    • SEMI AUTO & PARTS
    • REVOLVERS
    • RIMFIRE
    • SBR/SBS/PCC/CCU
    • DERRINGERS/OTHER
    • LESS-LETHAL
  • AMMUNITION
    • CENTERFIRE
    • RIMFIRE
    • SHOTGUN
    • AIRGUN
    • RELOADING
    • CHRONOGRAPHY
  • ACCESSORIES
    • ARMOR, SAFETY & PROTECTIVE
    • CAMS, COMMS & NAVIGATION
    • CLEANING & CARE
    • FOOTWEAR/CLOTHING
    • GRIPS/STOCKS/BRACES
    • HOLSTERS
    • HUNTING & FISHING, CAMPING, SURVIVAL & DOG CARE
    • KNIVES
    • MAGAZINES
    • OPTICS/SIGHTING/LIGHTS
    • SAFES/RACKS/GUNCASES/RUGS
    • SILENCERS/BARREL ACCS
    • SLINGS & BELTS
    • TRIPODS & GUNRESTS
    • TACTICAL
    • TARGETS, TRAINING & RANGE
  • MIL/LE/CONTR
  • RESOURCE
    • WHOLESALERS, MANUFACTURING & BUSINESS SERVICES
    • ONLINE GUNSTORES, BLOGS & YOUTUBERS
    • TV, MEDIA & PRINT
    • NON-PROFITS, GROUPS & EDUCATION
    • TRADESHOWS
    • PHYSICAL GUN SHOPS BY STATE
    • GUNSMITHING, FINISHING & ENGRAVING
  • BLOG