Ruger: getting it right with the mk iv

​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.