Ruger officials confirmed industry chatter this week that it would immediately stop producing four models, while it will halt production of several others at the end of the year.
On Tuesday, the company announced changes to several current-generation product families as part of its ongoing Ruger 2030 strategy.
“These decisions reflect our review of consumer demand, evolving market preferences, manufacturing complexity and the long-term profitability of each product family,” Abbey Clary, Ruger’s director of media, advertising and public relations, told Guns.com in an email. “The goal is to focus our resources on the products consumers want most today while creating capacity for future product development and manufacturing modernization.”
Production of four revolver lines – some going back to 1958 – would be suspended, effective immediately:
A larger group of products are nearing suspension, with their final planned production runs through the remainder of 2026.
They include:
- SR1911
- LC Carbine
- PC Charger
- PC Carbine
- LC Charger
- Redhawk
- Super Redhawk
- Blackhawk
- Super Blackhawk
- Single-Series revolvers
- Vaquero
- Ruger No. 1 (My Son is going to be really pissed about this!!!!!!!!!)
- 77-Series rifles
- Hawkeye
- Ruger Precision Rifle.
What’s left?
For those keeping track at home, this leaves the company with the Mini-14 rifle line, Ruger 10/22s, the Ruger American series, and its Harrier series ARs produced in the former Anderson factory in Kentucky.
Pistols retained include the LCP series, the Security 380 and Security 9, the modular RXM, MAX-9, the Ruger 57, 22 Charger, and Mark IV rimfire line.
Its wheel gun catalog will shrink to just the rimfire Wrangler line and possibly the Super GP100, which the release didn’t specifically mention.
The Ruger Red Label III shotgun, built under contract by the Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company, recently just won “Best New Shotgun” at the 2026 NASGW-POMA Caliber Awards and will remain in the catalog.
Notably, the company seems to be wholly exiting the crowded 1911 market, one it has inhabited for 15 years.
Also gone would seem to be any single-action centerfire revolvers, a space that Ruger has occupied since 1955 when the original “three-screw flattop” Blackhawk debuted.
Comeback chances?
Company officials were careful to point out that lines put to bed can always come back. For example, the Bill Ruger-designed No. 1 has been in and out of production several times since its 1967 debut.
“This does not necessarily mean these product families are permanently discontinued,” said Clary.
Further, if/when they return, they could come back in a new, updated format, with a familiar name upcycled on a new gun.
For instance, the Ruger Blackhawk first came out in 1955, then the Super Blackhawk augmented it four years later, while protected-sight models first appeared in 1962. The two-pin transfer-bar New Model Blackhawk arrived in 1973, followed by the New Model Super Blackhawk in 1974.
“We recognize how important these platforms are to Ruger’s heritage and to our customers,” said Clary. “In many cases, we see opportunities to bring them forward through new designs, improved features, and modern manufacturing methods. We expect some of these names and product families to return in new forms in the future, but do not have specific product plans or reintroduction timelines at this time.”
It should also be pointed out that Ruger recently rebooted the old Glenfield brand with a modified Ruger American Rifle leading the charge as the value-driven Glenfield Model A. Could some recently discontinued Ruger models make a comeback under the Glenfield banner? Stranger things have happened.
