I have always believed that any tool is only as good as the craftsmanship that goes into making it. Price usually follows that curve. In 1990, I was at the Ruger manufacturing plant in Southport on a training tour, studying their manufacturing process. I had seen other plants, run by other companies, and thought they were all, for the most part, clean, modern and run by well trained workers. Pretty much the same methods at each site.
THEN we were taken into the casting wing of the building. It was like going back into firearm history 100 years. Old brick walls 30' high, topped with sooty windows in banks below the roof for ventilation, and little lighting other than the brilliant flame under a huge caldron of melted steel, gave the huge factory room an ancient feeling. There was only one crew working then. About six to eight men, covered in heavy, soot smudged leather protective outfits with helmets and face shields, conducted the most fascinating, well practiced and dangerous dance I had ever seen. Did I mention it was really HOT just standing at a distance watching? Man! One man poured molten steel from a large vat where it was simmering. The next man caught a portion poured to him in a long ladle. He carried it a few feet to a pyramid of stacked cubes that were the forms for the castings of that shift. The ladle man poured a portion of the liquid into the top cube and stepped back. A time count began as the casting cooled. Next, a hook man snagged the red, glowing cube off the top of the pyramid and carried it aside to cool. Meanwhile, the cauldron man was pouring more steel into the ladle man's pitcher. All the while, the other workers were constantly rearrainging the casting molds in the pyramid to access the next pour. If any of them didn't make the right move, at the right moment, really bad things would happen. I found myself literally holding my breath as I watched.
It didn't take long to complete the castings, probably not more than 10 minutes, although it must seem like forever inside those cowhides. When they were done, the men of the casting crew pulled off their helmets and trudged out the double factory doors into sunlight and fresh air. They were wet with sweat and covered with foundry black. I was exhausted from just watching them. Another crew was coming back in from their break to start the dance all over again.
Later, we were shown one of the castings after it cooled. They were manufacturing large single action revolver frames that day. That is when it occurred to me that those men were actually puting not only their skill, but their life's vital energy into their Ruger products. There can be no higher commitment to quality than that. And that is what set Ruger apart for me.
ps. I own a '72 Hi-Power bought new at the Navy Exchange, a Redhawk .44 mag for hogs, and a new 22/45 for paper and squirrels. Great guns, all. Mac.
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