Tomato...tomaaaato...Sig tanked their intro of their first 1911s, and it has taken them 2 years since introduction to build the 556 everyone actually wanted (the Classic...I liked the original, but the Classic's 551 styling does look sexier). Pick any gun company, and they all have plenty of skeletons in their closet.
Aside from the fact that Ruger sponsors my shows. I like them because they innovate and take risks. Sometimes that comes back to bite them in the butt, but hey, that's the nature of taking a risk, and as a company they are always good for it. If it had been my company, I wouldn't have recalled the LCPs — they met the testing spec, and frankly even a dead cat will bounce if you drop it from high enough. There's a semi-legendary story in the biz about how I got challenged to make a cocked 1st-gen Glock drop the striker without pulling the trigger...I succeeded by throwing it against a concrete wall as hard as I could. All machines can be compromised if you have a sense of humor.
I like the little Ruger revolver because it felt to me after shooting 3 or 4 of the things that the polymer soaks up a little of the recoil. The Hogue standard grips are superb, but I'll take the harder-hitting CT LaserGrips any time. Also, I'm 100% on the new trigger system...you have no idea how much money I've spent over the years to get a decent trigger on a J-frame before I decided to just suck it up and shoot 'em as they come out of the box. There's also a pretty substantial price break over the Scandium S&Ws ($792 for the CT-equipped Ruger; $1153 for the CT-equipped Scandium 340, which is, admittedly a .357 although no sane person would shoot .357s in it!).
I say everyone needs a snub...or 2...or 3, if you"re Walt Rauch! Get the Ruger, get the S&Ws, get a Taurus or Charter if thats your budget, but don't leave home without a CCW permit and a gun!
Michael B