Well it does not make sense really when things like 338 Edge, 33 Nosler, 338 Rum exist unless you want to pander to a very small market. Sometimes it is seen as important to have a "Corvette" in the model line up but often it is just bad marketing in an attempt to gain legitimacy in a market. Sadly the firearms industry seems to be plagued by idiots and terrible understanding of marketing. I like Ruger a lot and I own or have owned many Rugers that said they have some of the worst marketing I have ever seen. They foolishly try to market based on price points at times and that is terrible when you hold back a model or brand becasue you want to make one item economy and one upscale. You never want to fail to take advantage of excitement for a brand or model and if the customers want to run with it and do custom builds and re-stock etc....you should never get in the way of that it ****es people off and kills momentum for the brand and model!
Ruger could have replaced Remington Actions and Savage actions strong hold in custom tactical and hunting rifles. The same year they brought out the Ruger American I told them as much. I asked about different stocks and the like and they really shut down anything I asked really hard. Any recommendation I made about releasing a target rifle based on it seem to elicit hostility in the return email. I tried to find stocks on the after market pre-fit barrels etc....and no one was interested or offered anything. A few latter they released the "Ruger Precision" which is just a Ruger American with the bolt machined to accept the magazine and a alloy chassis that really is not that great in many ways because they were chasing a look more than function or fit and finish. It has taken years for a luke warm reception in the after market when it could have been the next big thing right from day one. Some of the MIM and plastic parts are not so hot, lack of really good stocks in better shapes, better wood and synthetic offerings from the OEM is an issue. Lack of bottom metal for people wanting to build full on custom rifles is an issue because they could tool up and support that far faster than the after market.
The problem is they wanted to keep the Ruger M77 Mk ii aka Hawkeye as the premium product not based on form or function or on the superiority of the design or machining or quality control or fit and finish but based on price point.So the Ruger American got sadled with the cheapest stock I have ever seen and no bottom metal. I sure they still think that the Ruger American might compete with the Hawkeye and steal sales but if they had down this right that would not have been an issue. If you apply that sort of logic than full line Automotive Manufactures must be stealing sales from them self's all day long! I am not a fan of alloy chassis for bolt action rifles or tube guns. If someone gave me one I would smile every time I used it but I would never buy one.
The Ruger Hawkeye is a good rifle I own a M77 Mkii VT but it could be a real premium product that would sell itself and would command a premium price with out anyone batting an eye! Some of it is process related and fit and finish related but a lot of it has to do with really bad marketing choices or a lack of marketing. It is kind of like the Winchester Model 70 with the pre-64 design elements. With nice wood, sleek design and nice bluing they sold themselves. One look at a Super Grade and it was all over the check book was out and it was a done deal you might be eating pork steaks and beans for every day for 3-4 weeks to but she was yours. I doubt a Ruger Hawkeye has ever had that sort of appeal sadly and the RPR has the right foundation but misses the mark in many ways for many people. The barrel is too thin and short for me. Not enough offerings in chamberings. Too heavy and ugly! I can not have it in a nice piece of Walnut or Maple and no steel bottom metal but even traditional bottom metal in aluminum would be a start so we could get custom stocks from stock makers! Offering it in the Ruger American line at the same cost as the other Magnum chamberings instead of trying to pick peoples wallets for every penny!
If they want a premium for what is basically the economy Ruger American action they need to rethink their current business model and learn what planned well thought out well stratified marketing looks like. Maybe they could offer the 338 LM in their "premium" Hawkeye. Last I checked the Ruger Precision Rifle has the same MIM parts as the Ruger American and a lot of bad aides to make it work in the really poorly designed chassis.
The Ruger American is just as accurate as the Ruger Precision but cost a lot less. It is not as if the Ruger Precision is sporting a barrel made on different machinery and with vastly better tooling. The action is not CNC machined any better. The steels being used are not any better. It reminds me of that time General Motors took the J-Body and built the Cadillac Cimeron for the record the most popular J-Body ever was the Chevy Caviler. So taking a fwd platform you used for an economy car and trying to make it into a luxury car and charge a premium never goes over well! GM also refused to bring the Fiero to market with the Buick 3.8L V6 because it outperformed the Corvette available at the time they took a car that could have been a huge hit and neutered it! Look how long it took Toyota to figure out what Americans wanted when not shopping for a compact pickup truck. It was not until they turned over the control to California and Detroit design studios that we got the full-size Tundra that finally got it right!
So it is hard to take Ruger seriously at that price point for what they are offering and what they are not! For the record I have nothing against Rotary Cold Hammer Forged Barrels either it is all of the compromises, lack of variety, lack of good wood, lack good synthetic stock, lack of bottom metal for the Ruger American, all of the MIM parts on a $1800+ rifle!
