Ruger Stands Behind USA Shooting With $26,000 Donation
America’s Shooting Team, USA Shooting, got much needed support recently from one of this nation’s premier firearms manufacturers, when Ruger presented a check worth $26,000 to USA Shooting at the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting, April 12-15 in St. Louis, Mo.
The money raised by Ruger was the result of on-going auction items on Ruger Auction (http://ruger.com/links/auction.html ) featuring unique pistols and rifles. Presenting the check on behalf of Ruger was President and CEO Mike Fifer, and accepting on behalf of USA Shooting was Buddy DuVall, USA Shooting Team Foundation Executive Director along with athletes Amanda Furrer (rifle/Spokane, Wash.), Janessa Beaman (shotgun/Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Caitlin Connor (shotgun/Winnfield, La.).
“Ruger is proud to be an American company, and what better way to show our American pride than to support the USA Olympic Shooting Team?” said Ruger Vice President of Sales and Marketing Chris Killoy. “Because of the generous support Ruger enthusiasts have given to the Ruger Auction, we are able to donate $26,000 to the USA Shooting Team to help them compete against the world’s best shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. We are also happy to announce that all proceeds from future Ruger Auctions will be donated to the USA Shooting Team until the 2012 Olympic Games have come to an end. Please continue to bid on these rare, unique, and one-of-a-kind Ruger products to support Team USA!”
“USA Shooting is extremely thankful for the support of Ruger through the success of their Ruger Auction program,” said DuVall. “The generosity from both Ruger and those buying the auction items represents the very best of the American spirit and helps pave the way for our athletes to achieve the very best for years to come.”
Ruger started auctioning the first of 12 items to support USA Shooting Team’s trip to the Olympic Games on October 26, 2011. Ruger’s Auction No. 46 featured an old spurless hammer, Speed-Six double-action revolver which netted $755. The next auction was the sixth and final pair of consecutive serial numbered “U.S.” marked Service-Six revolvers and sold for $2,025.00. The next items were a “U.S.” marked pair of consecutive serial numbered Mark II pistols that were bought for $5,035.
A rare “Deerstalker” .44 Carbine rifle sold for $7,025 and featured an etched stock titled “NRA TEST.” This rifle was one of two rifles sent to the NRA for testing and evaluation at the end of 1961. An article titled, “The Ruger .44 Magnum Carbine” was written by the NRA Technical Staff and appeared in the January 1962 edition of The American Rifleman magazine.
Another interesting auction item was the New Model Single-Six with the serial number 262-00000 which was rumored to be Ruger’s 1 millionth New Model Single-Six produced. However, Ruger’s records later verified that it was not but nevertheless, the Single-Six sold for $1,325. Another unusual item was another old .44 Carbine rifle that had two rear sights – a “built in” receiver sight, and a folding-leaf rear sight. The winning bid on this rifle was $2,225.00.
The most recent item to be placed on Ruger Auction is a Ruger pop-up display that was used at several firearms trade shows some time during the early 1980’s. It measures approximately 10 feet wide by 8 feet high.
About Sturm Ruger Sturm, Ruger was founded in 1949 and is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of high-quality firearms for the commercial sporting market. Sturm, Ruger is headquartered in Southport, CT, with manufacturing facilities located in Newport, NH and Prescott, AZ. About USA Shooting
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at www.usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.
