Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. generously donated 70 Ruger® Mark III™ Target rimfire pistols and ten Ruger American Rimfire™ rifles to the Youth Shooting Sports Alliance (YSSA) to be included in their Shooting Sports Equipment Loan Program inventory.
“We recognize the importance of this unique program as a means of efficiently providing equipment to support youth shooting sports program efforts nationwide,” said Chris Killoy, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Ruger. Killoy added, “We are proud to partner with the Youth Shooting Sports Alliance in continuing Ruger’s long history of supporting youth shooting sports programs that recruit and retain new shooters and hunters. We know that we can count on the YSSA to utilize these firearms in support of programs that have the greatest growth and participation.”
The Ruger® Mark III™ .22 LR pistol (model 10101) features an alloy steel, blued 5.5″ bull barrel and offers a magazine capacity of ten rounds. The pistol has checkered grips; a fixed front sight; and an adjustable rear sight.
The Ruger American Rimfire™ rifles feature Ruger’s Marksman Adjustable® trigger, Power Bedding® with integral bedding blocks, and a free-float barrel with target crown, making these rimfire rifles true performers at the range and in the field. The Ruger American Rimfire™ rifles also feature a durable synthetic stock with front and rear swivel studs. Both full-size (22″ barrel/13.75″ length of pull) and compact models (18″ barrel/12.5″ length of pull) include interchangeable high and low comb height stock inserts for the perfect fit, whether using the open fiber optic sights or equipping it with a scope.
“The YSSA’s Shooting Sports Equipment Loan Program has been quite popular with youth program leaders nationwide,” said Steve Miller, YSSA’s Executive Director. Miller reported, “To date in 2013, we have loaned 202 rifles, 177 shotguns, 51 pistols, 155 bows, 350 BB guns and 40 precision match air rifles in support of youth programs.”
The Gander Mountain flagship store in Kenosha, WI serves as the centralized repository for the firearms inventory acquired for this program. Under the guidelines of this partnership, the YSSA is responsible for overall coordination of the program including promotion; review and approval of youth program requests for loaned equipment; and coordination with Gander Mountain on the distribution and return of the loaned firearms. Gander Mountain maintains and stores the firearms between loan disbursements.
The YSSA distributes air rifle and archery equipment on loan from its headquarters in Hagerstown, MD.
The Youth Shooting Sports Alliance is a 501(c)(3) private foundation whose mission is to identify and support the needs of successful and safe youth programs. Youth groups and industry members interested in learning more about the Youth Shooting Sports Alliance are encouraged to visit their website at www.youthshootingsa.com.
