Love my Ruger(s)

You might recall that I unloaded several Ruger rifles a few months ago, one of them a Model 77 in .22-250 that Analog Kid seemed really happy to take off my hands.

But I didn’t unload all of the Rugers in the house…

In fact, there are currently three more firearms here that bear the name Ruger. One is a handgun, which I’ll mention in a minute. The other two are shotguns – His in 12-gauge and Hers in 20-gauge.

Some years ago, the Hubster and I lived in Southern California, where you had nasty waiting periods for handguns. Despite these frustrations, we acquired two pistols to accompany the aforementioned collection of Model 77 rifles. Then, in 1998, we moved to Pocatello, Idaho. We took the firearms out often for sighting in and just plain fun shooting.

Then came the time when we started planning our move to Washington State. Not being real certain just how restrictive the laws here might be, we felt that we should treat ourselves to some, er, going away presents. So we drove from Pocatello to Blackfoot, about 20 miles north, and wandered into Duncan’s. We had our eyes on a pair of Red Label shotguns, and that’s what we bought.

I was in luck, though, because the only 20-gauge Red Label in the store was a special model. From the Ruger site :

Tasteful scrolling and gold-inlaid bird, appropriate to each model, on both sides of the receiver. Engraved All-Weather 12 gauge models feature a gold-inlaid duck taking flight. Walnut 12 gauge engraved models feature a gold-inlaid pheasant taking flight. Engraved 20 gauge models feature a gold-inlaid grouse taking flight. Engraved 28 gauge models feature a gold-inlaid woodcock taking flight.

However, mine is even more special than the normal engraved model – because it is a 50th anniversary model. So the right side of the receiver has a special commemorative design to celebrate the 50 years from 1949 – 1999.

Maybe it sounds too girly to call a shotgun pretty, but mine most certainly is a beauty. I just wish my camera skills were more refined, as I can’t seem to avoid glare. Here is a shot of the commemorative engraving (click to enlarge):

Yep – it cost a leetle bit more than the standard model, but I told the Hubster that I was worth it. He seems to agree … *grin*

I haven’t taken this beauty out to the trap range nearly often enough. I’m hoping that next year I’ll be able to whip up some friendly trap shooting fun with some of you fine folks!

Oh – almost forgot … I mentioned a third Ruger. I am also the keeper of my father-in-law’s .357 Security-Six. I don’t take it shooting often, because it doesn’t fit my hand terribly well. But I take it out at least once or twice a year, fire it, clean it, and put it away for the next time.

Reading David’s post got my memory stirring, so I wanted to share a picture of it as well.