Ruger No.1 Advertising

Magazine advertisements featuring the No.1 rifle were first printed in 1967. An example of the first ad is featured below.

The Company's first advertisement for the the Ruger No.1 rifle featured a full photo of Prototype rifle #X-3, a 22-250. The view of the action is not identifiable yet.
The Company’s first advertisement for the the Ruger No.1 rifle featured a full photo of Prototype rifle #X-3, a 22-250.
The view of the action is not identifiable yet.

The last sentence, “Our comprehensive brochure awaits your inquiry” has always intrigued me. What did you get as a “comprehensive brochure” if you wrote for it?? After many years of searching, I have obtained a copy of what I believe was mailed out. It was basically and order form. The copy is presented below.

This is what I believe a requester got if they wrote to the Company for more information about the Ruger No.1 rifle
This is what I believe a requester got if they wrote to the Company for more information about the Ruger No.1 rifle

From 1967 until the end of 1969, a purchaser basically “custom ordered” their Ruger No.1, by specifying caliber, barrel weight and length, forearm style and sighting equipment: ie, no sights, sights, or target scope blocks.

In early 1970, the available calibers and configurations were standardized with those we still use today; the 1A, 1S, 1B, 1V and 1H.

This 1970 advertisement presented the 5 available configurations and utilized the Catalog Numbers of 1A, 1S, 1B, 1V and 1H.
This 1970 advertisement presented the 5 available configurations and utilized the Catalog Numbers of 1A, 1S, 1B, 1V and 1H.

In the order they were presented, these rifles were called the Light Sporter, Medium Sporter, Standard Rifle, Special Varminter and Tropical Rifle. To be continued.

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